Not Again…
This week’s meeting started off with a visit from a special guest, Dean of Campus Life Ric Townes, equipped with his fancy iPad. ASPC President Stephanie Almeida ’11 suggested that the group go around and introduce themselves again. Junior Class President Carrie Henderson ’12 went against the idea—the second time in as many weeks she has suggested not doing something. Perhaps at one meeting she will offer an idea of her own so other people can shoot it down.
DiPalma for Dean!
Townes’ primary reason for visiting was to discuss issues of privacy on campus, stemming from two sources: the de-sponsoring of Andrew Hong ’13 as a result of the “Gotcha!” program initiated by RHS, and an incident involving an RA and a “housekeeper” entering a room after observing water dripping from a light fixture through the window, resulting in a policy violation. Commissioner of Community Relations Drew DiPalma ’13 said that he had heard that it was a member of Campus Safety, not Housekeeping, who entered the room with the RA, and that the two had determined that the leak was either coming from the student’s room or from the Housekeeping storage room, but that they elected to not look in the Housekeeping room because they could not get in touch with Housekeeping. Townes, always quick on his feet, replied,
“You may have more information than I do.” Townes assured the Senate that RAs are not acting differently than they have in the past, and still ask for approval before entering rooms. Tell that to Hong.
Make Someone Else Do It
South Campus Representative Ian Gallogly ’13 asked Townes about the plans for replacing current Housing Director Deanna Bos, who is scheduled to retire at the end of this year. Townes, who has been running RHS since former Associate Dean Sarah Visser left, suggested two options: either replace Deanna right away (with Townes still running RHS), or freeze Bos’s position and reopen Visser’s former position (with the new hire running RHS and the Sponsor Program). Townes recommended pursuing the latter strategy, with Senior Associate Dean Frank Bedoya, Bos’s boss, stepping in to cover room draw, a process he is already involved with. This, hopefully, would not interfere with Bedoya’s role in the Sponsor Program.
Didn’t We Already Talk About This?
Next up, North Campus Representative Caroline Rubin ’12 brought up the idea of creating a room review website (similar to the current ASPC Course Reviews site) on which students would have the option to leave comments about their rooms, including recommendations for the best way to set it up, as well as feedback on noise, lighting, and temperature, among other things. The idea had been explored by last year’s Residence Hall Committee (of which Rubin was a member), but due to the butt-of-all-Senate-jokes-and-then-ASPC-Webmaster’s ineptitude, the site was never integrated into the new ASPC website. Sophomore Class President Charley Vallejo-Anderson ’13 was worried that this could create even more “anger, frustration, and sadness” about room draw than already exists, and suggested shutting down the site during room draw so people would not have their feelings hurt. Commissioner for Clubs and Sports Ari “Heartbreaker” Filip ’12 questioned Vallejo-Anderson’s motives, asking,
“Are we that concerned about people’s feelings that we would withhold information from them in their time of need?” Clearly, you are not, Ari.
I Respect All Kinds of Wood
Environmental Affairs Commissioner Nate Wilairat ’11 continued the meeting, bringing up the often-recycled issue of the posting policy in the dining halls. As using duct tape to hang posters in the dining halls results in deterioration of the wood paneling, Wilairat suggested forming a subcommittee to investigate the idea of getting a long strip of cork installed in Frank and Frary, which students could tack the tops of their posters into. Rubin, eager to prove her Senate merit by joining every single subcommittee possible, volunteered, along with Gallogly and a reluctant Vallejo-Anderson.
Standing With (Children of) Staff
Lastly, Commissioner of Off-Campus Relations Jessica Deas ’11 introduced the idea of offering a student-run tutoring program for children of staff members. The program, similar to a current effort at Pitzer, would be run every Saturday at a location to be determined. Deas informed the Senate that one of the staff members had told her that he had been waiting for something like this, and was very excited about the program.
– Jeff Levere