Senate Beat Is So Fresh It’s Literally Placenta

Highlights and action items: New senators just dropped. Senate and Quest positions open for next semester soon. Let Senate know your thoughts about the HUM 110 curriculum. You can order a pie from Commons. You can do anything if you put your mind to it. You could even write Senate Beat.

The Senate Public on Monday, November 10, was back and better than ever, with two new senators joining the ranks thanks to the verification of the special election winners last week. 

Student Body President Andreanna Gude ‘26 began the meeting by announcing the new senators and welcoming them to the brave new world of Senate Public. Alongside Appointments Committee (AppComm) Co-Chair Andrew Happy ‘27, they met with Claudia Ramirez Islas, Associate Dean of Student and Campus Life. Happy, Gude, and AppComm Co-Chair Sima Fasihi ‘28 also met again with Ramirez Islas, as well as Director for Student Engagement Janice Yang and Dean of Students Chris Toutain. The upcoming Library Board meeting still looms on the horizon, with a date set for November 21. They are waiting to set a consistent meeting time for the Renn Fayre committee, but plan to discuss the theme, which was revealed last Saturday as “Burlesque.” Gude has a meeting with President Audrey Bilger coming up in December and is thinking about what to bring up.

Gude also brought up an upcoming meeting with the Election Czar to work on the upcoming election for Spring 2026 positions. As Gude mentioned, these will include their own current role of student body president, as well as student body vice president and several open Senate positions. The Quest would also like to add that (at least) two Queditor positions will be up for grabs in the upcoming election! That includes the position currently held by this editor, so someone is going to have to start writing Senate Beat… 

Student Body Vice President Lucy Knight-King ‘26 reported on a meeting she and Senator Sofie Braunstein ‘28 had with the Center for Life Beyond Reed (CLBR) that very morning. They discussed an event planned between CLBR and Senate in February. Knight-King announced that CLBR has hired a new advisor for STEM and Pre-Med, who is currently in training, but will soon be able to advise students. 

Next, newly elected Senator Stella Greer ‘29 introduced herself. As a new senator, she did not have any committees to report on yet. 

AppComm Co-Chair Sima Fasihi gave an update on the ongoing changes being discussed by the HUM 110 committee. The committee is investigating a potential “thematic change” to the HUM 110 curriculum, although it is not yet clear what that would look like in practice. Fasihi encouraged any students with thoughts about the HUM 110 curriculum to contact warroom@reed.edu to make their opinions known to Senate. 

Senator Sofie Braunstein announced that Bon Appétit has opened up pie ordering forms, which is a light at the end of the tunnel in our otherwise dark and cruel world. Braunstein reiterated Fasihi’s summary of the HUM 110 developments, and had nothing new to report for the Reed Union committee. Braunstein also gave updates from Senator Manoel Pereira Lopes ‘28, who was absent from the meeting, reporting that Lopes had “no new updates.”

Head Treasurer Yuri Garcia ‘27 reported on the most recent Finance Committee (FinComm) allocations. Mardoomi requested $323.28 and received $303.29. Poll Collectiv requested $640, all of which they received. This motion was approved by nine senators, with one abstention. Additionally, Garcia has several meetings ahead for her committees. Assistant Treasurer Maya Gutierrez ‘27 had nothing to add.

Senator Karter Stanton ‘26 reported that the Appeals Board is currently continuing an appeal. She also informed students on behalf of the Title IX committee that the FBI has changed its definition of sexual assault, which affects what is considered sexual assault under Title IX. Title IX at Reed is switching to live hearings. Title IX Coordinator Christy Martin will be holding a Paideia class about Title IX policies, which Stanton recommended as a good resource for club leaders to attend. 

The last new member, Senator Enzo Lawrence ‘28, introduced himself and had nothing else to report. 

AppComm Co-Chair Andrew Happy ‘27 announced the new Honor Council members who were recently selected by AppComm: Nimat-Lah Balogum ‘29, Gabriela Montañez ‘29, and Mariia Vorozhko ‘27. This motion was approved unanimously. The Residential College Implementation Committee is back and as vague as ever. The committee is working on the job description for the position by figuring out the responsibilities and any supporting staff needed. Happy also met with Residence Life, where they discussed the SU apartment and Res Life’s yearly inspection process.

Senator Ren Raskin ‘27 had nothing new to report, but announced upcoming meetings with the Appeals Board and Academic Support Services. 

An audience member asked about the projected dates for the election. Gude responded that Senate does not have dates set yet, but will be meeting to decide them, and will share the information with the student body as soon as possible.

Senate Public was adjourned at 4:21pm. I may be free of this task for now, but I will not be truly free until someone else does Senate Beat or takes my job in the election. As ever, none of us will be truly free until global liberation is achieved.