4/6 Senate Beat.
Highlights and action items: Honor Council applications close this Friday! AppComm is hiring for Griffin Editor-in-Chief. Sima Fasihi urges you to apply! Reed students and Senate discuss graceful reception of student’s expression and student leadership’s approach to strict rule application.
Student Body President Andrew Happy ’27 began the meeting at 4:10pm, announcing that the Residential College Implementation Committee had met the week prior and is now editing and finalizing their preliminary model before making their final recommendations to Vice President of Student Life Karnell McConnell-Black. He reported that they had reviewed the pathway model for freshman and sophomore years and will proceed to the models for junior and senior year at their next meeting. He then reported that the CSO Director Search Committee has begun interviews.
Student Body Vice President Taylor Barth ’27 then reported that he had met with Alumni Liaison last week and had gone over a rough draft of a slideshow about Reed student spaces and campus life updates for 2026. He reported that he will be joining a larger Alumni Board Meeting, requesting that students let him know if there’s anything important to share with the alumni. He finally reported that SCOD (Student Committee on Diversity) is planning a karaoke night some time soon, so stay tuned!
Senator Sam Kuo ’28 began by reading off Senator Stella Greer’s ’29 committee report. He read that the Senate had recently met with the AI Committee to discuss student opinions about AI use at Reed, and requested that students reach out to Greer if they have questions or concerns.
Kuo then reported that he had met with the Residential Life Committee recently to discuss increasing the length of swipe for people with disabilities, especially in ODB. Kuo reported that this update would be implemented later this week! Kuo then reported that, as a new senator, he had joined SCOD, Community on Accessibility Resources and Disability Support (CARDS), the Reed Union, the Campus and Student Life Committee, the Residential Life Committee, and the Title IX Committee.
Senator JR Wallingford ’27 then reported that, as a new senator, he had joined the Academic Support Services Committee, the Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) Committee, the Bylaw Review Committee, the Sustainability Committee, the Board on Undertaking Student Hazards (BUSH), the Occupational Health and Safety Committee, the Physical Plant Committee, and is a liaison to the Student Groups with Spaces Committee. He finally asked that students reach out with any concerns regarding health and safety on campus or anything involving the physical plant to jrwallingford@reed.edu.
Senator Enzo Lawrence ’28 then reported that the Reed Union would have a “Lunch and Learn” that Tuesday, April 7, to discuss Title IX procedures. He then reported that a Sexual Health, Advocacy, & Relationship Education (SHARE) meeting was in the works to discuss SHARE’s possible involvement in Renn Fayre club activity, specifically with Beer Nation and HUM Play.
Assistant Treasurer Al McKee ’29 then reported that the Bookstore Board would be having a meeting this Friday. She then asked that anyone with serious questions or concerns about the bookstore contact her. McKee finally reported that the Reed Kommunist Shit Kollectiv (RKSK) would be having a ceremony that night, and encouraged students to attend.
Vice Treasurer Bella Reyes ’27 had nothing new to report.
Head Treasurer Maya Gutierrez ’27 then reported that the previous week FinComm had deliberated on RKSK. Gutierrez reported that RKSK had requested $420.00 and had been allocated the full amount. She then reported that the Print Shoppe had requested $1,941.73 and had been allocated $1,220.47. Happy then requested a motion and a second, which were provided by McKee and Gutierrez respectively. The vote was subsequently unanimous with the exception of Wallingford, who abstained. Gutierrez finally reported that she had recently presented the Budget Realignment Committee with her feedback on their proposed budget cuts. Gutierrez finally reported that she had recently collected availability for an ID Funding Bylaw review. She then encouraged students with any questions or feedback about club funding at Reed to contact money@reed.edu.
Senator Justin Sotomayor ’27 had no new updates.
Senator Quinn Capper ’28 then reported that, as a new senator, he had joined Appcom, the Bylaw Review Committee, the Computer User Services (CUS) Committee, the Commons Committee, and was a liaison for Student Campus Life. He then reported that he had met with Claudia Ramírez Islas for the Students and Campus Life Committee that afternoon to discuss the diminishing availability of research grants and the high cost of summer housing, specifically for international students who do not wish to return home over the summer.
Senator Alastair Budd ’27 then reported that he would be meeting with CLBR the following Tuesday. He finally reported that he has been in talks with the Computing Planning and Policy Committee (CPPC) about individual safety at Reed.
Senator Manoel Pereira Lopes ’28 reported that he had recently met with the Commons Committee and had provided feedback from students. He then encouraged students to communicate feedback about Commons either through Commons cards or by reaching out to Pereira Lopes, Greer, or Barth. He then reported that he was in the throes of Bylaw Review and that the Bylaw Review Committee had an upcoming meeting.
Appointments Committee Co-chair and Parliamentarian Senator Sofie Braunstein ’28 then thanked Kuo for his prompt response in bringing student’s concerns about swipe time to CARDS. Braunstein then reported that they were working on getting goats to campus, and that the Reed Union Committee would be holding a small meeting in the Student Union the next day to discuss community belonging. They then reported that Honor Council applications will close this Friday. She then thanked everyone who had been involved in Canyon Day, especially Mika Hosler, the Green Board student coordinator. She then announced that Earth Day events would be occurring the next week in the quad and that there would be goats present! She then announced that BUSH is reaching out this week to request a meeting to review the new nudity guidelines. She finally announced that AppComm would like to recommend Maya Puff ’29 for J-Board Member. Happy then requested a motion and a second, which were provided by Pereira Lopes and McKee respectively. The vote was subsequently unanimous besides Kuo’s abstaintion.
Appointments Committee Co-chair Sima Fasihi ’28 then reported that SCOD had recently had a meeting at which they discussed strategies for getting more participation in surveys. She reported that the Student Committee on Academic Policy and Planning (SCAPP) is finalizing a report to send to the Committee on Academic Policy and Planning (CAPP), and that for her own personal project, she is looking to bring back student handbooks. She then reported that AppComm would like to recommend Rebecca Cornavaca ’29. Happy then requested a motion and a second, which were provided by Braunstein and Reyes respectively. Fasihi finally encouraged students to apply to be Griffin Editor-in-Chief, a paid student position.
Happy then asked if there was any final business from the senators.
Gutierrez then read a statement regarding students who joined paid student positions late in the term not receiving their full stipends.
Happy then asked if there was any new business from the audience.
Xixi Dukes ’26 then shared a concern she’d been having about current Reed students codifying some rules too seriously and being too harsh, like excessive concerns over freshmen being allegedly too strict, and the response to Erika Spencer’s ’28 Senate petition being turned in a half an hour late. She then “put out into the universe” a request that people stop using the word “aggressive” as a way to avoid listening.
Estela Nicolary ’27 then expressed their gratitude that Dukes had stepped in as Renn Fayre Czar at the last minute. They then read a statement regarding the presence of harm reduction at Renn Fayre.
Gutierrez then apologized for having used the word “aggressive” at the election assembly because of cultural weight surrounding that word, but also shared that she believed the behavior she had been confronted with at elections assembly had in fact been aggressive.
Dukes then responded that her main concern was professors using this word to shut down student community and classroom participation. She then shared that she takes Quest reporting with a grain of salt.
Braunstein then expressed that she was grateful for this discourse, which is why Senate Public is held in the first place, thanking all participants. She stated that she encourages other students to come express their concerns in the same polite manner as Dukes.
Fasihi then expressed that she believes this conversation belongs in a broader one about giving grace to people’s expression in whatever manner it may be presented in. She stated that “we should be careful with the standards we apply to expression.”
Happy then thanked everyone for the good discourse, and adjourned the meeting at 4:43pm.
Senator Stella Greer ’29 was absent.