According to Director of Student Activities and Leadership Development Ragish Bellani, who also served on the SLRA planning committee, the Office of Student Services began this program as a way to reward students who excelled in areas that were not strictly academic.

"There’s been an ongoing desire for several years to recognize our students who have done outside of the classroom work," Bellani said. "No one really rewards them, the kind of energy of these students is phenomenal, and we want to applaud that."

Students can be awarded in eight categories including Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) leadership, cultural awareness and education, social activism, community service, exceptional events, senior leadership and first-year leadership. In addition, one faculty member will be named mentor of the year. Students are allowed to nominate themselves.

"We tried to design the awards on what we see the programming revolving around on campus," said Assistant Dean of Student Services Christina Kishimoto, who also organized the SLRA. "We see a lot of activism on campus and students who present diverse ideas on campus... and we wanted to reward that connection."

A number of students felt that the SLRA would be a positive addition to the Wesleyan community.

"I’m all for recognizing the initiative and leadership of all of Santa’s little helpers who give back to the community," said John Guery ’02. "It’s high time we recognized everyone who’s so important in increasing the rapport between Middletown and Wesleyan and doing away with that image of us as just the little school on the hill."

However, other students were skeptical about the practicality of the application process itself.

"I’m really interested in honoring people, but I know I don’t have the time," said Joanne Alcantara ’02. "And I doubt all the busiest, coolest people have the time to go through all the application criteria either, and they’re going to be the ones who know all the other busiest, coolest people."

According to Kishimoto, the deadline, which was originally scheduled for last Wednesday has been extended until Monday due to incomplete applications.

All awards are student nominated and selected by a committee consisting of Kishimoto, Bellani, WSA Administrator Cari Macdermott, and six students. The students on the selection committee represent all classes and diverse areas of the student body such as Residential Life, Community Services, WSA, Students of Color, Health Education and the Greek community.

"It’s really a great opportunity for Wesleyan students," said WSA President Alua Arthur. "A lot of other schools have awards like this, and Wesleyan has academic awards, so this is an excellent way to recognize these programs."

Because this is the first time Wesleyan has had such a program, Kishimoto says that this year’s awards will primarily serve as a trial run which they hope to expand in the future.

"This is sort of a work in progress," Kishimoto said. "What we didn’t want to have happen is to create a big program and then find out that this isn’t a Wesleyan fit. First we’re going to try it out on a smaller scale and then find out what students want."

"We’re starting with small steps to make this a larger achievement," Bellani said. "As the university prizes recognize the academic realm, these will acknowledge the cocurricular realm."

The awards will be given out at a banquet with recipients and committee members April 26. Kishimoto also said that the committee plans to release a list of the awards at the beginning of next semester so that students know what they have to work towards.

Although the exact prize has yet to be named, Macdermott said that the committee is currently considering placing plaques with the names of each years winners in the halls of North College.

Kishimoto feels that so far much of the feedback she has received from students has been positive.

"I know there’s excitement and enthusiasm for it," Kishimoto said. "I just hope they’ve had time."