NESCAC Conference -- Student government leaders, newspaper editors, and NCAA advocates will gather at Amherst on November 15. Lead item on the agenda is forming a unified front to address the new NCAA policy, and other items of interest to our campuses will be discussed.

2-night Montreal trip -- Dean Lee is hard at work making arrangements for this Winter Study getaway, which should cost between $50 and $100.

Class Size -- Since the eagerly anticipated CEP-led committee hasn’t coalesced yet, the College Council will examine the issue through a student committee it leads. This committee will look at the issue of class size from students’ perspectives and will collect data and anecdotes in order to prepare a timely report for the administration and the trustees. Want to help? Write us at opinions@wso.williams.edu.

Health Center -- Dan Nehmad ’99 reported that a bedroom in the health center might be converted to a relaxation-therapy room. Council wasn’t keen on the idea of fewer rooms, since two were eliminated last year. But the prospect of a weekly masseuse was popular. Also, look for health-related "Eph Notes" in a rack in Baxter. Council unanimously supported the idea and hopes Dining Services, which manages Baxter, will help get the flyer rack up on the wall.

Committee on Priorities and Resources -- Sheraz Choudhary ’00 said that assistant profs might get a whole year off instead of a semester to have more time to attempt tenure-garnering accomplishments. Concerned about class size, Bert Leatherman ’00 hopes that the CPR will recommend less-extravagant spending on facilities and more spending on expanding the faculty. Will Slocum ’99 asked about students having input into the planning of the performing arts center. John Finkbeiner ’00 has an inside scoop that the construction of the performing arts center is still in question. At issue is the high cost to the college of maintaining such a facility, a point emphasized by Owen Boger ’01.

Committee on Diversity and Community -- Medha Kirtane ’00 reported on the committee’s discussion about better distribution of gender and ethnicity among entries. Also, the committee is thinking about how to improve First Days. They’re also examining how the Multicultural Center fits in with the life of the campus at-large.

HIV testing: Ruth Harrison and Donna Denelli-Hess from the health center laid out the current policy -- the cost is $5 unless a student can’t pay. Since the health center has a limited budget, it has chosen to charge for this service since free testing is available elsewhere in the community. Also, the health center wants students to feel some of the cost so that they’ll make responsible decisions about personal behavior. Co-presidents Will Slocum ’99 and Kate Ervin ’99 said the Council could pay to make the service free, and that by choosing to take HIV tests, students adequately feel the weight of their behavior, even without paying for the tests. Still, if Council paid the $5 fee, that wouldn’t cover the $33 cost of the tests, and having students pay might still be necessary — or charges for other services, like medicine or birth control, might have to be instated. Nevertheless, Ruth and Donna were eager to do what would best serve students and agreed to charge the College Council, rather than students, the $5 fee to help pay for the tests.

Gravestone flyers: In response to the "Stop your whining" papers hung on the gravestones on Baxter lawn, Julian Fang ’01 and Medha Kirtane ’00 presented a letter written by the Minority Coalition (Minco) denouncing the method and message of the flyers posted on the grave markers. Minco was inviting the Council to sign on to the letter, which will be sent to students. Council thought the issue was not clear-cut, noting that the letter responded to one or a few people’s actions and that the Council was confident the people it represents already realize that such vandalism was wrong. There was also concern that signing on to the letter, which intended to support unhindered free expression, indirectly condemned the right to expression of the person(s) who hung the signs. There was general agreement that hanging the signs on the gravestones was a secretive and underhanded, rather than productive, way to express an opinion, and several memebers of Council strongly supported the letter. Nevertheless, the motion to sign the letter failed by a vote of 8 to 11.

Shuttle service: Will Slocum ’99 reported that, thanks to the support of security and the deans, a shuttle service to places like Wal-mart, the mall, and Stop-n-Shop could soon be in place. Council tabled the decision on whether to create a manager position for the service to allow for more time to discuss the need for the service, whether HEF funding might partially pay for the service, and whether the Council was prepared to create another salaried manager’s position.

Opinions -- Presented this week by Medha Kirtane ’00, comments sent to opinions@wso.williams.edu included the need to put a light in the science quad, e-mail terminals in more dorms, more phones in Goodrich, and better-tuned pianos in dorms. There was also a gripe about Council’s refusal to dedicate $5,000 to pay the typists of the Peace and Justice’s daily e-mail news reports. All of us who do the typing for organizations on campus would like to get paid (grin), but Council depends on members of organizations to donate their time to services that further the causes they believe in.

Speaking of furthering important causes, my problem set is right up there with the best of them, so until next week —

Bert Leatherman ’00

Secretary

http://wso.williams.edu/orgs/cc/ ---- opinions@wso.williams.edu