The Undergraduate Council of Students formed an inaugural board in September for transfer students, resumed undergraduate education students and student veterans. The board hopes to increase TRUE student representation within UCS and address issues commonly faced by TRUE students.
“The board’s mission is to look after the TRUE students and ensure they have every opportunity to have the most positive and fulfilling college experience,” board member Jared Yee ’27, a Marine Corps veteran, wrote in an email to The Herald.
The TRUE board is composed of six members: two transfer students, two RUE students and two student veterans. UCS filled five of these positions via appointment, with the sixth position — the TRUE student representative — elected by the student body.
The board was created partly in response to Brown’s expanding population of TRUE students.
“The student veteran population alone is growing at a rapid rate, and there is a need for accurate representation for our population,” wrote board member Kloey Albertson ’27, a U.S. Army veteran and current reservist, in an email to The Herald.
In 2023, the University surpassed its 2019 goal of doubling the student veteran population on campus, The Herald previously reported. There are 58 student veterans on campus this semester.
The board is currently fully operational, Albertson wrote. They plan to pursue initiatives and address issues that impact the TRUE student community — including improving the TRUE orientation program and the spring transfer process as well as hosting community-building events.
Noel Rosania ’27, who transferred to Brown this fall, believes the disparities between the two orientations is one of the “biggest issues” that TRUE students face, she wrote in a message to The Herald.
Rosania noted a lack of community integration between transfer students and traditional undergraduates. Rosania hopes the TRUE board will address this issue and advocate for increased funding for TRUE activities.
Joyce Gong ’26, who transferred to Brown in fall 2023, voiced similar concerns. For transfer students, it may be difficult to become friends with those who have attended Brown since their freshman year, she wrote in an email to The Herald.
The board holds monthly meetings open to the Brown community and has officially met twice this semester, Albertson wrote. It aims to publish information regarding future meetings on the UCS Instagram page.
Transfer students have “a lot to add to how an institution is run,” Rosania wrote.
