Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
The Student Council met for the first time this semester yesterday. Their regular meeting time will be 3:30pm in the the Parrish foyer.
Half of the Council is new:
Vice President: Sven Udekwu ’09
Appointments Chair: Nate Erskine ’10
Student Life Representative: Andrea Cornejo ’10
Student Events Advisor: Lacey Dickinson ’10 (Not in attendance)
Secretary: Liana Katz ’10
The Council talked on five main topics: committees, special appointments, a meeting for students on the College’s planning process, take-your-professor-to-lunch, and the upcoming Board of Managers luncheon.
The Appointments Committee will be chaired by Nate Erskine and consist of Sven Udekwu, Sarah Roberts, Andrea Cornejo, and Liana Katz. The Charter Committee, chaired by Paul Apollo, will consist of Alyssa Work, Elisha Ann, Lacey Dickinson, and PEter Gardener.
Special appointments are rapidly coming to a close, with applications due Friday. As of the meeting, Erskine had received very few applications–only two for health and one for the orientation committee. There are a large number of slots remaining on those committees as well as for the social affairs, movie, and equal opportunity committees. Erskine explained that he planned to drum up support by approaching some of the larger groups on campus, specifically mentioning cultural groups and the College Democrats.
After reviewing the budget, the Council realized that no students had taken advantage of the Take-Your-Professor-to-Lunch program, for which they had budgeted $250.00. They decided by consensus to shrink the allocation for that program, and redistribute the funds into other Student Council sub-codes.
The Board of Managers comes to Swarthmore for a meeting twice every semester. Each time, Student Council holds a luncheon in which members of the Board meet with different constituencies at Swarthmore. Previous meetings having included Earthlust and Good Foods, the College publications, and students involved in research. For the upcoming February 22nd meeting, Student Council decided to bring the athletic community to the Board. This decision was partly made due to concerns, voiced by Nate Erskine and Sarah Roberts, that athletics frequently go unrecognized at Swarthmore, and even are underrepresented on the Council itself.
