From March 29 to 31, IE students will be able to vote for their new student government. One of the options is Team SynergIE, with members: Humberto Davalos, Sophia Schultheis, Nicolás Cajiao, Ezra Dominic, Annika Montis Rigo, and President David Schultheis. The team is somewhat diverse; it is predominantly Latin American, with two European members in the mix. There are four males and two females, mostly studying dual degrees in different combinations of Law, International Relations, and Business Administration, except for one Communications student.
Some of Team SynergIE’s main proposals include: increasing intra and inter-campus socialization, making grading fairer and more coherent between subjects, and integrating female hygiene products into both campuses. On the student-founded Passion Project Podcast, Team President Schultheis highlighted the importance and necessity of this last proposal.
Team SynergIE wants to create a clear distinction between participation and attendance, as they feel that professors often mix the two when grading students’ participation. Furthermore, they want to introduce more common methods of evaluation between classes, as to reduce student confusion. Schultheis also commented that a lack of socialization on campus can “take a lot away from the university experience.” His team plans to mitigate this by creating more social areas in the IE Tower, and hosting more cultural events on both campuses.
Team SynergIE’s main slogan is “Building Bridges” between many different groups in the university. The Stork asked Madrid Community Development Officer Ezra Dominic about this in a recent interview. The British first-year explained that a major gap SynergIE plans to bridge is the “Hispanic-English [speaking] gap.” Through bachelor-specific events, and new events, such as the planned “International Day,” Team SynergIE hopes to “[bridge] cultural gaps and barriers, and create more mixed friendship groups across campus, lessen[ing] the divide.” In the Student Government debate of March 28, President Schultheis emphasized the value of having an assigned treasurer, as it allows teams to have a clearer view of what their budget will permit.
Voting starts on March 29. Those interested can check their IE emails for notifications and instructions.
