You voted for her ladies and gentlemen, and you made the right choice, because here she is, your new Coordinator of Clubs, Organizations and Services, Miss Harley Aussoleil!
“I want to take advantage of this power to do something good,” Aussoleil, a senior double majoring in gender studies and sociology, says.
With the plans she has in store, she’s certainly on her way.
As CoCOaS, Aussoleil is in charge of all the clubs, organizations and services on campus that are under the direction of the PSGA.
Among the changes Harely foresees, one of the biggest is the bringing back of OAPIA, Organization of African Peoples in the Americas, which was once a club as popular as SOCA (Students of Caribbean Ancestry) or Latinos Unidos. It fell by the wayside when many of its members became too busy or uninterested in keeping up with the needs of the club.
“I’m working with Melissa Torres to bring it back. It was really such a shame to see it go,” says Aussoleil.
“Harley has been doing everything in her power to pick OAPIA back up,” says Torres, president of OAPIA. “She’s been great with paperwork and getting in touch with the necessary people to make things happen. She’s really sympathetic and constantly asking me what else I need to make this process smoother.”
Along with the rebuilding, there is a theme in Aussoleil’s plans to make the clubs on campus interact more, making them feel connected.
Things like collaborations between clubs that wouldn’t normally associate, a community center, maybe in the New, that serves as a centralized home for clubs across the board, and an event every month, hosted by the clubs, whether is be a music performance, a lecture, anything open to the students.
“I want CoCOaS to change,” Harley says. “I want the clubs to look at me not as an administrator, but a person to talk to about drama or things they need. I want to be a source of comfort.”
“I don’t want people to hate CoCOaS,” she said.
Despite not wanting to feel like an administrator, Aussoleil knows what her administrative duties are, and is on top of them as well. Even now at the beginning of her term, only four weeks into the semester, Aussoleil is already thinking about her successor.
Because there is “no codified way of receiving the job,” Harley says she is still learning as she goes, but plans to change that. By the time she hands off the job, she intends to have a smooth system so that the next CoCOaS can jump right into their responsibilities.
Aussoleil also plans to make sure the budget gets spent this year, saying that there is always money left over, and that should really be put to good use.
With Aussoleil in charge of the school services, students can begin to loosen up about their club concerns.
She also says people can contact her about, “giving massages. And questions.” She likes both.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Purchase chapter.