Pitzer College Student Senate
The Pitzer College Student Senate meeting began with the unanimous approval of Bill 54-B-3, a bill to appropriate $2,727.99 from the Student Senate Reserve Fund for the purpose of funding events staff equipment.
During open forum, Senator Isaiah Kramer PZ ’20 proposed the expansion of STEM offerings to include the offering of a computer science major, and Senator Shivani Kavuluru PZ ’19 suggested that Pitzer allow card swipe access to classrooms after hours.
Acting President Lora McManus PZ ’18 announced that Senator Anthony Portantino would be holding a millennial open dialogue, which will consist of a conversation about student interests and issues, at Benson Auditorium on Nov. 27. Acting Vice President Simone Bishara PZ ’18 said that Pitzer Identity Board had discussed the scarcity of spaces on campus for affinity groups.
After stating the budget proposals and approvals for this week’s budget meeting, Jacquelyn Aguilera PZ ’19 announced her resignation from the treasurer position.
“These months have affected my academic performance as well as pushed my ethical boundaries,” Aguilera wrote in a statement emailed to the Pitzer community after the meeting.
Senate continued with the 23-0 approval of 54-R-04, a resolution supporting the creation of Bias Incident Report Team, a sub-committee within the already existing Diversity Committee.
Bill 54-B-09, a bill to appropriate $6,500 from the Student Senate Reserve Fund to furnishing space for first-generation college students, was tabled until the next meeting.
Resolution 54-R-05, a resolution supporting the formation of a full-time position for the Health and Wellness Coordinator of Pitzer College, was introduced.
During announcements, Communications Secretary Anna Frietas PZ ’20 announced that the announcements portion of the meeting would henceforth be eliminated in lieu of an email announcement to senators.
—Elinor Aspegren PZ '20
ASCMC
ASCMC began its meeting with a constitution conversation. President Pro Tempore Thomas Schalke ‘18 presented the updated constitution as newly compiled and formatted. As he announced, it contained no substantive changes but stands merely as a cleaned up version for clarity.
Next, Sarah Tocher '20, Lincoln Bernard '21 and Biniyam Asnake '20 presented their findings from a survey on the quality of life in north quad during the first two weeks of school on behalf of the ASCMC Campus Improvements Committee. The survey was designed to determine if, why, and where students slept outside of their rooms during the heat wave. The concluded general consensus was that though heat was intolerable for many in their rooms, many students lacked other options. The study suggested several solutions to ameliorate future similar situations, such as providing cots for student use in lounges or other open locations, AC rentals, or leaving AC locations like the CARE Center open to sleep in.
—Daisy Ni PO '21
SAS
The SAS meeting on Nov. 12 began with Executive Board Member updates. Alix Hunter SC ‘20 held a “Be Heard Forum” on Tuesday so that Scripps College students could talk about the classroom climate. Kaya Mark SC ‘18 reminded all SAS board members to arrive early to Eurobash to help set up as well as clean up after the event.
Sustainability Chair Leta Ames will be graduating at the end of this semester. The application for Ames's replacement went out to the Scripps student body on Monday and interviews will be held after Thanksgiving.
In partnership with Pitzer College, Ames recommended that Scripps hold a Diva Dance so that the colleges could provide for free or reduced price Diva Cups to students, just as Pomona College does.
First-year president Julia Kelly SC ‘21 will be holding a Friendsgiving event and a movie night on the lawn.
Mark requested that the board remove $400 of the $500 requested by the Chiapas Support Community for this week’s speakers series. Board members were concerned about the event’s head count and that the group had requested funds from more student groups than departments. Ames made a motion to approve $400 for lodging, international and local transportation. SAS approved the vote 10-0-4.
Executive Vice President Yi reversed her previous request for increased department funding because it had been miscalculated. Instead, she requested $400 for the Senate budget, in addition to the EVP budget for the year. Ames motioned to approve the increase. The Executive Board voted 8-0-6.
President Kelly Peng SC ‘18 suggested that Scripps begin a Student Recognition Program. She had already discussed the program with Dean Johnson and Assistant Dean and Director of SCORE, Jenn Wells.
“Scripps runs on the students and the labor its students do,” Peng said.
Board members suggested that students should be the ones to make the nominations for this award and the Dean of Students office can provide funding for prizes of some kind.
—Sam Norrito SC '21