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November 17th 2013 Minutes and Big Cheese Forum

SGA Meeting 11/17/13

Natalie calls the meeting to order at 7:10 PM.

Absent: Rhett Richardson, Sara Kim, Karunya Venugopal, Mariam Khoudari, Jessica Ferriera

Big Cheese Forum:

Natalie Kato ‘14: The set up of Big Cheese forum will start with the Big Cheese responding to pre-posed questions voted on by the Representative Council. There will be a questions period for the student body pertaining only to the discussion topic. The time allotted for each section will be announced beforehand. The Representative Council can extend time for a maximum of one minute. Once one minute has elapsed we will move on to the next set of pre-posed questions. I will read through the questions. If anybody has questions related to the topic, please line up at the mic. If nobody is at the mic when the Big Cheese is done answering the questions, we will assume that there are no questions and move on to the next one.
I want to remind everyone to be respectful of our guests who have taken the time out to answer these questions. We really appreciate it!

We are going to do introductions and then move on to first set of questions.

Judy Balthazar: I am the Interim Dean.

Kim Cassidy: I am the Interim President.

Jerry Berenson: I am the Chief Administrative Officer.

Joseph Marra: I am Bryn Mawr’s Campus Architect.

Sam Olshin: I am the principal project architect for the new Haffner. I am also a lecturer in the Cities department at Bryn Mawr.

 

Natalie Kato ‘14: I forgot to mention that once we’re done going through pre-posed questions and answers there will be an open Q&A that may be pertaining or not to the pre-posed questions.

 

The first topic is about housing. The Big Cheeses will be given 20 minutes to answer the questions I am about to read. What is the timeline for the construction of Haffner?   How is Perry House being incorporated into Haffner?  Depending on how long it takes for Haffner to be completed, are we going to continue to use Overbrook, Mermont, and Haverford as alternative places to house Bryn Mawr students?  Have there been any issues regarding housing Bryn Mawr students at these places?

Kim Cassidy: I want to explain a few overarching things about this project. It is important not to lose sight of the fact that we are trying to create and address two distinct opportunities. One is to address the situation created by the closing of Perry House. The other was to address the asbestos in Haffner and create a new dorm. It will allow us to add bed capacity which will bring students off campus back on campus which is something we are interested in. We will reduce the number of triples and quads – so reduce bed density, and give us capacity to expand. I want to say how excited we are to be able to create a new Perry House in this space. It addresses a number of needs, I think.

It will provide a safe space literally and figuratively for a house that is historically significant and continues to be important to students and the college. It centralizes Perry to the middle of campus so it is more accessible and integrated via the connection to the two other dorms as well as keeping its own distinct house status. It enables us to provide more rooms in Perry so that more students have a chance to live there – 25 beds versus the 8 beds in the old Perry House. It will also preserve the common spaces of the old Perry House. In the presentation you will see spaces for gathering sponsored by Perry: a kitchen, a dining room, and office space for the three groups that share the space. Embracing Perry House programming includes resources housed by the Black Cultural Center and also building on the work done by the Pensby intern.
Two brand new dorms as well will add 52 beds to our housing space. There will be overall 132 beds with 110 singles and 10 doubles. The common areas outside of both Haffner and Perry will reflect the visual integration into campus and will reflect the spaces around it in nice ways.

We are engaged in ways of soliciting student input. Special thanks to the Housing Option Committee who have helped us to have ideas for this space and also to thank Jerry and Joseph and Sam for their hard work on trying to create the best possible space we can get and stay within a budget. Thank you everybody!

Jerry Berenson: I will answer the last two questions. We will mostly not continue to use the other apartments and Haverford. The goal is to bring everybody back to campus. We will probably keep a few apartments for flexibility and for special needs situations. Have there been issues? The only issue is that students at Overbrook have to pay city wage tax which we didn’t realize. It is costing them 4.5% of their hard-earned wages. We don’t know of any others.

Joseph Marra: I’d like to introduce our firm. Sam Olshn was selected through a process here at the college. We are in the design development phase of the project. It’s at a point where we can do further refinements. I’m going to turn it over to Sam to walk through the design ideas, plan, and overview of the project and where we stand.

Sam Olshin: Bryn Mawr is a pretty wonderful and special place. I’ve been teaching here for 20 years, and as 25 years as a practicing architect, I’ve worked at other universities. Working at Bryn Mawr, right across from where I teach in Rock studeio, is something that doesn’t come along that often. We have been working since June on a design. We plan to break ground in June 2014 and finish in July/August 2015 for move-in in September 2015. It’s a spectacular site. The history of the site – as you all know, Haffner is a particularly odd building – red brick, location, shape. What part should be saved and what should be adaptively reused? We will be recycling part of the building as part of this project in order to make it useful and bring it into the 21st century. As a site, for the architect it’s incredibly challenging. It’s right across from Rock and close to a Louis Kahn. We are looking to mediate between traditional architecture and contemporary architecture, which is a challenge, as well as work inside a budget and get 130 rooms. You can see this project in the design phase now and we look forward to comments.

Our project goals are to make a welcoming and accessible building. It is site specific. Every other dorm looks like it belongs in the environment it was designed for. We are designing for Bryn Mawr – private, social, and unique spaces. We are going to make a dorm of all singles in the new building and a mix of singles and doubles in the former French house. It will be energy-efficient and forward-facing. We are going to be on time and on budget. There is going to be a highly insulated building envelope and an energy-efficient mechanical system. There will be motion sensors for the lighting and sustainable, renewable building materials. We will also be working hard to make sure that we choose materials within a 500 mile radius which will be beneficial for costs and also cuts down on the carbon footprint. There will be sizeable windows: 4×6 feet to maximize natural light and ventilation. Every window will have an operable portion. The architectural landscape has specified native plants, plant diversity, including the storm water management right on the site so water will not be piped away from the sewer system. Haffner now was builtin 1969 by I. W. Colburn, who is from Chicago and married to a Bryn Mawr alum. It is a building comprised of two 2-story wings and one 3-story wing. The 2-story wings will come down and the 3-story wing will be redone as the new Perry House. The dining hall will remain as is and will remain open throughout construction. One of the archival maps we found from the 190-s after the college plan was done showed that the campus didn’t really exist south of Merion Avenue. Benham Gateway is technically the beginning but the sense of arrival is very important. The trees outside of Rock show a portal and a special welcoming gateway. We want the new building to compliment but not overshadow. Pembroke and Rock have wonderful rooms. It was luxurious to have this many windows in a room. That is something that is a wonderful challenge for us – to achieve natural light.

What is it that defines Bryn Mawr? Stone? Chimneys? Rooms? Fireplaces? The symbol of the lantern, which has important messages architecturally and surrounding light and education? Those are some of the things that we have been looking at. These are some of the things that we’ve been looking at. Haffner used to be called the “poor man’s Kahn”. We need to make sure to create something that says that you have arrived so that some things don’t get completely lost. We worked hard to create a pathway that will connect back to the sunken garden. There will be bistro seating and some tables so that you can study. We want to plant as close to the windows as we can for privacy. There will be a new accessible path along the front and a new connection with new steps that lead to the intersections and gesture back to Rockefeller.

Formerly French house will become Perry House, which we will completely renovate. There will be a community room and a demonstration kitchen for seating for upwards of 20 people. There will be office space and a new entry into the building with bedrooms along the side. There will be a bridge at the second and third levels, including a series of single beds, a bathroom, a new lobby, stairs, and an elevator to take you up. Then the tea pantry – all floors will have two lounges and two bathrooms. The second floor is very similar – single bedrooms, a restroom, the elevator, stairs, a lounge overlooking Rock, single bedrooms with a bed, a bookshelf, a dresser, and a desk in every room. Upstairs in Perry there would be 29 total rooms, singles and doubles. It is a completely insulated building. We have a great lighting consultant as well as a landscape consultant, mechanical engineer, becoming energy-efficient, with wood coming from certified forests. This building is specifically for Bryn Mawr and will exemplify the best aspects of what the college stands for. It will be a lovely place to live and learn and will function as a transitional space between living at home in adulthood – feeling comfortable and learning and enjoying the space while you’re here.

Colin Baumann ‘14: This is on the development side. Will it still be called Haffner?

Jerry Berenson: I don’t think we’ve figured it out yet.

 

Elizabeth Vandenberg ‘16: How are you going to blend the dining hall with the new dorm?

Jerry Berenson: The dining hall will stay the way it is now. That’s the way we’re envisioning it. The new dorm will be brick. Not red brick, but grey brick. It’s the same substance.

Joseph Marra: The dining hall will remain the way it is but we are hoping to address the entry point to the dining hall to make it more accessible from the dorm side and the public side. Currently people enter the dining hall off of a skewed angle and there is no access from the courtyard.

 

Natalie Zamora ‘14: Bernie isn’t here but to brainstorm what do you guys think about, since Perry House is going to have a kitchen, will they be off the meal plan, on the meal plan?

Jerry Berenson: On the meal plan. Kitchen isn’t one that can be used every day to make meals but is for events, traditions, and special programs.

 

Marissa Jackson ’14: I think plans look great. Thank you for the time and energy you’ve put in!
The Housing Committee talked about possibly incorporating old Perry House in terms of materials. Have you had an opportunity to discuss that?

Jerry Berenson: We have discussed that and would love to do it. The problem is we don’t know exactly what the position of Perry House is. We might be able to take it out but we will probably have to demolish it. One of the goals is to find some way. We haven’t gotten far enough into the discussion but would love to find a way to bring it into new Perry House a strong remind of of the building but haven’t figured it out.

 

Marissa Jackson ‘14: You have a theme in mind for the new building – possibly a global house, or Batten House. Have you a theme or idea in mind for the new space more specifically?

Jerry Berenson: We haven’t gotten there yet. Angie and Judy and other have begun to think about it but right now the goal is to get it built.

Emma Rosenblum ‘14: Point of information: Anna and I have been talking to Angie. There is a conversation within Res-Co.

 

Natalie Kato ‘14: How have the student employment policies changed from last semester to this semester (specifically in regards to work study)?  How can we expect these changes to influence students during the next year?  Are these new policies going to remain in place or are they temporary?

Jerry Berenson: The policy beginning this year changed significantly. I will explain a little about the reason. In the past students have received a promise of student employment as part of the financial aid package. In the past we always had enough jobs on campus – everyone can work who wants to work. Starting last year there weren’t enough jobs for everybody. There was a situation of having promised jobs to students and they weren’t there. So we changed the policy this year. The reason is we have more students receiving these promises than we have in the past. There are also a few less jobs on campus because of some budget cutting over many years. Those are the reasons for the situation. It’s not a big problem. There are 20 or 25 more students. We said to the employers, in the spring, hire whoever you want. If they are working now and you want to keep them for next year, you can re-hire them. When the fall comes we will give priority to students who have student employment awards. Hire them before other jobs can be offered to students who do not have student employment awards.

Will this be an ongoing policy? Yes, unless something changes where we have enough jobs for everybody. We needed policy this year to keep promises to students.

 

Colin Baumann ‘14: So my question stems from the fact that 3 years from now people hired in the spring will have worked for the department which started for a work study type program so the bulk of student workers will be a higher number of work study students. In addition, Bryn Mawr has a history not the best class financial aid distribution – scholarship students had to live in certain dorm rooms that were cheaper. How can we keep it from becoming a stigma on campus that if a student has a job, they are on work study?

Jerry Berenson: That’s a good question. It has been an insignificant shift. Over time I agree that’s something that could change. I think it’s something that we have to keep an eye on. We would love to see if we could find the money – not a huge amount of money – but go back to old policy with enough jobs for all students who want to work on campus. This is a ;egitimate concern that the college must take very seriously and I hope we don’t get to that point.

 

Anna Kalinsky ’15: How many students do we employ on campus? You said the difference is 25 students. Is there a decrease in jobs or increase in students looking for employment?

Jerry Berenson: More students getting awards, and a few less jobs because of budget cutting. We employ over 1,000 students but some are working one-time jobs for a week or two, or work two hours a week on a project. It’s a little misleading. We probably have 700-800 regular type jobs. I can estimate we have 2/3rds of the students receiving awards and 1/3rd aren’t.

 

Natalie Kato ‘14: Is there anything happening with regards to divestment at Bryn Mawr?  From when the Board of Trustees were on campus, we have heard discussion about a sustainability coordinator for Bryn Mawr.  Is this something that the college is looking to invest in?

Kim Cassidy: The group making decisions discussed the proposal for fossil fuel divestment over the summer. The committee recommended against divestment. At its October meeting the board did modify on voting proxy. We didn’t vote all of our proxy vote – we only voted on certain issues, and added sustainability topics to those. The vote proxy when provided with information and shareholder resolutions didn’t do it by just tossing a coin; they did it in that manner with research. The entire board participated in conversations with the student body, mainly the Board of Trustees representatives and students in the Sustainability Leadership Group to talk about other ways in which the college could more toward greater sustainability and concerns for those issues. This resulted in wonderful conversations and charged the cabinet with following up. We received a number of recommendations, specifically the sustainability coordinator. The budgets are already allocated for this year so any additions would result in cutting another budget or finding money from different places. This has been a creative exercise. We are thinking about 100% wind energy and updating our carbon footprint that would be accurate in reflecting changes that we’ve made. We want to fulfill the functions of a sustainability coordinator through existing offices and developing programs, internships, and the President’s Office to assume some responsibility for coordination across constituencies. There is also a possibility of hiring a joint Bi-Co sustainability coordinator.

 

Anna Kalinsky ‘14: It does come up a lot that Bryn Mawr has to cut budgets or find money. Where do you find it?

Kim Cassidy: Things cost less when we think we do. For example, insurance rates and fuel costs. You might find money for wind energy because other costs of energy are lower.

 

Natalie Kato ‘14: Are there ways in which the CEO, CPD, Pensby, or LILAC are planning to collaborate in the future?  If so, what can students look forward to?  How is LILAC being utilized and what programming is being planned to better connect the CEO and CPD?

Judy Balthazar: The Civic Engagement Office and Pensby have collaborated for years. One of the ways is with the development of LEAP, the leadership program that is being housed in the CEO. The whole LILAC staff, which includes the CEO, the CPD, and Katie Krimmel, is meeting regularly with the Dean’s Office staff which includes deans, student activities, Res Life, and the Pensby Center. We are making sure that we are adderessing the same issues and working with agendas that compliment each other. They get to know each other and collaboration will develop. You can always inform us about specific things that you want to see, and we are confident that Michelle Rainey, Katie Krimmel, and Vanessa Christman can collaborate better in the future.

Kim Cassidy: CPD and LILAC worked together on the job search boot camp that occurred and there will be more collaboration. They will also launch something called BMC Direct Line, which links students with alums. This will begin with seniors and then we will work to make it more available to expand connections between the alum network and students. The internship coordinator will develop internships for students, find internships, help students prepare for them, and process them when you come back and linked to a major area of study.

David Karen is the faculty fellow for LILAC. I will echo Judy’s encouragement – if you have ideas, please feel free to pass them along!

 

Karina Siu ‘14: I was wondering if you could briefly discuss the reasoning behind creating LILAC and re-say what it stands for?

Kim Cassidy: It stands for Leadership, Innovation, and Liberal Arts Center. It was named to capture the concept of bringing them together. Katie Krimmel is open to other possibilities for names! It was the best option of the table.

 

Karina Siu ‘14: Will the center become where the CEO and CPD are housed or will they stay separate entities working together?

Judy Balthazar: We don’t know physically yet.

 

Natalie Kato ‘14: What has Access Services been involved with on campus recently?  What are the goals and initiatives of Access Services?  How is accessibility being incorporated into the new dorm (i.e. do we know any tangible plans for access in the dorm?)

Judy Balthazar: Access services have been fully integrated into the Dean’s Office since we moved to Guild. We want to help Deb Alder, the new coordinator, to get to know the college well, develop relationships with students, and make sure that she is serving everybody well. Deb has been with us since August. Her schedule may sound busy, but don’t be deterred – she loves drop-ins and would be glad to see you. Her main goal is to help students who have documented disabilities to get accommodations that they need. They can come to her with questions if they may be in a place where they could use accommodations and she can help advise them. She works with the deans and the members of the college to plan. Her constituencies are not just students but faculty and staff as well. The new dorm is going to be fully accessible.

Jerry Berenson: The dorm will be fully accessible. I should point out that we have made significant improvements for campus accessibility. The loop that goes in front of the Campus Center and comes back in front of Canaday is completely accessible. We redid the path past Thomas in front of Goodhart to Rhoads which is now accessible, which is really important because much of Rhoads is completely accessible but in the past there was no accessible way to get there. That was a significant improvement. We are always looking for opportunities to improve accessibility on campus.

 

Colin Baumann ‘14: Are there future plans for more accessible paths? I know you leveled Merion Green and made the path along Thomas and Rock down to Rhoads.

Jerry Berenson: It’s a money issue. We want to make the front entrance of the Campus Center accessible.

 

Sofia Oleas ‘15: Collier Library does not have an accessible door. You cannot press the button in order to have the door open. What would be the way to go about fixing that?

Jerry Berenson: We haven’t looked at that yet. We can meet with the accessibility committee – it meets a couple times a semester and talks about those issues and prioritizes a list and looks for funding.

 

Sam Terry ‘14: My question has to do with thinking about socioeconomic status as a barrier to accessibility. What can the college do to financially support or absorb cost to get accommodation and why is there no conversation about that?

Judy Balthazar: That’s a good question and a great need. I don’t have an answer for you. I’ll look into it.

 

Natalie Kato ‘14: We will now have an open Q&A forum.

Emma Rosenblum ’14: I have one question related to financial aid and jobs, and another related to professors and accommodations. I was talking to a staff member about positions with certain qualifications and prioritizing those who need to work versus those who possess qualifications for a job.

Jerry Berenson: There are always exceptions to the policy. No process, no form.

Emma Rosenblum ‘14: Is there education given to faculty and staff members about how to accommodate in classes in a respectful manner?

Judy Balthazar: There is a new faculty orientation. I’m not sure that we do much follow up.

Emma Rosenblum ‘14: It’s important to have follow-up for students who don’t identify their disability to college administration.

 

Karina Siu ‘14: Will you make sure that the lighting is useful for studying at night as well? In a lot of buildings we have to bring our own light fixtures. Is heating going to be able to be modified by students in dorms or will it all be centrally controlled?

Joseph Marra: The lighting equipping in rooms will be similar to those in Brecon. Each room will have adequate lighting. The rooms will have day lighting and laighting from fixtures. The controls will be a building-wide.

 

Colin Baumann ‘14: Is there old faculty orientation?

Judy Balthazar: They communicate with new faculty and with each other. We also mentor.

Kim Cassidy: The faculty gets feedback during their reviews. During their promotion and tenure is another time that feedback is solicited.

Colin Baumann ‘14: Outside of student evaluations, what’s the process like if there’s an issue with a professor who received tenure and hasn’t had a review.

Judy Balthazar: It is not uncommon to hear about concerns. It can be put in writing and sent to me and the provost. We can talk to the faculty member or bring in a mediator. It might not result in the change the student might be hoping for but it could give faculty student feedback.

Kim Cassidy: All faculty reviewed every 3 years.

Colin Baumann ‘14: Confidentiality is breached when talking to the dean and provost and then faculty. Also, faculty members might be writing recommendations for students.

Judy Balthazar: Put these into your evaluations at the end of class – that is one way to be anonymous. Be clear with your dean that you want to be anonymous but then they might not be able to share specific with the professor.

 

Pamudu Tennakoon ‘15: I have a question about students on work study. Students who have jobs on campus have less time to dedicate to extracurriculars, or SGA. Have you thought about how you could make these people who have work study feel like they can get involved without having them feel like they are too stressed?

Jerry Berenson: Work does impact everything you can do. Normally people keep it to 12 hours a week, not 20 hours a week. Nobody is permitted to work more than 17 hours a week – it’s less than that because of everything else students need to accomplish.

Judy Balthazar: Figure out a way for your job you hold to have meaning, so that you can move through it to use it to get a job in the future.

Jerry Berenson: One of the purposes of LILAC is to make working a more meaningful experience. You can do better by making more jobs meaningful in the academic interests or career interests.

 

Elizabeth Vandenberg ‘16: What is the process that incoming students go through about how to use access services?

Judy Balthazar: They receive a newsletter from the Dean’s Office and access services highlighted.

Elizabeth Vandenberg ‘16: Can be put on the common app? There is a space on the common app to put information about access services – just someone to contact.

Namita Dwarakanath ‘15: I transferred in the spring. We lacked information and haven’t been integrated to the full potential. It would be nice if spring transfers could have a longer orientation than a couple hours.

Judy Balthazar: We have very few students who come in mid-year. It’s something I know that Christina Rose is working on. People are obligated to make a transition. There is a formal ceremony and a one-on-one relationship with a formal orientation. This is high on our agenda and we are open to more feedback.

 

Karina Siu ‘14: I know that when you graduate, most people have the opportunity to participate in an exit interview – what happens with those interviews once they’re taken? How do you implement what you hear into future plans?

Kim Cassidy: When you graduate most students have the opportunity for an exit interview. They are assigned to faculty or staff who find you and offer the interview. We want to hear about common experiences across the college. We usually get people who are very unhappy and very happy, so we are not too reactive because of issues regarding sampling.

Natalie Kato ‘14: I think we’re about to conclude the Big Cheese forum. Thank you for coming out tonight! If anybody has questions that they think of after the forum or have just thought about now, please email sga@bmc. We will try to get them to you next week.

 

Announcements:

Colin Baumann ‘14: I’m trying to keep a hold on large campus functions. Need paid bouncers next semester? Tell me, for budgeting reasons.

Natalie Kato ‘14: SGA is holding an event on Friday November 22nd from 4 PM to 7 PM. It’s called s’moreSGAsbord! There will be s’mores on Merion Green and an activity and some prizes to go along with the activity.

Anna Sargeant ‘15: Are you having a fire pit? They are not allowed by the township of Lower Merion.

Natalie Kato ‘14: We are using barbeques from dining services

Colin Baumann ‘14: Do you have a bad weather date/location?

Natalie Kato ‘14: December 13th.

Sam Terry ‘14: What’s the activity?

Natalie Kato ‘14: A surprise! Also we will have vegan marshmallows by the way.

Natalie Zamora ‘14, Ali Krusinski ‘16, Meg Sumner-Moore ‘15, Sofia Oleas ‘15:

Natalie Zamora ‘14: Thank everyone who helped for East vs. West this Saturday! We couldn’t have done it without you. Colin, Anna, Elizabeth, Kayla, Carolyn, Nina, Danyelle, and anyone else who helped out! Thank you so much!

Ali Krusinski ‘16, Meg Sumner-Moore ‘15, Sofia Oleas ’15: Thank you!

Karina Siu ‘14: There are exciting things in athletics. Basketball won their first game! Cross country was at their regional meet and Claudia Keep is going to the national meet. Congratulate her! All of our sports have had at least one athlete recognized at the Centennial Conference Honors.
On Wednesday the tennis team is having a fundraiser at Pinkberry – part of the proceeds go back to the tennis team. Get something you like and help out Bryn Mawr communities!
We had a SAAC meeting at 8:30 and we had community service by cheering on the Philadelphia marathon runners and handing out Gatorade and water.

Lindsey Crowe ‘14: For senior cocktails, we are sending out a survey so that you can fill out things that you liked and things that you want to fix. The photos that we took will be posted on a Flickr account soon.
Colin Baumann ‘14: Can you send a link to the Flickr account?

Lindsey Crowe ‘14: I will. My computer isn’t loading them yet.

Anna Sargeant ‘15: With Hell Week just around the corner, Pamudu and I wanted to make an announcement. Sports, Posse, affinity groups, a cappella groups, and clubs: if you are intending to hell anyone in your specific groups please look out for an email from us because we will have to look through your schedules. You will need to be trained, and separately meet with us. If you do not do this you will be going against the spirit of the Honor Code. Keep an eye out so we can keep Hell Week safe and fun for everyone!

Marian Slocum ‘15: Why is this a new thing?

Anna Sargeant ‘15: Every first-year experiencing Hell Week has the right to a Hell Week committee-sanctioned heller. Hellers can be individuals but it can also be teams or groups. We need to make sure that the things that they do are not hazing. We are showing the administration that we are not having hazing.

Pamudu Tennakoon ‘15: This is similar to how we look at dorm schedules. If teams, clubs, or groups are helling a group of students, we need to look it over.

Marian Slocum ‘15: What prompted this?

Pamudu Tennakoon ‘15: We send out a Hell Week survey every single year from first-years. We are responding to things that came up in the surveys.

Carolyn Jacoby ‘14: This isn’t a new process; this is just the first time it’s being advertised.

Anna Sargeant ‘15: Last year sports teams and other groups were required to do this but it was last-minute. We are making sure that this happens in a timely manner and that everyone is made known to these ground rules.

Karina Siu ‘14: I can bring it up to SAAC. Do you want sports teams to do it, or only if they decided that they are helling the freshmen? Soccer doesn’t hell as a team, but most of the first-years ask upperclassmen on the team.

Anna Sargeant ‘15: This is aimed towards groups that do hell as a group. For example, a cappella groups have hell tasks. Rugby does the same thing. We want them to be regulated, under control, safe, and happy.

Ola Madamidola ‘16: Is this for dorms?

Anna Sargeant ‘15: It is already set in place with dorms. We meet with head Traditions reps. This is something that’s been done for years.

Yanira Santos ‘16: I’m confused about Posse. You said that this is for groups that are helling freshmen as a group. Posse doesn’t do that.

Anna Sargeant ‘15: As far as we were aware Posse did have special things. We just wanted to include it. If you don’t have it, then when we send out the email, whoever responds can inform us that they don’t hell in this way that other groups do. We just wanted to be inclusive.

Amani Chowdhury ‘14: This is a thank you! Thank you to everyone who came to the Honor Code discussion! Thank you! I’ve been getting a lot of feedback. If you have any more you can email me at honorboard@bmc.

Natalie Kato ‘14: For the rep council or anyone who attends, nextw eek is a holiday picture! Come dressed however you wish!

Your 2 Cents:

Amani Chowdhury ‘14: I have a straw poll. Recently I crashed a Res-Co meeting and talked about presenting and going through an abstract, just to get a feel about Honor Board procedures. I want to see if you would be interested.

Natalie Kato ‘14:
Seeing in what Amani said: Many hands
Not in favor: No hands
Abstain: One abstention

We look forward to seeing a mock trial soon!

Old Business:

Natalie Kato ‘14: I was recently informed by the Res-Co heads that when you are submitting food waivers, if you are having a meeting in the dorm you do not need a food waiver, unless it is able to be reserved by Virtual EMS, or Rhoads Dining Hall, or the basement of Merion.

Colin Baumann ‘14: What happens if they don’t submit it?

Natalie Kato ‘14: We don’t know!

Karina Siu ‘14: I understand the food waiver in regards to reserving a space but what if we bring food if we didn’t reserve a space?

Anna Kalinsky ‘15: Planned spontaneous snacking is not in the spirit of the Honor Code. If you have any questions you can ask me at akalinsky@bmc or email Emma at erosenblum@bmc. We will bring them to Tuesday group and bring them back to you!