In their introduction at last night’s College Council meeting, co-presidents Kate Ervin ’99 and Will Slocum ’99 talked about the upcoming all-campus elections. As detailed in their e-mail to campus@wso.williams.edu, Will and Kate said that nominations from the Class of 2001 for the Committee on Priorities and Resources and nominations from the Class of 2000 for the Honorary Degrees Committee and the Honor and Discipline Committee are still being sought. They also noted that there were many applicants for the Presidential Selection Committee and that the members will be chosen this week.

Laura Guichard ’99 and several other members of the BGLTU presented a statement highlighting recent instances of homophobia and imploring tolerance and understanding on campus. Medha Kirtane ’00 was glad the letter was printed because it brings little-known but grave incidents to students’ attention. Elissa Shevinsky ’01 said the repercussions of Council not signing on would be dangerous. John Rivera-Dirks ’99, though he supported the letter, questioned the effectiveness of statements in general, and Jan Postma ’99 objected to the profane quotations in the letter. Kate Ervin ’99 and Patchen Mortimer ’00 rose in defense of the statement, saying it thwarts the tendency to keep quiet about intimidation. Council endorsed the statement 28-0-0.

Clare Murphy ’01 of the Library Committee said the library is planning renovations (to be undertaken in 2010). Watch out: the library will start imposing $5 fines for videos damaged by food and drink, etc. Graham Lee ’01 suggested plastic cases to cut down on damage. Clare added that Amherst students, eager to milk us dry, will be coming to check out Williams books. Do we really expect those Amherst bandits to give back the books? Ephs can check out books at Amherst too, and we can return them at our own library. Sleepless Nishant Nayaar ’02 requested longer library hours, but Clare said staffing expenses would likely preclude that. Nishant then requested coffee on tap in the library, and Kristin Sullivan ’01 added that juice machines would be nice. Clare said the breezeway in the library might become a miniature coffee bar, but Will Slocum ’99 was afraid that would hamper business at Goodrich.

Sheraz Choudhary ’00 of the Information Technology Committee brought attention the new printer in Baxter. But quickly bursting his bubble, Dave Walfish ’00 and George Anthes ’00 said the printers in Jesup continue to have issues, especially at night. Reed Wiedower ’00 rose in defense of the STCs, saying that the problem stems from a certain evil operating system. Dave Walfish ’00 and Bert Leatherman ’00 expressed appreciation for last weekend’s free repair day at Jesup, and Sheraz said that will continue twice a year.

Danielle Tarantolo ’01 of the Dining Services Committee said that, amid administrative concern that interaction in dining halls would fall off, the five-meal plan is not definite yet for next year. Bert Leatherman ’00 raised the obvious point that students will not flee the dining halls if given the five-meal-plan option if the quality of the food makes eating there attractive. Danielle said the administration doesn’t want students to use the kitchen in their dorms because the kitchens are "health and safety hazards." Unconvinced, Will Slocum ’99 said that idea smelled foul and could be interpreted as another way to compel students to eat in the dining halls. To their credit, Dining Services might add 5 t o10 guest meals to students’ meal plans next year, an idea that met with much enthusiasm. Danielle (01dft) is seeking ideas for dinner theme nights. Carrie Ryan ’00 reiterated her hope that luncheon meat will stay out for dinner, and Kate Ervin ’99 asked once again for more varied fresh fruit, praising the recent spread at Greylock. Medha Kirtane ’00 suggested that Greylock keep open the more convenient side of the disposal area after 6:30 or so. Liz Lee ’01 asked Danielle to see if the snack bar could be opened earlier. Danielle closed by saying half of Baxter may become a wok cooking area.

Max Weinstein ’00 of the Committee on Educational Policy said it is official that English 101 will be dissolved in favor of many different introductory courses. He added that all the courses will remain writing-intensive, so that people enrolling in introductory English won’t miss the ever-pleasant initiation to writing at Williams. Bert Leatherman ’00, while appreciative of the aim behind the new proposal, expressed concern that, as in the history department, splintering the introductory courses into sundry subjects rather than a survey course leaves Williams students lacking a central, common body of knowledge. Elissa Shevinsky ’01 and Kate Ervin ’99 agreed, and Will Slocum ’99 said a soft core (not what you’re thinking) of optional survey courses would be a desirable addition to the Williams curriculum. Max then relayed the CEP’s recommendations on how to fix the class-size glut. Though appreciate of the progress on this issue, Council was uncertain about the merit of some of the ideas and asked Max to come back next week to lead a fuller discussion of the CEP’s recommendations on class size, which follow:

Council was surprised that there was no recommendation either to admit fewer students or to hire more professors, two points long advocated by College Council. Max will clarify next week.

Tami Thompson ’01, Kristina Fisher ’02, and Jason Stanley ’00 of the Literary Society requested $1350 to print 1200 copies of Dew Drops. The Writing Workshop and the English department are helping pay for the magazine. Some Council members suggested that ads or sponsorship should partly pay for the magazine, but the Lit Society was concerned that ads would degrade the character of the publication and that personal sponsorship would be too arduous to obtain. The vote for full funding passed 25-3-0.

Chris Spence ’00, who is starting a chess club on campus, requested $500 to get the club off the ground. Chris hopes to provide public chess boards in Goodrich and to sponsor intercollegiate chess tournaments. Funding was approved 27-1-0.

At the request of John Rivera-Dirks, Council opted to table budget approvals for three subgroups that are funded one semester at a time rather than at once for the whole year. That way, members will have time to scrutinize the budget requests. Tim Karpoff ’01 and Bert Leatherman ’00 voiced preemptive concern over the Garfield Republic Club’s request for funds to pay a presidential candidate to speak at Williams, but that will be decided when the budgets come up for approval next week.

In members’ open time, Frosh Council rep Nishant Nayaar ’02 said many freshmen and their parents are upset that substance-free housing was not approved. Bert Leatherman ’00 remarked that a fatal flaw in the substance-free housing proposal was the possibility that students would be pressured by their parents to live in substance-free housing. Nishant also relayed discontent that there is little regard for Easter in the timing of spring break, as students must travel on Easter this year. Reed Wiedower ’00 complained that an e-mail message supporting a particular candidate was sent to a listserver before campaigning was allowed to begin. The candidate, however, did not send the message or have knowledge that the message was going to be sent by someone else. Council members did not share Reed’s concern that this candidate had begun campaigning early and thought the Council bylaws should be reworded to preclude incrimination of candidates when an indirect violation of campaign rules occurs out of their control.

So, on with the campaigning! Look for the packet of candidates’ self-nominations in the mail between now and Saturday, and be sure to vote next Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon in Baxter mailroom!

Absent with no sub (gasp!): Owen Boger (Armstrong), Amish Shah (Minco), Tuff Acton (Gladden)