Wesleyan Student Assembly — Wesleyan University

Minutes: November 10, 2002, No. 7

WSA Officers

President: Joey Wender
Vice President: Yaw Agyenim-Boateng
Coordinator: George Briggs
Treasurer: Adam Lachman

Meeting Agenda and Business

1. Meeting Opening
   
2. Approval of Minutes
   
3. Committee Reports
   
4. Trustee Reports
   
5. New Business and Announcements
   
6. Adjournment

Opening of Meeting

The meeting was opened at 8:06 pm.

Approval of Minutes

The minutes were approved unanimously.

Committee Reports

1. Finances and Facilities (FiFac)
   Ali Gomer, FiFac Chair, reports:
   FiFac worked on a survey that will be distributed to students evaluating the use of space on campus.

2. Community Outreach Committee (COCo)
   Jeremy Abrams, COCo Chair, reports:
   PSaC will hold a meeting with Dean Hill tomorrow to discuss the upcoming Students of Color Forum.
   COCo met and recognized multiple new groups.

3. Educational Policy Committee (EPC)
   Colleen Galbraith, EPC Chair, reports:
   The committee that had met to discuss the revision of the University Major sent the changes back to the original committee. Voting has been postponed to next week.
   The requirements for German Studies are being changed.

4. Independent Projects Committee (IPC)
   Melinda Coro, IPC Member, reports:
   The IPC met; they discussed what senior classes are doing and reviewed the old esquid format.
   The IPC met successfully with the Social Committee.

5. Student Budget Committee (SBC)
   Francisco Carreno, SBC Member, reports:
   The SBC met and allocated funds.

6. Student Affairs Committee (SAC)
   Emily Polak, SAC Chair, reports:
   The various subcommittees of the SLC are all going well.
   The Chalking Forum was successful. A lunchtime forum is being held on Thursday so that faculty will have the opportunity to express their opinions. A community discussion with activist leaders at Wesleyan is also being planned.
   Dave's Hot Diggity Dogs was a great success.

7. Coordinating Committee (CC)
   George Briggs, WSA Coordinator, reports:
   Mr. Briggs attempted to meet with the ITS person who will work on the WSA's technical needs, but the person failed to show up. Another meeting has been planned for Monday.

8. Executive Committee (EC)
   Joey Wender, WSA President, reports:
   The EC will be formulating preliminary language and suggestions for what we want the new chalking policy to look like. Specific suggestions should be sent to committee chairs or Emily Polak (epolak@wesleyan.edu) directly.

Trustee Reports

President Joey Wender explains the structure of the weekend. There were six student trustee members (committee chairs); two on each committee. President Wender and Vice President Agyenim-Boateng floated among the three committees. All eight students attended the Trustee lunch and dinner.

COCo chair Jeremy Abrams and CC chair George Briggs attended the University Relations Committee meetings. They hired an outside consultant group and discussed how to identify potential million dollar donor five years after graduation. The Trustees recognized each other for putting money into wills before they die. The university is well on its way to accumulating the money needed for new construction. The University is trying to institute habitual giving to Wesleyan.

EPC chair Colleen Galbraith and SAC chair Emily Polak attended the Campus Affairs Committee meetings. They analyzed departments that are up for yearly review. The committee also analyzed the Honor Code and its potential revision. The Economics Department was raised in conversation often due to its high numbers of Honor Code violations. Course access was also discussed; they are working on improving the satisfaction rate of seniors, which has declined over the past three years.

SBC chair Adam Lachman and FiFac chair Ali Gomer attended the Financing Committee meetings. They discussed issues concerning the budget. The University lost money due to the stock market and the bad economy. The Committee discussed what could be done to save money in a worst case scenario. This would include taking money away from major maintenance funds and only hiring visiting faculty. They are considering raising tuition about 7.5% (approximately 2.5 thousand dollars), with the idea that students will get more for their money. This will be voted on in March.

Stacks

• Matt Lerner asks the University Relations Committee if Trustees are trying to promote more donations or whether they are just trying to identify potential donors. He asks the Campus Affairs Committee if the plan is to create better access to classes or to change the perception that student can easily get into the classes that they want.
• Ms. Galbraith responds that the Campus Affairs Committee is trying to change the perception, but also improve upon the online registration system.
• Mr. Briggs answers that the University Relations Committee is trying to do both.
• Jeremy Abrams asks the Financing Committee if they are planning on laying off faculty.
• Ms. Gomer states that they are not; they simply discussed the hiring of new professors starting in 2005.
• President Wender informs him that the plan to hire 20 new professors is still in action.
• Tina Huang asks the Financing Committee if they are taking into account the students that would not be able to apply due to increased tuition.
• Ms. Gomer responds that the Committee is always aware of that and that they remain in strong support of keeping it need-blind.

New Business and Announcements No new business and announcements are made.

Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 8:39 pm.

Respectfully Submitted,
Monica Arduini, WSA Secretary