Happy birthday, Ms. President
Oliveros-Larsen's name on campus is most widely known for her work on the Student Government Organization (SGO)-as vice president her junior year and president this past year, it would have been hard for any student not to have heard her name.
This year has been a year of both successes and difficulties for the student body, and Oliveros-Larsen has led the SGO through every step. Oliveros-Larsen performed her normal presidential duties of leading the Senate and weekly e-board meetings, as well as "a lot of committee work," such as the College Council and the Student Life Committee.
"I had no idea how much it would consume my life," she said. "It would be easy to regret having run ... I would have been more carefree with more time to spend with my friends … [but] I enjoy the work and it was a natural progression [to run for presidency]."
But with the unexpected circumstances that arose this past academic year, ranging as widely as the events of Sept. 11 and the crew team's highly publicized allegations against the SFC, the number of responsibilities that were piled on Oliveros-Larsen grew exponentially.
"I spoke on Sept. 11 and worked just trying to hold everything together. People got really distracted with a lot of things since the tenor of the year started out so stressfully," Oliveros-Larsen said.
"I was on the committee that investigated the SFC and wrote up the report," she added. "There's been a lot of trying to figure out where we're going because we were having so many problems with the way the system was working. And the SGO has responded to the needs of the student body with the writing of the new AAS constitution."
Even as the school year was wrapping up, Oliveros-Larsen was continuing her work for the SGO as she met with Dean of Students Ben Lieber regarding having students on the presidential search committee and "basically typing up a lot of loose ends," she said.
Making changes
Conflicts arose in the student government this year when Oliveros-Larsen helped to form and lead Students for a Peaceful Response (SPR), an activist group formed in response to Sept. 11 that gained national press coverage.
"It was really easy for Americans to get scared and want immediate action in the wake of the attacks. We in SPR were trying to present a voice of peace … [and] to get everyone to slow down and think about what it would mean if we tried to react to violent conflict with violent conflict," she said.
As one of the Amherst leaders of the five-college group, Oliveros-Larsen helped to organize a large rally in front of the campus center where students handed out informational flyers about Afghanistan and hoped to deter military action. The rally received attention from national publications such as The Daily Worker and The Washington Times, both of which interviewed Oliveros-Larsen.
"Amherst is a very liberal place but even here it's hard to always say what's on your mind. [Oliveros-Larsen] always has … that's part of her appeal," said Director of Media Relations Paul Statt, who helped to coordinate the interviews.
Although the group has more or less dissolved since the excitement of first semester, Oliveros-Larsen still feels the repercussions of her involvement. "There's a small group of senators that were under the impression that the president should have no extracurricular activities that involved any sort of political opinion ... but I never presented politics at SGO meetings," Oliveros-Larsen said.
Look out, Judge Wopner!
Growing up as the middle child of five in Yorba Linda, Calif., Oliveros-Larsen has always been encouraged to be as independent as possible and to learn to take care of herself, which has led to her four years of work with Valentine in all capacities-with the dining hall, Schwemms and with catering. "I love where I work," said Oliveros-Larsen. "I've gotten more out of working here than anything else that I've done. It's been wonderful … [the staff] is like my second family."
Oliveros-Larsen is a three-year veteran performer of the Bluestockings, a group that became another home-base for her, and spent three years performing in and helping organize the Vagina Monologues as a Peer Advocate of Sexual Respect. "It was really amazing for me to do something so positive for women and our sense of ownership of our sexuality," she said.
Oliveros-Larsen plans to attend Columbia University's law school this coming fall."It's what I've always wanted to do," she said. "I used to watch 'Divorce Court' when I was four years old. My mom would always laugh at me when I said 'Mom I want to do that!'"
Oliveros-Larsen is highly anticipating the chance to make visible change in the world. "Who knows what I'll end up doing," she said, " I'm just excited to do something with effects I can see."