Home >> Archives >> 11.28.05 Minutes
Attachments
I. Roll Call/Agenda
II. Old Business
A. Lectures Funding #3 Vote (Cortni Jones, Student Bursar)
Lindsey Boylan, College Government President: Is everyone excited to be here?! Speaking of costumes, last week's Mocktail Party was fabulous, so a special thank you to the Communications Committee. Will the Student Bursar Cortni Jones please approach the podium?
Cortni Jones, Student Bursar: So Lectures Funding #3 was presented a couple weeks ago. A couple things that came up was "Why was there so little money asked for?" We really want to encourage people to plan ahead. Are there any questions about lectures funding #3?
Motion Carries.
Cortni Jones, Student Bursar: So Lectures Funding #3 was presented a couple weeks ago. A couple things that came up was "Why was there so little money asked for?" We really want to encourage people to plan ahead. Are there any questions about lectures funding #3?
Motion Carries.
III. New Business
A. SOFC Update (Cortni Jones, Student Bursar)
Lindsey Boylan, College Government President: Next in New Business we have the Student Bursar Cortni Jones.
ClarStella Del Rosario, SOFC: I am going to be talking about the process we went through. At the beginning of the year we decided that about 20% of the lectures funding would go towards lectures funding #4. $16,373.11 was the amount we had to give out. Before reviewing the applications, we decided not to allow any late applications. Also before reviewing the applications, we established the rules according to the SOFC constitution. There was less money applied for then we had to give out so we were able to give them the full amount they requested. a Peterson, SOFC member: First, I am going to give a refresher, like we do for every lectures funding presentation. This year we have 12% to give to lectures funding from the total student activities fee. Again, we have many different deadlines in order to encourage students to apply early. In April we have about 15%, October and November we give about 20%. Organizations can only apply for one deadline per lecture.
Stella Del Rosario, SOFC: I am going to be talking about the process we went through. At the beginning of the year we decided that about 20% of the lectures funding would go towards lectures funding #4. $16,373.11 was the amount we had to give out. Before reviewing the applications, we decided not to allow any late applications. Also before reviewing the applications, we established the rules according to the SOFC constitution. There was less money applied for then we had to give out so we were able to give them the full amount they requested.
Cortni Jones, Student Bursar: So most of the lectures that were applied for are scheduled for late spring so this is an indication that students are planning ahead. The only deduction that occurred was from the ETHOS Application because they were missing the Honor Code statement, so that resulted in a 10% deduction. The money left over will be rolled over to Lectures Funding #5. The voting procedure is on the process not the allocations. Since this is the last Senate of the semester, you will be sending your votes to a conference under the Senate conference.
(See Attachment)
ClarStella Del Rosario, SOFC: I am going to be talking about the process we went through. At the beginning of the year we decided that about 20% of the lectures funding would go towards lectures funding #4. $16,373.11 was the amount we had to give out. Before reviewing the applications, we decided not to allow any late applications. Also before reviewing the applications, we established the rules according to the SOFC constitution. There was less money applied for then we had to give out so we were able to give them the full amount they requested. a Peterson, SOFC member: First, I am going to give a refresher, like we do for every lectures funding presentation. This year we have 12% to give to lectures funding from the total student activities fee. Again, we have many different deadlines in order to encourage students to apply early. In April we have about 15%, October and November we give about 20%. Organizations can only apply for one deadline per lecture.
Stella Del Rosario, SOFC: I am going to be talking about the process we went through. At the beginning of the year we decided that about 20% of the lectures funding would go towards lectures funding #4. $16,373.11 was the amount we had to give out. Before reviewing the applications, we decided not to allow any late applications. Also before reviewing the applications, we established the rules according to the SOFC constitution. There was less money applied for then we had to give out so we were able to give them the full amount they requested.
Cortni Jones, Student Bursar: So most of the lectures that were applied for are scheduled for late spring so this is an indication that students are planning ahead. The only deduction that occurred was from the ETHOS Application because they were missing the Honor Code statement, so that resulted in a 10% deduction. The money left over will be rolled over to Lectures Funding #5. The voting procedure is on the process not the allocations. Since this is the last Senate of the semester, you will be sending your votes to a conference under the Senate conference.
(See Attachment)
B. On Campus Mailbox Policy (Yamini Jha, SPEC Chair)
Lindsey Boylan: If you could please tell your constituents about the conference. Next, we have Yamini Jha to present on the new mailbox policy that SPEC has been working on.
Yamini Jha, SPEC Chair: So SPEC has been doing a lot of policy oriented work this semester.
Yael Gafni, Pomeroy: We have been clarifying a lot of the things that we discussed last year about chalking and publicity. For the future we want to get information for you to put up about the policy so that other people know how to properly pub for events. We are also working on the ad-hoc policy. So basically we are trying to make these policies a lot more accessible so they aren't held accountable if they do not know the policy.
Ashira Greene, Claflin: Earlier this semester, there was an issue about a mass mailing in the mailboxes in the campus center. So we created a new mailbox policy that will be implemented next semester. Basically, we want to present this to you and get feedback from your constituencies. Information that must be included on any giving mailing must have the organization and statement of intent on the mail, like posters. If an organization wants to send out a mass mail, then they must present it to be approved by SPEC. So there are two strikes that can occur. First strike is a warning, and second strike results in loss of mailing privileges
Emily Pighetti WASAC: Is there any kind of list of where people can poster? Can those be displayed at the front of bells desks?
Yamini Jha, SPEC Chair: We have forwarded this policy to different House Presidents so that information is more available.
Ashira Greene, Claflin: we are also thinking about creating a publicist and creating a publicist training for people in organizations.
Catherine Day, Student At Large: How does SPEC deal with groups outside Wellesley and Academic Departments?
Yamini Jha, SPEC Chair: We have only looked at student organizations but we will look into that.
Michel Ballard, Student At Large: If a student group loses their mailbox privileges, how long will that be for?
Yamini Jha, SPEC Chair: The entire year.
Yael Gafni, Pomeroy: We are trying to make the mailboxes more for personal use.
Cortni Jones, Student Bursar: Have you considered fining student organizations for violations?
Ashira Greene, Claflin: We will take that into consideration.
Shayla Adams, ETHOS: Can you explain mailbox privileges?
Ashira Greene, Claflin: This policy is for the campus center mailboxes.
Samira Vachani, Pomeroy: If an organization sends an application to distribute mail, what will be the criteria for sending out mail?
Yamini Jha, SPEC Chair: We are looking more at different ways for people to publicize. We are still in the beginning stages of the process so the criteria will develop once the policy is in place.
Lindsey Boylan, College Government President: I just wanted to clarify that the senators are taking this back in order to get feedback and send the responses to SPEC.
Yael Gafni, Pomeroy: If you could please bring up some of the other policies and get feedback that would be great as well.
OMHA Proxy: Also un-constituted organizations should be kept in mind.
Deb Norris, Hillel: Are you are just talking about snail mail, not about e-flyers?
Ashira Greene, Claflin: Yes, this is just snail mail, the e-flyer policy is completely separate.
Yamini Jha, SPEC Chair: So SPEC has been doing a lot of policy oriented work this semester.
Yael Gafni, Pomeroy: We have been clarifying a lot of the things that we discussed last year about chalking and publicity. For the future we want to get information for you to put up about the policy so that other people know how to properly pub for events. We are also working on the ad-hoc policy. So basically we are trying to make these policies a lot more accessible so they aren't held accountable if they do not know the policy.
Ashira Greene, Claflin: Earlier this semester, there was an issue about a mass mailing in the mailboxes in the campus center. So we created a new mailbox policy that will be implemented next semester. Basically, we want to present this to you and get feedback from your constituencies. Information that must be included on any giving mailing must have the organization and statement of intent on the mail, like posters. If an organization wants to send out a mass mail, then they must present it to be approved by SPEC. So there are two strikes that can occur. First strike is a warning, and second strike results in loss of mailing privileges
Emily Pighetti WASAC: Is there any kind of list of where people can poster? Can those be displayed at the front of bells desks?
Yamini Jha, SPEC Chair: We have forwarded this policy to different House Presidents so that information is more available.
Ashira Greene, Claflin: we are also thinking about creating a publicist and creating a publicist training for people in organizations.
Catherine Day, Student At Large: How does SPEC deal with groups outside Wellesley and Academic Departments?
Yamini Jha, SPEC Chair: We have only looked at student organizations but we will look into that.
Michel Ballard, Student At Large: If a student group loses their mailbox privileges, how long will that be for?
Yamini Jha, SPEC Chair: The entire year.
Yael Gafni, Pomeroy: We are trying to make the mailboxes more for personal use.
Cortni Jones, Student Bursar: Have you considered fining student organizations for violations?
Ashira Greene, Claflin: We will take that into consideration.
Shayla Adams, ETHOS: Can you explain mailbox privileges?
Ashira Greene, Claflin: This policy is for the campus center mailboxes.
Samira Vachani, Pomeroy: If an organization sends an application to distribute mail, what will be the criteria for sending out mail?
Yamini Jha, SPEC Chair: We are looking more at different ways for people to publicize. We are still in the beginning stages of the process so the criteria will develop once the policy is in place.
Lindsey Boylan, College Government President: I just wanted to clarify that the senators are taking this back in order to get feedback and send the responses to SPEC.
Yael Gafni, Pomeroy: If you could please bring up some of the other policies and get feedback that would be great as well.
OMHA Proxy: Also un-constituted organizations should be kept in mind.
Deb Norris, Hillel: Are you are just talking about snail mail, not about e-flyers?
Ashira Greene, Claflin: Yes, this is just snail mail, the e-flyer policy is completely separate.
IV. Open Discussion
A. Energy Use on Campus (Peter Zuraw, Physical Plant Director)
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: Moving on, in open discussion we have Peter Zuraw to talk about energy use on campus.
Peter Zuraw: I am new to this campus and it is delightful to see all of you tonight. I was asked to describe what the physical plant is. The physical plant is about caring about the maintenance of all the spaces and the care for the spaces. It concerns the construction of all major buildings and renovations and it's the reason that Cortni is dressed like an elf, because we haven't figured out how to heat that space in Schneider. It is interesting to hear that Lindsey wasn't sure why we existed. So part of me being here is to know that this organization is here. Not that we want you to know what why we don't put nails in the wall or what the plumbing looks like. The reason I am here is that the energy market has been evolving the last couple years. All of us have seen the prices of gas prices, but there has been a lot of deregulation of markets. The bottom line is that there is a lot more volatility and higher prices. Natural gas, the units we keep track off, were 7 dollars in July and now they are 13. This morning it was 11 dollars. This great volatility is difficult to manage. The reason I am telling you this is because it has greatly affected the costs to the college. You are shortly going to be seeing a memo from the president to think about how each of us uses energy. There is a distinct possibility that a lot of you don't really think about how you use energy in your daily lives. For all those reasons, the prices are really making us think about what we are doing. I want to give you a couple examples. I don't know if any of you have actually thought about how many things are plugged in your wall in your room. Some of you have up to 15 plug-ins. One of the reasons we don't think about energy is because it is still relatively cheap. One thousand watts of electricity is like 7 cents. If a thousand people blow-dry their hair everyday, it's like 700 bucks. If you add in the phone and everything this price really goes up. I want everyone to think about how we're using energy. When I came through campus today, I went through founders, all the lights were on! I met with several student leaders and we had a good conversation about ways that all of you can reduce energy consumption. I want us to think about saving energy and eliminate waste. I'm not saying we should live in the dark, or wear three sweaters instead of just one. There are some dorms where the windows are open, but it would cost more to fix the heating. The main point here is to open the discussion. We don't want to curtail other activities and give our money to a utility company. We want to work together to take this on.
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: I want to speak about the student aspect of what we are doing. We have been meeting with Peter and I don't think we have ever really met anyone from the physical plant before him. We can improve energy consumption a lot. Students don't really think that much about it. People can be really responsive. Just to change the patterns of our usage. At the meeting, we had Phoebe Poole from WEED and Cortni. Students will be a lot more responsive if we here it from each other. It's really a great opportunity to have this kind of interaction. All of you will share a really integral role by spreading this awareness. All of you are really crucial to taking to your House Councils.
Yang Qiu, Severance: In the morning I have class in the science center and the windows are always open. We tried to close the windows and turn the heating down. However every morning, they are open again. So how can students get involved in voicing concerns like mine?
Peter Zuraw: Custodians are part of the physical plant. One thing you can do is go to our website and give suggestions and get the information you need. Currently it only has links from WEED's page and we want to make this into a forum.
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: As far as students who wanted to get involved, they can email either me, Phoebe Poole or Cortni.
Peter Zuraw: If it is a repair issue go to the website. If it is a policy issue, then definitely go towards these leaders to really get this kind of coalition started.
Natalie Ross, Tower: We wanted to thank you about the logbook response in Tower. We were also wondering if there was any information on restoration in Tower?
Peter Zuraw: Tower has been the focus of the past two summer projects. Next summer's project will be Tower as well. It's just part of a greater project to get all the building fixed and renovated.
Carly Fair, Beebe: Could there be some kind of incentive, like a tax break or a competition between the residence halls to lower energy consumption?
Peter Zuraw: We are definitely looking at that. Similarly we talked about doing a competition for least energy use per person next semester.
Catherine Lee, Republicans: Are there any long term plans for alternative energy sources like solar paneling?
Peter Zuraw: I would love to do it, but I don't know when we could do that. Its definitely something that other universities have started doing. The returns are not quite there yet since they are only guaranteed to give returns for 20 years. But as we go forward, there are new technologies that we could look into. We are one of the most efficient plants around.
Dana Montalto, Tower: Is there a place to get energy-reducing tips for students to look at?
Peter Zuraw: Right now, it's the physical plant webpage
Clara Peterson, Bates: When you have something plugged in and it's not turned on, is it using energy?
Peter Zuraw: It depends what the product is. If there is some electronic component like a computer or an alarm clock, then definitely yes!
Emily Pighetti, WASAC: Have you thought about timed lighting, like for example the laundry rooms?
Peter Zuraw: The cost of those devices has dropped so we are definitely looking into that.
Peter Zuraw: I am new to this campus and it is delightful to see all of you tonight. I was asked to describe what the physical plant is. The physical plant is about caring about the maintenance of all the spaces and the care for the spaces. It concerns the construction of all major buildings and renovations and it's the reason that Cortni is dressed like an elf, because we haven't figured out how to heat that space in Schneider. It is interesting to hear that Lindsey wasn't sure why we existed. So part of me being here is to know that this organization is here. Not that we want you to know what why we don't put nails in the wall or what the plumbing looks like. The reason I am here is that the energy market has been evolving the last couple years. All of us have seen the prices of gas prices, but there has been a lot of deregulation of markets. The bottom line is that there is a lot more volatility and higher prices. Natural gas, the units we keep track off, were 7 dollars in July and now they are 13. This morning it was 11 dollars. This great volatility is difficult to manage. The reason I am telling you this is because it has greatly affected the costs to the college. You are shortly going to be seeing a memo from the president to think about how each of us uses energy. There is a distinct possibility that a lot of you don't really think about how you use energy in your daily lives. For all those reasons, the prices are really making us think about what we are doing. I want to give you a couple examples. I don't know if any of you have actually thought about how many things are plugged in your wall in your room. Some of you have up to 15 plug-ins. One of the reasons we don't think about energy is because it is still relatively cheap. One thousand watts of electricity is like 7 cents. If a thousand people blow-dry their hair everyday, it's like 700 bucks. If you add in the phone and everything this price really goes up. I want everyone to think about how we're using energy. When I came through campus today, I went through founders, all the lights were on! I met with several student leaders and we had a good conversation about ways that all of you can reduce energy consumption. I want us to think about saving energy and eliminate waste. I'm not saying we should live in the dark, or wear three sweaters instead of just one. There are some dorms where the windows are open, but it would cost more to fix the heating. The main point here is to open the discussion. We don't want to curtail other activities and give our money to a utility company. We want to work together to take this on.
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: I want to speak about the student aspect of what we are doing. We have been meeting with Peter and I don't think we have ever really met anyone from the physical plant before him. We can improve energy consumption a lot. Students don't really think that much about it. People can be really responsive. Just to change the patterns of our usage. At the meeting, we had Phoebe Poole from WEED and Cortni. Students will be a lot more responsive if we here it from each other. It's really a great opportunity to have this kind of interaction. All of you will share a really integral role by spreading this awareness. All of you are really crucial to taking to your House Councils.
Yang Qiu, Severance: In the morning I have class in the science center and the windows are always open. We tried to close the windows and turn the heating down. However every morning, they are open again. So how can students get involved in voicing concerns like mine?
Peter Zuraw: Custodians are part of the physical plant. One thing you can do is go to our website and give suggestions and get the information you need. Currently it only has links from WEED's page and we want to make this into a forum.
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: As far as students who wanted to get involved, they can email either me, Phoebe Poole or Cortni.
Peter Zuraw: If it is a repair issue go to the website. If it is a policy issue, then definitely go towards these leaders to really get this kind of coalition started.
Natalie Ross, Tower: We wanted to thank you about the logbook response in Tower. We were also wondering if there was any information on restoration in Tower?
Peter Zuraw: Tower has been the focus of the past two summer projects. Next summer's project will be Tower as well. It's just part of a greater project to get all the building fixed and renovated.
Carly Fair, Beebe: Could there be some kind of incentive, like a tax break or a competition between the residence halls to lower energy consumption?
Peter Zuraw: We are definitely looking at that. Similarly we talked about doing a competition for least energy use per person next semester.
Catherine Lee, Republicans: Are there any long term plans for alternative energy sources like solar paneling?
Peter Zuraw: I would love to do it, but I don't know when we could do that. Its definitely something that other universities have started doing. The returns are not quite there yet since they are only guaranteed to give returns for 20 years. But as we go forward, there are new technologies that we could look into. We are one of the most efficient plants around.
Dana Montalto, Tower: Is there a place to get energy-reducing tips for students to look at?
Peter Zuraw: Right now, it's the physical plant webpage
Clara Peterson, Bates: When you have something plugged in and it's not turned on, is it using energy?
Peter Zuraw: It depends what the product is. If there is some electronic component like a computer or an alarm clock, then definitely yes!
Emily Pighetti, WASAC: Have you thought about timed lighting, like for example the laundry rooms?
Peter Zuraw: The cost of those devices has dropped so we are definitely looking into that.
B. Theft on Campus (Barry Monahan and Phil Harty)
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: Next we have friends returning to speak to us today: Barry Monahan and Phil Harty.
Barry Monahan, Director Dining Services: I said this last time; I have been here thirty years, but this is an issue that I never thought we would have to talk about. In the campus center, two things are happening: before you get to the register, there is food like sushi and take out things and we are finding that sushi, for example, is being stolen by either going through the other entrance or only paying for one. What has surprised me is when we stop students their excuses are "I'm in a hurry" or "I didn't know we had to pay for it". But the main message here is that it is stealing. This is a serious problem because it means dining services is losing money and that's your money. This is an honor code violation.
Phil Harty, Director of Dining Services: We lose about $200 a day in just sushi! There is a separate company that comes in and prepares the sushi. We take an inventory everyday and we consistently come up about 50 boxes off, a day. The contract with this company is that they will take on any loss. They lose that money. The company will no longer continue to do business with us if they continue to lose this much money every day. However, sushi is just a small part of the problem. The grill and pizza line also have a great problem. There is a lot of loss there. I would encourage everyone to talk about it. The first step is education. We will bring this issue to light and see how we can go forward through the legal system of the college.
Cortni Jones, Student Bursar: So, something that the economics department has been talking about is first, the lack of receipts. If you could get the receipt then there would be more comfort about going back to your seat. Also, what constitutes the value meal/combo? People are very unaware of what exactly they are buying. The cards are very unclear. The prices are not known. I'm sure the price is going to rise with the thefts.
Phil Harty, Director of Dining Services: We have been working with students on signs. There are some signs that say that the meal combo comes with just a fountain beverage. There are signs all over, and these signs are ignored or just not seen.
Barry Monahan, Director of Dining Services: Configuration is definitely a problem for us. We might have to put a door on the entrance, but the bottom line is that this is an individual issue.
Emily Pighetti, Wasac: I have been discussing the issue of transparency in the paying process. There is a problem both ways. People don't really see what they are being charged for.
Catherine Day, Chief Justice: What are the potential consequences to the community?
Phil Harty, Director of Dining Services: That's up for debate to see how far the issue goes. In the long run in the second semester, we are looking at making physical changes to the space. It's supposed to be this open social environment but the consequences indicate that this might not be possible. There are a wide variety of what the consequences could be, and when we look at how much we have lost we have to decide what will have to be done. Certainly some cuts would have to be made.
Katie Landise, Severance: One point of contention is pricing. What should students know about pricing negotiations?
Phil Harty, Director of Dining Services: I haven't gotten a lot of feedback on pricing. At the beginning of the semester there was a big push to get everything priced. For the most part we are under other markets, but we are certainly open to discussion.
Barry Monahan, Director of Dining Services: We really did do pricing surveys. We think we are really competitive in both price and quality.
Shayla Adams, Ethos: First, I wanted to thank you for the southern style cooking, my constituency is really grateful. As far as the layout, it is really set up for people to just leave. You should perhaps consider putting two registers.
Barry Monahan, Director of Dining Services: We are definitely considering doing that.
Daria Axelrod, Student at Large: I just wanted to know if you have any information on what was left on peoples cards. Is there any way people can trade or a way to figure out if theft increased when people started running out of points?
Phil Harty, Director of Dining Services: Actually it started right from the beginning and a lot of it had to do with education. We have a total number of points for the students. I can't give it to you right off the bat, but there are quite a few people who have $75-100.
Ashira Green, Claflin: For reasons of waste, all those sheets of paper do accumulate. Also thank you for changing the size of the cups! Also how do u add money to your card?
Phil Harty, Director of Dining Services: So you would go to the police department at the front desk, and there are benefits to putting money on the card. At the end of your senior year you are given back any money left over. Also next semester there will be a machine. In terms of cash registers, we are looking at how technology can help us collect cash. One thing is a hand-held cash register. That will take us a long way to getting the cash. Cash register placement is also being looked at.
Victoria Charoonratana, Student at Large: I have heard that part of the temptation is that students think that it is like Schneider where you didn't have to really pay. Has there been any education about why we have flex money?
Barry Monahan, Director of Dining Services: This has definitely been the main problem. There has been some confusion, but we definitely need to work on the education.
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: Could you speak more about losses in the convenience store?
Phil Harty, Director of Dining Services: We are tracking the convenience store. Since that opened later in the year, the numbers aren't really in yet. We have actually caught people running around the corner and out that side door. I couldn't tell you exactly what the losses are. I am hesitant to open the wall because the cash register cannot be seen from the third wall. Anything that Senate could do to bring this problem into light would be great.
Lindsey Boylan, Director of Dining Services: In terms of pricing for the convenience store, if a student wants to get something in the convenience store re-priced would they still go through the student advisory board?
Phil Harty, Director of Dining Services: Yes, I meet with the advisory board every other week. But if there is something blatant I can take emails as well.
Deb Norris, Hillel: I know points will carry over for next semester but it won't carry over for the next year. But how do u deal with students who are only here for one semester, like students who are going abroad?
Phil Harty, Director of Dining Services: Trying to isolate individual cases would be very difficult. I would suggest that you use up the points. The purpose is to reallocate and start with a clean slate at the beginning of every year.
Barry Monahan, Director Dining Services: I said this last time; I have been here thirty years, but this is an issue that I never thought we would have to talk about. In the campus center, two things are happening: before you get to the register, there is food like sushi and take out things and we are finding that sushi, for example, is being stolen by either going through the other entrance or only paying for one. What has surprised me is when we stop students their excuses are "I'm in a hurry" or "I didn't know we had to pay for it". But the main message here is that it is stealing. This is a serious problem because it means dining services is losing money and that's your money. This is an honor code violation.
Phil Harty, Director of Dining Services: We lose about $200 a day in just sushi! There is a separate company that comes in and prepares the sushi. We take an inventory everyday and we consistently come up about 50 boxes off, a day. The contract with this company is that they will take on any loss. They lose that money. The company will no longer continue to do business with us if they continue to lose this much money every day. However, sushi is just a small part of the problem. The grill and pizza line also have a great problem. There is a lot of loss there. I would encourage everyone to talk about it. The first step is education. We will bring this issue to light and see how we can go forward through the legal system of the college.
Cortni Jones, Student Bursar: So, something that the economics department has been talking about is first, the lack of receipts. If you could get the receipt then there would be more comfort about going back to your seat. Also, what constitutes the value meal/combo? People are very unaware of what exactly they are buying. The cards are very unclear. The prices are not known. I'm sure the price is going to rise with the thefts.
Phil Harty, Director of Dining Services: We have been working with students on signs. There are some signs that say that the meal combo comes with just a fountain beverage. There are signs all over, and these signs are ignored or just not seen.
Barry Monahan, Director of Dining Services: Configuration is definitely a problem for us. We might have to put a door on the entrance, but the bottom line is that this is an individual issue.
Emily Pighetti, Wasac: I have been discussing the issue of transparency in the paying process. There is a problem both ways. People don't really see what they are being charged for.
Catherine Day, Chief Justice: What are the potential consequences to the community?
Phil Harty, Director of Dining Services: That's up for debate to see how far the issue goes. In the long run in the second semester, we are looking at making physical changes to the space. It's supposed to be this open social environment but the consequences indicate that this might not be possible. There are a wide variety of what the consequences could be, and when we look at how much we have lost we have to decide what will have to be done. Certainly some cuts would have to be made.
Katie Landise, Severance: One point of contention is pricing. What should students know about pricing negotiations?
Phil Harty, Director of Dining Services: I haven't gotten a lot of feedback on pricing. At the beginning of the semester there was a big push to get everything priced. For the most part we are under other markets, but we are certainly open to discussion.
Barry Monahan, Director of Dining Services: We really did do pricing surveys. We think we are really competitive in both price and quality.
Shayla Adams, Ethos: First, I wanted to thank you for the southern style cooking, my constituency is really grateful. As far as the layout, it is really set up for people to just leave. You should perhaps consider putting two registers.
Barry Monahan, Director of Dining Services: We are definitely considering doing that.
Daria Axelrod, Student at Large: I just wanted to know if you have any information on what was left on peoples cards. Is there any way people can trade or a way to figure out if theft increased when people started running out of points?
Phil Harty, Director of Dining Services: Actually it started right from the beginning and a lot of it had to do with education. We have a total number of points for the students. I can't give it to you right off the bat, but there are quite a few people who have $75-100.
Ashira Green, Claflin: For reasons of waste, all those sheets of paper do accumulate. Also thank you for changing the size of the cups! Also how do u add money to your card?
Phil Harty, Director of Dining Services: So you would go to the police department at the front desk, and there are benefits to putting money on the card. At the end of your senior year you are given back any money left over. Also next semester there will be a machine. In terms of cash registers, we are looking at how technology can help us collect cash. One thing is a hand-held cash register. That will take us a long way to getting the cash. Cash register placement is also being looked at.
Victoria Charoonratana, Student at Large: I have heard that part of the temptation is that students think that it is like Schneider where you didn't have to really pay. Has there been any education about why we have flex money?
Barry Monahan, Director of Dining Services: This has definitely been the main problem. There has been some confusion, but we definitely need to work on the education.
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: Could you speak more about losses in the convenience store?
Phil Harty, Director of Dining Services: We are tracking the convenience store. Since that opened later in the year, the numbers aren't really in yet. We have actually caught people running around the corner and out that side door. I couldn't tell you exactly what the losses are. I am hesitant to open the wall because the cash register cannot be seen from the third wall. Anything that Senate could do to bring this problem into light would be great.
Lindsey Boylan, Director of Dining Services: In terms of pricing for the convenience store, if a student wants to get something in the convenience store re-priced would they still go through the student advisory board?
Phil Harty, Director of Dining Services: Yes, I meet with the advisory board every other week. But if there is something blatant I can take emails as well.
Deb Norris, Hillel: I know points will carry over for next semester but it won't carry over for the next year. But how do u deal with students who are only here for one semester, like students who are going abroad?
Phil Harty, Director of Dining Services: Trying to isolate individual cases would be very difficult. I would suggest that you use up the points. The purpose is to reallocate and start with a clean slate at the beginning of every year.
V. Dean of Students' Corner
A. Deans Kim Goff-Crews and Michelle Lepore
Lindsey Boylan, CGP: Ok, moving along to Dean's Corner.
Dean Kim Goff-Crews: So first of all, welcome back. That was a great break! As you start counting down to winter break, don't forget about the PLTC and Midnight Breakfast! On December 13th the Dean's Office is putting up a high tea in the campus center. This will be a kick off for several teas. The other thing is that Louise O'Neil, the Director of Athletics, just retired. We are thinking about restructuring that office. We definitely want to get some student input on that. Something else we want to mention is that we are looking at what do in our residence halls. One thing we want to know is what you students want the space to look like? How do you like to live in them? What do you like to do in them? We want to have a set of guiding principles. I was at Cornell a couple weeks ago and tomorrow Dean Shennan and I are going to Vassar to talk to the "Seven Siblings;" the focus will be academic performance.
Dean Michelle Lepore: The second wave of the first-year survey will be going out. If you did not get an email, go to a conference called transitions 2009. On Friday or Monday we will pick prizes. I just want to reiterate what Dean Kim was saying, use the PLTC during finals or go talk to your class dean, go to Stone Center. In Wellesley in any given year, over 50% of the class will utilize the Stone Center. After hours, if you call the infirmary you can call for a counselor at night. We want you to stay as stress-free as you can.
Amy Wang, Cazenove: With the transitions survey, is there any way you can save it because I have opened it three or four times and it take like 16 hours to do!
Dean Michelle Lepore: Unfortunately it can't save so you have to do it all in one sitting.
Dana Montalto, Tower: For the last couple questions, it wouldn't let us answer them.
Dean Michelle Lepore: In February we will tell you what your class looks like.
Dean Kim Goff-Crews: Come have tea with us, and good luck with the last three weeks!
Dean Kim Goff-Crews: So first of all, welcome back. That was a great break! As you start counting down to winter break, don't forget about the PLTC and Midnight Breakfast! On December 13th the Dean's Office is putting up a high tea in the campus center. This will be a kick off for several teas. The other thing is that Louise O'Neil, the Director of Athletics, just retired. We are thinking about restructuring that office. We definitely want to get some student input on that. Something else we want to mention is that we are looking at what do in our residence halls. One thing we want to know is what you students want the space to look like? How do you like to live in them? What do you like to do in them? We want to have a set of guiding principles. I was at Cornell a couple weeks ago and tomorrow Dean Shennan and I are going to Vassar to talk to the "Seven Siblings;" the focus will be academic performance.
Dean Michelle Lepore: The second wave of the first-year survey will be going out. If you did not get an email, go to a conference called transitions 2009. On Friday or Monday we will pick prizes. I just want to reiterate what Dean Kim was saying, use the PLTC during finals or go talk to your class dean, go to Stone Center. In Wellesley in any given year, over 50% of the class will utilize the Stone Center. After hours, if you call the infirmary you can call for a counselor at night. We want you to stay as stress-free as you can.
Amy Wang, Cazenove: With the transitions survey, is there any way you can save it because I have opened it three or four times and it take like 16 hours to do!
Dean Michelle Lepore: Unfortunately it can't save so you have to do it all in one sitting.
Dana Montalto, Tower: For the last couple questions, it wouldn't let us answer them.
Dean Michelle Lepore: In February we will tell you what your class looks like.
Dean Kim Goff-Crews: Come have tea with us, and good luck with the last three weeks!
VI. Cabinet Announcements
VII. Adjourn
