Grilling in Smoke-Filled Rooms
[introduction]
In an attempt to reassure
the campus as to his physical health, Todd Rogers (Co-President) related that,
although his bicycle accident Tuesday afternoon (pedaling too fast while taking
hold of a loaf of bread with both hands – leaving no hands on the bike grips),
had left him with the experience of “a distinct disjuncture in linear time,” he
is quite alright, thanks to the care of Mayo Shattuck (Class of
2003). In addition, Todd shared with CC
some wise words from the Health Center suggesting that he wear a helmet from
now on. On a more serious note, Dean
Roseman and Cappy Hill (Provost) have selected students to server on
the Admissions Director Search Committee and the Advisory Committee for
Shareholder Responsibility from students already selected by the College
Council Appointments Committee. Out of
four students selected by the Appointments Committee, Dan Shearer and Kathleen
Smith will be put on ACSR, and out of five students selected, Matt
Wessler (Off-Campus) and Jen Geiger will be on the Admissions
Director Selection Committee. (More on
ACSR in open time…) Todd concluded
by announcing that this is AIDS awareness week.
Ami Parekh (Co-President) informed CC that the Committee on
Educational Policy will start posting its findings and ideas on the strategic
planning website on Monday (http://www.williams.edu/go/strategicplanning). Ami also reminded CC that this
meeting is the last of the semester (well… not really, but more on that later).
Funding Update: $29,392.47
in the full General Fund, $10,973.95 in the Fall General Fund, $2,750 in the
Nationals Fund, $1,693.00 in the Intergroup Fund, and $14,554.53 in the Group
Contingency Fund.
[committees and groups]
Mayo reported from the Committee on Priorities and
Resources: they’ve been discussing the faculty day care situation for a while
because the current situation is a bit cramped. Faculty course load and workload has also been a hot topic
lately, mainly because the workload affects how many new faculty members
Williams hires. Finally, they’re
waiting for the athletic report from Harry Sheehy to see about
recommendations in capital athletic expenditures.
Todd reported from the Information Technology Committee:
the two issues the committee has been handling this semester have been how
faculty should handle putting copyrighted material online, and which course
template package (i.e. putting syllabi, discussion forums, etc on the web for
all classes) the school will choose.
They will decide between WebCT and Blackboard (the course template
systems) in the next couple weeks, and next semester 40-50 classes will use them,
with the majority of classes on them by next fall.
James Moorhead (Class of 2001) reported from the Log Committee: for
Winter Study the Log will be open Monday through Saturday 8pm to 1am. On Fridays, it will open at 3:30 and show
movies for the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. There will be programming Wednesday through Friday nights
(Wednesday: Open Mike; Thursday: Traditional Log, Friday: Bands and
Parties). Tuesday night will be prize
nights, with a different prize given away every half hour (tickets at the
door). Unfortunately, it will not be
open during the day like last Winter Study because they just don’t have enough
money to staff it all the time. It
will, however, continue to have free hot chocolate and soft drinks, and
hopefully a jukebox will be delivered over winter break.
[mathematics question]
Frank Morgan (Math Prof) came to Council to get some advice about
the possibility of a separate Statistics or Applied Mathematics major. Thirteen years ago, the Math department
started the Applied Mathematic program, and it may be time for it to branch
off. Erin Troy
(Wood/Agard/Garfield) asked if the Math department had enough classes to
warrant the major; Morgan replied that in order to have enough classes,
they’d have to have three Statistics professors (the department currently has
two), but in order to hire another, they’d need a separate Statistics
department – so, which comes first? Todd
wondered if a concentration within the Math major might suffice. Chris Koegel (At-Large) added that
one of the nice features of the current Math major is that it makes students
take many different types of Math classes, and specializing might take away
that advantage. Morgan pointed
out that on the other hand, if there was a specific Applied Mathematics major,
the department could require an advanced Computer Science course. Erin asked Morgan to be aware
making such concentrations or majors could fragment the department as she sees
in the Biology department right now, between ecology and microbiology students.
[recognition]
Teodora Ivanova and Alexandra Grashkina came to request CC
recognition for the Slavic Club. The
group’s mission is twofold: both to help the canvas experience various aspects
of Slavic culture and to create cross-cultural interaction between student from
different Slavic countries. CC voted to
recognize the group 32-0-1.
[funding]
Erin Palazzolo requested $265 for an InterGroup Fund event between
the Black Student Union, the Williams Christian Fellowship, and the Newman
Association in Dodd this Saturday. They
expect around 80-100 people to show up to the event, and it will be open to the
entire campus (although it’s mainly a function between the three groups). CC then voted to fund the event out of the
IGF 30-2-1.
Aaron Jenkins from Sankofa came to request $1650 in funding for
uniforms. For three years they have
sweated in and worn out their current uniforms, and are in need of some new
ones. The group is funded right now
they are funding by CC and the PE department, although next year it will be
hopefully be fully funded by the Dance department. CC allocated funds earlier in the year to cover Sankofa’s
operating cost, but funding from the PE office to cover uniforms did not come
through. The uniforms will actually
cost $1950 (30 members; $900 for 30 jerseys, $300 for 10 sleeveless, and $750
for 30 pants), but group members have each contributed $10 in dues to the new
uniforms, and the uniforms will stay with the group for as long as they
last. Terri O’Brien (Gladden)
asked how long Sankofa expects the uniforms to last; Aaron expects about
the same amount of time as the current ones have – three to four years. Ari Kessler (Morgan/Lehman) asked why
the group is ordering 10 sleeveless jerseys.
Aaron explained that they’re for a different style of step, and
the group wants the ability to change uniforms during concerts. After Nishant Nayyar (At-Large)
expressed his concern that Sankofa hadn’t exhausted all other outlets for
funding (they have been waiting for several departments to respond to their
request, but the need for uniforms has reached a critical level), he proposed
amending the proposal: CC would give Sankofa all of the money to fund the
uniforms, but if they receive funding in the future from departments toward the
uniforms, CC would reduce its contribution by that amount. (Sorry if that’s unclear… Basically CC would
fund up to $1650, making up the difference after all other departments had
contributed; and this would still allow Sankofa to buy the uniforms immediately). CC approved this amendment 31-1-0 and
then voted to give Sankofa the full $1650: 31-0-1. Caleb Fassett (Currier) asked that
the funding be taken out of the Group Contingency Fund, because Sankofa is an
established CC group. Sankofa will be
performing on December 8th, so go see them!
Dan Elsea (Mark Hopkins) requested $950 from Council to fund
the upcoming issue of WorldPolitik.
Last year the magazine was funded solely from outside of CC, but this
fall they’ve had some communication problems and haven’t raised enough money to
fully fund the issue. WorldPolitik will
cost $1950 to publish (more than other magazines because it’s substantially
bigger), and after contributions from the Political Science Department (Ursula
Prescott Fund), African & Middle Eastern Studies Department, and the Gaudino
Fund, the remaining amount to fund is $950.
Nishant questioned an item on the WorldPolitik budget – a $317
deficit from the previous year that had to do with rush-shipping the
printing. He explained that CC
generally doesn’t cover groups going over budget. Mayo pointed out that CC’s funding of $950 wouldn’t
necessarily have to go toward the deficit; the magazine could “allocate” the
donated funds from the Gaudino Forum and the African & Middle Eastern
Studies Dept to cover it. Ezra
Goldschläger (Carter) asked what the fixed per-issue cost of other
magazines was in CC subgroup allocations.
Ryan replied that it was around $1350 (plus some additional
monies received after the infusion from Senior Staff), although Nishant
pointed out that none of those magazines receive the external financial support
that WorldPolitik does. Council then
voted to fund the full $1350 29-1-3.
[minority issues and council]
Mayo read to council an opinion written by Royce Smith
to CC: The Spectrum will be publishing an extensive feature on race and student
government, including summaries of many of the recent conversations on the
issues, and potential solutions. If you
have any ideas or questions on this, email Royce at 01rws.
Ami briefed council on the Gaudino forum on “The Color
of Student Government:” many students came including quite a few from CC,
MinCo, and Housing Committee. There is at
least a perception problem in regard to how college council deals with
funding minority groups and dealing with minority issues. One suggestion on how to change the
perception included having CC reps go to MinCo groups’ meetings. Tim Karpoff (Co-Op) voiced his
opinion on this: it is a good idea in general, but a bad idea to mandate that
CC members go to the meetings. Terri
finds it interesting that one point that is continually raised is that minority
groups shouldn’t have to go to Council to bring up issues, and instead CC
members should research the ideas themselves and bring them to Council. She would much prefer to see a joint monthly
meeting devoted to discussing minority issues on campus.
Rob Sica (At-Large) sees groups that come to CC being
unnecessarily grilled, like the Intergroup event and Sankofa at this meeting,
when it comes to funding. He thinks
most of the negative impressions of council would go away if we could treat
groups more cordially when they request funding and not ask so many needless
questions about funding. Catherine
Denver (Mills/Thompson) agreed, and added that CC needs more background
information before going into funding discussions. Joe Masters (Secretary) disagreed with the sentiment that CC
should “back off” groups coming for funding, stating his belief that CC needs
to have a rigorous funding process so that it can allocate funds responsibly. CC regularly receives opinions expressing
students’ disappointment with irresponsible (and excessive) funding practices,
and, despite the “grillings,” CC has funded every group that has come to a
general meeting this year, and most of them to the full amount they have
requested. For Joe, it should be
a necessary part of funding that a group explain to CC, and to the campus
(through the minutes), what they’re going to do with money that comes from
every student on campus through the Student Activities Tax.
Joe would also like to see the MinCo minutes on dining
hall tables every week, and MinCo reports in the CC minutes. Caleb thinks that CC needs to reduce
in size; with so many people on Council (35), members represent such small
areas of campus that they mainly represent their own viewpoints. A council modeled on a County Council model
with five or six representatives would necessarily think more about
understanding the views of the student body at large. Shenil Saya (At-Large) asked that Council concentrate on
something that didn’t really come up in the forum: we should be talking about
the fact that minorities feel marginalized at Williams. There are a lower percentage of minorities
on sports teams, a low percentage involved in row-house culture, and so there
is a sense of removal from the social life on campus. It’s the problem that minorities feel uncomfortable on campus
that CC should address straight on. Gideon
is glad that CC is discussing these concerns, and stressed that any decisions
CC makes need to be chosen through an ongoing discussion; one brainstorming
session won’t solve this alone.
Samee Ahmed (MinCo Co-President) said that one of the most
interesting things about the forum was the discussion of why minorities aren’t
active in college council. And for that
matter, why aren’t more students active in council? CC reps must create an interest in Council in their
constituencies. (more on this in the next section) John Phillips (Prospect) asked that we consider why MinCo
exists at all. Minorities are drawn to
MinCo because it’s a more comfortable and sympathetic funding body, but it is
this structural separation that makes the segregation on campus even
worse. Samee answered that MinCo
isn’t a student governing body; it exists for bringing student groups together
and talking about minority issues – similar to what Housing Committee does as a
social body. Tim then asked why
couldn’t MinCo remain in this capacity, being a forum for minority issues and
funding Heritage Months, and thus move the rest of the funding (and MinCo
groups) back to CC? He sees this as a
way to heal some of the structural breaks.
[representation]
Ami then segued into the next topic of conversation –
the (in?)adequate representation of the campus on College Council. She thinks that if representatives start
going to their constituencies more and more that not only will CC be able to
represent the student body more effectively, but more students will become
involved with and interested in Council affairs. She recommended that each house rep hold “open hours” when they
would be in common rooms available for discussing CC issues. John replied that CC isn’t a
representative body; ridiculously small numbers of students elect house reps.
For him, CC represents not the student body, but the groups who come to CC to
ask for money. There are many, many
students who pay their $242 per year in the Student Activities Tax who really
don’t care where the money goes, and many students see CC in a very negative
light (see the first opinion in the opinions section). John doesn’t really see a need to
have every single student problem brought before council.
Todd wrapped up the conversation by telling CC that this
discussion will continue as one of the big projects during winter study. In issues of minority concern, CC needs to
remain attuned to MinCo and always have agenda time open to discuss these
problems.
[student activities tax increase]
Ryan explained what exactly this student activities tax
increase is. Basically, the Student
Activities Fee is where College Council gets all of the money it
allocates. It’s on your term bill each
semester (not part of your tuition), and is currently $121 per semester. The proposal (written by Ryan, as a
result of a Council subcommittee formed to consider how to prevent future
budget crunches) is merely a suggestion, and if Council approves it, it will be
sent to the Provost, and from there on to the Trustees. If Council votes it down, then no recommendation
from CC will go to the Provost, although the Trustees may raise the tax anyhow
(as they have in the past, without any student request). Council must vote on the issue before Winter
Study, because that is when the Trustees will meet to determine what happens in
next year’s budget cycle.
Mayo briefed Council on the seventeen opinions received
on a proposed student activities tax increase.
Twelve were in favor of the hike, four against, and one wanted taxes to
be raised beyond the proposal’s request.
Most of those in favor of the raise were concerned about preventing
future budget crunches like the one this year; most against were worried about
Council having little or no guidelines in funding. Nishant suggested that those wondering about funding
guidelines should visit the CC website and view the Funding Bylaws.
Shenil believes the increase is a bad idea. For him, the problem in a budget crunch is
that CC doesn’t allocate its funds properly.
One example: club sports. Shenil
believes that if club sports raised individual dues by $40/person (just seven
hours of college work per student), the burden on CC would be much less, and
the cost wouldn’t be that big a deal. Dan
asked why there was such a big deal about the increase – $17 per semester as
compared with a yearly tuition of $32,000 seems a bit ridiculous to him. Shenil responded that it’s more of a
philosophical issue: why raise taxes at all?
Tim expressed his concern that Council would vote on the
issue in this meeting: “There are too few people on campus who know what we’re
doing. It’s like meeting in a
smoke-filled room.” Mayo added
that most of the opinions on the issue came from Prospect, and only knew about
it because John has been keeping them informed; most other students are
not as aware of the process. John then took things a step further,
requesting that we have a student referendum, as this may affect the amount
students will pay to the college in future years. Ryan questioned the effects of a referendum; he believes
that if Council doesn’t have the power to pass a recommendation to the Provost
like this, then it is only a funding body.
Nishant added his own concerns – if CC sponsors a referendum, in
order for it to pass, 51% of the student body must vote, and it must succeed by
a 2/3rds majority.
Ami recommended that as an alternative to the
referendum, we could do a straw poll of the student body through JOSE to get a
general opinion of the student body (more on this in open time). CC then voted to table the discussion until
a special meeting next week during CC’s normal meeting time: 27-6-1.
(The proposal in question
should be stapled to this copy of the minutes – it’s 2 legal size pages front
and back, and it’s on the web site – http://wso.williams.edu/cc
-- as a PDF file. You should be able to
read it from any computer in Jesup).
[opinions]
Ami has been disappointed in watching the way CC has
been doing opinions lately. It used to
be the case that CC members would take on issues from opinions@wso and pursue them as their own pet
projects. CC services such as the
shuttle, the New York Times, and public printers all started this way. So instead of just forwarding opinions to
administrators, Ami would like to see council members take on issues
personally.
Mayo then began the rundown of opinions not already
discussed in the meeting:
1) A student extremely discontent with CC who wanted his entire
opinion read aloud at the meeting. Mayo
explained that that particular policy had been abolished, but if you want the
full text, you can email Mayo or Joe.
2) A curious list of 30 or
so organizations that should be created on campus (i.e. “Intramural Beer Pong
League” and “Williams Against Selfreg”)
3) A request for a machine
for putting money on Eph Cards in the library.
Caleb responded that the problem is that the machines are simply
too expensive to justify putting more on campus.
4) One opinion on the
productiveness of the Gaudino Forum discussion, supporting the proposal that CC
reps go to MinCo groups’ meetings.
5) One opinion with the
following requests: paper toilet seat covers (Nishant will look into
this), the library not being open until 1:00pm on the Sunday after thanksgiving
(Ami will take this), and a request that the interactive lounges in
Morley actually be wired for the network.
6) One concern about student
shouting in Schow library at 12:30am on a Sunday night. It came from Shenil, and he’ll look
into it.
7) An opinion about the
sorry state of funding for financial aid students unable to go abroad on 99s
due to the $500 limit. The opinion also
criticized Mayo for not supporting this issue in the minutes last
week. Mayo replied that the
minutes slightly misrepresented his position; he believes that the current
system is appropriate and raising the funding limit would increase the ability
to do endeavors not expressly academic (like going to New Zealand to study
plant life). Mayo would be
comfortable with a raise in funding for financial aid students that the college
found appropriate, but wouldn’t support giving money to students not on
financial aid for Winter Study.
8) An opinion (albeit from Mayo)
expressing the absurdity of so many CC members sending opinions to
opinions@wso. He believes that reps are
elected to be vocal in the meeting and not hide behind anonymous email to bring
certain issues up. Ami and Shenil
defended the right of CC reps to send opinions: both because issues might be
forgotten if not emailed, and CC reps too busy to handle issues on their own
find it a useful forum to open up opinions to the rest of CC.
9) Finally, a request from a
student to get more treadmills in the weight room. Right now the wait is 20-30 minutes to get on a treadmill from 4
to 6 in the afternoon. Sophie Hood
(Sage) will handle this.
[open time]
Princess Alegre (MinCo) proposed that CC support a
straw poll of the student body on the Student Activities Tax increase. Terri asked if the current situation
meant that a student referendum was out of the question (as far as the amount
of time required); the answer is yes, there will be no referendum on the
issue. Rob said that he thinks
it ridiculous that some CC reps don’t think they can adequately represent their
constituents in respect to this issue, and that a referendum is
unnecessary. After some concerns from
CC reps that a straw poll would be extremely unreliable (in terms of the
self-selecting sample of students who would respond to it), Darah Schofield
(Woodbridge/Bryant) suggested that house reps poll their houses about the issue
and then bring the results to council.
CC then voted down the idea 13-17. John expressed his disappointment that CC would not choose
to involve the student body at large in this way. Rob suggested that we attach the proposal to the minutes
to get it out to as many students as possible (and so it is).
Gus Howard (Dennett) raised a little-known, but fairly serious
debacle that happened in the selection of the students for the Advisory
Committee on Shareholder Responsibility.
The four students who were selected by the Appointments Committee were
sent emails that intimated that they were all on the committee, and then
received another email this Sunday that announced that two of the four were
actually selected for the committee, whereas the other two were not. Gus was upset at a number of problems
with the process – one, the unfairness of the emails, two, the fact that CC
would be limited in the number of students on the committee, and three, the
fact that the letters were signed by “College Council,” despite the fact that
the decisions were actually made by the Appointments Committee, and not the
Council at large. Joe responded
that all of these problems were his fault; in receiving the Appointment
Committee’s initial selections, he had assumed that all of the students would
be on the committee. However, what was
really going on: there was some confusion in the Spring elections over how many
students should be elected to ACSR, and after some discussions with Dean
Roseman, the Campus Reps decided to select four students, from which Cappy
Hill and Dean Roseman would select two for the committee. This should never happen again (because the
reps are normally elected), and Joe apologizes for the errors in the
letters and the misattribution of the decision to the entire Council.
Federico Sosa Otero (Williams) will be tackling the familiar issue of
two-ply toilet paper on campus.
Mayo wanted to warn everyone about the dangers of road
rage in the area. Apparently on a drive
down to Pittsfield a man tried to pull him out of his car and jacked him in the
face. Lock your doors…
[notes]
Once again, I appear to have
written a ridiculous amount of text for one two-hour meeting, but I think it’s
all pretty important. Remember that the
minutes are on the web site if you want to read them again. And please read the Student Activities Tax
increase proposal that’s attached (or see it on the web site). And write your house rep or opinions@wso about it.
Joe
Masters
CC
Secretary
http://wso.williams.edu/cc