Summary :
- The meeting began at 7:10 PM with Role Call.
- Present: Katherine Nichols, Abbie Sullivan, Camila Duluc, Tyler Brown-Cross, Bridget Murray, Kyra Sagal, Sam Heyrich, Catherine Bunza, Sohini Maniar, Sophie Goldstein, Milan Fredrick, Cassidy Gruber, Hannah Henderson-Charnow, Priyanka Dutta, Connie Lam, Lillian Oyen-Ustad, Nikki Shakamuri, Lea Williams, Leticia Robledo, Veda Nambi, Juhi Aggarwal, Jessica Breet, Makeda Warde, Farida Ilboudo, Emma Porter, Evelyn Aviles, Madison Brown, Emily Drummond, Sarah Awad, Celeste Ledesma
- Absent: Ananya Kumar, Elizabeth Hilton, Precious Robinson, Abby Chernila, Dilesha Tanna, Margaret Gorman, Manal Hussein, May Zhu, Adriana Gay, Phoebe Dopulos, Nicky Westerduin, Jasmine Rangel, Emma Lasky, Emma Levin, Claire Romaine, Claire Gaposchkin
- Announcements:
- The room draw process begins this week, more details can be found below.
- SAAC will be having a cookie hour on Wednesday, March 1 in the Campus Center. Come stop by!
- Rock St. Patty’s is Friday, March 17 in Rock from 10:00 to 2:00. Servers and bouncers are still needed. Please email Celeste Ledesma at cledesma@brynmawr.edu if interested.
- Volunteers for Plenary are still needed! Plenary is Sunday, March 19. If interested, please email Rachel Bruce at rbruce@brynmawr.edu. If you have a shirt, please consider volunteering again as several were taken and we are now running low on new ones.
- Your Two Cents:
- There were no Your Two Cents.
- New E-Board Introductions:
- The 2017-18 SGA E-Board introduced themselves. They are Alisha Clark ’18 (President), Nanda Bhushan ’19 (Vice President), Delia Landers ’19 (Secretary), Anna Huang ’19 (Treasurer), and Swati Shastry ’18 (Head of the Honor Board).
- Old E-Board Reflections:
- The 2016-17 SGA E-Board (Rhea Mangalni, Shaina Robinson, Rachel Bruce, Jocelyne Oliveros, and Swati Shastry) each reflected on their time on the E-Board this year, their accomplishments, and any words of advice that they had.
- Plenary Resolution Presentations:
- Proposed Plenary Resolutions were presented and discussed. The minutes can be found in the transcript below.
- Old Business:
- There was no Old Business.
- New Business:
- Abbie Sullivan ’17 talked about what happened at the February Faculty meeting. More can be found in the transcript below.
- The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 PM.
— TRANSCRIPT—
Role Call:
Rhea Manglani ’17: It’s 7:10, we’re going to start the meeting with Role Call.
Rachel Bruce ’18: Hi, everyone! I’m required by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to tell you that everything said here tonight will be recorded for the minutes.
Present: Katherine Nichols, Abbie Sullivan, Camila Duluc, Tyler Brown-Cross, Bridget Murray, Kyra Sagal, Sam Heyrich, Catherine Bunza, Sohini Maniar, Sophie Goldstein, Milan Fredrick, Cassidy Gruber, Hannah Henderson-Charnow, Priyanka Dutta, Connie Lam, Lillian Oyen-Ustad, Nikki Shakamuri, Lea Williams, Leticia Robledo, Veda Nambi, Juhi Aggarwal, Jessica Breet, Makeda Warde, Farida Ilboudo, Emma Porter, Evelyn Aviles, Madison Brown, Emily Drummond, Sarah Awad, Celeste Ledesma
Absent: Ananya Kumar, Elizabeth Hilton, Precious Robinson, Abby Chernila, Dilesha Tanna, Margaret Gorman, Manal Hussein, May Zhu, Adriana Gay, Phoebe Dopulos, Nicky Westerduin, Jasmine Rangel, Emma Lasky, Emma Levin, Claire Romaine, Claire Gaposchkin
Announcements:
Rhea Manglani: All right, now it’s time for Announcements. Announcements are a time when any member of the Bryn Mawr community can make an announcement. We have allotted ten minutes for this agenda item. Are there any announcements?
Bridget Murray ‘17: So some announcements from ResLife. Applications for Off-Campus Housing are due tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM. That was in an email and can be found on the ResLife website, as well as Room Draw stuff. Non seniors-check your emails— seniors an**** ****, we never have to do this again— the weekend after Spring Break is when housing forms are due. Everyone has to do that. Your account has to be cleared. Keep that in mind over Spring Break. Also during WTF Week, 45 of the 75 “Expect Bryn Mawr” flags were stolen. Please return them— to replace them is going to cost four to five thousand dollars. Property theft is still property theft. Please return them to Guild or Campus Safety, no questions asked.
Madison Brown 17: On the email you said March 27 for DP’s, which one is right?
Bridget Murray ‘17: This Monday.
Emma Porter ‘17: I just wanted to give a last minute reminder that if you want to apply to be a Tour Guide for the Admissions Office the deadline is tomorrow. A link to the application was sent out in emails, but if you want link email me at elporter@brynmawr.edu.
Sam Heyrich ‘17: SAAC President, I am excited to announce that this Wednesday, March 1 we will be having our monthly cookie hour open to everyone on campus, compliments of SAAC. This will be a celebration of the amazing efforts given by athletes. This also is a great opportunity to meet people you might not have classes with. It’s also a pre-Spring season kickoff. Good luck on midterms and hope to see you Wednesday!
Jessica Breet ‘17: Erdman is having its first dorm party on Saturday, April 1, but if you’re cool and want to organize and bounce please let me know.
Celeste Ledesma ‘17: Hi, just wanted to remind you guys that Rock St. Patty’s is Friday March 17, the first Friday after spring break. We’re still looking for bouncers and servers, let me know if you’re interested!
Rachel Bruce ‘18: Hi everyone, the sign-up sheet for Plenary Volunteers is being sent out this week so please be on the lookout for that. We’re asking that people who volunteered last semester consider coming back again, as a number of shirts mysteriously disappeared during Plenary so we are lower on shirts than we planned. If you do not want to volunteer but have a friend who is, please consider lending them your shirt for the evening. Thanks! If you have any questions please email me at rbruce@brynmawr.edu.
[Your Two Cents]
New E-Board Introduction:
Rhea Manglani ’17: Now it’s time to introduce the new Executive Board!
Alisha Clark ‘18: I’m SGA’s President. A little bit about myself aside, I’ve worked from the Pensby Center to Admissions, all ends of the campus. I’m a Sociology Major and aspiring pre-med with a Health Minor concentration. My sign is a Cancer (we’re doing fun facts).
Delia Landers ‘19: She/her pronouns, Capricorn, and a double major in Fine Arts and PoliSci. I’m the new Secretary!
Anna Huang ‘19: Chemistry and Math Double Major, SGA Treasurer, she/her pronouns. I’m the Treasurer because I like to deal with money and I am an Aquarius.
Swati Shastry ‘18: New head of the Honor Board and old. I am an Aries.
Nanda Bhushan ‘19: She/her pronouns. I’m the Vice President. I’m also a CompSci and International Studies Double Major and Taurus.
Rhea Manglani ‘17: Thank you! So please come to Plenary so I can retire.
Old E-Board Reflections:
Rachel Bruce ‘18: Hi everyone! My name is Rachel Bruce, class of 2018 (she/her pronouns), and this year I had the honor of serving as your SGA Secretary. I have truly loved everyone moment of serving in this position. When I took on this position last year, my goals were overall to make SGA more transparent and accessible. I feel that I have accomplished many of these goals. I added summaries to the SGA minutes so that students did not have to read through 20 pages of verbatim dialogue to know what’s going on, though that’s always there if they wanted to. I also added agenda descriptions into the meeting emails so that students would know what each item was for and why we were talking about. One thing I really wanted to do was bring back Hot Topics, which we did as an E-Board, so that SGA would be come a place where we would have hard but important discussions about race, religion, and class. We did this with Hot Topics on the Swastikas at Swarthmore, the Swat article talking about socioeconomic class, and the Confederate Flag incident and looking back at the last three years to see what has changed and what has not in terms of racism on Bryn Mawr’s campus. I also created the SGA Snapchat (which you should all add, by the way, @bmc_sga) and better regulated the role of Member-at-Large. As an E-Board, we opened up the Plenary planning process to get student feedback on the themes, in addition to hosting a successful Fall Plenary where we reached quorum in under an hour with the introduction of Night Plenary. Overall, I am really proud of the work that we have done as an E-Board and it’s been a privilege to serve you all. Also, if I ever yelled at you to use your name and class year, I apologize! Thank you, everyone.
Swati Shastry ‘18: I’m the Head of the Honor Board, old and new. I did a lot of things I can’t really talk about, but I enjoyed it so much that I want to do it again.
Rhea Manglani ‘17: I wrote something down because I get nervous around crowds. I honestly have let SGA impact my grades, social life, and mental health. My advice to all of you is that it’s definitely not worth it all the time to make crazy sacrifices. Teamwork is important, that was something Charlie warned me all about. To the rest of you, sorry if I ever disappointed you. There’s a learning curve for me and a lot of times there were times that I was limited because of things in my life. To be honest, I don’t have that many regrets. The five of us really put in our best. I didn’t really know Swati, Shaina, or Jocelyne. I am really happy that we got to spend so much time together, Shaina. You know, the reason I ran. And Alisha, I really do believe in you. I’ve seen you do different things on this campus. You can learn anything about SGA, it’s the hard stuff that how do I think on my feet. I’m very happy that you’re going to take this on. For the rest of you, especially those of you who came in the beginning, I was a mess in the first meeting. You have seen me freak out and trip up. I really like you guys and I’m sorry if I didn’t get to learn all of your names. SGA has been so difficult. I’ve seen a lot of you grow during this. Some of you didn’t talk during the meetings but now you do. I’m definitely not going to touch anything after March 19, but you’re all in good hands with the new E-Board.
Shaina Robinson ‘17: First and foremost thank you, Rhea. One of my goals as SGA Vice President was to have an Appointments Committee that could shape the campus for the better. Overall, I feel pretty content with what I was able to accomplish. I continued the initiatives, work to establish heads for each committee, successfully fixed the bylaws in a long time, and made it hopefully more accessible. Appointments had successful rounds and I just want to thank the Appointments Committee (Nanda, Delia, Anushka, and Kamara). I know this committee can be a lot and as a member of this committee I value the time I’ve spent with all of you.
Jocelyne Oliveros ’18: So I actually think my greatest achievement was being called “Sugar Daddy”. Before I got this gig, I was treasurer of Mujeres. I was curious to understand why certain clubs got cut and others didn’t— where the money was going. What I intended to do and what I started doing this semester was to understand and use the money that wasn’t being used. Budget items like grievances for clubs that forwent funding. I tried to document a lot of what the role entails so that the transition process is more smoother. Overall, it has been a privilege. I’ve gotten to witness the enthusiasm of what Mawrters are known for and it’s been great knowing all of you guys.
Plenary Resolution Presentations:
Rhea Manglani ‘17: All right, enough touchy feely. The next agenda is Plenary Resolution Presentations.
The first three are by new the current E-Board. The first is to institute night plenary, to ensure people to come within an hour and fifteen minutes. Text friends or grab them there physically.
Next, basically this is kind of a flaw we’ve had. We keep telling people there’s a rule for five absences, unexcused. If you email and say I’m sick and do something ahead of time and let the Secretary know, that’s fine. If you didn’t feel like coming, that’s different.
Third one, something Charlie had talked to us about. We don’t pay our Executive Board and I will tell you this is a ridiculous amount of work. I spent all day on Christmas day because of the Trump girl incident. I’ve cut work hours but have sustained my self by working over summer and I know not everyone can do that. This is to give a stipend of $1000 for two Traditions people and the Executive Board. There will be a $500 travel stipend for the McBride Traditions Mistresses.
Sohini Maniar ’18: When would this be implemented?
Rhea Manglani ‘17: Unfortunately not until next year. Also to explain, you can get up to $1000. If you think you don’t deserve that much, you can keep $200 and give the rest back.
Jessica Breet: It doesn’t indicate the amount of time.
Rhea Manglani ‘17: It’s for the entire year. It’s not the biggest stipend.
Izi Silverstein ‘18: I’m curious where it says the amount. It seems like it should be more. Would there be different breakdown for Secretary, President, etc.?
Rhea Manglani ‘17: To answer the first half, the money is coming from SGA funds. You can’t take that much because it’s club money. The administration can’t pay us. If you did that you can’t be elected because technically you’re an employee of the college then (legal stuff). So it says you can be paid up to a thousand. If someone says that they don’t feel comfortable taking the whole thing, they don’t have to. Each Exec Board position is in charge of a committee. Technically overseeing them is my committee. It’s not just this weekly meetings. Based on our conversations, we all put in an equal amount of work. President’s a little weird.
Alisha Clark ‘18: Is there any way we can increase the SGA budget?
Rhea Manglani ‘17: We talked about it and it doesn’t seem possible as of yet. We want this in place as of now.
Makeda Warde ‘17: So where does the SGA budget come from?
Rhea Manglani ‘17: The SGA dues you pay with tuition.
Makeda Warde ‘17: So to increase the budget you have to increase the fine?
Rhea Manglani ‘17: Yes, but this I staying in the confines.
Rhea Manglani ‘17: Next resolution is the new E-Board.
Alisha Clark ‘18: So we’re going to make this short and sweet for you guys. As we change, the constitution will change as well. It serves needs of the BMC undergraduates and it represents the community and its entirety. We are now together hopefully next year as a transition this is going to be common. I want everyone in the E-Board to speak their mind. So we will now be presenting four new resolutions, first by me.
First resolution speaks about SGA’s mission.
Whereas Article I, Section I, Subsection A the mission of Bryn Mawr’s Self Government Association reads that “The purpose of SGA shall be the governance of the undergraduate student body.”
Whereas the student body is not being currently represented wholly by the constitution or the association as it is now written.
Whereas the previous mission statement only encapsulated the most basic of function and did not consider inclusivity and continuous change
Whereas the voices of marginalized communities on campus have been historically and are currently silenced.
Whereas SGA is not being properly used to address the concerns and demands of students
Whereas SGA has the potential to be a representative voice for all students on campus in every of aspect of college life and this platform needs to be utilized fully in order to enact the change that students deem necessary
Be it resolved that Article I, Section I, Subsection A read “The purpose of SGA is to center the needs of the students and to uplift the voices of marginalized communities.”
Any questions?
Swati Shastry ‘18: I’m reading the next one.
Whereas II, Section 2 reads “The Assembly may adopt as its parliamentary authority the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised”.
Whereas the rhetoric of Robert’s Rules of Order is inaccessible and does not allow for fluid discourse and productive decision making
Whereas the nature of Robert’s Rules of Order does not allow for the student body to fully understand the amendments being proposed or the issues being discussed
Whereas the terminology used during Plenary and other SGA meetings is antiquated
Whereas Section IV, Section 3 Subsection D states “at the beginning of each semester the rep-co shall vote on an established meeting procedure to be followed for the duration of the executive board” creates a precedent for the meeting structure to be reviewed alongside the structure of Plenary
Be it resolved that Article II, Section 2 now read “The Assembly may adopt as its parliamentary authority the Social Honor Code”.
So basically what we’re trying to do is rethink how we want to look at SGA meetings as we are now. A lot of people don’t understand the language of Roberts’ Rules of Order. We want to make it so anyone from the community can come [and know what’s going on]. So we’re thinking that we could find a new system. We’re totally open to suggestions. We’re thinking of modeling it along the lines of Social Honor Code with respect and positive confrontation. We need some kind of structure that’s healthy. People can use Roberts’ Rules as an option. People can use the Social Honor Code if they want to. We aren’t sure yet, let me know if you have any suggestions.
Jessica Breet ‘18: So this is just the suggestion to change it?
Swati Shastry ‘18: We want to suggest it.
Sam Heyrich ‘18: Have you looked into what Haverford has for their version of SGA?
Swati Shastry ‘18: I can look into that, yes.
Delia Landers ‘18: Third resolution.
Whereas there are currently only five Executive Board positions, and there is no specific position for ensuring all students are being represented and all voices, specifically those of color, are being heard.
Whereas many communities have not been represented on this campus
Whereas the Alliance of Multicultural Organizations has not been incorporated into the governing operations
Whereas issues of equality and social justice have not been consistently considered in the SGA procedure
Whereas SGA as a historically white institution needs a fixed position that works with the rest of the E-Board to correct the inter-generational formation of ignorance
Be it resolved that Article IV, Section 3, Subsection 3, read
“F. Chair of the Social Justice and Equity.
- The Chair of the Social Justice and Equity Committee shall be held by only one person at any one time.
- The Chair of the Social Justice and Equity Committee should serve as a liaison between the Pensby Center and the Representative Council.
- One of the primary functions of the Chair of the Social Justice and Equity Committee is to vote in the Representative Council meetings and to participate in achieving Representative Council’s long and short-term goals.
- In order to accurately represent the Pensby Center, the representative must spend at least one hour every two weeks in conversation with the full time and/or student staff of the Pensby Center.
- In addition to this, the representative acts as a liaison between the Diversity and Leadership Group and the assembly
- The Chair of the Social Justice and Equity Committee is responsible for guiding the Executive Board and the Representative Council towards wider goals of diversity and inclusion.
- Every semester the Chair of the Social Justice and Equity Committee will briefly present on the various talks, panels, and discussion groups that they convened including topic, number of participants, and ideas on how to build on this work in the years to come.
And so we’re also going to add in a section about meeting with AMO groups.
Rhea Manglani ‘17: I would consider making this co-held.
Rachel Bruce ‘18: Is this going to replace the Pensby Center Representative position?
Delia Landers ’19: Yes, it’s going to replace that.
Lea Williams ‘20: Is this an E-Board position?
Delia Landers ’19: Yes.
Jessica Breet ‘18: It just says RepCo.
Delia Landers ’19: Okay, that should be more obvious then, thank you.
Lillian Oyen-Ustad ‘19: Two questions. When will this be voted on and will they be included in the payment?
Makeda Warde ’17: So the committee, is this a current committee or a new committee?
Delia Landers ‘19: It’s not a current committee. The Pensby Representative already exists but we will be re-forming it.
Jessica Breet ‘18: Going off that vain, I suggest putting that in there that it will E-Board formed and approximate number of students.
Gabriele Smith ‘17: I’m thinking of the committee. Instead of doing it through Appointments, it might not work out. Maybe putting it maybe in the Constitution of people who have positions who already do this like AMO Group representatives.
Izi Silverstein ‘18: Potentially, though maybe not, people don’t want people who are part of AMO to be part of …funding.
Delia Landers ’19: Thank you, guys.
Nanda Bhushan ‘19: I am presenting the fourth resolution to include co-head or heads of committees as part of the RepCo.
Whereas currently all representative council members are chosen by election.
Whereas each committee appointed by the Appointments Committee has a head that has not been held accountable for the role of their respective committee.
Whereas incorporating these heads into repco will allow for more dedication action of representing the multifaceted nature of the student body
Whereas there needs to be more transparency with the committees so that students can use them as resources and understand the purpose of each committee.
Whereas the involvement in SGA does not encompass a large number of standpoints that come from the many committees that facilitate student involvement
Whereas the Appointments Committee is comprised of elected members who are entrusted with appointing the most qualified candidates.
Be it resolved that Article II, Section 1, Subsections T-FF read
“Subsection T: SGA Access Service Coordinator(s)
- The position of SGA Access Service Coordinator(s) shall be an appointed position, held by one or two people.
- The SGA Access Service Coordinator(s) shall have one vote if co-held.
- The SGA Access Service Coordinator(s) shall serve the interests of their respective committee.
- The SGA Access Service Coordinator(s) shall provide reports for the Appointments Committee regarding their progress every semester.
- The SGA Access Service Coordinator(s) shall attend meetings of the Representative Council.
Subsection U: Bryn Mawr College Concert Series Co-Heads
- The position of the Bryn Mawr College Concert Series Co- Heads shall be an appointed position.
- The Bryn Mawr College Concert Series Co-Heads shall have one vote.
- The Bryn Mawr College Concert Series Co-Heads shall serve the interests of their respective committee.
- The Bryn Mawr College Concert Series Co-Heads shall provide reports for the Appointments Committee regarding their progress every semester.
- The Bryn Mawr College Concert Series Co-Heads shall attend meetings of the Representative Council.
Subsection V: Board of Trustees Representative Head(s)
- The position of Board of Trustees Representative Head(s) shall be an appointed position held by one of two people.
- The Board of Trustees Representative Head(s) shall have one vote if co-held.
- The Board of Trustee Representative Head(s) shall serve the interests of the committee and attend the meetings of the Board of Trustees.
- The Board of Trustees Representative Head(s) shall provide reports for the Appointments Committee regarding their progress every semester.
- The Board of Trustees Representative Head(s) shall attend meetings of the Representative Council.
Subsection W: Campus Greening Representative Head(s)
- The Campus Greening Representative Head(s) shall be an appointed position held by one or two people.
- The Campus Greening Representative Head(s) shall have one vote if co-held.
- The Campus Greening Representative Head(s) shall serve the interests of the committee and meet regularly with the facilities head of grounds.
- The Campus Greening Representative Head(s) shall provide reports for the Appointments Committee regarding their progress every semester.
- The Campus Greening Representative Head(s) shall attend meetings of the Representative Council.
Subsection X: Green Ambassadors Head(s)
- The Green Ambassadors Head(s) shall be an appointed position held by one or two people.
- The Green Ambassadors Head(s) shall have one vote if co-held.
- The Green Ambassadors Head(s) shall serve the interests of the committee and meet regularly with the dorm green ambassadors.
- The Green Ambassadors Head(s) shall provide reports for the Appointments committee regarding their progress every semester.
- The Green Ambassadors Head(s) shall attend meetings of the Representative Council.
Subsection Y: Customs Committee Head(s)
- The Customs Committee Head(s) shall be an appointed position held by one or two people.
- The Customs Committee Head(s) shall have one vote if co-held.
- The Customs Committee Head(s) shall serve the interests of the committee and be present for the customs committee and customs people during customs week and throughout the entire year.
- The Customs Committee Head(s) shall provide reports for the Appointments committee regarding their progress every semester.
- The Customs Committee Head(s) shall attend meetings of the Representative Council.
Subsection Z: Financial Aid Advisory Head(s)
- The Financial Aid Advisory Head(s) shall be an appointed position held by one or two people.
- The Financial Aid Advisory Head(s) shall have one vote if co-held.
- The Financial Aid Advisory Head(s) shall serve the interests of the committee and work with the office of financial aid.
- The Financial Aid Advisory Head(s) shall provide reports for the Appointments Committee regarding their progress every semester.
- The Financial Aid Advisory Head(s) shall attend meetings of the Representative Council.
Subsection AA: Health Center Advisory Board Head(s)
- The Health Center Advisory Board Head(s) shall be an appointed position held by one or two people.
- The Health Center Advisory Board Head(s)shall have one vote if co-held.
- The Health Center Advisory Board Head(s) shall serve the interests of the committee and work closely with the health center.
- The Health Center Advisory Board Head(s) shall provide reports for the Appointments Committee regarding their progress every semester.
- The Health Center Advisory Board Head(s) shall attend meetings of the Representative Council.
Subsection BB: Communications Committee Head(s)
- The Communication Committee Head(s) shall be an appointed held by one or two people.
- The Communication Committee Head(s) shall have one vote if co-held.
- The Communication Committee Head(s) shall serve the interests of the committee.
- The Communication Committee Head(s) shall provide reports for the Appointments Committee regarding their progress every semester.
- The Communication Committee Head(s) shall attend meetings of the Representative Council.
Subsection CC: Plenary Committee Head(s)
- Plenary Committee Head(s) shall be an appointed position held by one or two people.
- Plenary Committee Head(s) shall have one vote if co-held.
- Plenary Committee Head(s) shall serve the interests of the committee and organize plenary.
- Plenary Committee Head(s) shall provide reports for the Appointments Committee regarding their progress every semester.
- Plenary Committee Head(s) shall attend meetings of the Representative Council.
Subsection DD: Seven Sisters Council Head(s)
- The Seven Sisters Council Head(s) shall be an appointed position held by one or two people.
- The Seven Sisters Council Head(s) shall have one vote if co-held.
- The Seven Sisters Council Head(s)shall serve the interests of the committee and plan for the Seven Sisters Conference.
- The Seven Sisters Council Head(s) shall provide reports for the Appointments Committee regarding their progress every semester.
- The Seven Sisters Council Head(s) shall attend meetings of the Representative Council.
Subsection EE: S.TEAM Committee Head(s)
- TEAM Committee Head(s) shall be an appointed position held by one or two people.
- TEAM Committee Head(s) shall have one vote if co-held.
- TEAM Committee Head(s) shall serve the interests of the committee and students pursuing STEM field major or minors.
- TEAM Committee Head(s) shall provide reports for the Appointments Committee regarding their progress every semester.
- TEAM Committee Head(s) shall attend meetings of the Representative Council.
Subsection FF: SGA Webmistress/Webmaster/Webmistex(s)
- SGA WebmX shall be an appointed position held by one or two people.
- SGA WebmX shall have one vote if co-held.
- SGA WebmX shall serve the interests of the committee and work with the Secretary on weekly updating SGA blogs.
- SGA WebmX shall provide reports for the Appointments Committee regarding their progress every semester.
- SGA WebmX shall attend meetings of the Representative Council.
Basically these bullet points are repeated for each head. I’ll give give one example—SGA Access Services Coordinator. It’s an appointed position held by one or two people. They would have one vote if co-held and they shall serves interest of their committee.
Rachel Bruce ‘18: So would these positions be elected or appointed?
Nanda Bhushan ’19: They would be appointed.
Alisha: For social justice and committee, do you want it to be set up so its more clear as to what we’re changing?
Jessica Breet ‘18: I suspect with there might be a problem with this, that the Appointments Committee might be able to hand pick bulk of RepCo. May I ask that the Appointments Committee not be involved in the electing of these officials?
Nanda Bhushan ‘19: We would make it so that the committee would select their own head.
Lillian Oyen-Ustad ‘19: Adding on that, since we oversee the bulk of Customs People, would CP’s be able to choose a representative?
Delia Landers ‘19: There are certain positions where people run as a head. They need to have some qualifications such has having been on the committee previously.
Gabrielle Smith ‘17: When I was on Appointments we decided that every committee needed a head. There’s not really any logic to the way that it is now if that helps you decide.
Nanda Bhushan ‘19: Usually there isn’t a lot if interest in voting for the committee head, and those that are elected are already a part of RepCo.
Rhea: alright let’s move on; these are
Sam: I’m head of SAAC. I’m just going to read off resolution to make the SAAC Representative Position co-held.
Whereas, the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (here in after referred to as SAAC) Representative serves as a member of the Representative Council.
Whereas, the SAAC Representative position currently may only be held by one individual.
Whereas conflicts with athletics, extracurricular activities and other obligations may prevent the SAAC Representative from attending SGA meetings.
Be it resolved, that the SAAC Representative position be co-held by two members of the SAAC Executive Board.
Emma Hoffman ’20: Can there be a way that there are two people from different teams just because with games one person might not be able to always make it.
Sam Heyrich ‘17: That’s the intention behind this, but that’s a good point, thank you! Any other questions? If there are any comments, concerns, etc. email me at sheyrich@brynmawr.edu.
Rhea Manglani ‘17: This is Sophia’s.
Sophia Bokhari ‘20: My resolution is about letting Counseling Center have dogs during therapy sessions. Should I read it?
Rhea: No, I think it kind of speaks for itself.
Maura Fitzpatrick ‘17: Would the Counseling Center be adopting dogs or taking care of them?
Sophia Bokhari ‘20: Reggie is working on it said I should write resolution to get support from the students.
Rhea Manglani ‘17: Sophia is using this to show student support. I’m guessing they would use a service of some kind. You should contact Reggie to clarify that.
Jessica Breet: Other than the resolution, is there any other way to help to make this happen?
Sophia Bokhari: You could show support to faculty at the Counseling Center.
Izi Silvertein ‘18: I’m curious about the funding process for it because from my understanding, some of them stem from funding… Not that I don’t think dogs are great. I’m curious about what seems to be a pretty minimal concern.
Rhea Manglani ‘17: That’s another resolution.
Izi Silverstein ‘18: Never mind, I rescind my question!
Alisha Clark ‘18: What about people who are afraid of dogs and allergic?
Sophia Bokhari ’20: I’ll ask Reggie.
Jessica Breet ‘18: There are hypo-allergenic dogs.
Rhea Manglani ‘17: The Health Center is getting renovated so hopefully vent will not trigger allergies. Next is Maura.
Maura Fitzpatrick ‘17: So I presented a couple weeks ago. The resolution said that a lot of students who do not receive mental healthcare until they are in crisis-mode. Typically, a lot of students can’t afford appropriate care. The resolution is asking that the college provide a stipend to the counseling center about preventative measures so that more students don’t have to worry about this being a last resort. Some of feedback was talking about quality of counselors. I went and talked to Reggie Jones. In terms of hiring more full time counselors, the Counseling Center simply doesn’t have the money for it. Having students come together and talk about it is important in talking how we can prioritize money in the Health Center. For example, if students would prefer to have more counselors than free STI testing that’s kind of the talk of what I hope to accomplish from the forum. After talking to Reggie, it seems kind of offensive that I would talk about or bring in more full-time counselors. It wouldn’t be a good step forward. That could be something that could be put back in, the diversity question that Reggie brought up to me. Students tend to project their views on diversity as a whole. The Health Center has 33% staff of color; therefore this is a greater issue rather than just directing the needs of the Health Center. I don’t really know how to work well with the Health Center.
Gabby Smith ‘17: Since this is a recommendation that’s supposed to reflect the views of the students, just stick with what students are taking because those white counselors are wild. I feel like this resolution should be about what the students want and not what the Health Center.
Maura Fitzpatrick ‘17: Okay. I don’t want to make it feel like we’re about the war with the Health Center but you’re right, this is about the students, it’s not about what I think, it’s about the forum.
Jessica Breet ‘18: Something I the last time where you presented is where the money coming from?
Maura Fitzpatrick ‘17: Dean Walters is working on an emergency fund. This is not only for emergency reasons but also if a student broke their tooth, the school could afford to help replace it. In terms of funding, Reggie and Dr. Kerr informed me that students who can’t afford types of services, if you passed your ten session free limit from talking to staff, they seem to be a little more flexible than what we thought.
Jessica Breet ‘18: So the stipend would be for off campus?
Maura Fitzpatrick ‘17: The stipend would be required when you’re off campus.
Swati Shastry ‘18: So you mentioned a forum, is that open and is that for students to come?
Maura Fitzpatrick ‘17: It’s not open, it’s randomly selected. It’s for my thesis. I’m trying to measure the impact of forums on decision making. I’m also trying to have representative voice, which is why it’s a sample.
Emma Porter ‘17: I was wondering if you should include in your resolution and what the results of that forum would be. I’m concerned that when you present this at Plenary, people will ask why it’s so big. It’s going to be so the voices of the students.
Maura Fitzpatrick ‘17: The forum happens before Plenary. I’ve been working with Rhea about it. If anyone has any questions about my project, I know I’m being ambiguous, but email me at mefitzpatric@brynmawr.edu
Nanda Bhushan ‘19: Just in reference to the ambiguity, you could reach out to the Health Center Advisory Board.
Maura Fitpatrick ’17: I’m actually curious. I looked online but couldn’t find who they are. Who are you? Okay, I’ll talk to you. Reggie and Dr. Kerr also talked about the strengthening of the role of the board. Anything else? Thank you for your time.
Rhea Manglani ‘17: Bridget and Kyra.
Bridget Murray ‘17: Bridget Murray, class of 2017.
Kyra Sagal ’17: Kyra Sagal, class of 2017.
Bridget Murray ‘17: We’re the ResCo Heads. This is a series of amendments to the section of Constitution outlining the Dorm Present. We’re updating some things and removing some of the bureaucracy of poeple who want to be on DLT and SGA. It’s big commitment, so the changes involve updating description to reflect the current actual duties as to what DP’s do and do not do, updating things that were made last year that were not made in the subsection, spltting up DP and SGA position. DLT will be able to be filled out by end of academic year. Also if a DP has to step down during the year, allowing them to keep their position. It would not be affiliated with the SGA position.
Madison Brown ’17: I know last time I asked if this would apply to co-held positions. I’m curious to why if students were running with someone else why this would apply to them. People who get to do this later don’t have to go to DLT training. You’re saying that after an elections cycle is run, basically my question is what we’re doing now, if you have people who are willing to do it initially, if you have two people but only one can go to ResCo and one can go to SGA, why not write that in right now because then they’re able to go to DLT training as opposed to all of this happening?
Bridget Murray ‘17: So we have one arrangement where one person goes to SGA and the other to ResCo. This would lead to a lot of lack of transparency. It seems like you’re not fulfilling the DLT position or SGA end of position, one kind of … does not feel necessary. We end up having to dip into other positions— Customs People. We try to not have DLT members also be DP.
Madison Brown ‘17: So I guess my question is if this is an emergency, why not make that happen earlier. If I understand, if person if someone has to step down that’s not an…
Bridget Murray ‘17: I don’t understand.
Rhea Manglani ‘17: I think you guys should talk after.
Bridget Murray ‘17: I think if that if there’s no DP that the dorm will have no DP by May even if there has to be separate SGA rep. An election of summer is not good idea.
Lillian Oyen-Ustad ‘19: I have two questions, first why since you guys are writing this resolution, what is your thought on splitting SGA rep and DP, and also why do some DLT positions get paid and others don’t?
Bridget Murray ‘17: The second one can be answered by the first. The HA gets paid because they do more work. As former DP’s that’s something we’ve sulked about a lot. The reason we don’t split them up, and we’ve talked about is this, is because DP’s encompass a lot of the RepCo. They bring in a lot of voices and different people into SGA. You get a lot of different reasons, while it is a big commitment on behalf of the DP, brings a lot of SGA to students. It’s more than just self select, that would turn SGA into echo chamber. They are bringing in new faces and ideas.
Rhea Manglani ‘17: Any other questions? So that’s plenary resolutions.
Old Business:
Rhea Manglani ’17: Now it’s time for Old Business. Old Business is a time when any member of the Representative Council can revisit a topic related to their position. We have ten minutes for this agenda item. Do we have any Old Business?
New Business:
Rhea Manglani ’17: New Business. New Business is a time when any member of the Representative Council can bring up a new topic for discussion related to their position. We have ten minutes for this agenda item. Is there any New Business?
Abbie Sullivan ‘17: Hi everyone, I’m here to talk about the last February faculty meeting. Construction starts in June for Park. The College nominated was for a preservation award. There was a suggestion from professor to help pre tenure track for people to present with the travel ban. We want to get feedback from other students and staff. Communication from KCass with flat endowment job for…. The board has decided that they’re trying to decide how to spend that money so KCass has to cut down for fiscal year. We’re reducing budget. It’s going to have to be reduced costs amongst faculty with different salary raises. Things that happen with faculty and staff, not sure about effect on students. The Board wants to be conservative about the budget. We won’t be as much new money spent on budget. KCass also talked about meeting with the Bi-Co; wanted to talk about strength of communications with the Provost. During it security component there was an open question. Some of the members brought up the notion of a controversial guest speaker on campus. A lot of dissent tends to come not from student body but from outside community members. Then there were communications from the library collections what we might see is due to… they’ve switched to pay per view. The college pays for it. To subscribe to hourly is expensive. There was a discussion of the Honor Board, that we should have been some HB representatives there, the faculty’s perception of the Honor Code, problems with the Honor Code and Honor Board when students commit infractions, faculty are aware that violations come during times of stress like finals. Any questions? If you want me to bring anything up, let me know.
Rhea Manglani ‘17: When’s Plenary? March 19? Doors open at 6:30, try and come as soon as possible. Hopefully things will fly by. Motion to end the meeting?
Bridget Murray ’17 motioned to end the meeting.
Rhea Manglani ’17: Second?
Evelyn Aviles ’17 seconded.
Rhea Manglani ‘17: You always compete! Okay, your options are yes, no, and abstain. Hands for yes? No? Abstain? Thank you!
The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 PM.
Evelyn Aviles ’17 anassed the 2016-17 SGA E-Board.