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.
Referendum
Student Council Co-President Victor Brady ‘13 announced the opening of campus-wide voting on the petition for a Greek life referendum via an e-mail sent to the student body last night. The petition, which was submitted last week by Joyce Wu ‘15, consists of six questions, each of which will be tabulated and voted upon separately. According to Brady, at least one third of the student body must vote on each question in order for its result to be considered valid.
Voting will remain open for 48 hours, closing one second before midnight on Tuesday night. Results will then be posted after 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 10. In terms of action to be taken after the results are announced, Brady was focused on approaching the issue one step at a time. “I think we’re going to see what the results say, and then move forward in terms of opening up more constructive discussion,” he said.
Green Advisors, New Sustainability Director
Discussion about funding for Green Advisors is still under way. Brady has been in contact with Maurice Eldridge, vice president for College and Community Relations, about hiring a new sustainability director to oversee the GA’s.
According to Student Life Representative Tony Lee ‘15, there was discussion during the Alumni Council post-dinner talk about hiring an outside consulting group to find the new director. As Eldridge wrote in an e-mail to Brady, “We’re at the preliminary stages of preparing the search, starting with the efforts to appoint a search consultant.” Brady, along with several other members of StuCo, also suggested the possibility of creating a sustainability director search committee, which would begin work next fall.
Student Senate Meeting
Brady and Co-President Gabby Capone ‘14 said they were pleased with the outcome of the Student Senate meeting that took place on Wednesday, April 3. The Rules and Senate logistics working group drafted a constitution, which is slated to be ratified by the student body sometime in the near future.
The ITS working group identified several targets for improvement, including printers and campus WiFi. The Dining working group discussed possible changes to Essie Mae’s and Sharples. The Student Activities working group began outlining plans for hiring a permanent Student Activities Coordinator.
Bulletin Board in Shane Lounge
Student Groups Advisor Lanie Schlessinger ‘15 bought supplies to begin constructing the calendar for the bulletin board in Shane Lounge, and hopes to have groups post event info on the calendar starting sometime early this week.
SEPTA Tokens
This week, StuCo saw a record-breaking 237 requests for the 40 available SEPTA tickets, yet another increase over last week.
Appointments
Appointments Chair Yuan Qu ‘14 sent out an email asking for applicants to apply by Saturday, April 13 for the 80 slots open on 27 committees. Qu said she will need to fill those positions by April 24.
StuCo Elections
Elections for StuCo are set to take place on May 2, according to Brady. Last week, Capone drafted several amendments to the StuCo constitution regarding the policy for running for a StuCo position, which will be voted upon next week.
Brady also brought up a suggestion made by Dean of Students Liz Braun, in which candidates should be required to have attended five StuCo meetings in the previous semester in addition to the necessary SBC or StuCo experience already required. This would require candidates to declare their intent to run more than two-weeks before voting opens, which is the current notice period, Brady said.
