Home >> Archives >> 02.27.06 Minutes
Attachments
I. Roll Call/Agenda
II. Old Business
A. Constitution Amendment Vote (Sophie Kim, CPLA Chair)
Lindsey Boylan, CG President: We have a packed agenda tonight but first I wanted to announce the CG Elections Informational meeting this Friday at 4:30 pm here in the Academic Council Room. First, will the CPLA Chair, Sophie Kim, please approach the podium to discuss the Constitution Amendment Vote.
Sophie Kim: So two weeks ago I came and presented the constitutional amendment for the Elections process so I am here tonight so we can vote on that.
Lindsey Boylan: Questions before we take a vote to approve the Constitution Changes?
Sophie Kim: So two weeks ago I came and presented the constitutional amendment for the Elections process so I am here tonight so we can vote on that.
Lindsey Boylan: Questions before we take a vote to approve the Constitution Changes?
III. New Business
A. Emergency Funding Allocations and Lecture Funding Allocations (Cortni Jones, Student Bursar)
Lindsey Boylan, CG President: Moving on to New Business, will the Student Bursar, Cortni Jones, please approach the podium to discuss Emergency Funding and Lectures Funding Allocations.
Cortni Jones, Student Bursar: We are going to go through the lecture funding quickly and then we'll do emergency funding.
Edlyn Yuen, Pomeroy: The total student activities fee was $443,390.00. Out of all that money 12% is given to lectures funding. There are five deadlines and the lectures funding that we are doing is the last out of these deadlines. So for February, 25% was given for lectures. Each organization can have one event for one deadline. None of the organizations can apply retroactively. For this we had $14.349.44. Since there was left over from before. So SOFC decided to not accept any late applications. Under our constitution we can allow for 60% of the money requested, or $500, whichever is greater. There was an across the board cut of 75% because there was only one deadline in the Spring and we had a lot of applications.
Cortni Jones, Student Bursar: On the back of the lecture funding handout there is a list of the organizations. The column under amount requested is the amount they had on their applications. Justifications for the deductions are found on the first page. The column labeled "amount allocated" is the actual amount after we cut that 75%. Next we will talk about Emergency funding then take all questions.
Karla Paola Reyes, Munger: The total amount to be allocated for Emergency funding is $22,169.50. There are two deadlines: one in the fall and one in the Spring. We voted not to accept late applications which is something we have done all year. We review the SOFC constitution to receive the emergency funding procedures. This consists of us putting all organizations into three tiers. We wanted to try a new venue. We went into a room with one computer and we reviewed the budgets together to establish precedent and kept a rolling tally due to the nature of the deadline. So after leaving there were a number of concerns that were brought to our attention, such as organizations not putting themselves under the correct tier. Several organizations defined themselves as Tier 2 when they were really Tier 3. SOFC had to follow the chronological order in which the application was submitted. This was an oversight. Our original funding had to revise and we had to correct the mistakes. There are three new organizations that have not received funding in the last three years. There were no correctly defined tier 2 organizations. Moving to Tier 3 first there was Mock Trial and Prism. Amount allocated is the amount that will show up in their bank account.
Taylor Holloway, Japan Club: The total amount of funds did not change but different organizations were bumped from the stipulation list. Senate approval is needed. SOFC is considering several process changes to prevent errors in the future. We will have a SOFC member to look over the applications to make sure the organizations place themselves in the correct Tier. Finally we will discuss in meetings how to best put forth the SOFC constitution.
Mona Minkara: The reason for deduction for this says number five and there is no number five on the key.
Cortni Jones, Student Bursar: Oh, I cut and pasted it so it must be the original one; and look back to my notes for the meeting.
(See attachment)
Catherine Lee, Republicans: On the sheet you said that there is a subcommittee to find outside funding. What has that committee found besides SOFC and CLCE?
Cortni Jones, Student Bursar: Some of our committee members have found a lot of endowed funds with very specific types of lectures. We have discussed with CLCE student members what exactly should we do when people want big speakers. We have had limited success with pools. There is a lot of success with finding money for specific types of lectures.
Catherine Lee, Republicans: What is the standard amount allocated from the Dean's and President's offices?
Cortni Jones: That is up to the decision of those offices.
Shayla Adams, Ethos: Is the cut due to the fact that there were more organizations applying this term versus last semester?
Taylor Holloway, Japan Club: A big difference was that orgs were asking for large amounts of money. The amount we have for each lecture funding is set from the beginning. A lot of people wanted large amounts, one group even asked for $20,000. Some of the amounts were more than the lecture funding for the year.
Cortni Jones, Student Bursar: The framers of this piece of the constitution were looking at it being a supplemental funding source rather than a final funding source. We encourage people to plan ahead but perhaps February is as early as it can get.
Lindsey Boylan, CG President: Some people in House Council might have difficulty understanding, can you tell the senators how to best explain these processes?
Cortni Jones, Student Bursar: Please refer to the sheet that I handed out. Please also clarify that this mistake came to our attention after SOFC had come together and worked on this and after the email had been sent out. If a constituent ever wants to see me in person, if people are concerned about a SOFC issue, please come in contact with a SOFC member face to face.
Cortni Jones, Student Bursar: We are going to go through the lecture funding quickly and then we'll do emergency funding.
Edlyn Yuen, Pomeroy: The total student activities fee was $443,390.00. Out of all that money 12% is given to lectures funding. There are five deadlines and the lectures funding that we are doing is the last out of these deadlines. So for February, 25% was given for lectures. Each organization can have one event for one deadline. None of the organizations can apply retroactively. For this we had $14.349.44. Since there was left over from before. So SOFC decided to not accept any late applications. Under our constitution we can allow for 60% of the money requested, or $500, whichever is greater. There was an across the board cut of 75% because there was only one deadline in the Spring and we had a lot of applications.
Cortni Jones, Student Bursar: On the back of the lecture funding handout there is a list of the organizations. The column under amount requested is the amount they had on their applications. Justifications for the deductions are found on the first page. The column labeled "amount allocated" is the actual amount after we cut that 75%. Next we will talk about Emergency funding then take all questions.
Karla Paola Reyes, Munger: The total amount to be allocated for Emergency funding is $22,169.50. There are two deadlines: one in the fall and one in the Spring. We voted not to accept late applications which is something we have done all year. We review the SOFC constitution to receive the emergency funding procedures. This consists of us putting all organizations into three tiers. We wanted to try a new venue. We went into a room with one computer and we reviewed the budgets together to establish precedent and kept a rolling tally due to the nature of the deadline. So after leaving there were a number of concerns that were brought to our attention, such as organizations not putting themselves under the correct tier. Several organizations defined themselves as Tier 2 when they were really Tier 3. SOFC had to follow the chronological order in which the application was submitted. This was an oversight. Our original funding had to revise and we had to correct the mistakes. There are three new organizations that have not received funding in the last three years. There were no correctly defined tier 2 organizations. Moving to Tier 3 first there was Mock Trial and Prism. Amount allocated is the amount that will show up in their bank account.
Taylor Holloway, Japan Club: The total amount of funds did not change but different organizations were bumped from the stipulation list. Senate approval is needed. SOFC is considering several process changes to prevent errors in the future. We will have a SOFC member to look over the applications to make sure the organizations place themselves in the correct Tier. Finally we will discuss in meetings how to best put forth the SOFC constitution.
Mona Minkara: The reason for deduction for this says number five and there is no number five on the key.
Cortni Jones, Student Bursar: Oh, I cut and pasted it so it must be the original one; and look back to my notes for the meeting.
(See attachment)
Catherine Lee, Republicans: On the sheet you said that there is a subcommittee to find outside funding. What has that committee found besides SOFC and CLCE?
Cortni Jones, Student Bursar: Some of our committee members have found a lot of endowed funds with very specific types of lectures. We have discussed with CLCE student members what exactly should we do when people want big speakers. We have had limited success with pools. There is a lot of success with finding money for specific types of lectures.
Catherine Lee, Republicans: What is the standard amount allocated from the Dean's and President's offices?
Cortni Jones: That is up to the decision of those offices.
Shayla Adams, Ethos: Is the cut due to the fact that there were more organizations applying this term versus last semester?
Taylor Holloway, Japan Club: A big difference was that orgs were asking for large amounts of money. The amount we have for each lecture funding is set from the beginning. A lot of people wanted large amounts, one group even asked for $20,000. Some of the amounts were more than the lecture funding for the year.
Cortni Jones, Student Bursar: The framers of this piece of the constitution were looking at it being a supplemental funding source rather than a final funding source. We encourage people to plan ahead but perhaps February is as early as it can get.
Lindsey Boylan, CG President: Some people in House Council might have difficulty understanding, can you tell the senators how to best explain these processes?
Cortni Jones, Student Bursar: Please refer to the sheet that I handed out. Please also clarify that this mistake came to our attention after SOFC had come together and worked on this and after the email had been sent out. If a constituent ever wants to see me in person, if people are concerned about a SOFC issue, please come in contact with a SOFC member face to face.
B. Elections Committee Members (Michel Ballard, CGVP)
Lindsey Boylan, CG President: Will the CGVP, Michel Ballard, please approach the podium to present on the Elections Committee Members.
Michel Ballard, CG Vice President: I am here to announce the three SOAC appointed members to the Elections Committee. Again you will be voting on the process not the names. The applications are submitted to a closed conference and the applicants are interviewed by SOAC and Cabinet members. The appointees are Leslie Kim, Ellie Blume, & Meagan Froemming. I also wanted to thank SOAC for helping with the Presidents Tea this weekend it went really well!
Michel Ballard, CG Vice President: I am here to announce the three SOAC appointed members to the Elections Committee. Again you will be voting on the process not the names. The applications are submitted to a closed conference and the applicants are interviewed by SOAC and Cabinet members. The appointees are Leslie Kim, Ellie Blume, & Meagan Froemming. I also wanted to thank SOAC for helping with the Presidents Tea this weekend it went really well!
IV. Open Discussion
A. Campus Wide Energy and Substainability Efforts (Kate Salop, Executive Assistant and Peter Zuraw, Asst.VP & Dir.Physical Plant)
Lindsey Boylan, CG President: Will Kate Salop, Executive Assistant, and Peter Zuraw, Asst.VP & Dir.Physical Plant, please approach the podium to discuss the campus wide energy and sustainability efforts.
Kate Salop, Executive Assistant: Thank you for having us here and let me know if you can't hear me. I am here to talk about recycling and energy initiatives on campus. We are working on putting in to place sustainability measures, and creating a message about them. This is a message that we are taking to a number of different bodies. I am here on behalf of the sustainability committee. It's a multi-constituency committee and is charged by the President. We advise her on steps that should be made to further the sustainability on campus. One of the things that has been interesting for us on this Commission is to find out what has been happening that people don't necessarily know where they are making decisions that are sustainable. But very often there hasn't been the opportunity to publicize. One of the things we decided to do is take part in recycle mania. We thought this would be a good way to inform the community about recycling on campus and the importance of it. So recycle mania is a nine-week contest from a wide variety of schools. This is a very diverse group. Wellesley submits reports each week of our paper recycling and cardboard recycling. We know that you are doing a good job in your res halls. I feel like one of my missions is to get the administrative staff to start working on this. We are trying to get this message out to them. But all of you are in these departments so we really want you to encourage the Professors to recycle. We are trying to get a cultural shift in place. We also are trying to extend a mixed paper-recycling program in place. The physical plant is about to launch a container-recycling program in the campus center. For now we can take our bottles and cans behind Schneider. We would really appreciate your feedback. We are talking about recycling and to some that does not seem like a big deal but we are talking about ways that we can reuse and that we are doing our part to re-use products as much as possible. Our purchasing department is in touch to make sure recycling products are more available to all the departments and we are trying to make them all cost effective. Purchasing department worked hard to get furniture from wood that is non tropical and locally harvested. Information that a lot of people just don't know. We are in the process of putting together a website. We are really a week or two away from having it up. You can find out what resources are available.
Peter Zuraw, Asst.VP & Dir.Physical Plant: This is a process that has been going on for a long time now. I want to say thank you to Kate for making it more than just a financial issue. This is not just about short-term money and we hope that all of you can help us think about it that way. The diligence that all you took to put together all the good writing, the paper did a great job sharing those kinds of numbers. This is not in any way a compromise in who we are and how we are feeling. In the places where it is not necessary, where we can reduce waste. We are focusing on eliminating waste and moving forward. The performance in February looks good. We are closer to where we are from last year. Those things vary from year. Last September we are looking at 10% UP. In reality we are 15% down by this point in the year. In a parallel to the recycle mania we want to get an electrical metering process in place to help us in a competitive environment and save electric use. Dower and Tower are not ready yet. We are hoping to get this off next week. We want to get a little competition. We want to come up with a creative way to do this kind of competition. Keep the ideas coming so we can keep building a list of things that we can do.
Clara Peterson, Bates: I did not know about recycle mania has there been any pubbing?
Kate Salop, Executive Assistant: I have made some e-flyers made so I can send some more out.
Katie Landise, Severance: I work at Mail services and we get a lot of mass mailing from departments. Is there anyway that you can encourage departments to send these items electronically, or to not print in excess?
Kate Salop, Executive Assistant: This is something we have been working on them with, encouraging them to that.
Kate Salop, Executive Assistant: Thank you for having us here and let me know if you can't hear me. I am here to talk about recycling and energy initiatives on campus. We are working on putting in to place sustainability measures, and creating a message about them. This is a message that we are taking to a number of different bodies. I am here on behalf of the sustainability committee. It's a multi-constituency committee and is charged by the President. We advise her on steps that should be made to further the sustainability on campus. One of the things that has been interesting for us on this Commission is to find out what has been happening that people don't necessarily know where they are making decisions that are sustainable. But very often there hasn't been the opportunity to publicize. One of the things we decided to do is take part in recycle mania. We thought this would be a good way to inform the community about recycling on campus and the importance of it. So recycle mania is a nine-week contest from a wide variety of schools. This is a very diverse group. Wellesley submits reports each week of our paper recycling and cardboard recycling. We know that you are doing a good job in your res halls. I feel like one of my missions is to get the administrative staff to start working on this. We are trying to get this message out to them. But all of you are in these departments so we really want you to encourage the Professors to recycle. We are trying to get a cultural shift in place. We also are trying to extend a mixed paper-recycling program in place. The physical plant is about to launch a container-recycling program in the campus center. For now we can take our bottles and cans behind Schneider. We would really appreciate your feedback. We are talking about recycling and to some that does not seem like a big deal but we are talking about ways that we can reuse and that we are doing our part to re-use products as much as possible. Our purchasing department is in touch to make sure recycling products are more available to all the departments and we are trying to make them all cost effective. Purchasing department worked hard to get furniture from wood that is non tropical and locally harvested. Information that a lot of people just don't know. We are in the process of putting together a website. We are really a week or two away from having it up. You can find out what resources are available.
Peter Zuraw, Asst.VP & Dir.Physical Plant: This is a process that has been going on for a long time now. I want to say thank you to Kate for making it more than just a financial issue. This is not just about short-term money and we hope that all of you can help us think about it that way. The diligence that all you took to put together all the good writing, the paper did a great job sharing those kinds of numbers. This is not in any way a compromise in who we are and how we are feeling. In the places where it is not necessary, where we can reduce waste. We are focusing on eliminating waste and moving forward. The performance in February looks good. We are closer to where we are from last year. Those things vary from year. Last September we are looking at 10% UP. In reality we are 15% down by this point in the year. In a parallel to the recycle mania we want to get an electrical metering process in place to help us in a competitive environment and save electric use. Dower and Tower are not ready yet. We are hoping to get this off next week. We want to get a little competition. We want to come up with a creative way to do this kind of competition. Keep the ideas coming so we can keep building a list of things that we can do.
Clara Peterson, Bates: I did not know about recycle mania has there been any pubbing?
Kate Salop, Executive Assistant: I have made some e-flyers made so I can send some more out.
Katie Landise, Severance: I work at Mail services and we get a lot of mass mailing from departments. Is there anyway that you can encourage departments to send these items electronically, or to not print in excess?
Kate Salop, Executive Assistant: This is something we have been working on them with, encouraging them to that.
B. Statement of Intent and Vote (Elections Committee Senators)
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: Moving on to Open Discussion, will the candidates for the Elections Committee, Dana Montalto and Victoria Charoonatana, please come forward.
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: One at a time each of the students will give their statement of intent for one minute. The ballots are being passed out while they speak. They will be collected, you can choose two senators.
Dana Montalto, Tower Court: Hello, my name is Dana Montalto and I am one of the Tower Senators and I would love to be on this years' Elections Committee. I want to gain an inside perspective on the whole election process. I might be interested in running for a position later on, so I would like to fully understand the election process and be able to experience it from all three standpoints: voter, official, and candidate. I have never been part of an election committee before, but I am always happy to learn new things and I would put all my effort into this if I were elected. I never take on a new commitment without knowing that I will be able to carry its full responsibility and I am willing and excited to devote my time to this. I love finding new ways to contribute to Wellesley College and to take full advantage of my opportunities here, and I think that this would benefit me in both ways. I would be so happy to work with Lindsey, Sophie, and the other students to conduct a fair and exciting eelection.
Victoria Charoonratana, Davis : After serving on Senate for a semester, I have grown attached to College Government, to the people in it and to the various projects we undertake as a group. I wish to join the CG Elections Committee because I would like to have a greater role in the selection of, literally, our future leaders. In my first semester at Wellesley, I found it somewhat disconcerting that a large number of the students I spoke to were unaware of or indifferent to the various elections that were taking place around them. I firmly believe that strong participation from the Wellesley student body is especially crucial for the CG Elections, as these eight elected Cabinet members will be representing over 2,000 students to the faculty, administration, and wider community. I feel that my contribution to the committee lies in my commitment to College Government, my meticulous nature, and the seriousness with which I view this process. It is the combination of these qualities that will drive me to create the necessary e-flyers and posters, count and recount ballots, communicate with the candidates, and scrutinize the details of the debate. On a more personal note, I find election season to be an exciting time of year. Even though the elections will not take place for over another month, I can't wait to see the candidates' campaigns and hear their speeches. I hope to see you around the polls. Thank you for your time!
Kelsey Contreras, Parliamentarian: Thank-you. We will count the votes after Senate and post the results to the Student Senate Conference.
Lindsey Boylan, CG President, the two Senate representatives which we will elect by ballot tonight will join the larger elections committee. Next week at Senate we will again present all of the names of Elections committee members so the entire Wellesley community will know who will be working on the planning and implementation of CG elections this year with Sophie and I.
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: One at a time each of the students will give their statement of intent for one minute. The ballots are being passed out while they speak. They will be collected, you can choose two senators.
Dana Montalto, Tower Court: Hello, my name is Dana Montalto and I am one of the Tower Senators and I would love to be on this years' Elections Committee. I want to gain an inside perspective on the whole election process. I might be interested in running for a position later on, so I would like to fully understand the election process and be able to experience it from all three standpoints: voter, official, and candidate. I have never been part of an election committee before, but I am always happy to learn new things and I would put all my effort into this if I were elected. I never take on a new commitment without knowing that I will be able to carry its full responsibility and I am willing and excited to devote my time to this. I love finding new ways to contribute to Wellesley College and to take full advantage of my opportunities here, and I think that this would benefit me in both ways. I would be so happy to work with Lindsey, Sophie, and the other students to conduct a fair and exciting eelection.
Victoria Charoonratana, Davis : After serving on Senate for a semester, I have grown attached to College Government, to the people in it and to the various projects we undertake as a group. I wish to join the CG Elections Committee because I would like to have a greater role in the selection of, literally, our future leaders. In my first semester at Wellesley, I found it somewhat disconcerting that a large number of the students I spoke to were unaware of or indifferent to the various elections that were taking place around them. I firmly believe that strong participation from the Wellesley student body is especially crucial for the CG Elections, as these eight elected Cabinet members will be representing over 2,000 students to the faculty, administration, and wider community. I feel that my contribution to the committee lies in my commitment to College Government, my meticulous nature, and the seriousness with which I view this process. It is the combination of these qualities that will drive me to create the necessary e-flyers and posters, count and recount ballots, communicate with the candidates, and scrutinize the details of the debate. On a more personal note, I find election season to be an exciting time of year. Even though the elections will not take place for over another month, I can't wait to see the candidates' campaigns and hear their speeches. I hope to see you around the polls. Thank you for your time!
Kelsey Contreras, Parliamentarian: Thank-you. We will count the votes after Senate and post the results to the Student Senate Conference.
Lindsey Boylan, CG President, the two Senate representatives which we will elect by ballot tonight will join the larger elections committee. Next week at Senate we will again present all of the names of Elections committee members so the entire Wellesley community will know who will be working on the planning and implementation of CG elections this year with Sophie and I.
C. Hello from Campus Po (Police Chief Barbin)
Lindsey: Police Chief Barbin. This is Senate's first hello from Campus Po, and I would like to welcome Police Chief Lisa Barbin.
Police Chief Barbin: The police department operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We have forty student employees. All our officers are academy trained and they are fully armed - they are also town specialists. If you are walking around the streets of Wellesley you will see them as well. We have special investigators such as sexual crime investigators. We provide parking, special events, one card system and the escort shuttle. Some of the information that we disseminate is a log that we have in the Wellesley news. We also have a public log in the office. We have an outreach program. We really want the students to know the police officers. One of the new programs is called "building relations" and we work with different organizations and have dinner and have dialogue where everyone can talk about whatever they are feeling or hearing. It's not something I make the officers do. What I have seen is the positive interaction. Another thing is the C-Pop program where we have a police officer for each res hall. I really believe that this is a partnership.
Brooke Maurer, Freeman: There is a discussion going on on Community about harassing phone calls and I was wondering what the police departments action is for this?
Police Chief Barbin: We first look to see if it is internal or external. I haven't been made aware of that so if someone can bring that to me tonight.
Yang Qiu, Severance: People have been noticing that students who are taking classes during the day take the parking space on the first level and second level and Wellesley students have to park on the top level.
Police Chief Barbin: The first week when everyone came back was really challenging. Commuters are allowed to park in the garage. There would be considered students and will park on the student level. We are finding that the numbers are increasing. Construction for the most part will be ending and commuters will still park in the garage. Juniors from east side will go back to the D.C lot and that should really open up enough parking for them. I think after the two weeks we have really sorted it out.
Melanie Carter, McAfee: I have just been told by my HP that we don't' have a C-POP; apparently we don't have a lot of things
Police Chief Barbin: I'm going to guess that the officer that just left was assigned to McAfee.
Catherine Lee, Republicans: Are there any plans to build more parking?
Police Chief Barbin: To my knowledge there is not.
Catherine Day, Chief Justice: In the context those alcohols transports have taken place that has been labeled as a "mass casualty" can you explain what that is?
Police Chief Barbin: After you get to some any transports, it triggers a response to the media so that everyone gets involved. I thinks it's after 10 transports. They want to find out what it is.
Brooke Maurer, Freeman: Something that I have heard about the parking issue that they think it is unfair that East Side students pay the same amount to park since they live farther away from students in Tower. Is there any way we could prorate their fees?
Police Chief Barbin: It has never been brought up and we have never considered it. I would have to think more about it.
Natalie Ross, Tower: We have learned the numbers for alcohol cases and have noticed that the numbers have gone down for Good Samaritan cases. What has been the current trend?
Police Chief Barbin: Nothing is really different in what we are doing. We are just more aware of it.
Ashira Greene, Claflin: Can you compare this year to previous years as far as safety on campus?
Police Chief Barbin: The biggest thing I have noticed is the increase in medical ambulance calls. We have had about 26 calls that were non-alcohol related. But other than that everything else has been the same.
Melanie Carter, McAfee: You talked about moving junior to the DC lot but that takes them away from the Dower lottery?
Police Chief Barbin: Two years ago juniors were paring in the DC lot so I think we want to go back to that. We want to keep the seniors in the Dower lot.
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: I know that the Admissions office wants to get parking in the dower lot. Could you say whether the nunber allocated to those offices will remain the same or are there more parking spaces to be added for admissions office use only.
Police Chief Barbin: As of this past semester we have been able to accommodate all seniors.
Brooke Maurer, Freeman: People in certain locations have a higher tendency for parking tickets. Can you explain this discrepancy?
Police Chief Barbin: The highest problem area would have to be Lake House behind Claflin. That is where people seem to be getting most of the tickets. But parking has gone really well. I want to thank you and if you any questions please seek me out.
Police Chief Barbin: The police department operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We have forty student employees. All our officers are academy trained and they are fully armed - they are also town specialists. If you are walking around the streets of Wellesley you will see them as well. We have special investigators such as sexual crime investigators. We provide parking, special events, one card system and the escort shuttle. Some of the information that we disseminate is a log that we have in the Wellesley news. We also have a public log in the office. We have an outreach program. We really want the students to know the police officers. One of the new programs is called "building relations" and we work with different organizations and have dinner and have dialogue where everyone can talk about whatever they are feeling or hearing. It's not something I make the officers do. What I have seen is the positive interaction. Another thing is the C-Pop program where we have a police officer for each res hall. I really believe that this is a partnership.
Brooke Maurer, Freeman: There is a discussion going on on Community about harassing phone calls and I was wondering what the police departments action is for this?
Police Chief Barbin: We first look to see if it is internal or external. I haven't been made aware of that so if someone can bring that to me tonight.
Yang Qiu, Severance: People have been noticing that students who are taking classes during the day take the parking space on the first level and second level and Wellesley students have to park on the top level.
Police Chief Barbin: The first week when everyone came back was really challenging. Commuters are allowed to park in the garage. There would be considered students and will park on the student level. We are finding that the numbers are increasing. Construction for the most part will be ending and commuters will still park in the garage. Juniors from east side will go back to the D.C lot and that should really open up enough parking for them. I think after the two weeks we have really sorted it out.
Melanie Carter, McAfee: I have just been told by my HP that we don't' have a C-POP; apparently we don't have a lot of things
Police Chief Barbin: I'm going to guess that the officer that just left was assigned to McAfee.
Catherine Lee, Republicans: Are there any plans to build more parking?
Police Chief Barbin: To my knowledge there is not.
Catherine Day, Chief Justice: In the context those alcohols transports have taken place that has been labeled as a "mass casualty" can you explain what that is?
Police Chief Barbin: After you get to some any transports, it triggers a response to the media so that everyone gets involved. I thinks it's after 10 transports. They want to find out what it is.
Brooke Maurer, Freeman: Something that I have heard about the parking issue that they think it is unfair that East Side students pay the same amount to park since they live farther away from students in Tower. Is there any way we could prorate their fees?
Police Chief Barbin: It has never been brought up and we have never considered it. I would have to think more about it.
Natalie Ross, Tower: We have learned the numbers for alcohol cases and have noticed that the numbers have gone down for Good Samaritan cases. What has been the current trend?
Police Chief Barbin: Nothing is really different in what we are doing. We are just more aware of it.
Ashira Greene, Claflin: Can you compare this year to previous years as far as safety on campus?
Police Chief Barbin: The biggest thing I have noticed is the increase in medical ambulance calls. We have had about 26 calls that were non-alcohol related. But other than that everything else has been the same.
Melanie Carter, McAfee: You talked about moving junior to the DC lot but that takes them away from the Dower lottery?
Police Chief Barbin: Two years ago juniors were paring in the DC lot so I think we want to go back to that. We want to keep the seniors in the Dower lot.
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: I know that the Admissions office wants to get parking in the dower lot. Could you say whether the nunber allocated to those offices will remain the same or are there more parking spaces to be added for admissions office use only.
Police Chief Barbin: As of this past semester we have been able to accommodate all seniors.
Brooke Maurer, Freeman: People in certain locations have a higher tendency for parking tickets. Can you explain this discrepancy?
Police Chief Barbin: The highest problem area would have to be Lake House behind Claflin. That is where people seem to be getting most of the tickets. But parking has gone really well. I want to thank you and if you any questions please seek me out.
D. Seven Sisters Conference (Catherine Day, Chief Justice)
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: next we have Catherine day to present on the Seven Sisters Conference that cabinet members attended two weekends ago
Catherine Day, Chief Justice: Several cabinet members went to Mt. Holyoke College to attend to the Seven Sister conference. Barnard, Smith, Holyoke and Wellesley. It's a chance for college government students to brainstorm on issues. This was restarted two years ago by Barnard. So what did we do? Holyoake was great. We heard from their college president and dean of students. Some of the issues included organizations, gender identity, cross campus experiences. It was great to learn about our college government functions. One of the differences was that they had student government versus our college government. Our representation system is great with our house council. We are also very proud of our constitution. The student leadership we have at Wellesley on campus is tremendous. Students just have to organize the space and they can take them all on themselves.
(See attachment)
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: Who was there?
Catherine Day, Chief Justice: Jerilyn, Cortni, Sophie, and Lindsey.
Clara Peterson, Bates: You said that they had college government versus student governments. What is the difference?
Catherine Day, Chief Justice: I think it was more about how we perceive ourselves. We are involved in a lot more areas.
Ashira Greene, Claflin: Both times that I have heard about this conference, I always here about how great Wellesley is, what should we learn about ourselves?
Cortni Jones, Student Bursar: I actually learned about how their orgs give money. You have risen on your own that you have to gain at least 10% of your profits before you are allocated money.
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: It's always worthwhile to talk about the similar issues on campus. Something that was an issue for us that we can take to their schools about is the alcohol and party issue on campus. Another school discussion was diversity and GLBTQ issues on campus
Catherine Day, Chief Justice: This conference used to happen and Holyoke sent us a picture from 1948.
Catherine Day, Chief Justice: Several cabinet members went to Mt. Holyoke College to attend to the Seven Sister conference. Barnard, Smith, Holyoke and Wellesley. It's a chance for college government students to brainstorm on issues. This was restarted two years ago by Barnard. So what did we do? Holyoake was great. We heard from their college president and dean of students. Some of the issues included organizations, gender identity, cross campus experiences. It was great to learn about our college government functions. One of the differences was that they had student government versus our college government. Our representation system is great with our house council. We are also very proud of our constitution. The student leadership we have at Wellesley on campus is tremendous. Students just have to organize the space and they can take them all on themselves.
(See attachment)
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: Who was there?
Catherine Day, Chief Justice: Jerilyn, Cortni, Sophie, and Lindsey.
Clara Peterson, Bates: You said that they had college government versus student governments. What is the difference?
Catherine Day, Chief Justice: I think it was more about how we perceive ourselves. We are involved in a lot more areas.
Ashira Greene, Claflin: Both times that I have heard about this conference, I always here about how great Wellesley is, what should we learn about ourselves?
Cortni Jones, Student Bursar: I actually learned about how their orgs give money. You have risen on your own that you have to gain at least 10% of your profits before you are allocated money.
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: It's always worthwhile to talk about the similar issues on campus. Something that was an issue for us that we can take to their schools about is the alcohol and party issue on campus. Another school discussion was diversity and GLBTQ issues on campus
Catherine Day, Chief Justice: This conference used to happen and Holyoke sent us a picture from 1948.
E. AC Update (Tori Voight, Rakeen Mabud, Carly Fair, Academic Council Representatives)
Lindsey Boylan, CG President: And now will Tori Voight, Rakeen Mabud, Carly Fair, and Yang Qiu, Senate's Academic Council Representatives, please come forward to give an AC Update.
Yang Qiu, Severance: We are your reps to academic council. Academic Council is comprised of faculty members. The first one we reported on was the last meeting of last semester. So this information is from the meeting we attended last week.
Rakeen Mabud: Diana Chapman Walsh began by talking about the 2015 commission. One of the goals is to create a framework to attack practical problems. Pres. Walsh spoke about how the commission meets monthly. They are currently moving into the second phase.
Carly Fair: Dean Shennan spoke about the governance of Academic Council. Basically he said that the faculty has a pretty good voting rate and their goal is to get the voting rate to 75%. There are some current problems with the structure of the governance. 40% of the sections are held by people who are not on tenure track. Also, they want the interdepartmental programs to have a stronger voice in terms of governance, because they seem to be underrepresented. Also there was more discussion on the merit process. They want a better way of measuring service to the college. They also talked about how the faculty feels micromanaged by the college. Their main goal is not to just define what the faculty ought to do, but to make it so that the faculty does not seem so managed by the college
Yang Qui, Severance: So Carlos Vega talked about the PLTC and two initiatives they are taking. The first deals with communication between faculty members and tutors; the second part is the video taping of classes so that students who miss a class can see a video from the class. Also, Veronica Darer presented on one key point that is the difference between academic peer tutor and the departmental tutors...one group is actually employed by departments and one is trained by the departments. They also want to strengthen the connection with faculty members and PLTC.
Tori Voight: Adele Wolfson reported on grades; in fall of 2003 the overall average of the college was 3.4 and now it is 2.9-3.3, which means that the amount of A's and A-'s have gone down. The policy is that the overall average for 100 & 200 level classes cannot go beyond 3.33. The number of incompletes appears to have gone up due to procedural change in the timing of the gathering of the statistics. There is really not a change in the number of incompletes. Moving on to the announcements section of Academic Council, the president announced that the admissions committee received 4000 applicants for the class of 2010. Also, in terms of Spring Open Campus, the faculty wants to have the academic fair for prospective students divided into different sections instead of all in the sports center. For example, the science majors might be in the science center. Their current goal is to have more faculty and student involvement in Spring Open Campus.
Emily Pighetti, Student at Large: Is there any information on the change in 300 levels?
Tori Voight: They did not bring that up because the grading policy only effects 100 and 200 levels, but there were charts that we could post if you would like.
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: It would be great if you could post those numbers on the conference. Also, there is a new student representative for 2015 commission, her name is Garin Wolff, if you have any questions or would like to contact her. Also, as a clarification, the two working groups are Governance and Financial working group. Andy Evans is in charge of Financial group and Andy Shennan is in charge of the Governance group.
Mona: I'm a first year so I don't understand the grading policy.
Carly Fair: Basically, grade inflation was becoming a big problem and they wanted to bring down grade inflation, so that when we entered the real world, our grades were still valued highly.
Yang Qiu, Severance: We are your reps to academic council. Academic Council is comprised of faculty members. The first one we reported on was the last meeting of last semester. So this information is from the meeting we attended last week.
Rakeen Mabud: Diana Chapman Walsh began by talking about the 2015 commission. One of the goals is to create a framework to attack practical problems. Pres. Walsh spoke about how the commission meets monthly. They are currently moving into the second phase.
Carly Fair: Dean Shennan spoke about the governance of Academic Council. Basically he said that the faculty has a pretty good voting rate and their goal is to get the voting rate to 75%. There are some current problems with the structure of the governance. 40% of the sections are held by people who are not on tenure track. Also, they want the interdepartmental programs to have a stronger voice in terms of governance, because they seem to be underrepresented. Also there was more discussion on the merit process. They want a better way of measuring service to the college. They also talked about how the faculty feels micromanaged by the college. Their main goal is not to just define what the faculty ought to do, but to make it so that the faculty does not seem so managed by the college
Yang Qui, Severance: So Carlos Vega talked about the PLTC and two initiatives they are taking. The first deals with communication between faculty members and tutors; the second part is the video taping of classes so that students who miss a class can see a video from the class. Also, Veronica Darer presented on one key point that is the difference between academic peer tutor and the departmental tutors...one group is actually employed by departments and one is trained by the departments. They also want to strengthen the connection with faculty members and PLTC.
Tori Voight: Adele Wolfson reported on grades; in fall of 2003 the overall average of the college was 3.4 and now it is 2.9-3.3, which means that the amount of A's and A-'s have gone down. The policy is that the overall average for 100 & 200 level classes cannot go beyond 3.33. The number of incompletes appears to have gone up due to procedural change in the timing of the gathering of the statistics. There is really not a change in the number of incompletes. Moving on to the announcements section of Academic Council, the president announced that the admissions committee received 4000 applicants for the class of 2010. Also, in terms of Spring Open Campus, the faculty wants to have the academic fair for prospective students divided into different sections instead of all in the sports center. For example, the science majors might be in the science center. Their current goal is to have more faculty and student involvement in Spring Open Campus.
Emily Pighetti, Student at Large: Is there any information on the change in 300 levels?
Tori Voight: They did not bring that up because the grading policy only effects 100 and 200 levels, but there were charts that we could post if you would like.
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: It would be great if you could post those numbers on the conference. Also, there is a new student representative for 2015 commission, her name is Garin Wolff, if you have any questions or would like to contact her. Also, as a clarification, the two working groups are Governance and Financial working group. Andy Evans is in charge of Financial group and Andy Shennan is in charge of the Governance group.
Mona: I'm a first year so I don't understand the grading policy.
Carly Fair: Basically, grade inflation was becoming a big problem and they wanted to bring down grade inflation, so that when we entered the real world, our grades were still valued highly.
F. Alcohol Forum (Anna Basevich, HP Shafer)
Lindsey Boylan, CG President: And now will Anna Basevich, House President of Shafer and member of the Alcohol Committee, please approach the podium to discuss the Alcohol Forum.
Anna Basevich: I am the HP of Shafer and I have been representing the HPC in the Alcohol Committee and have been working on the Student Lead Initiative. So part of the program that we had was the Alcohol talk backs in the res. halls. A large amount of responsible drinking does take place but we really want to learn about drinking culture across campus. One thing that we have learned is that many students do not have sufficient alcohol education and a lot of students have trouble handling stress. We also had a chance to look at the stories where alcohol was used responsibly and we found that the safest situations were places with a relaxed atmosphere and there wasn't any peer pressure. Our most important things were that we looked at plans of action. One thing that came up consistently across campus was the need for education. We also wanted to look into having more events on campus. We want to emphasize safety above all. We also really do want to understand more about the transport situation. So that was just with the students and we all know that there are questions for the deans. So we would like to invite all the students to the Alcohol Forum 7-9pm in Pendleton Atrium where we will have a similar discussion with the Deans.
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: Please tell everyone to come to this!
Anna Basevich: I am the HP of Shafer and I have been representing the HPC in the Alcohol Committee and have been working on the Student Lead Initiative. So part of the program that we had was the Alcohol talk backs in the res. halls. A large amount of responsible drinking does take place but we really want to learn about drinking culture across campus. One thing that we have learned is that many students do not have sufficient alcohol education and a lot of students have trouble handling stress. We also had a chance to look at the stories where alcohol was used responsibly and we found that the safest situations were places with a relaxed atmosphere and there wasn't any peer pressure. Our most important things were that we looked at plans of action. One thing that came up consistently across campus was the need for education. We also wanted to look into having more events on campus. We want to emphasize safety above all. We also really do want to understand more about the transport situation. So that was just with the students and we all know that there are questions for the deans. So we would like to invite all the students to the Alcohol Forum 7-9pm in Pendleton Atrium where we will have a similar discussion with the Deans.
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: Please tell everyone to come to this!
V. Dean of Students' Corner
A. Deans Kim Goff-Crews and Michelle Lepore
Dean Kim: I really want to encourage all of you to come to the Alcohol Forum with the deans; it was really helpful to learn about what is really going from the Alcohol Talk backs. Bring people who would not normally go to these kind of events. I realize it's been two weeks but first my thanks to the east siders who came to the Deans' tea. I must say you ate quite a bit of chocolate. We also had a discussion with OMHA and we are thinking about issues. We just got our report from the external review committee. In another two or three weeks we will get back to you with that.
A couple weeks ago the President and I went to Last Call in Punch's. I hope people continue to go to Punch's Alley. As you know there will be a search for the new director of PERA. So on March 10 an external committee is going to come to campus. We are going to be having an open forum about what kind of person you think should come in. As we mentioned on April 6 and 7 there will be a PLTC review and Dean O'Keefe is heading this. The external review is pretty stellar for the PLTC.
You should know that Pat Walton, Protestant Chaplain is retiring and she will be leaving at the end of this month. There will be a reception for her this Sunday at 11:15 in the Chapel. The other thing I want to mention that since Dean Shennan and I are going to be here during the summer and some of you are too, we are going to sponsor a Softball league!!!!
Dean Michelle: Michel Ballard and I are meeting tomorrow to see if we can get students to get on the Athletic Director search committee. I imagine the info will go up before the week is over. This week is National Eating Concerns Week. There is a flyer going up called 'how to help a friend with an eating concern,' as well as the online screening that we talked about. Today Dean Kim and I had our fist lunch in the Res. hall. This is part of 'Dining with the Deans,' which we are starting. Today we were in Stone D. Dean Berger-Sweeny joined us today and I know that Pat Byrne will be coming to one of them, we hope that if you see us, you will join us.
Emily Pighetti, Student at Large: I wanted to thank you for having the Dean's tea in the Sage Lounge.
A couple weeks ago the President and I went to Last Call in Punch's. I hope people continue to go to Punch's Alley. As you know there will be a search for the new director of PERA. So on March 10 an external committee is going to come to campus. We are going to be having an open forum about what kind of person you think should come in. As we mentioned on April 6 and 7 there will be a PLTC review and Dean O'Keefe is heading this. The external review is pretty stellar for the PLTC.
You should know that Pat Walton, Protestant Chaplain is retiring and she will be leaving at the end of this month. There will be a reception for her this Sunday at 11:15 in the Chapel. The other thing I want to mention that since Dean Shennan and I are going to be here during the summer and some of you are too, we are going to sponsor a Softball league!!!!
Dean Michelle: Michel Ballard and I are meeting tomorrow to see if we can get students to get on the Athletic Director search committee. I imagine the info will go up before the week is over. This week is National Eating Concerns Week. There is a flyer going up called 'how to help a friend with an eating concern,' as well as the online screening that we talked about. Today Dean Kim and I had our fist lunch in the Res. hall. This is part of 'Dining with the Deans,' which we are starting. Today we were in Stone D. Dean Berger-Sweeny joined us today and I know that Pat Byrne will be coming to one of them, we hope that if you see us, you will join us.
Emily Pighetti, Student at Large: I wanted to thank you for having the Dean's tea in the Sage Lounge.
VI. Beyond the Bubble (Sophie Kim, CPLA Chair)
A. Democrats seek special probe of Bush's NSA program
Democratic lawmakers have asked President George W. Bush to order a special probe of his domestic spying program. In a letter released on Monday, 18 House of Representatives Democrats told Bush a special counsel was necessary because administration officials including Attorney General Alberto Gonzales are too involved in defending the National Security Agency program to provide independent scrutiny.
Authorized by Bush soon after the September 11 attacks, the program allows the NSA to monitor the international telephone calls and e-mails of U.S. citizens without court warrants while in pursuit of al Qaeda. Democrats and some Republicans say Bush may have overstepped his constitutional authority and violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which requires warrants for all electronic eavesdropping.
Authorized by Bush soon after the September 11 attacks, the program allows the NSA to monitor the international telephone calls and e-mails of U.S. citizens without court warrants while in pursuit of al Qaeda. Democrats and some Republicans say Bush may have overstepped his constitutional authority and violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which requires warrants for all electronic eavesdropping.
B. European Union Providing Emergency Funds to Palestinians
The European Union today stepped forward to fill the immediate funding gap for the Palestinian Authority before a Hamas government takes power, providing some $142 million (120 million euros) in aid, much of which will be funneled through the United Nations refugee agency.
The Hamas victory in the January 25 Palestinian election has raised questions over future foreign funding for a government led by members of an Islamic militant group.
The Hamas victory in the January 25 Palestinian election has raised questions over future foreign funding for a government led by members of an Islamic militant group.
C. President Bush to Travel to India This Week
President George W. Bush heads to India on Tuesday, followed by 5,000 personnel including snipers, commandos and U.S. marines using helicopters, bomb detectors and electronic jammers who will protect the president.
On the trip, Bush will try to work through differences on a landmark accord to give India access to long-denied U.S. nuclear equipment and fuel to meet its soaring energy needs. A deal was reached in principle last July but has run into trouble.
Bush also will meet Indian business leaders amid a surge of U.S. job outsourcing to India and a 30 percent increase in U.S. exports there in the past year.
These issues are of intense interest to Americans of Indian origin, who make up nearly 2 million Americans of Indian origin, and who are the country's fastest-growing ethnic group, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
On the trip, Bush will try to work through differences on a landmark accord to give India access to long-denied U.S. nuclear equipment and fuel to meet its soaring energy needs. A deal was reached in principle last July but has run into trouble.
Bush also will meet Indian business leaders amid a surge of U.S. job outsourcing to India and a 30 percent increase in U.S. exports there in the past year.
These issues are of intense interest to Americans of Indian origin, who make up nearly 2 million Americans of Indian origin, and who are the country's fastest-growing ethnic group, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
D. On this day: February 27
1922: A challenge to the 19th Amendment was rebuffed by the Supreme Court on February 27, 1922. The Court unanimously upheld the 19th Amendment to the Constitution that guarantees the right of women to vote.
VII. Cabinet Announcements
VIII. Adjourn
