Nice Gavel!
ASPC President Jed Cullen ’10 convened the meeting at 5:05 p.m.
If only we had some green construction paper……
Cullen introduced Director of Financial Aid Mary Booker, who discussed issues surrounding student employment. This year, in order to cope with a $400,000 reduction in student wages, the office held students to their stipends and reduced allotments for students not on financial aid. They will keep the same system in place for next year, though they are considering allowing student employees to go to their supervisors, rather than the Financial Aid office, to request allotment exemptions.
No, Ed, you’re fired. Bing, bong, bing.
Booker also said the office is in the process of hiring an employee to deal with student employment. She did not say whether or not this new employee would be predisposed to firing TSL Web Editors. She ended by noting that the Student Work Committee could be e-mailed with comments about the proposed changes.
Marston Quad, Trailer Park
Dean of Admissions Bruce Poch was also present at the meeting, and he provided a summary of the admitted Class of 2014. Senior Class President Calvin Kagan ’10 asked Poch about the exact process of admitting students. Poch gave an in-depth response, providing a helpful summary by saying, “Mostly the application project is about cross-validation…It’s about reading what’s between the lines.” Poch said the admissions office expects approximately 40 percent of admitted students to accept their offers from Pomona. Half-jokingly he noted that, if that number were to rise, unorthodox measures might need to be taken to house students, like trailers on Marston Quad.
For astrophysics majors, time is relative
At this point, Commissioner of Communications Alex Rudy ’11 joined the meeting.
Prospie weekend was part of my application? Yikes…
Poch said that 55-60 percent of applicants interview, and, in most cases, the interviews simply validate admission’s opinion on the application. Poch said the interviews help more often than hurt applicants, although he then noted that some interviews have gone horribly, horribly wrong. In addition, any contact that a student has with the school goes under consideration. Poch said, “I think of a campus visit as an extended job interview of sorts.” With those words, scores of prospies trembled with fear.
Office of Campus Life to offer storage, prevent riots
Dean of Campus Life Ric Townes then broached the contentious issue of summer storage. This semester, he said, summer storage will probably be allowed with a more limited window: the Friday before finals, and the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of finals week. OCL has also been considering charging students per box stored.
Gerard OWNS the Smith Campus Center
Commissioner of Environmental Affairs Joanna Ladd ’10 then digressed from the topic at hand to ask Townes about the possibility of installing new bike racks on campus, claiming that a shortage was causing the locking of bikes in inappropriate places. Townes confirmed that this possibility is being investigated. Associate Dean of Students Neil Gerard then contested Ladd’s claim about the unavailability of bike racks, referring to himself as “the owner of a $36 million campus center.” Freudian slip?
Academics take action on grade inflation by delaying action, talking more
Commissioner of Academic Affairs Scott Levy ’10 then updated the senate on the Curriculum Committee’s proposal on grade inflation. The proposal was presented to the faculty, who came to the principled decision that they needed more time to talk about it. Under this proposal, the college would develop a set of criteria for each grade, departments would define each grade within their discipline, and information would be provided for faculty about the grade distribution within their department.
Gmail…great for anonymous accounts that administrators can’t trace, great for ASPC!
Rudy then announced the creation of gmail accounts for all senators. A lengthy dispute about what the address would be for class presidents (“class of 2011” or “Senior class president”) was not entirely settled.
I’d hit that…
Cullen adjourned the meeting at 6:05 p.m.
-John Thomason