Senate Beat is a Vehicle Going Above 10 MPH
Senate Beat on February 28 started with a surprise visit from a Public Affairs photographer. After some debate about whether or not Senate was photo-ready this Wednesday afternoon, they decided that the photographer would come again next time with more warning, but they wouldn’t stop the photographer from taking photos this time.
In President Andee Gude’s Committee Reports, the Quest learned that Senate, specifically President Gude, Senator Lindsey Worrell, and Senator Emma Benson, has been meeting with Admissions and Financial Aid to understand how test-blind policies have been adjusted around the country, and how Reed plans to adapt, and to work on standardizing Reed’s own test-blind policy. President Gude, along with Vice President Jefferson Ratliff, has been working on Senate’s website. Vice President Ratliff plans on meeting with Senate’s webmaster and collecting photos of Senate to be added to the website in their Friday meeting. Senate plans on setting a concrete timeline for their website and launching it soon.
President Gude has also been scheduling meetings with Art Collection, CLBR, and Student and Campus Life, and is currently in the process of exchanging emails with J-Board and Honor Council, and setting up a meeting with Dr. Phyllis Esposito, Vice President and Dean for Institutional Diversity. They also mentioned that Sustainability has been working with Renn Fayre to talk about storage. President Gude also mentioned that the Appeals Board’s hiring process remains to be decided. Additionally, President Gude plans on having a first meeting with the Student Committee of Diversity, which has a new chair.
Due to a scheduling conflict, Senator Meera Balan was unable to attend Senate Public, so her reports were read by President Gude, who explained that Senate had to reschedule their meeting with Residence Life to next Tuesday, in which they will discuss PMP housing. President Gude, speaking on behalf of Senator Balan, thanked all the responses to the AOD policy poll, which they say will be published in the Quest eventually. Senator Balan is also working on the AOD tabling session, along with scheduling a meeting with Title IX.
Vice President Ratliff has a meeting with SHARE tomorrow, which will also be attended by Senator Worrell, Head Treasurer Anahi Sanchez Marcial, and Vice President Ratliff met with HCC last week. In meeting with Greenboard with Senator Caroline Spiggle, he worked on budgeting and planning a mural to come to the Info Shoppe soon. He also plans to meet with Legislation soon, and will attempt again to meet with Director of Community Safety Gary Granger, who has not been responding to emails from Senate. In the Commencement Committee, Vice President Ratliff has narrowed down candidates to a finalist list, and plans to send a poll to seniors soon. He also plans to meet with the Alumni Liaison soon.
In Senator Worrell’s Committee Report, she introduced 6 appointments to be confirmed by Senate. For J-Board, she recommended Kaeela Kaposi, Reed Jadzinksy, Palloma Araujo, and Prasiddhi Thapaliya. For Election Czar, she recommended Maya Hanser-Young, and Elenor Davis-Dive. These appointments were appointed unanimously, with all Student Body Representatives voting in favor except Senator Andrew Sakahara, who abstained.
Head Treasurer Sanchez Marcial then mentioned in her committee reports that the two clubs who came to Finance Committee were Hotpot Club and Animal Rights Club. Hotpot Club requested $2,416.28 and Treasury requested a partial allocation of $572.66. Animal Rights Club requested $1157.00 and Treasury requested a partial allocation of $359.00. Both of these partial allocations were unanimously approved by Senate with no abstentions. Head Treasurer Sanchez Marcial is also setting up a meeting with the Honor and Judicial boards. She finished up her committee reports by encouraging clubs to come to Finance Committee.
Senator Andrew Happy has been meeting with Academic Support Services, and plans to talk to Steve Abrahão on March 8 about the Academic Success committee. Senator Happy also met with the Student Committee on Academic Policy and Planning (SCAPP) and the Health and Counseling Center (HCC). In meeting with the HCC on March 7, Senator Happy plans to talk about introducing new PE courses that would cover topics of mental and sexual health awareness, along with starting back up meetings relating to harm reduction. Senator Happy is also planning on surveying students’ experiences with study abroad at Reed, and this survey will be in SB Info this week.
Senator Spiggle, in her Committee Report, mentioned she’s excited to welcome Director of Disability & Accessibility Resources (DAR) Jess Gibson back to campus and plans on meeting with her soon. Senator Spiggle mentioned how she wants the new committee – Community for Accessibility Resources and Disability Services (CARDS) – to function similarly to the Student Committee on Academic Policy and Planning (SCAPP) and the Student Committee on Diversity (SCOD), and plans to fully implement CARDS soon. In Commons Committee, Senator Spiggle wants to forward thank-you emails received regarding Commons’ updated allergens committee forwarded to Commons. This new policy was highlighted in the CARDS newsletter, which says “To increase the utility of food descriptions for students with allergies, Commons is beginning to incorporate warnings for foods containing the top 9 allergens.” Commons is also planning on including allergen menus in catering events as well. Senator Spiggle has also been working with the Renn Fayre committee to ensure student safety and safe transportation home after Renn Fayre.
The Senate Bylaw Review, done by Senator Lily Garvey and Senator Andrew Sakahara, is expected to be completed relatively soon. The original projected date for completion was March 8, but since Senate still needs to meet with accountability groups, SHARE, Treasury, and in their Exec meeting to complete the review, they are unsure it will be completed by this deadline. When the Bylaw review is finished, Senator Garvey says it will be published in the Quest. Senator Garvey also attended a CAT meeting with SCAPP, who is voting on course releases. The Religion Department has requested potentially entering into the HUM 110 curriculum again after having been on sabbatical. Senator Garvey is also in the process of scheduling another Student Union meeting, in which they would talk about updating the Student Union by bringing in new furniture, and hopes to meet with the Manager and Assistant Manager of the Student Union, along with Janice Yang from the Office of Student Engagement (OSE). Later, Senator Lucy Knight-King mentioned that due to inventory problems, the addition of new Student Union furniture is a bit delayed.
In Senator Sakahara’s Committee Report, he plans to meet with the Legislation Committee next Wednesday, encouraging Reed community members to come to the meeting as well. In a meeting with Conference and Events Planning (CEP), he talked about recommendations for food submissions for Earth Day programming. Senator Sakahara has also been discussing slowly phasing out plastic food containers in Commons, replacing them with paper and eco-containers.
In Senator Philip Dussin’s Committee Report, he met with Occupational Health and Safety to discuss safety issues such as the speed limit on campus. Senator Dussin stressed to the audience of Senate Public (which consisted of a grand total of one Quest reporter) that the campus speed limit is 10 miles per hour for all vehicles, whether it be a scooter, bike, car, golf cart, horse-drawn carriage, jetski, pogo stick, rocket sled, unicycle, or tractor. (Senator Dussin did not list all of these examples, but the Quest did further research into the meaning of “all vehicles”). He mentioned that the breaking of this speed limit has gotten “out of hand.”
Senator Dussin also met with Computer User Services (CUS), and stressed that all Reed students’ Google Drives are cleared out a year after they graduate, and club members should fill out a form with CUS to get a shared drive to prevent files from being lost. Students who want updated computers for clubs are also encouraged to contact CUS. He also is sending out an interest form about extending the weight room and cardio room weekend hours, and encourages students to fill it out.
Senator Bella Moore has been meeting with Appointments Committee, and checking in on Senate employees. She then mentioned how Christy Martin, Title IX coordinator, is coming back next week, as well as the fact that Senate plans to meet with Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) on Thursday. With Accessibility, CAR, and DAR, Senator Moore also is working on creating a student space in the Info Shoppe with lunch hours, body doubling, study hours, sensory support, and sensory materials, emphasizing that “good things are to come” from this space. Senator Moore is also working on restarting a chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) at Reed, an international nonprofit organization that consults with the United Nations.
Baby Money Emma Benson has been working with Admissions and Financial Aid, specifically concerning students who rely on Pell Grants. Because of delays with FAFSA, there have been complications regarding those grants, and Reed plans to be flexible with deadlines given these circumstances. Baby Money Benson also is meeting with the bookstore, and plans to start a collaboration between them and the CARDS committee. She also has an update from Renn Fayre, notably that campus is not going to be closed during Renn Fayre, and hopes to have better communication about Renn Fayre hours soon. Baby Money Benson is also going to start an accessibility audit for CARDS.
Regarding a meeting with the Physical Plant, Senator Knight-King mentioned that the Sports Center is on track to be open in September, and that they have begun scoping out a potential multidisciplinary science building, and what that would possibly look like. Senator Knight-King also mentioned taking a visual inventory of classrooms on campus, a process that she hopes will be more institutionalized. The Physical Plant will also be building a central plant and a new boiler. Foster, Scholz, and MacNaughton dorms are planning on undergoing phased renovations over the next couple of summers, which are to focus on the essential needs of the dorms. Senator Knight-King also mentioned how Senate met with the Quest, discussing how to improve Senate Beat in the future including sharing Senate minutes with the Quest, and sending precise figures for appointments and funding allocations to the Quest.
To wrap up, Head Treasurer Sanchez Marcial said she wished that the student body would treat senators with more respect, and wanted to stress that Senators have a lot going on and are “students first, workers second” and also stressed that students should go to Senate office hours and feel free to talk to them.
Funding Allocations:
Hotspot+ Club was allocated $572.66
Animal Rights Club was allocated $359.00
Appointments:
Recommendations for J-board:
Kaeela Kaposi
Reed Jadzinksy
Palloma Araujo
Prasiddhi Thapaliya
Recommendations for Election Czar:
Maya Hanser-Young
Elenor Davis-Dive
All hires approved.