BREAKING NEWS: WCGA VP to Step Down

Krista Dewald ’16 announced that she is stepping down from her office in the Wilson College Government Association (WCGA) during a meeting this Tuesday. Dewald has held her position as Vice President of the WCGA since the beginning of this semester, but made the decision to leave it this month.

Dewald initially joined the WCGA because she held leadership positions in her previous years at Wilson, and felt she had much to bring to help initiate change in the campus community. She wanted to help make it easier for clubs to be created, and small, existing clubs to grow larger. As the coordinator of the after school tutoring program at Wilson, she admitted that she was conflicted about joining because of the time commitment, but ultimately decided that it could be helpful for research in her senior thesis.

Dewald emphasized that the decision was not easy. Ultimately, it was her passion for tutoring that helped her decide, as it was hard for her to justify spending so much time in the WCGA for little to nothing being solved. “I wasn’t spending time on the thing I’m good at,” she said.

She decided to wait until after the Board of Trustees meetings to announce her stepping down, in order to help the WCGA transition to next semester smoothly after electing new officers.

She said, “It was difficult because I do see the potential…we’ve made a lot of improvements…but it got down to so much drama.” During the semester, Dewald learned that she is “not one for patience with politics.” She explained that it is hard to change old policies, so there needs to be more debate and action, and less gossip. “There’s a divide and some miscommunication in WCGA”, she said.

Dewald stated that more students need to speak up and interact with the WCGA if anything is to be accomplished.

“It’s a systemic issue with WCGA and we need the whole campus to change that,” Dewald said. She mentioned that during the last Board of Trustees meeting, the WCGA was more opinionated and open. Consequently, people listened and have been talking about it.

Looking forward, Dewald is hopeful that someone who is passionate about the WCGA and eager to make changes steps into her position. There will be another election held for an officer to fill her position towards the end of this semester. As always, students are welcome to attend WCGA general assembly meetings, the next being held Tuesday, December 1 at 11:00 a.m. in the Warfield Auditorium.