To kick off last night’s College Council meeting, co-president Will Slocum ’99 presented a kind letter from Art Department chair Guy Hedreen in response to months of work by sophomore Lloyd Nimetz, who had tried to get open access for students to Spencer Art Studio at certain times over Winter Study. Even after the College Council offered to pay the wages for the requisite technicians who would have to be on-site to supervise non-majors using the facility, Hedreen wrote, "Several members of the studio wing responded very strongly that this kind of arrangement is totally unacceptable. There is no room whatsoever for compromise here. . . . It be foolhardy to try and do so." It looks like the college thinks snow sculpture is the only opportunity for artistic expression students need. Council reps will take the issue to the dean to mediate.

Some parts of the college are more receptive to student pleas. Thanks in part to the work of Jan Postma ’99, there may be a five-meal plan next year, but it’s not definite yet.

Medha Kirtane ’00 gave an update on the happenings of the Committee on Diversity and Community. The committee is examining ways to boost First Days inclusiveness and is talking about the role and structure of the Multicultural Center. Medha said the infamous video about community that freshmen watch is being replaced by one more relevant to life at Williams. The committee also is interested in gathering statistics on the academic success of minority students and the effect on minority recruitment of financial aid that appears lackluster relative to other schools. Bert Leatherman ’00 expressed concern about rumors that the Committee on Undergraduate Life might recommend quotas for minority membership on the student-elected Honor and Discipline Committee. No decision has been made about that proposal, but Medha and CUL member Liz Lee ’01 said they would keep Council abreast of developments.

Monisha Agrawal ’99 asked for suggestions to take back to the Registrar/Student Handbook Committee. Will Slocum ’99 would like the handbook to include Gargoyle’s review of area attractions. Janet Iwasa ’99 offered to provide a blurb on Goodrich for the student handbook. Carrie Ryan ’00 suggested that the course catalog include the years when courses will be offered, as only some course currently provide that information.

Dan Nehmad ’99 of the Student Health Advisory Committee said that Eph Notes are being put in new racks around campus. There may be free flu shots this semester or next fall at the health center. The health center will also have comment forms soon. Dan (99drn) is looking for suggestions for the KeEPHealthy newsletter. Garren Bird ’99 and Carrie Ryan ’00 suggested the health center develop a list of area doctors’ and psychologists’ addresses and phone numbers for students seeking service elsewhere.

Amish Shah ’00 gave an update on the Minority Coalition. Minco has been restructuring its constitution while planning Black History Month and SOCA Heritage Week, which will feature the ever-popular steel-drum Currier Club. Amish encouraged people to attend the upcoming affirmative action debate and continue the recent campus dialogue about race relations, as well as take note of the restructuring of the introductory courses of the English department. Another issue brought up in recent Minco meetings is the effectiveness of heritage months as a vehicle for promoting cultural awareness of the Minco groups. Tim Karpoff ’01 said that such minority celebrations should be spread throughout the year instead, but Elissa Shevinsky ’01 and George Anthes ’00 thought packing events into a limited period made them more visible.

Goodrich manager Janet Iwasa ’99 is trying to attract more faculty and staff to Goodrich to meet with students, especially now that there are afternoon hours for the coffee bar on Tuesday and Thursday. And when the coffee bar is closed, drinks can be found in the new vending machine upstairs in the elevator cubby. Janet (99jhi) is open to suggestions for Goodrich events and exhibits. She announced that Goodrich will be open all summer. Will Slocum ’99 added that next year’s new student activities intern, likely to be a recent graduate, will help manage Goodrich. There was great rejoicing that the prices at the coffee bar have dropped, and increased sales have made up the difference. Tim Karpoff ’01 suggested Janet publish a weekly calendar of Goodrich events in the Record.

In members’ open time, Ami Parekh ’01 stole the show by saying, contrary to news last week, that there will be no 7:30 A.M. classes next year (though there might be a few more 8:00 classes). Mark Acton ’00 reported looking into improving Eph Card service. He discovered the cash-to-card machine is not Y2K compliant nor does it accept the new $20 bill. Fixes are in the pipeline, though. The machines apparently are too expensive for a second one to be bought. Tim Karpoff ’01 suggested that the dialogue initiated by substance-free housing be continued more broadly in addressing the overall role of alcohol on campus. In response, Liz Lee ’01 said the Committee on Undergraduate Life is taking up the question of how to improve house governance as one way to tackle the alcohol-and-housing issue. Owen Boger ’01 said that the director of housing had contacted him to explain that people staying on campus over spring break have to stay in Mission or Greylock or their co-ops because staff take vacations and it is therefore too difficult to maintain more buildings. Ami Parekh ’01 said that she’s working on extending the hours of the shuttle that takes students to the mall, Wal-Mart, Stop ‘n Shop, etc.

In its last act of the night, Council approved the recommendation of the appointments committee to add Hilary Ley ’01 to the Committee on Undergraduate Life to replace a member who went abroad. Co-president Kate Ervin ’99 spoke on behalf of the appointments committee, which consists of Kate and the class- and campus-at-large College Council reps.

Bert Leatherman ’00

College Council Secretary

Absent: Peter Krause (Sage), Farrah Musani (Minco), Lloyd Nimetz (Dennett), Anh Nguyen (treasurer), and John Rivera-Dirks (campus at-large)