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.
Student Senate
StuCo Co-Presidents Victor Brady ’13 and Gabriela Capone ’14 reported that they had only received one platform for the Student Senate as of Sunday night’s meeting, but they remain hopeful that more people will apply. Platforms were due last night at midnight, and elections will be held on Moodle all day Thursday.
StuCo is still fleshing out the role of the Student Senate and are excited to see what it can become over the course of this semester. The Senate will host one open meeting once a month were they will discuss general campus concerns. It will also be working with ITS to plan out short term and long term goals. Dean of Students Liz Braun and Public Safety Director Mike Hill have also expressed interest in discussing campus security at Senate meetings.
Bike Share
Campus Life Representative Tony Lee ’15 was happy to announce the bike share will be up and running starting today. Students will be able to go to McCabe to check out a key to a bike and a helmet for one day at a time, but must return the items before McCabe closes. There are currently five bikes ready to go and 3-4 more bikes that are being repaired.
Friday Social Spaces Discussion Review
Dean of the Junior Class Karlene Burrell-McRae expressed concern that not all voices were represented in Friday night’s social spaces conversation, which focused in part on Greek life. Burrell-McRae opened that meeting with a statement but left immediately after.
The meeting conflicted with men’s lacrosse practice, and many members of the lacrosse team are in Phi Psi, she said. In the future StuCo will be more conscious of scheduling conflicts. StuCo received feedback on how to have more conversations on inclusivity.
While some at the meeting were glad to remove the anonymity that they had encountered in The Daily Gazette comments, others felt that by striving too hard for politeness, students watered down the quality of the discussion. Many reported that few solutions were reached, suggesting that perhaps students were still in the grievance-airing phase.
Brady proposed creating more small groups to discuss solutions. StuCo would also like to expand the breadth of the conversation beyond just a discussion of Greek Life on campus. They considered moving around the location of the meeting to the ICC, BCC, or LPAC lobby to reach more groups on campus.
SBC Appeals Update
Student Budget Committee (SBC) Chair Jacob Adenbaum ’14 discussed the procedure for accepting funding appeals submitted to StuCo. SBC sometimes turns away appeals out of principal, such as requests for spring break or off-campus dining funding. StuCo can continue to approve appeals when they deem them necessary, he said, but they should be cognizant of the effects on the SBC budget.
Chartering Revisions
Student Groups Advisor Lanie Schlessinger ’15 presented an updated version of the Chartering part of the Student Council Constitution. The updates passed unanimously. Student Outreach Coordinator Aya Ibrahim ’15 will change StuCo’s website to reflect these changes.
SEPTA Tickets
Brady said that this week 176 people applied for SEPTA tickets through StuCo’s lottery program, an increase from last week. Brady and Capone are looking into securing long-term funds for the initiative and hope to increase the weekly supply of tickets. Brady mentioned possibly partnering with SEPTA to get a better deal on tickets.
SWATT Updates
Ibrahim and Campus Life Representative Jason Heo ’15 shared updates from SWATT, a group that brings together StuCo and members of the Administration.
The first steps in changing the game room in Tarble-in-Clothier are set to take place over Spring Break. The pool tables are being relocated to Mephistos and PPR. For the time being the foosball table will stay in Tarble. Quick fixes have already taken place around campus, including the addition of more lights in the neighborhood north of campus and near PPR. Lights will soon be added to the other problem areas highlighted in StuCo’s lighting tour.
The student apartments in the Strath Haven towers will be undergoing renovations this summer and will not be available for students during that time. All students seeking summer housing will be placed in Mary Lyons, the basement of which will be opened to expand capacity.
The policy for locking doors on campus is under revision. Brady and Capone will be working over spring break with Public Safety to come to an agreement over which doors should remain open 24/7. Replacing student keys with plastic key cards continue to be a topic of discussion for the Master Plan.
The college is also discussing acquiring the parking lot next to the train station and opening it up for more student parking.
Miscellaneous Updates
Worthstock has been confirmed for Sunday, May 5.
Lee spoke about the Student Resource Guide (SRG), an online wiki page that SCCS is currently creating and that students will be able to fill with their own explanations of student practices, campus policy, group functions, and more. Ibrahim has been in contact with both Delta Upsilon and Phi Psi about their write-ups for the SRG. She will soon be in contact with Olde Club and Paces. StuCo is still in discussion about the tone they would like the SRG to take. While they agree that the SRG should be truthful to real student life they are still debating the level of moderation it will receive.
Secretary Sun Park ’16, who ran on a platform that included bringing puppies to some study breaks, discovered that borrowing puppies from the Delaware SPCA will be too expensive. Appointments Chair Yuan Qu ’14 suggested reaching out to faculty members who brought their pets to last year’s puppy study break.
