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.
More Than A First Collection
Secretary Sarah Dwider ’13 spoke to Ben Goossen ’13, member of Swarthmore Quakers on Campus, about progress on the creation of StuCo’s proposed Opening and Closing Collections. Dwider said that StuCo is interested in ways they can support these collections, and hope to discuss it with Goossen at the next StuCo meeting. The next step is to create a proposal for Dean of Students Liz Braun, which Dwider said she would create to bring to the next meeting.
StuCo Co-President Victor Brady ’13 noted that the Collections would be a good avenue to expand diversity training beyond first-year orientation.
A Physical Events Calendar for Shane Lounge
StuCo has continued their search for a large student events calendar to put in Shane Lounge. Dwider said that, after looking at other offices’ calendars, she got the idea to purchase sheets of corkboard to unroll and adhere to a roll. Ribbons could be used to dived sections and groups. “I think that’s flexible and fairly cheap,” Dwider said, “not more than $300 for the entire thing.” The goal is to install a physical calendar by the end of the semester.
StuCo will manage the board. Brady said that StuCo would have to write that duty into the Student Life Representative position. Lee said that in the long-term, it would be useful to “look at bringing all that together – weekend events, the official campus calendar.”
StuCo Co-President Gaby Capone ’14 said that if a group wishes to host an all-campus event, posting it on the board will be mandatory if they are to receive SAC funding. Campus Life Representative Tony Lee ’15 said he was concerned about that posting being mandatory, “if you only get SAC funding the week before.” Because it will also display other events such as lectures and sports games, Capone said the board will be useful for students who are planning events, to see what’s already been posted.
Students Running Late-Night Coffee Bar?
Brady and Capone spoke with Braun about a seed fund for a pilot project to fund Sunday afternoon coffee bars. They propose that next semester, students will run one of the campus coffee bars from 1-4 on Sunday afternoons, “as the jumping-off point for late night funding from ten til two during the week,” Brady said.
The project is scheduled for the 12 Sundays during the spring semester, ending before finals week. Lee said the pilot project is essentially “testing the feasibility of students operating a coffee bar.” Brady said that students won’t be operating any coffee makers or machines, and won’t be using cash.
Brady and Ian Anderson ’13, Student Outreach Coordinator, spoke with Dining Services about their plan. Brady said that Dining Services was not opposed. The remaining obstacle is seed funding, which Brady said might be acquired after StuCo submits their proposal to Braun.
The project will cost $375 for the semester. If the project is a success, Dining Services would incorporate that cost into next year’s budget.
Free SEPTA Tokens for Students
Capone said that her goal is to submit a proposal for a SEPTA tokens available for students at StuCo’s next meeting. Brady said that this proposal for seed funding would “look at feasibility, who’s running it, who’s organizing it, and begin to be incorporate it into the larger budget for next year.”
“No one’s opposed, we just need to get funding,” Capone said.
Updates from Dean Braun
According to Braun, Capone said, Halloween with the Deans was a success. The turnout was greater than expected; Brady and Capone speculated that Hurricane Sandy and the cancellation of classes catalyzed the good turnout.
Capone said that StuCo should examine the game room in Tarble, “looking at getting new games, thinking about that space, if we like it or if there’s something else we could be doing.” She noted that the Strategic Plan calls for a complete renovation of Tarble, but that “it makes sense to do something in interim that might be an improvement.” She asked if StuCo wanted to take on a renovation of that space.
Certain members of StuCo noted that the space seemed obsolete. Appointments Chair Will Lawrence ’13 noted that the space’s proximity to Paces increased chances of damaged equipment.
Capone brought up the idea of putting couches in the space and making it more of a student lounge or study space. Dwider said it could be “an extension of Essie Mae’s, like a family room.”
Capone also said that she attended the first Center for Innovation and Leadership meeting. A Swarthmore alum will be offering a “no-credit ‘know thyself’ class on Fridays, about leadership.”
The Diversity and Inclusions Committee had its first meeting on November 2, focusing on revamping diversity workshops. Last week’s Reunion for Facilitators of Diversity Workshops was cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy and will be rescheduled, according to Campus Life Representative Ali Roseberry-Polier ’14.
Brady said that the open house for Worth Health Center will also be rescheduled.
Bike Share Program Nearly Back on Its Feet
Lee said that funding for maintenance to restart the bike share program was secured last Sunday. “Now we’re just waiting for the mechanic to purchase parts and start fixing it,” he said.
Lee spoke with SBC about creating a “Bikeshare Coordinator position, or extending the mechanic position into permanent position, who would turn into the coordinator.” He said SBC was fairly receptive to this. Another option would be to have Swarthmore’s new cycling club run the bike share.
At present the bikeshare has seven bikes, according to Lee, which Brady said means three are still missing.
Promoting Student Groups’ Events
Dwider asked if StuCo would be interested in promoting the Daily Gazette’s Columnist debate tonight. Capone said she thought using a campus-wide email to promote student groups was outside StuCo’s purview. Lawrence said that he wants to “use StuCo’s emails for promoting student groups, but the Gazette is not the best instance” because of the already-close communication between StuCo and The Daily Gazette.
Brady brought up creating an email policy for StuCo, but said it was important to discuss that with Student Groups Adviser Lanie Schlessinger ’15 present.
Education Policy Representative Rachel Stein ’15 noted that students already receive many emails daily, which, Lawrence said, “is why I think there should be a policy.”
TV Remotes for Shane Lounge
Financial Policy Representative Natalia Choi ’15 said that StuCo received funding for remotes for dorms and Shane Lounge. They received $224.25 for 15 remotes.
Brady will talk to Jesse Dashefsky ’13 from SBC to order the remotes.
Open Forum Session
Roseberry-Polier said that the Dean’s Advisory Committee met last week for the first time, and only plans to meet once more this semester (they met three times a semester in the past). She said the meeting was spent “talking about what got done last semester for new students, and what we’ll do this semester.”
Other items on the agenda were diversity training and sophomore planning. Roseberry-Polier said the committee wanted more input for diversity and inclusion workshop, but logistics were unclear at that point.
