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(04/29/15 5:42pm)
The SGA meeting on April 19 opened with an announcement from President Taylor Custer ’15 that the recently passed proposal Coffee Hour would take place at 8:30 p.m. every remaining Tuesday of this school year, in either Davis Family Library or Bicentennial Hall.
Next, Director of Membership Nick Warren ’15 gave an update on the upcoming elections. As of April 19, there were no uncontested races and still more candidates were announcing their interests in running.
At the April 19 meeting, one act and one resolution were passed. The Senate Reform Act sponsored by President Custer was voted on and passed unanimously. It will make slight changes to the procedure of the Senate and its outreach to the student body.
Additionally, the Resolution on Sexual Respect was discussed and eventually passed. Sponsored by Senators Josh Berlowitz ’16 and Georgia Grace Edwards ’18, this resolution established the Senate’s support of changes around campus to promote sexual respect. Some changes were made to the resolution in response to the original discussion of it the week prior, such as including a definition of “sexual respect” and promotion of an affirmative consent policy. It passed 16-0-1.
On April 19, Warren announced that the Student Liaison on Endowment Affairs needed to be selected for the 2015-2016 academic year. The SGA then nominated a committee of senators to review the applications and choose three of the strongest applicants to be interviewed by the Senate at the April 26 meeting. A week later, the Senate interviewed the candidates and then voted to enter “Executive Session” which excluded the public from discussion and selection of the SLSEA. They selected a candidate unanimously and will announce their choice soon.
At the April 26 meeting, a group from JusTalks presented their resolution to make JusTalks mandatory for all first-years. The resolution was sponsored by Senators Naila Jahan ’15 and Kyle Gertenschlager ’15. It supported the instituting of a weekly discussion section in all first year seminars that would be led by two JusTalks facilitators. Each week the discussion would have a different theme, and the semester-long curriculum would promote the discussion of justice and diversity issues in the modern world.
“With an SGA resolution in hand we have a lot more legitimacy towards our cause,” JusTalks member Jiya Pandya
’17 said.
There was some resistance to the idea of making this discussion mandatory and overloading the First Year Seminar curriculum, but ultimately the resolution passed with a vote of 11-4-1.
Today, in addition to deciding the races for next year’s Senate, SGA President and Community Council Co-chair, students will vote on a proposed amendment to the Honor Code that has been brought forward by members of the SGA.
The amendment to the Code has two parts. The first is to add the Community Standards to the Honor Code, making the Code a broader statement on community integrity than its current incarnation, which focuses only on academic honesty. The proposed amendment has a provision that would enact a biennial referendum on the Honor Code. If the amendment passes, every other year students will vote on the Honor Code with the option to maintain, revise or eliminate the Code. The amendment requires 2/3 of the student body to vote in favor in order to pass.
(03/18/15 5:47pm)
At their meetings on March 8 and March 15, the SGA passed notable acts and resolutions. The Senate also voted to ratify Maddy Sanchez ’17 as the Director of Transportation, five new Finance Committee Members and six new members of the Awards Committee.
The first issue of debate at the March 8meeting was the Honor Code Biennial Referendum Resolution, sponsored by President Custer ’15. The committee drafted this resolution in Winter Term, after carefully considering the Honor Code’s merits and failings. As Custer described, the committee was set up to think about “how we can come together as a community to talk about the Honor Code”. The resolution, which details how a revision process of the Honor Code could take place, was discussed at length. After some concern surrounding the time-line of the process, the resolution was put to a vote and passed nearly unanimously.
The next issue was the Senate Reform Act, sponsored by Custer. The act, which was created in the hopes of changing student perception and understanding of the efforts of the SGA, met much contention.
Many senators had issues with the potential adjustment of types of senators, as outlined in the act. The act entailed eliminating the five Commons senators and replacing them with eight “cluster board” senators, representing different groups on campus. The eight senators would be representatives from the cluster boards: academic and activists, cultural organizations, special interest and activities organizations, publications, religious organizations, athletics, and visual and performing arts. Some of the senators supported this change, saying that people’s actual interests would be better represented with this kind of system. However, there was concern from senators, such as from Senator Gogineni ’16, who said that an increase in the number of senators would greatly decrease efficiency.
While the bill also containted of other changes to the senate, the issue of cluster board senators seemed to be the biggest point of interest. Therefore Custer made a motion to split the bill, in order to only vote on the senators section at that meeting. The motion was passed and the act was put to a vote. The senators voted 9-6-2, and the act did not pass because it required a 2/3 majority.
At the March 15 meeting, two acts were passed: The Coffee Hour Act, sponsored by Custer and the LaundryView Investment Act, sponsored by Senator Toy ’17. The Coffee Hour Act will entail one coffee hour a week provided by the SGA, available for students to meet with and talk to their senators. Each senator is required to attend at least three coffee hours a semester, likely to be held in Davis Family Library or Bihall. Custer said that he envisioned these being easy, casual study breaks for students, with the added ability to get to know SGA members or offer suggestions.
The LaundryView Investment Act is a project that has been a reoccurring discussion for SGA during the entire academic year. After extensive research, the administration has told the SGA that the funding for LaundryView, a program which would tell students which machines were open/working, would have to come directly from the SGA’s budget. This act designated $8,500 of the budget for the first year of the service and $3,500 for the second year to be paid for the system. From the results of the Student Life Survey, it was found that nearly 72 percent of the student body thought they would benefit from this project. The act was put to a vote and passed 10-6-1.
(12/03/14 6:20pm)
The Student Government Association (SGA) met on Sunday, Nov. 16 and Sunday, Nov. 23 to discuss a number of resolutions that addressed both old and new matters. They considered internal operational issues and passed two resolutions: The Second Hand Smoke Prevention Initiative and the Ian Burgin Memorial Cabin Bill.
At the Nov. 16 meeting, the Bylaws Overhaul Bill passed unanimously, updating the SGA’s operational bylaws for the first time since last year. Director of Membership and Elections Council Chair Nick Warren ’15, responsible for a majority of the edits and formatting, noted that no substantive changes were made.
The SGA also proposed possible questions to put in the Annual Student Life Survey. Last year the survey had about 75 questions and the SGA is aiming to keep that number relatively consistent for this year. It is designed so that students can complete it in about 15 minutes. It will include questions regarding demographics, academic life, health and wellness, the College community, dining and food, College communication and infrastructure and the SGA. The survey will come out in January and will continue to be anonymous, with prizes to incentivize student participation.
To end the Nov. 16 meeting, Speaker Michael Brady ’17.5 and Senator Aaron de Toledo ’16 presented their resolution, the Second Hand Smoke Prevention Initiative. The resolution addresses and proposes solutions to fix the problem of smoking too close to buildings around campus. Specifically, it “encourages the Community Council to bring new methods to recommend by the end of J-term this year.”
Some voiced concern that this stand might upset smokers around campus. However, it was widely agreed that the bill aims at preventing smoking within 25 feet of any entrance on campus, as is the official policy of the College. As de Toledo noted, “There is a concrete harm being done … we need to consider the people who are being harmed by smokers.” The resolution was passed 15-1-1.
At the Nov. 23 meeting, a group of students presented a proposal for their bill, the Ian Burgin Memorial Cabin Bill with President Taylor Custer ’15 as their sponsor. The group, led by Jack Kerby-Miller ’14.5 and Larson Lovdal ’16.5 is currently working on a project to build a $100,000 cabin in memory of Ian Burgin ’07 as a shelter for students, faculty and alumni of the College to use as for camping all year round. The group has already raised $10,000 and plans to get $50,000 more through other funding sources. The group met with the Finance Committee to request the $40,000 from the SGA’s Student Activity Fee (SAF).
Co-Chair of Community Council Ben Bogin ’15 and Senator Naila Jahan ’15 were both vocal supporters of the bill. Bogin declared, “I think this is a really cool and important thing to do. I think that there are going to be tons of people interested, it increases access to the outdoors … The more money that we put towards this the better, this is what the [SAF] is for.”
After a lengthy discussion, the bill passed unanimously. The students working on the project announced that they hope to have to cabin done by May 2015.
(11/13/14 5:05am)
The Student Government Association (SGA) convened on Sunday, Nov. 2 and Sunday, Nov. 9 to discuss old and new resolutions. Notably, they re-introduced a discussion concerning the AAL requirement.
At the Nov. 2 meeting Treasurer Ilana Gratch ’16.5 presented the Financial Committee’s (FC) biweekly report. The FC is still processing annual budget requests. Organizations such as the Gamut Room and Middlebury Music United received substantial budgets after restructuring their original request and ideas. Gratch also announced that the FC now has office hours.
Next, a resolution that has been an ongoing discussion the past couple weeks was temporarily resolved. The MiddSafe Bystander Intervention Resolutions by Senators Naila Jahan ’15 and Kyle Gerstenschlager ’15 was put to a vote after some revisions from the initial proposal.
Because GreenDot, a program designed to recognize positive bystander intervention, is being introduced in the spring, the resolution is now designed to support the implementation of MiddSafe in Fall 2015 and GreenDot in Spring 2015. The resolution passed in a 15-0-1 vote.
Next, Senator Tiff Chang ’17 presented her resolution, Continued Legislative Support for MiddIncluded: AAL Reform. Last year, the SGA passed a similar resolution declaring support for reform of the distribution requirements, specifically the AAL cultural category.
Originally proposed by a group from the student body, MiddIncluded acknowledges that AAL is not a fair representation of areas of the world. A suggestion for change is included in the resolution. Instead of having one NOR, one EUR, one AAL and one CMP, students would be required to take one NOR, one CMP and two from the categories: Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, Middle East, Europe and Oceania.
Some senators, such as Senator Zak Fisher ’16, mentioned concern with eliminating the European requirement because a Liberal Arts education is based in a European style of learning.
Speaker Michael Brady ’17.5 also expressed concern of re-passing a resolution that is similar to the resolution that the SGA passed last year. Discussion of the resolution continued into the second meeting when representatives from MiddIncluded presented their mission and expressed their aim to put pressure on the faculty to speed the process of change. To see more information of MiddIncluded’s mission and articles concerning their findings visit, their website at go/aal.
A Bylaws Amendment for an Honor Code Committee was presented by Co-Chair of the Community Council Ben Bogin ’15 at the Nov. 9 meeting as well. It was inspired by a recommendation from the Honor Code Review to create a standing committee regarding the Honor Code.
There was a committee organized last year and Bogin proposed creating a standing one that will do research for the Senate and continue evaluating the Honor Code. He proposed that this committee is important because a large aspect of the Honor Code is that it is partially owned by the student body. Bogin suggested that the committee consist of five students and be required to meet at least six times a semester. The amendment will be put to a vote in the near future.
(10/29/14 10:08pm)
The Student Government Association (SGA) met Sunday Oct. 19 and Sunday Oct. 26.
The meeting on Oct. 19 began with the Finance Committee’s Biweekly report, presented by Treasurer Ilana Gratch ’16.5. The Finance Committee received budget and grant requests from 25 student organizations and approved 22 of the requests. The Committee will continue to process annual budget requests through November 15 and Graff noted that there are many new organizations to see.
Next, Cook Commons Senator Tiff Chang ’17 and Senator Sophie Vaughan ’17 presented their Student Liaison to the SGA on Endowment Affairs (SLSEA) Bylaws Amendment. Vaughan described the amendment as “attacking the ambiguity of the SLSEA” by clarifying the appointment process, instituting mandatory office hours and including a formal process for reporting back to the SGA. The amendment was discussed further on Jan. 26 and then formally passed into the Bylaws in a unanimous vote.
Another ongoing discussion at the two meetings was the proposal for the MiddSafe Resolution by Senators Naila Jahan ’15 and Kyle Gerstenschlager ’15. The resolution suggests initiating MiddSafe bystander intervention training for all varsity teams. Initially, the resolution faced some resistance when it was brought up by Co-Chair of the Community Council Ben Bogin ’15 that it may be “redundant and unnecessary … bystander training is now required by federal law so there is now a training for this for all freshman and our orientation program fulfills this.”
Sophomore Senator Karina Toy ’17 argued that, while this training is required, only about two-thirds of first-years showed up to this year’s training. Senator Zak Fisher ’16 was one of the resolution’s most open supporters.
He said, “I think that this bill is one of the most important things we can do. In response to the criticisms about it being redundant: ‘Stop, drop and roll’ is redundant but it saves lives.” The resolution is still being fine-tuned but there are plans to have it be put to a formal vote at next week’s meeting, Nov. 2.
Other business that was discussed at both meetings was the LaundryView Resolution supported by Toy. LaundryView is a program that would allow students to check online for available washers and dryers.
At the meeting on Oct. 19 Senator Toy announced that after going to the administration and receiving little support to install LaundryView on campus, she suggested passing a bill declaring that SGA wanted to research the matter further. After continued discussion on the matter at the Oct. 26 meeting, the resolution was passed in a 15-0-2 vote.
Next, Speaker Michael Brady ’17.5 and Senator Mohamed Hussein ’17 announced their Increased Printer Access Initiative Resolution, which would entail more printers on campus with around the clock access. After talking with the IT department, Hussein announced that the college would be open to installing and paying for five new printers and the SGA is hopeful to raise that number to nine. Possible locations for these new printers included: Gifford, Hepburn, Forest, Ross, Atwater Library, Battell, Hillcrest and Proctor.
Finally, at the meeting on October 26, a group of students led by Jack Kerby-Miller ’14.5 and Larson Lovdal ’16.5 presented their plans to build the Burgin Lodge in memory of Ian Burgin, Class of 2008. The project has been in the works for three years and is aimed to be completed by May 2015. The lodge would be an outdoor shelter for students, faculty and alumni of Middlebury College and would be maintained by the Mountain Club. The Lodge would be built near the Rikert Nordic Center and would be accessible in the Fall, Winter and Spring.
(10/09/14 2:47am)
The Student Government Association held its latest weekly meetings on Sunday, Sept. 28 and Oct. 5 in the Crest Room of the McCullough Student Center.
The meeting on Sept. 28 opened with an introduction of the new Director of Publicity Committee, Robin Loewald ’16. Confirmed the week prior, Loewald’s tasks in her new post include raising awareness about SGA, promoting SGA sponsored programs such as Middcourses and publicizing SGA events.
Next, the Student Liaison to the SGA on Endowment Affairs, Ian Rhee ’15, gave a presentation and asked for suggestions on getting student input on the endowment. SGA President Taylor Custer ’15 and Speaker of the Senate Michael Brady ’17.5 reminded senators to listen to constituents, then act as middlemen to bring those suggestions to Rhee.
Next, three Student Council Committees were ratified. The SGA voted on ratifying the Environmental Affairs Committee, the Athletic Affairs Committee and the Constitutional Committee. A motion was made, and passed 13-4-0, to ratify all three committees together. The SGA ratified everyone on all three committees by a vote of 11-4-2.
Most significantly, a new bill was passed at the meeting that requires all senators to have at least one scheduled office hour a week. The Office Hours Bill was proposed by President Custer and aims to bridge the disconnect between the SGA and the student body at large. While there was support for the bill by many senators, it was met with significant resistance.
Community Council Co-Chair, Ben Bogin ’15 worried that few students will show up to the office hours and Ross Senator Zak Fisher ’16 contested that this would be mandating just another thing senators are required to do. Bogin proposed an amendment to the bill, “If no student shows up at designated office hours for two consecutive weeks, senators, president and SCOCC have the discretion of canceling those hours for the remainder of the academic semester.” The motion was not seconded.
Custer asserted that “even if nobody comes to these office hours for the entire year, the fact of having them is a good symbol for the student body that the SGA is actually concerned with their opinion and wants to hear what they have to say.”
A motion to vote was made and the bill narrowly passed as originally drafted with a 9-7-1 vote.
The meeting ended with a short discussion about We the Middkids protocol. In the past, it was standard that with 100 votes, a petition was brought up at SGA meetings for discussion and with 300 votes, the president issued a response.
Chief of Staff Danny Zhang ’15 suggested changing the method of voting so each student could give single petitions only one vote instead of the current option of giving petitions one, two or three votes. He also proposed giving biweekly updates to the Senate on We the Middkids petitions. There was a strong consensus that these suggestions were all valid and should be put into place in the coming year.
At the Oct. 5 meeting, no bills were passed but a variety of issues were discussed that will likely be revisited in the future. Some of these included a change in the bylaws of how the Student Liaison to the SGA on Endowment Affairs is selected, the implementation of LaundryView on campus, and the relationship between financial aid and external scholarships.