Home >> Archives >> 02.06.06 Minutes
I. Roll Call/Agenda
II. Old Business
A. Senators' Project Update (Jerilyn Libby, HPC liason)
Lindsey Boylan, College Government President: If you notice the football field here this shows you that we are only half way through the year. We are back and we have a lot more work to do because before we know it it will be turnover. This time is really time to shine. We have some great speakers here that you asked for. From now on I know everyone will be here on time. Keep the football field in mind.
Will Jerilyn Libby come forward to discuss senators' projects?
Jerilyn Libby, HPC Liaison: You all remember that we had a fun thing called "senators' projects". I want to congratulate the Bates senators for resubmitting their forms by the deadline. As for everyone else, I asked a number of you to resubmit your projects. There is now a new deadline due February 13 at 5pm. Email me or call me to get in contact with me before then. Not all of you are required to resubmit.
Will Jerilyn Libby come forward to discuss senators' projects?
Jerilyn Libby, HPC Liaison: You all remember that we had a fun thing called "senators' projects". I want to congratulate the Bates senators for resubmitting their forms by the deadline. As for everyone else, I asked a number of you to resubmit your projects. There is now a new deadline due February 13 at 5pm. Email me or call me to get in contact with me before then. Not all of you are required to resubmit.
III. New Business
A. SOFC Update (Cortni Jones, Student Bursar)
Lindsey Boylan, CG President: You all remember we spoke about the senators' projects and how we want it to be something meaningful. So we are getting at this now so you don't wait until the end of the semester. Now in new business, will Cortni Jones, Student Bursar, please come forward to give us a SOFC update?
Cortni Jones, Student Bursar: Although these trophies look something like a Super Bowl team might win, they actually represent something that a treasurer might win. They often pick up the slack for the rest of the organizations. My office and I got together and thought about our greatest treasurers. The first person I would like to thank is Kirstin Neff for CPLA. I would also like to thank Julia Shalnova, for Slater. The next person is Kristen Cuneo from the Wellesley Widows and the treasurer of Spectrum. She keeps all the budgets separate and sometimes I feel like she knows the system better than I do. The next person is Deborah Moldover from Munger. There are times when people think that first years can't take on leadership roles on campus but Deborah proves that wrong. The next is Frances McVay from the Film Society. Next is Melanie Carter from Ethos. Not only is she representing the east side and Mcafee but she is also an awesome treasurer. She does a great job with keeping track of the Ethos budget.
These are just a sampling of our great treasurers. They lead in a different way than senators do but they are just as great leaders. Be excited because next week will be funding.
Cortni Jones, Student Bursar: Although these trophies look something like a Super Bowl team might win, they actually represent something that a treasurer might win. They often pick up the slack for the rest of the organizations. My office and I got together and thought about our greatest treasurers. The first person I would like to thank is Kirstin Neff for CPLA. I would also like to thank Julia Shalnova, for Slater. The next person is Kristen Cuneo from the Wellesley Widows and the treasurer of Spectrum. She keeps all the budgets separate and sometimes I feel like she knows the system better than I do. The next person is Deborah Moldover from Munger. There are times when people think that first years can't take on leadership roles on campus but Deborah proves that wrong. The next is Frances McVay from the Film Society. Next is Melanie Carter from Ethos. Not only is she representing the east side and Mcafee but she is also an awesome treasurer. She does a great job with keeping track of the Ethos budget.
These are just a sampling of our great treasurers. They lead in a different way than senators do but they are just as great leaders. Be excited because next week will be funding.
B. SOAC Update (Michel Ballard, CGVP)
Lindsey Boylan, CG President: Michel Ballard for the SOAC update.
Michel Ballard, CGVP: I have a few things to announce. On Feb. 26 SOAC and the Office of Student Activities are doing a collaborative event. Another announcement comes from Winnie Wood who is creating a committee to serve on the advisory board. It is for the Mellon committee. Winnie will be doing the applications process. If you have specific questions contact me or Winnie Wood. The midyear review for organizations is due this Friday Feb. 10. Yang Qiu will be in charge of that so if there are any questions please contact either of us.
Catherine Day, Student at Large: Can you tell us about the Mellon Committee?
Michel Ballard, CGVP: They look at electronic discourse on campus life. I know they are doing a lot of good work and research.
Clara Peterson, Bates: I know some of the presidents out there are having trouble with the review; what should they do?
Michel Ballard, CGVP: Email me.
Michel Ballard, CGVP: I have a few things to announce. On Feb. 26 SOAC and the Office of Student Activities are doing a collaborative event. Another announcement comes from Winnie Wood who is creating a committee to serve on the advisory board. It is for the Mellon committee. Winnie will be doing the applications process. If you have specific questions contact me or Winnie Wood. The midyear review for organizations is due this Friday Feb. 10. Yang Qiu will be in charge of that so if there are any questions please contact either of us.
Catherine Day, Student at Large: Can you tell us about the Mellon Committee?
Michel Ballard, CGVP: They look at electronic discourse on campus life. I know they are doing a lot of good work and research.
Clara Peterson, Bates: I know some of the presidents out there are having trouble with the review; what should they do?
Michel Ballard, CGVP: Email me.
IV. Open Discussion
A. Goals for Office of Student Activities (Katharine Durso, Director of Student Activities)
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: Now we are moving along in the agenda. We have Kate Durso who is the new director of student activities.
Kate Durso, Director of Student Activities: Thank you all for having me here tonight. I'm not the director yet, I am the assistant director. I started here as the RD of Claflin. We have been working in the student leadership resource room, part of the campus center 2nd floor. We really need you to help breathe some life into the resource room. Get your organizations to have meetings there. Meri and I are trying to make that space and make it full of energy. Our goal for the semester is to hopefully get settled. I am excited to get to know a lot of you. One of the things I want to do is maybe some brownbag lunches with different organizations and brainstorm some ways that we can help you. I also want to let you know we will have additional funding. There will be some available if you want to plan an event for the entire campus, in collaboration with at least one other organization. The other thing that I am hoping to do this semester is to put together some discussion groups about social life here on campus. We still have to look at date and time. But I am really interested about what you would like to see. Meri and I are really working on the mission statement for our office. Hopefully we will start doing some more leadership development. Something going up this week is the orgs fair on Wednesday. We have the Les Miserable trip on 16th.
Megan Aebi, Freeman: I heard that there were movie tickets from the Office as well.
Kate Durso, Director of Student Activities: I know that there are discounted Lowe's and AMC tickets.
Megan Aebi, Freeman: So we go through the office of residential life?
Kate Durso, Director of Student Activities: Yes.
Catherine Day, Chief Justice: What is the discussion surrounding the yearbook?
Kate Durso, Director of Student Activities: I started some initial conversations with the '06 staff. I am here as a resource to them. In terms of concerns I would be happy to work on that.
Clara Peterson, Bates: If you are having trouble with room reservations is there someone we can talk to about that?
Kate Durso, Director of Student Activities: Yes us! There have been some problems with communicating with custodial. That should happen a lot less than it did in the fall.
Clara Peterson, Bates: Are you going to be reinstating the theatre series? They had a whole playbill last year.
Kate Durso, Director of Student Activities: In terms of theatre trips we are doing Les Miserables and Wicked.
Clara Peterson, Bates: So will it be more organized in the future?
Kate Durso, Director of Student Activities: Yes, we are working on that.
Yang Qiu, Severance: Many orgs have noticed that the vans are not being used anymore. Do you have suggestions for transportation?
Kate Durso, Director of Student Activities: Right now I don't know very much about what has happened. I would be happy to look into it.
Cortni Jones, Student Bursar: Student orgs can be reimbursed for Zipcar usage, and they can come talk to me with any questions regarding that.
Kate Durso, Director of Student Activities: Thank you all for having me here tonight. I'm not the director yet, I am the assistant director. I started here as the RD of Claflin. We have been working in the student leadership resource room, part of the campus center 2nd floor. We really need you to help breathe some life into the resource room. Get your organizations to have meetings there. Meri and I are trying to make that space and make it full of energy. Our goal for the semester is to hopefully get settled. I am excited to get to know a lot of you. One of the things I want to do is maybe some brownbag lunches with different organizations and brainstorm some ways that we can help you. I also want to let you know we will have additional funding. There will be some available if you want to plan an event for the entire campus, in collaboration with at least one other organization. The other thing that I am hoping to do this semester is to put together some discussion groups about social life here on campus. We still have to look at date and time. But I am really interested about what you would like to see. Meri and I are really working on the mission statement for our office. Hopefully we will start doing some more leadership development. Something going up this week is the orgs fair on Wednesday. We have the Les Miserable trip on 16th.
Megan Aebi, Freeman: I heard that there were movie tickets from the Office as well.
Kate Durso, Director of Student Activities: I know that there are discounted Lowe's and AMC tickets.
Megan Aebi, Freeman: So we go through the office of residential life?
Kate Durso, Director of Student Activities: Yes.
Catherine Day, Chief Justice: What is the discussion surrounding the yearbook?
Kate Durso, Director of Student Activities: I started some initial conversations with the '06 staff. I am here as a resource to them. In terms of concerns I would be happy to work on that.
Clara Peterson, Bates: If you are having trouble with room reservations is there someone we can talk to about that?
Kate Durso, Director of Student Activities: Yes us! There have been some problems with communicating with custodial. That should happen a lot less than it did in the fall.
Clara Peterson, Bates: Are you going to be reinstating the theatre series? They had a whole playbill last year.
Kate Durso, Director of Student Activities: In terms of theatre trips we are doing Les Miserables and Wicked.
Clara Peterson, Bates: So will it be more organized in the future?
Kate Durso, Director of Student Activities: Yes, we are working on that.
Yang Qiu, Severance: Many orgs have noticed that the vans are not being used anymore. Do you have suggestions for transportation?
Kate Durso, Director of Student Activities: Right now I don't know very much about what has happened. I would be happy to look into it.
Cortni Jones, Student Bursar: Student orgs can be reimbursed for Zipcar usage, and they can come talk to me with any questions regarding that.
B. Study Abroad Policy (Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Studies)
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: Next on the agenda we have Jennifer Thomas-Stark, the director of international study, to talk about the study abroad policy.
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: I am the director of international study so I spend most of my time helping with study abroad advising. I am also on the committee to oversee the study abroad programs and policies. I am here to talk about a new policy dealing with the finances for study abroad. Up until now students have taken a leave of absence without paying anything to Wellesley College and only paid expenses to the study abroad program. Students who had financial aid could take their aid to only a handful of study abroad programs. It came to our attention that study abroad was becoming popular, but it wasn't available to everyone for financial reasons. To make it available to everyone we created a new policy where all students going abroad pay Wellesley College tuition. It opens up more study abroad opportunities to students who have financial aid. One of the parts that is complicated is that students are paying Wellesley College tuition but not room and board to Wellesley. The bottom line is that students will not be paying more to outside institutions than what they are paying to Wellesley. If your program is less expensive than Wellesley, you still pay the full Wellesley College tuition.
Shayla Adams, Ethos: I am confused about how this financial aid transfers over. Is it according to your financial aid here? What do you have to pay if you are on financial aid?
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: When your financial aid is normally done they decide what you and your family are able to pay. We are starting with that figure that you can contribute. The costs relating to your program are built beyond that. We are looking at the transportation cost, housing cost, and everything down to the cost of toothpaste. Say the total cost is $21,000 and you pay $5,000 then you will be receiving $16,000 in financial aid.
Shayla Adams, Ethos: This program is really discouraging students from going to Latin America or Africa. It seems to mostly benefit the students going to more expensive places.
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: I don't think it is true that it will only benefit students going to more expensive destinations. In reality there are very few programs that are only $4000. They might be less than $16,000. The point is that if you can be here for a semester you can be anywhere for a semester. It's going to be difficult to plan for a less expensive semester. Those students are hurt a little bit in the new process.
Clara Peterson, Bates: Has this decreased the offerings of programs at all?
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: It hasn't decreased the offerings, but there was a larger list of 300 something programs and there has been a review process. There is still the option of petitioning for programs that are beyond the set list.
Clara Peterson, Bates: So does Wellesley send its tuition to the program?
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: The programs bill us.
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: I had a quick question. Do you remember how the reduction came about? Were there regional gaps?
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: The process was done before I came here. But there are so few students, that not all of the programs on the list of 350 were being used on a regular basis. The list of 350 programs was circulated around to all of the academic departments. Any program that a department liked was kept. This left a list of about 100. There were a lot of regional gaps and I went through to look at those gaps and picked programs that institutions like Wellesley liked and brought that back to the International Study committee. The committee is still flexible. We are also starting to send faculty out to check on students who are out in some of these places.
Emily Oxford, Student at Large: Two of my questions are pretty simple. Was this approved by academic council and was there a faculty consensus on this? Were there any students on the review committee?
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: Yes, it was approved by the faculty but there were no students on the committee.
Emily Oxford, Student at Large: My main concern is that a lot of sophomores are deciding to completely take a leave of absence from Wellesley and enroll in a study abroad program separately and just not receive credit. These students are trying to rush to finish their requirements and are becoming stressed out trying to do this. Everything seems to be compounding on the younger classes. Wellesley is a significant expense even if you are on financial aid. There are a lot of people on the threshold that are not on financial aid. It is a large burden for families.
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: There are students who are deciding to take a leave. It's a loophole that some students have found. It was certainly not part of the concept. I know this an issue and I know it is not an ideal situation for them.
Catherine Lee, Republicans: Can you explain the prohibition of students taking a year of absence to do two programs?
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: We saw students doing two distinct programs and it seemed like that was becoming a problem that was coming through. Students on financial aid saw an opportunity for them to go to places to see the world but it was not necessarily academically related. Students that want to study abroad in two places can still petition to do so.
Ashira Greene, Claflin: I want to applaud that this is happening. I just wanted to ensure that this is money not going back into the college but going towards others' financial aid. I think students will feel better if they know their money is going towards other students.
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: I think Andy would be better to answer those questions.
Sara Hess, Student at Large: I'm one of those students on the cusp. I'm going to lose $11,000 and I'm not even going to be here. What is done with that extra money?
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: The money that is going out actually exceeds the money that is coming in.
Sara Hess, Student at Large: What would be the harm in paying the full program fee? Wellesley would have $5,000 extra from my program in Chile.
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: When you look at the total cost for financial aid there would be no money left.
Emily Bogue, Student at Large: Have you noticed a decline in interest in programs that tend to be less expensive? I was going to go to Argentina, but now with the new policy I am going to Aix. Have you noticed any kind of trend?
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: It will be difficult to track that. However, at the same time students are having more and more interest in non-traditional destinations.
Meagan Froemming, Student at Large: I was really counting on the extra $8000. Is there any program to help those of us who had planned on the lower cost of that cheaper semester finish paying for school?
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: Our hope was that you were not planning on using that extra money. The new policy was proposed before the Class of 2008 came into Wellesley. There was a lot of warning time. There are subsidized loan programs that are available to anyone.
Catherine Day, Chief Justice: There were grants that were available, are those still available?
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: No they are not.
Katie Kinnaird, Student at Large: As I understand the policy, students on financial aid have their room and board taken care of. Why isn't the room and board of those not on financial aid taken into consideration?
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: If you don't qualify for financial aid, then you won't get room and board.
Katie Kinnaird, Student at Large: So, if you are not on financial aid then your room and board will not be paid even if your program is less.
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: No
Shayla Adams, Ethos: If you say the surplus money will be put back for financial aid. What happens to the surplus money?
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: We are looking at the total costs and estimating the money that we are spending. When you look at the total amount, we are paying more than what is coming in.
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: In terms of the budgeting system you should stay tuned for BAC and Andy Evans. You will re think it in terms of the way money is given to Wellesley. I think the next few speakers will tell you more about how money goes out.
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: You all have my email address. I have drop in hours everyday.
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: I am the director of international study so I spend most of my time helping with study abroad advising. I am also on the committee to oversee the study abroad programs and policies. I am here to talk about a new policy dealing with the finances for study abroad. Up until now students have taken a leave of absence without paying anything to Wellesley College and only paid expenses to the study abroad program. Students who had financial aid could take their aid to only a handful of study abroad programs. It came to our attention that study abroad was becoming popular, but it wasn't available to everyone for financial reasons. To make it available to everyone we created a new policy where all students going abroad pay Wellesley College tuition. It opens up more study abroad opportunities to students who have financial aid. One of the parts that is complicated is that students are paying Wellesley College tuition but not room and board to Wellesley. The bottom line is that students will not be paying more to outside institutions than what they are paying to Wellesley. If your program is less expensive than Wellesley, you still pay the full Wellesley College tuition.
Shayla Adams, Ethos: I am confused about how this financial aid transfers over. Is it according to your financial aid here? What do you have to pay if you are on financial aid?
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: When your financial aid is normally done they decide what you and your family are able to pay. We are starting with that figure that you can contribute. The costs relating to your program are built beyond that. We are looking at the transportation cost, housing cost, and everything down to the cost of toothpaste. Say the total cost is $21,000 and you pay $5,000 then you will be receiving $16,000 in financial aid.
Shayla Adams, Ethos: This program is really discouraging students from going to Latin America or Africa. It seems to mostly benefit the students going to more expensive places.
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: I don't think it is true that it will only benefit students going to more expensive destinations. In reality there are very few programs that are only $4000. They might be less than $16,000. The point is that if you can be here for a semester you can be anywhere for a semester. It's going to be difficult to plan for a less expensive semester. Those students are hurt a little bit in the new process.
Clara Peterson, Bates: Has this decreased the offerings of programs at all?
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: It hasn't decreased the offerings, but there was a larger list of 300 something programs and there has been a review process. There is still the option of petitioning for programs that are beyond the set list.
Clara Peterson, Bates: So does Wellesley send its tuition to the program?
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: The programs bill us.
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: I had a quick question. Do you remember how the reduction came about? Were there regional gaps?
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: The process was done before I came here. But there are so few students, that not all of the programs on the list of 350 were being used on a regular basis. The list of 350 programs was circulated around to all of the academic departments. Any program that a department liked was kept. This left a list of about 100. There were a lot of regional gaps and I went through to look at those gaps and picked programs that institutions like Wellesley liked and brought that back to the International Study committee. The committee is still flexible. We are also starting to send faculty out to check on students who are out in some of these places.
Emily Oxford, Student at Large: Two of my questions are pretty simple. Was this approved by academic council and was there a faculty consensus on this? Were there any students on the review committee?
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: Yes, it was approved by the faculty but there were no students on the committee.
Emily Oxford, Student at Large: My main concern is that a lot of sophomores are deciding to completely take a leave of absence from Wellesley and enroll in a study abroad program separately and just not receive credit. These students are trying to rush to finish their requirements and are becoming stressed out trying to do this. Everything seems to be compounding on the younger classes. Wellesley is a significant expense even if you are on financial aid. There are a lot of people on the threshold that are not on financial aid. It is a large burden for families.
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: There are students who are deciding to take a leave. It's a loophole that some students have found. It was certainly not part of the concept. I know this an issue and I know it is not an ideal situation for them.
Catherine Lee, Republicans: Can you explain the prohibition of students taking a year of absence to do two programs?
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: We saw students doing two distinct programs and it seemed like that was becoming a problem that was coming through. Students on financial aid saw an opportunity for them to go to places to see the world but it was not necessarily academically related. Students that want to study abroad in two places can still petition to do so.
Ashira Greene, Claflin: I want to applaud that this is happening. I just wanted to ensure that this is money not going back into the college but going towards others' financial aid. I think students will feel better if they know their money is going towards other students.
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: I think Andy would be better to answer those questions.
Sara Hess, Student at Large: I'm one of those students on the cusp. I'm going to lose $11,000 and I'm not even going to be here. What is done with that extra money?
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: The money that is going out actually exceeds the money that is coming in.
Sara Hess, Student at Large: What would be the harm in paying the full program fee? Wellesley would have $5,000 extra from my program in Chile.
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: When you look at the total cost for financial aid there would be no money left.
Emily Bogue, Student at Large: Have you noticed a decline in interest in programs that tend to be less expensive? I was going to go to Argentina, but now with the new policy I am going to Aix. Have you noticed any kind of trend?
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: It will be difficult to track that. However, at the same time students are having more and more interest in non-traditional destinations.
Meagan Froemming, Student at Large: I was really counting on the extra $8000. Is there any program to help those of us who had planned on the lower cost of that cheaper semester finish paying for school?
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: Our hope was that you were not planning on using that extra money. The new policy was proposed before the Class of 2008 came into Wellesley. There was a lot of warning time. There are subsidized loan programs that are available to anyone.
Catherine Day, Chief Justice: There were grants that were available, are those still available?
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: No they are not.
Katie Kinnaird, Student at Large: As I understand the policy, students on financial aid have their room and board taken care of. Why isn't the room and board of those not on financial aid taken into consideration?
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: If you don't qualify for financial aid, then you won't get room and board.
Katie Kinnaird, Student at Large: So, if you are not on financial aid then your room and board will not be paid even if your program is less.
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: No
Shayla Adams, Ethos: If you say the surplus money will be put back for financial aid. What happens to the surplus money?
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: We are looking at the total costs and estimating the money that we are spending. When you look at the total amount, we are paying more than what is coming in.
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: In terms of the budgeting system you should stay tuned for BAC and Andy Evans. You will re think it in terms of the way money is given to Wellesley. I think the next few speakers will tell you more about how money goes out.
Jennifer Thomas-Stark, Director of International Study: You all have my email address. I have drop in hours everyday.
C. Budgetary Affairs Committee (Suilin Yap and Nadine Abraham, Student Representatives of BAC)
Lindsey Boylan, College Government President: We have a presentation from the student representatives of the Budgetary Affairs Committee (the BAC). We have Nadine Abraham and Cortni Jones. This will help you understand how the school budgets.
Nadine Abraham, BAC Student Representative: I sit on the Budgetary Advisory Committee. You will be getting two presentations from us, to get your feedback. So the BAC meets every two weeks. At the open meeting we get visitors like Dean Desjarlais, Dean of Admissions. The focus of the committee is give advice to President Walsh. The great thing is the complexity of these issues. It's great that Wellesley gives you the chance to have this opportunity. Things like tuition costs and endowments, financial aid and faculty and staff compensation. For tuition, the BAC recommends a range and the range goes to President Walsh, and then it goes to the Board of Trustees to be voted on. We really put in to consideration how students will react to these policies. At Wellesley we really want to keep a need blind financial aid. Everyone who comes to Wellesley is evaluated and brought in based on their application and not their family's financial situation. With this program comes uncertainty because the college does not know how much money they will be paying from year to year. So budgeting is a really important part of the process each year.
Cortni Jones, Ex-Officio BAC Member: COHFE schools are schools that are comparable to Wellesley, and we try to stay comparable to their tuition costs as we look at budgeting each year.
Nadine Abraham, BAC Student Representative: it is important to recognize that we cannot spend the endowment all at once. Inflation and energy are also two important parts of the process. Like it has been said before, it is really important for students to make sure that they are doing their part to keep the cost of energy down. Little things like turning off the lights can really impact the budget.
Cortni Jones, Ex-Officio BAC Member: I am an ex-officio member and we play a role in the discussion but do not have a voting privilege. We talk about things like faculty and staff compensation. We are finding out what it's like to be a staff person at Wellesley. That's what makes it great. The people on this committee have very diverse opinions. You look at a lot of trends over time and how many students are on financial aid. We really intertwine these expenditures.
Nadine Abraham, BAC Student Representative: I sit on the Budgetary Advisory Committee. You will be getting two presentations from us, to get your feedback. So the BAC meets every two weeks. At the open meeting we get visitors like Dean Desjarlais, Dean of Admissions. The focus of the committee is give advice to President Walsh. The great thing is the complexity of these issues. It's great that Wellesley gives you the chance to have this opportunity. Things like tuition costs and endowments, financial aid and faculty and staff compensation. For tuition, the BAC recommends a range and the range goes to President Walsh, and then it goes to the Board of Trustees to be voted on. We really put in to consideration how students will react to these policies. At Wellesley we really want to keep a need blind financial aid. Everyone who comes to Wellesley is evaluated and brought in based on their application and not their family's financial situation. With this program comes uncertainty because the college does not know how much money they will be paying from year to year. So budgeting is a really important part of the process each year.
Cortni Jones, Ex-Officio BAC Member: COHFE schools are schools that are comparable to Wellesley, and we try to stay comparable to their tuition costs as we look at budgeting each year.
Nadine Abraham, BAC Student Representative: it is important to recognize that we cannot spend the endowment all at once. Inflation and energy are also two important parts of the process. Like it has been said before, it is really important for students to make sure that they are doing their part to keep the cost of energy down. Little things like turning off the lights can really impact the budget.
Cortni Jones, Ex-Officio BAC Member: I am an ex-officio member and we play a role in the discussion but do not have a voting privilege. We talk about things like faculty and staff compensation. We are finding out what it's like to be a staff person at Wellesley. That's what makes it great. The people on this committee have very diverse opinions. You look at a lot of trends over time and how many students are on financial aid. We really intertwine these expenditures.
D. "Top Ten Questions you should ask about Wellesley finances" (Andy Evans, VP of Finance)
Lindsey Boylan, College Government President: Moving on in Open Discussion we have the VP of Finance and Treasurer, Andy Evans.
Andy: I really want to commend your two colleagues who just talked about the BAC so I will skip over some of these topics. I am in Green Hall 126. On the website there is something called the financial FAQ. The effort today is to answer the top 10 questions you should ask about Wellesley Finances.
Andy Evans, VP of Finances: It doesn't really cost us 40,000 per student, it really costs us double that. And how can we do that? An incredible endowment supporting our institution. It's an incredible statement of the quality of the education we offer.
Daria Axelrod, Claflin: Very often there are threads on Community with complaints about renovations and what not. What are the major reasons why those complaints have not been answered?
Andy Evans, VP of Finance: It's a very good question that exists at every institution. No matter what your revenues are, a non-profit institution will spend as much as it can because we have strong values. It's hard to know where we should put the money. This summer we are doing an evaluation of where we should be putting the money.
Catherine Lee, Republicans: One of the questions is what does the college do to reduce its expenditure - if you were to make a cut what would go first?
Andy Evans, VP of Finances: It's not a simple question. So you have to have an across the board look at what your spending and why your spending it. I think the utilities this year is a key example. On December 15 we realized that the cost of oil has gone up thus our costs have rocketed. You look at a university like Tulane University and they did what they had to do in a short period of time.
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: Students have asked questions about the meal plan and study abroad. Could you discuss what your best understanding of how things are financed and what you would respond about something along those lines?
Andy Evans, VP of Finances: Well you have the dining program and the costs go up every year. On the other hand you want to allow more students to go abroad every year. They are two different situations.
Ashira Greene, Claflin: I was wondering about the expendability of employees at the college. Are there enough positions that can be consolidated to make a difference in expenditures?
Andy Evans, VP of Finances: As a senior staff, they looked at every single division and made some decisions that we would decrease some 30 positions. When someone retires we look and see if that work can be spread among the existing workers. But you balance that off with the trends of the past 10 years where the need for personnel has gone up.
Emily Bogue, Student At Large: This is about the home stay policy. I'm sure part of it is motivated by the financial aid policy. I know that 43% of the students are not on financial aid. Would it make sense to let in more first years? Really the interest should be turning out the most number of alumnae as possible. My other question is about Community. A lot of questions and complaints students make could be fixed with low-cost output. We should set up a fund to answer those complaints.
Andy Evans, VP of Finances: The idea about the first year students is a bad idea because you increase the yield but decrease selectivity & quality. We want this school to remain selective. Sometimes the issues on Community bother me but I try to look at them in a positive way.
Sandy Naing, Student At Large: So when you talk about tuition does that include room and board when studying abroad?
Andy Evans, VP of Finances: On your financial statement it will say student revenue. On that statement it will have total for tuition and then room and board. So there is a distinction. We collect tuition and then send that tuition to the other institution for study aboard. One final comment: If you have any questions feel free to look at the website, or shoot by my office Green 146.
Andy: I really want to commend your two colleagues who just talked about the BAC so I will skip over some of these topics. I am in Green Hall 126. On the website there is something called the financial FAQ. The effort today is to answer the top 10 questions you should ask about Wellesley Finances.
1.How many students are applying to the institution this year compared to previous years?
4000- Why is this important? It shows the strength of the institution and also tuition represents a third of our budget. Tuition is really providing less than half of the overall revenue. Therefore we need to continue to strengthen our recruitment. We should continue to improve year by year.
2. What are the comprehensive fees currently?
$41,000. We don't go public with the fee for next year but we do have a range that was voted on at the last meeting.
3. What are the projected financial aid needs of the students who enroll?
The financial aid budget in 2006 is $195 million and from that $2.8 million is for financial aid. The percentage of students on financial aid is 57%. We are committed to need-blind admissions. But there is a problem that the tuition increases. The institution has to make up the difference in aid year by year. The students on aid in the upper classes is higher than in lower classes. We are higher than other COFHE schools.
4. How do financial aid expenditures of peer institutions compare to Wellesley?
We are higher than other COFHE schools.
5. How many students are in the first year admitted class?
585 students. Total student size is 2147 depending on the semester. The number of students on campus will be different from the fall to the
6. At what level, and with what certainty, will the institution's primary sources of financial support continue to provide funds in the future? What are the primary sources?
The Endowment provides about 21.5 million out of the 32.8 million allocated to financial aid. So a very tiny amount comes from the government and it hasn't changed for 30 years. Alumnae gifts contribute about 3.6 million. The unrestricted budget also gives about 5.7 million.
7. What is the value of the endowment? How well is it expected to perform?
1.3 billion. Jane Mandillo is the chief investment officer and she is fantastic. We invest in stocks and bonds, in an aggressive, but well researched way.
8.Has fundraising been successful in the current campaign? What happens after the campaign is finished?
We did have a capital campaign. Our original plan was 400 million but we raised 472 million. We look forward to including all of you later on in future campaigns.
9. Do we try and control our expenses?
We are trying to limit the number of positions that we have on campus, so we have a review board to make sure there are not extra positions. 50% of our budget is really wrapped up in salaries. We have been somewhat successful, but we do have high costs.
Emily Pighetti, WASAC: I was wondering what the per capita cost was.
4000- Why is this important? It shows the strength of the institution and also tuition represents a third of our budget. Tuition is really providing less than half of the overall revenue. Therefore we need to continue to strengthen our recruitment. We should continue to improve year by year.
2. What are the comprehensive fees currently?
$41,000. We don't go public with the fee for next year but we do have a range that was voted on at the last meeting.
3. What are the projected financial aid needs of the students who enroll?
The financial aid budget in 2006 is $195 million and from that $2.8 million is for financial aid. The percentage of students on financial aid is 57%. We are committed to need-blind admissions. But there is a problem that the tuition increases. The institution has to make up the difference in aid year by year. The students on aid in the upper classes is higher than in lower classes. We are higher than other COFHE schools.
4. How do financial aid expenditures of peer institutions compare to Wellesley?
We are higher than other COFHE schools.
5. How many students are in the first year admitted class?
585 students. Total student size is 2147 depending on the semester. The number of students on campus will be different from the fall to the
6. At what level, and with what certainty, will the institution's primary sources of financial support continue to provide funds in the future? What are the primary sources?
The Endowment provides about 21.5 million out of the 32.8 million allocated to financial aid. So a very tiny amount comes from the government and it hasn't changed for 30 years. Alumnae gifts contribute about 3.6 million. The unrestricted budget also gives about 5.7 million.
7. What is the value of the endowment? How well is it expected to perform?
1.3 billion. Jane Mandillo is the chief investment officer and she is fantastic. We invest in stocks and bonds, in an aggressive, but well researched way.
8.Has fundraising been successful in the current campaign? What happens after the campaign is finished?
We did have a capital campaign. Our original plan was 400 million but we raised 472 million. We look forward to including all of you later on in future campaigns.
9. Do we try and control our expenses?
We are trying to limit the number of positions that we have on campus, so we have a review board to make sure there are not extra positions. 50% of our budget is really wrapped up in salaries. We have been somewhat successful, but we do have high costs.
Andy Evans, VP of Finances: It doesn't really cost us 40,000 per student, it really costs us double that. And how can we do that? An incredible endowment supporting our institution. It's an incredible statement of the quality of the education we offer.
Daria Axelrod, Claflin: Very often there are threads on Community with complaints about renovations and what not. What are the major reasons why those complaints have not been answered?
Andy Evans, VP of Finance: It's a very good question that exists at every institution. No matter what your revenues are, a non-profit institution will spend as much as it can because we have strong values. It's hard to know where we should put the money. This summer we are doing an evaluation of where we should be putting the money.
Catherine Lee, Republicans: One of the questions is what does the college do to reduce its expenditure - if you were to make a cut what would go first?
Andy Evans, VP of Finances: It's not a simple question. So you have to have an across the board look at what your spending and why your spending it. I think the utilities this year is a key example. On December 15 we realized that the cost of oil has gone up thus our costs have rocketed. You look at a university like Tulane University and they did what they had to do in a short period of time.
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: Students have asked questions about the meal plan and study abroad. Could you discuss what your best understanding of how things are financed and what you would respond about something along those lines?
Andy Evans, VP of Finances: Well you have the dining program and the costs go up every year. On the other hand you want to allow more students to go abroad every year. They are two different situations.
Ashira Greene, Claflin: I was wondering about the expendability of employees at the college. Are there enough positions that can be consolidated to make a difference in expenditures?
Andy Evans, VP of Finances: As a senior staff, they looked at every single division and made some decisions that we would decrease some 30 positions. When someone retires we look and see if that work can be spread among the existing workers. But you balance that off with the trends of the past 10 years where the need for personnel has gone up.
Emily Bogue, Student At Large: This is about the home stay policy. I'm sure part of it is motivated by the financial aid policy. I know that 43% of the students are not on financial aid. Would it make sense to let in more first years? Really the interest should be turning out the most number of alumnae as possible. My other question is about Community. A lot of questions and complaints students make could be fixed with low-cost output. We should set up a fund to answer those complaints.
Andy Evans, VP of Finances: The idea about the first year students is a bad idea because you increase the yield but decrease selectivity & quality. We want this school to remain selective. Sometimes the issues on Community bother me but I try to look at them in a positive way.
Sandy Naing, Student At Large: So when you talk about tuition does that include room and board when studying abroad?
Andy Evans, VP of Finances: On your financial statement it will say student revenue. On that statement it will have total for tuition and then room and board. So there is a distinction. We collect tuition and then send that tuition to the other institution for study aboard. One final comment: If you have any questions feel free to look at the website, or shoot by my office Green 146.
E. Alumnae Achivement Awards Announcement (Katherine Langmaid)
Lindsey Boylan, CG President: Now moving to open discussion we have Katherine Langmaid here to discuss the Alumnae achievement awards which are this week!
Katherine Langmaid: I am Katherine Langmaid. As you all know the Alumnae Achievement Awards are this year. They have presented annually since 1970. Going to this ceremony is your opportunity to attend the highest honor the college bestows.
The first recipient is Persis Drell. She was named by Discover magazine as one of the fifty most important women in science.
The Second recipient is Nora Ephron. She was written such films as Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle. She has gotten various award nominations.
And then for people that are more interested in stars and planets, we have an astronaut in NASA, Pamela Melroy. She served as an astronaut on two missions. Both of those missions traveled to the international space station. Please encourage your fellow students to come. You can contact Angela Pierce Robins (apeers(at)wellesley.edu) if you can't make the ticket distribution.
Lindsey Boylan, CG President: We are really excited about this. How are the women chosen?
Katherine Langmaid: Any alumna can be chosen for the award. Once she receives the nomination we do tons and tons of research on her. We go through hours and hours of deliberation to make sure that they are the front women on their field. The entire process takes about 11 months. An alumna could be on the docket for years before she receives the award.
Katherine Langmaid: I am Katherine Langmaid. As you all know the Alumnae Achievement Awards are this year. They have presented annually since 1970. Going to this ceremony is your opportunity to attend the highest honor the college bestows.
The first recipient is Persis Drell. She was named by Discover magazine as one of the fifty most important women in science.
The Second recipient is Nora Ephron. She was written such films as Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle. She has gotten various award nominations.
And then for people that are more interested in stars and planets, we have an astronaut in NASA, Pamela Melroy. She served as an astronaut on two missions. Both of those missions traveled to the international space station. Please encourage your fellow students to come. You can contact Angela Pierce Robins (apeers(at)wellesley.edu) if you can't make the ticket distribution.
Lindsey Boylan, CG President: We are really excited about this. How are the women chosen?
Katherine Langmaid: Any alumna can be chosen for the award. Once she receives the nomination we do tons and tons of research on her. We go through hours and hours of deliberation to make sure that they are the front women on their field. The entire process takes about 11 months. An alumna could be on the docket for years before she receives the award.
V. Dean of Students' Corner
A. Deans Kim Goff-Crews and Michelle Lepore
Kim Goff-Crews, Dean of Students: It's nice to see everybody. We already had a trustee meeting this month. We talked about the direction we should think about for the new PERA director. It's a big step for us to think about the new director, and possibly restructuring the department. The trustees are very interested. If you have any issues then let me know. We are also looking at the issue of residential space on campus. One of the things we want to talk about is how we want to improve the res halls. Diana is having her office hours. Her open office hours will be from 12:30 to 1:30 4 times this semester. I also want to mention that we had a successful high tea and we are going to have another one on February 14.
So let me talk a little bit about the party ban. So you know last year we instituted a ban on larger scale parties. We are talking about those parties that were specifically in the sports center, and known to draw large numbers of people. This went into effect last year after Dyke Ball. There were actually 11 students that had to go to the hospital. The police were very concerned that "the irresponsibility of the consumption of alcohol" makes it difficult for them to handle the students. As a result of this we decided on the party ban. We want to lift the ban and not to have a dry campus but we really want to lower this high-risk behavior. The ban will be lifted when this number of transported students goes down. This has to be a collaboration between students and it really has to be a student led initiative. I am happy to say that last semester there were a number of ways that student leaders took on this initiative. There have been more interesting events like the block party and the party after the basketball tournament. The administrators are trying to come up with the changes like the 9-1am party time, which didn't work. So it's back to 10-2am. The number of transports this past semester was 25 students and last year it was 25. So it hasn't gone down but at least it hasn't gone up.
We really want to get his down so we are working closely with Meri Smith. Please do not rely only on student leaders. Those students that do drink responsibly should work with the student who does not drink responsibly. This is really a campus-wide issue.
Michelle Lepore, Dean of Students: The Alcohol and Drug committee made changes last semester. The one thing we had to add on was Appendix A. We are hoping that we can bring this later in the semester to talk about this new policy. The Drug Policy revisions are posted so you can see what that is and you can also look at the law about drug paraphernalia. Also we talked about a program on mental health screening online. You can take a quiz on bi-polar disorder and eating disorders, depression, and alcohol abuse. We can say that this went up at the beginning of this semester.
There are 16 groups that might run out of the counseling center. We highlight a topic and see if there is student interest. It is a great way for students to deal with issues like transitioning about of Wellesley. The counseling center is also going to run there or four different workshops.
Link to Counseling Center Groups: http://www.wellesley.edu/Counseling/g_wflyers.html
Link to on-line screening: http://www.wellesley.edu/DeanStudent/LocalOnly/screen.html
Melanie Carter, McAfee: I was wondering if issues with water and utility, who do you go to that for that. There have been repeated instances where we have cold water. The problem keeps coming up. We had to take a trip to the sports center for hot water.
Kim Goff-Crews, Dean of Students: Peter Zuraw.
Edlyn Yuen, Pomeroy: There are several outlets that are missing on campus that could really decrease the need for gathering and drinking. There isn't a lot to do besides lectures and whatnot.
Kim Goff-Crews, Dean of Students: We agree with you. We really want to try and have a variety of events. We definitely need a warmer campus.
Sophie Kim, CPLA chair: At what point will the administration be able to say that the goal has been achieved? You mentioned the number of transports, so is it that empirical data of the transports that you want to go down?
Kim Goff-Crews, Dean of Students: It's a combination. We really want there to be a change. We also want to hear from campus police that they feel more comfortable with the smaller numbers.
Catherine Day, Chief Justice: When you say high risk drinking, how do you define that? How have health services and the police department tried to make changes?
Kim Goff-Crews, Dean of Students: If you are severely debilitated and are at risk of physical danger that is considered high risk drinking. There has been a lot of collaboration with the party planners.
Michelle Lepore, Dean of Students: We really want to see students change their behaviors.
Emily Pighetti, WASAC: I assure you that students are talking about this. But there is a concern that you are pushing high risk drinking off campus.
Kim Goff-Crews, Dean of Students: Hopefully better behavior on campus will translate to behavior off campus.
Daria Axelrod, Claflin: We discussed earlier how we compare financially to other COFHE schools. Do you have stats on drinking behavior in comparison to other schools?
Kim Goff-Crews, Dean of Students: With coed schools there is more high risk drinking but there is a trend with women's colleges recently that show that high-risk drinking is increasing among women.
Daria Axelrod, Claflin: How do we specifically compare to a school like Smith?
Kim Goff-Crews, Dean of Students: I don't have those numbers but I would be more than happy to get that information. But we are really responsible for you and Smith is Smith.
Emily Bogue, Student at Large: Do you have the stats of the number of good Samaritan policy?
Michelle Lepore, Dean of Students: We can get that information.
Emily Bogue, Student at Large: What is the correlation between high-risk drinking and parties? If that number is the same but we don't have parties then they must not be related.
Kim Goff-Crews, Dean of Students: We have seen a great number of good Samaritan cases. We want people to feel free to come forward. So we have to get the numbers for you. When you have large scale parties, for some reason those are instances where there was a lot of high risk drinking. Our stats show that this is constantly going up at an alarming rate. There are definitely other issues that don't have to do with high risk drinking in general.
Shelly Anand, CG Sec/Tres: I think the mental health quiz is a great idea but I think it might be more dangerous to have quiz that tells you that you have bipolar disorder.
Michelle Lepore, Dean of Students: No it's for Wellesley to learn general data and it's anonymous. It asks a variety of questions about behaviors and feelings and it rates you on mental health and concerns that a professional would have about these behaviors. It is something to guide you.
Kim Goff-Crews, Dean of Students: There are a number of students who feel uncomfortable with going to the Stone Center so this is just an additional resource for them to assess where they are.
Michelle Lepore, Dean of Students: We have heard a lot from students about the drinking culture on campus and we want to continue doing that with you.
So let me talk a little bit about the party ban. So you know last year we instituted a ban on larger scale parties. We are talking about those parties that were specifically in the sports center, and known to draw large numbers of people. This went into effect last year after Dyke Ball. There were actually 11 students that had to go to the hospital. The police were very concerned that "the irresponsibility of the consumption of alcohol" makes it difficult for them to handle the students. As a result of this we decided on the party ban. We want to lift the ban and not to have a dry campus but we really want to lower this high-risk behavior. The ban will be lifted when this number of transported students goes down. This has to be a collaboration between students and it really has to be a student led initiative. I am happy to say that last semester there were a number of ways that student leaders took on this initiative. There have been more interesting events like the block party and the party after the basketball tournament. The administrators are trying to come up with the changes like the 9-1am party time, which didn't work. So it's back to 10-2am. The number of transports this past semester was 25 students and last year it was 25. So it hasn't gone down but at least it hasn't gone up.
We really want to get his down so we are working closely with Meri Smith. Please do not rely only on student leaders. Those students that do drink responsibly should work with the student who does not drink responsibly. This is really a campus-wide issue.
Michelle Lepore, Dean of Students: The Alcohol and Drug committee made changes last semester. The one thing we had to add on was Appendix A. We are hoping that we can bring this later in the semester to talk about this new policy. The Drug Policy revisions are posted so you can see what that is and you can also look at the law about drug paraphernalia. Also we talked about a program on mental health screening online. You can take a quiz on bi-polar disorder and eating disorders, depression, and alcohol abuse. We can say that this went up at the beginning of this semester.
There are 16 groups that might run out of the counseling center. We highlight a topic and see if there is student interest. It is a great way for students to deal with issues like transitioning about of Wellesley. The counseling center is also going to run there or four different workshops.
Link to Counseling Center Groups: http://www.wellesley.edu/Counseling/g_wflyers.html
Link to on-line screening: http://www.wellesley.edu/DeanStudent/LocalOnly/screen.html
Melanie Carter, McAfee: I was wondering if issues with water and utility, who do you go to that for that. There have been repeated instances where we have cold water. The problem keeps coming up. We had to take a trip to the sports center for hot water.
Kim Goff-Crews, Dean of Students: Peter Zuraw.
Edlyn Yuen, Pomeroy: There are several outlets that are missing on campus that could really decrease the need for gathering and drinking. There isn't a lot to do besides lectures and whatnot.
Kim Goff-Crews, Dean of Students: We agree with you. We really want to try and have a variety of events. We definitely need a warmer campus.
Sophie Kim, CPLA chair: At what point will the administration be able to say that the goal has been achieved? You mentioned the number of transports, so is it that empirical data of the transports that you want to go down?
Kim Goff-Crews, Dean of Students: It's a combination. We really want there to be a change. We also want to hear from campus police that they feel more comfortable with the smaller numbers.
Catherine Day, Chief Justice: When you say high risk drinking, how do you define that? How have health services and the police department tried to make changes?
Kim Goff-Crews, Dean of Students: If you are severely debilitated and are at risk of physical danger that is considered high risk drinking. There has been a lot of collaboration with the party planners.
Michelle Lepore, Dean of Students: We really want to see students change their behaviors.
Emily Pighetti, WASAC: I assure you that students are talking about this. But there is a concern that you are pushing high risk drinking off campus.
Kim Goff-Crews, Dean of Students: Hopefully better behavior on campus will translate to behavior off campus.
Daria Axelrod, Claflin: We discussed earlier how we compare financially to other COFHE schools. Do you have stats on drinking behavior in comparison to other schools?
Kim Goff-Crews, Dean of Students: With coed schools there is more high risk drinking but there is a trend with women's colleges recently that show that high-risk drinking is increasing among women.
Daria Axelrod, Claflin: How do we specifically compare to a school like Smith?
Kim Goff-Crews, Dean of Students: I don't have those numbers but I would be more than happy to get that information. But we are really responsible for you and Smith is Smith.
Emily Bogue, Student at Large: Do you have the stats of the number of good Samaritan policy?
Michelle Lepore, Dean of Students: We can get that information.
Emily Bogue, Student at Large: What is the correlation between high-risk drinking and parties? If that number is the same but we don't have parties then they must not be related.
Kim Goff-Crews, Dean of Students: We have seen a great number of good Samaritan cases. We want people to feel free to come forward. So we have to get the numbers for you. When you have large scale parties, for some reason those are instances where there was a lot of high risk drinking. Our stats show that this is constantly going up at an alarming rate. There are definitely other issues that don't have to do with high risk drinking in general.
Shelly Anand, CG Sec/Tres: I think the mental health quiz is a great idea but I think it might be more dangerous to have quiz that tells you that you have bipolar disorder.
Michelle Lepore, Dean of Students: No it's for Wellesley to learn general data and it's anonymous. It asks a variety of questions about behaviors and feelings and it rates you on mental health and concerns that a professional would have about these behaviors. It is something to guide you.
Kim Goff-Crews, Dean of Students: There are a number of students who feel uncomfortable with going to the Stone Center so this is just an additional resource for them to assess where they are.
Michelle Lepore, Dean of Students: We have heard a lot from students about the drinking culture on campus and we want to continue doing that with you.
VI. Beyond the Bubble (Sophie Kim, CPLA Chair)
A. Gonzales Defends Legality of Surveillance
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee today on the legality of the President's controversial domestic surveillance program. The Attorney General defended the program as constitutional and vital to national security in a time of terrorism. He faced tough questioning by committee members on the limits of presidential authority.
B. Midterm Elections Loom Large
According to political analysts, not since 1994 has the party in power -- in this case the Republicans -- faced such a midterm election landscape as they do presently. Democrats are poised to gain seats in the House and in the Senate for the first time since 2000. The difference between modest gains (a few seats in the Senate and fewer than 10 in the House) and significant gains (half a dozen in the Senate and well more than a dozen in the House) is where the battle for control of Congress will be fought. The contest begins with Republicans holding 231 House seats and Democrats holding 201, with one Democrat-leaning independent and two vacancies, split between the parties. Democrats need to gain 15 seats to dethrone the GOP majority. In the Senate, Republicans hold 55 seats to the Democrats' 44, with one Democrat-leaning independent. Democrats need six more seats to take power.
Look out for races in the following states: California . Arizona. Montana. Colorado. New Mexico. Texas . Minnesota . Iowa . Illinois . Ohio . Florida . Pennsylvania . New York . New Jersey . Rhode Island . Connecticut
Look out for races in the following states: California . Arizona. Montana. Colorado. New Mexico. Texas . Minnesota . Iowa . Illinois . Ohio . Florida . Pennsylvania . New York . New Jersey . Rhode Island . Connecticut
C. Conservative Sworn in as New Canadian PM
Stephen Harper, 46, was sworn in today as new prime minister of Canada. Harper belongs to the conservative party.
D. Protests Grow Over Muhammad Drawings
Protests over the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad that were first published in a Danish periodical in September and recently reprinted in European and other media continue to grow. Washington and other world leaders condemn the violence. Key developments Monday in the controversy surrounding the caricatures include violence in Afghanistan, Iran and northern Somalia.
E. Massachusetts Gubernatorial Candidates Gear Up
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick scored multiple victories at Democratic caucuses this past weekend, trouncing Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly, a two-term statewide office holder. Delegate slates pledged to Patrick, the former top federal civil rights prosecutor and business executive, rolled up margins at local party meetings that will give him close to a 2-to-1 advantage over Reilly in the count of committed delegates, according to several Democratic Party strategists around the state.
The results mean that Patrick and Reilly are both likely to win the 15 percent of delegates necessary to get on the ballot in September. The caucus is the first step in a road that leads next to the June party convention, then to the Sept. 19 primary and, for the winner of the primary, the general election on Nov. 7.
Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey is running on the Republican ticket, and Christy Mihos is deciding whether to run as a Republican or an independent.
The results mean that Patrick and Reilly are both likely to win the 15 percent of delegates necessary to get on the ballot in September. The caucus is the first step in a road that leads next to the June party convention, then to the Sept. 19 primary and, for the winner of the primary, the general election on Nov. 7.
Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey is running on the Republican ticket, and Christy Mihos is deciding whether to run as a Republican or an independent.
F. Friends, Family Eulogize Feminist Friedan
Betty Friedan, who authored the 1963 manifesto Feminist Mystique, was eulogized Monday as a feminist pioneer. Colleagues from the women's movement as well as her three children and their families were among more than 300 mourners at the funeral for Friedan, who died of congestive heart failure Saturday on her 85th birthday.
G. Mourners Line Up to Say Goodbye to King
Hundreds of mourners joined family members and celebrities at Ebenezer Baptist Church on Monday to pay their respects to Coretta Scott King, widow of the late Martin Luther King, Jr. King died on Jan. 30 at age 78. During the weekend, some 42,000 mourners visited King's open casket at the state Capitol, where she became the first woman and the first black person to lie in honor there.
H. On this day: February 6
2005: British Prime Minister Tony Blair became the Labour Party's longest-serving prime minister. In 1997, Blair became the youngest premier of the 20th century, when he came to power at the age of 43.
VII. Cabinet Announcements
VIII. Adjourn
