Established 1879
A Voice for the Students
Small First-Year Class: Changes for Budget and Admissions By Hrithik Biswas ‘23 Herald Staff “What does it mean to lead a life of consequence?” This was one of the questions that were asked to applicants in HWS’s admission application, and it has been identified as the cause of last year’s decrease in students applying to and attending HWS. The administration anticipated 470 students to make up the Classes of 2023, but only 458 new first-year students came to campus this semester. The Herald sat down with Dean John Young, Vice President and Dean of Admissions, and Carolee White, the Vice President for Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer, to discuss the small first-year class, the reasons behind it, and what it means for the Colleges in the future. According to Dean Young, the application question mentioned above “was hard to understand and confusing.”
He explained that this question was one of the reasons why many students did not apply to HWS in the first place, and it will not be asked again this year. With 150 fewer first-year students than usual, the Colleges have not only taken a hit in their student population but also in their budget. The operating budget of the Colleges is $100 million, and the small first-year class creates a $4 million loss, if the students received the same rate of financial aid. The lack of first-year students ultimately led to a decrease of gross tuition revenue, although the rate in which financial aid is distributed has not changed and remains around 51-53%. This tightened budget is being felt this semester all around campus, impacting everything from student activities to the hiring of new faculty. As a certified public accountant at the Colleges, Carolee White looks over its budget and finances. She describes her role as one part in “managing a city.” Since there has been no increase in gross
Haudenosaunee Observe 225th Anniversary of Canandaigua
By Gabriel Pietrorazio ‘20 Herald Staff As the City of Canandaigua was cloaked in powdered snow, the Haudenosaunee and their nonIndigenous allies convened in celebration and observance of the 225th anniversary signing of the Canandaigua Treaty of 1794. Representatives from the Colleges stood in solidarity among them amid freezing temperatures and pelting snowfall. With members present from the Six Nations, also known as the Iroquois Confederacy, leaders of the Seneca,
Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, Tuscarora and Mohawk led a coordinated march along the city’s streets. They were followed by members of their fellow nations and then the general public. Alejandra Molina, director of the Intercultural Affairs Center, has been coordinating annual visits to each Canandaigua Treaty signing anniversary for the last five or six years. She was joined this year by William Smith College student Yichen Lin ’21. Signed 225 years ago on Nov. 11, 1794, the Canandaigua Treaty was a document meant to promote peace and friendship between the United States of America and the Haudenosaunee.
Attendees at the Canandaigua Treaty Signing
Photo: Gabriel Pietrorazio ‘20
News Academic Day Schedule, p. 4 Student Trustee Readout, p. 4 Laundry Costs, p. 5 On-Campus Overdoses, p. 6
revenue, HWS has cut back on many costs. This has manifested in part as the Colleges’ not filling up vacant positions, as salaries of HWS faculty and staff make up a large portion of the Colleges’ budget. White hopes that the Colleges will be able to bring in a first-year class next year more in line with the typical size of 570 to 620 students. Part of its renewed efforts to do so include its investment in a branding study, fully funded by an anonymous donor. According to a recent email from President Joyce Jacobsen, the branding firm SiegelVision has been hired to “conduct qualitative and quantitative research to inform the way HWS represents itself.” The results of this study will play a significant role in the Colleges’ efforts to attract more students. Another factor in the Colleges’ admissions efforts is diversity, which they aim to increase. “It is easier to Continued on page 2 This historic document affirmed the Haudenosaunee’s land rights, restored the custody of ceded lands from the Fort Stanwix Treaty to the Six Nations, and formally recognized their rights to self-govern and set laws as separate tribal nations through the bestowment of sovereignty. Although violations of the treaty have historically transpired, the Treaty of Canandaigua has never been broken and remains intact between the Haudenosaunee and United States federal government. While this treaty may seem out of date or simply obsolete to some, this text is a living and breathing promise: a pact between two sovereigns. This ceremonial observance signifies their continued commitment to the Treaty of Canandaigua 225 years later, even among the likes of Molina and Lin. “I really see it as very rewarding and humbling in a way, and out of historical respect, that we can’t change history, but at least we can, in a very respectful way, enter into the current history or the current moment of communities such as the Seneca and Haudenosaunee,” Molina stated. Molina insists that students and faculty alike have a “historical obligation or historical responsibility” for them to learn about and acknowledge the cultural significance of the Haudenosaunee while belonging to the campus community. Continued on page 3