News

StuCo highlights

In print | September 17, 2009

SHCs seek long-term funding for condoms

Eric Glickman ’10, a representative of the Sexual Health Counselors, spoke with Student Council about SHC’s difficulty obtaining both funds for administrative costs and this year’s supply of free condoms.

This past year, the budget for training was cut. In addition, Worth Health Center, the SHC’s previous source of its unlimited supply of student condoms, can no longer afford the same quantity of condoms. Yet the SHCs have secured funding from the SBC to buy a two-semester supply of condoms. While this is not a permanent solution, it will allow the SHCs to provide unlimited free condoms to the dorms.

The SHCs will begin talking to members of the deans office this week to discuss the possibility of receiving funding from the deans office for both training members and purchasing condoms.

Board of managers

Student Council is organizing an upcoming luncheon for students to meet the Swarthmore Board of Managers. The luncheon will take place on Sept. 25 from 12:00 to 1:15 pm and is open to all students who RSVP to studentcouncil@swarthmore.edu by Sept. 18.

The luncheon will be a chance for students to interact with board members. Discussion at the luncheon will center on the question, “What would you like to change most at Swarthmore?”
The Swarthmore website explains that the Board of Managers is responsible for the affairs of the college. “[The Board of Managers] discharges that duty directly in management of the endowment and otherwise works closely with the president to set general direction.”

Campus safety

Another large segment of the Student Council meeting was concerned with student safety on campus. Students discussed the possibilites of hiring a patrol officer on campus to free up public safety for pick-up services, implementing a key card system for campus facilities, adding lighting on campus, and purchasing Blue Lights, public phones designated for emergency use, with blue lamps on top.

One council member questioned the effectiveness of Blue Lights on campus, pointing out that attackers could simply attack outside the range of a blue light. The Council also discussed better alternatives to Blue Lights, including initiatives that encourage students to program Public Safety’s phone number into their phones.

Student Council is also planning to host a guided walk with Stu Hain, Vice President for Facilities and Services, to find areas on campus that need better lighting. The walk is open to students who would like to attend.

The Drug and Alcohol Resource Team and the Sexual Misconduct Advisors and Resource Team were invited to the meeting to discuss their current projects to promote student safety. Both teams plan to post photos and contact information for SMART and DART team members on protected bulletins outside parties. DART is working on an online program that will provide the phone number of one DART team member that will be available each weekend. SMART is working on recruiting more Party Associates.