Wesleyan Student Assembly — Wesleyan University

Minutes: February 1, 2004, No. 10

WSA Officers

President: Sohana Punithakumar
Vice President: Daniel Rodriguez
Coordinator: Sara Mirsky
Treasurer: Camille Zahniser

Meeting Agenda and Business

1. Meeting Opening
2. Dining Services
3. Committee Reports
4. State of the WSA
5. Adjournment

Opening of Meeting

The meeting was opened at 1:05 PM.

Dining Services -- Tim Reiss

Changes in the campus dining have included the opening of Pi Cafe, Summerfields, Kosher Kitchen, and the Red and Black Cafe. Soon to come are hot options at Weshop and a vegan option on the first floor of the Campus Center, to including weekday evenings. The Dining Service's office has moved to the Mocon mezzanine. The University Club (faculty dining) is temporarily in the house where Dean Rick use to live. Thai Gardens will be serving with points beginning Wednesday. Current problems include weekend dining and slow transitioning, but the current Campus Center hours will remain until the New Campus Center is open.

Stack

• Becca Solow says that Dan Matzkin is collecting feedback on Summerfields, while Daniel Rubin is collecting feedback on the Campus Center changes.
• Allison Burson asks about weekend meal usage at Summerfields.
• Tim Reiss responds that weekend meal equivalencies are available for Saturday and Sunday brunch only. He adds that freshman can use a meal for breakfast at the Campus Center.
• Karen Courtheoux says she is concerned about the Vegan Cafe, which offered healthy options and fresh vegetables for non-vegans as well as vegans. Karen suggests that the cafe be open for dinner Monday through Friday. And, for Dining Committee's notice, many constituents would like Weshop open later.
• Reiss replies that because of fire safety laws, the Vegan Cafe cannot continue to offer options students want. It is a facility that cannot be cooked in--there is no hood system in the Vegan Cafe. We are looking into moving those options to Summerfields.
• Jeremy Abrams says that he likes the changes that were made to the Campus Center, but the service is much slower. He asks what happened to the sushi?
• Reiss says that sushi is coming back; there will also be a grab and go option added.
• Camille Zahniser asks if there will be menus posted on the website, and will they be rotated?
• Reiss says yes, and right now the menu is rotating on a weekly basis. And, we are working to increase entree options from five to six .
• Nathan Victoria says that the meal plan is not equivalent to what it was last year. He suggests that there be ala cart options for lunch in the Summerfields.
• Reiss replies that the meal plan was a trade off, and there is a different cost structure this year. In Summerfields, there is a display case coming in like the one in Pi cafe, and there will be "grab and go" once that arrives.
• Sohana Punithakumar asks if there will be a separate line for this option.
• Reiss says yes, and there might be another cash register installed.
• Josh Bryant says that the vegan option is not adequate. There has been one option for the past week, rice and vegetables, and this is not healthy to live on if a person is vegan. Also, one of the cooks was complaining about the lack of facilities at Summerfields to cook vegan options.
• Reiss replies that he will make sure there are vegan options for students on the evenings. If it is not working for vegans, then he will make it work for vegans, but dining must move away from the campus center.
• Selina Ellis thinks Pi Cafe is great, but asks if there is a way to expand the hours.
• Reiss says that Pi Cafe might open on a limited basis on the weekends.
• Nora Connor thinks the freshman meal plan is really low power, and even with some students receiving full financial aid, everyone should be able to eat three times a day and have two meals on the weekend.
• Emily Polak says, although the Campus Center is being phased out, the New University Center will not be open for a couple of years. What is the future of off-campus dining, and will it be a one-card or point system?
• Reiss says that 55 cents of every dollar go to wages and benefits of workers. Right now, there are more jobs than there have ever been before in on campus dining. He says the future is flex points, unless students and administration want off-campus points. The transition to flex points would take approximately two years.
• Danielle Krudy asks how the off-campus point program will be evaluated at the end of the semester.
• Reiss says that the future off-campus spending will be using flex-points off the one-card.
• Becca Solow asks if there is a monetary incentive to spend with the one-card.
• Sohana Punithakumar says yes.
• Gabe Tabak says that students must be better informed about changing dining hours.
• Radoslava Petrova says that many students would like to be able to spend two meals at one time because the point equivalency is very low.
• Reiss says that is not an option.
• Nathan Victoria asks where dining services offices will go after Mocon closes.
• Reiss replies that they will move to the New University Center. He asks in closing that representatives ask their constituents to please be civil; there have been cases of vandalism and harassment from students at Summerfields and Pi Cafe.

Committee Reports

1. Independent Projects Committee (IPC)

   Danny Rodriguez, IPC Chair, reports:
   The Career Resource Center is meeting at 5:50 on Wednesday. Annie Heindel says that the Social Committee is moving the Battle of the Bands to after spring break. And, Public Safety wants to have a "beer garden" to reduce underage drinking on the hill at Spring Fling. If anyone has suggestions for alternatives, email aheindel@wesleyan.edu. Calvin Cato says that the Senior Class Officers will be meeting on Sundays for 8:00 to 9:30.

2. Finances and Facilities Committee (FiFac)

   Nathan Victoria, FiFac Chair, reports:
   Physical Plant has money to put basketball hoops next to Summerfields again, and trash cans will be installed on Foss Hill.

3. Educational Policy Committee (EPC)

   Karen Courtheoux, EPC Chair, reports:
   In the full faculty meeting on Tuesday, a new certificate program passed into existence. It will be a different track, which will be officially instituted next semester. The new on-line library search engine can create an automatic bibliography. Nora Connor says that there will be an Environmental Studies conference here on April 21.

4. Student Affairs Committee (SAC)

   Rebecca Solow, SAC Chair, reports:
   The Alcohol and Other Drugs Taskforce and the Social Event Registration Review Committee each need another member. Emily Polak will be the chair of the ResLife Director Search Committee. Selina Ellis reports on the West College application situation, the current is discussion is gear to find ways to keep it out of the general room selection and keep sophomore applications.

5. Student Budget Committee (SBC)

   Camille Zahniser, Treasurer, reports:
   There might have been an billing mistake in the collection of the Student Activities Fee. Once confirmed, it would be a loss of approximately ten thousand dollars, which would be compensated by the university.

6. Community Outreach Committee (COCo)

   Jeremy Abrams, COCo chair, reports:
   COCo and SBC are meeting. The Student Group pamphlet will be complete in two weeks. COCo is initiating an internal review of the WSA; there will be no personal attacks.

7. Coordinating Committee (CC)

   Sara Mirsky, Coordinator, reports:
   CC met on Saturday to work on the Student Body Constitution, this process will continue on a weekly basis. The SBC election went off without a hitch. Thank you to every one that voted. CC will appoint another member to COCo this week. CC is taking on a project to archive documents in the WSA Office, and will post many of them on-line.

   Stack

   • Sohana Punithakumar asks what the Assembly thinks about moving the president's office hours to the Campus Center.
   • Jose Marantes says the campus does not know about the hours to begin with. He suggests advertising them creatively by issue.
   • Punithakumar says she does not want to target issues, but rather discuss general themes.
   • Nora Connor suggests the Sohana go to dining places at a set time and engage people on issues.
   • Danielle Krudy tells Annie Heindel that someone asked her if they could talk to the Social Committee.
   • Heindel says that the committee is interviewing for positions now. This person should e-mail Tatiana Weiss or wsa@wesleyan.edu.
   • Selina Ellis says that librarians are complaining about the new library catalogue system. And, instructors are baring student entry to quarter classes even though Add/Drop is not over.
   • Karen Courtheoux says that Add/Drop is longer than it has ever been before so that every class meets twice before Add/Drop ends.
   • Arijit Sen says that one problem with the library catalogue is that the words 'and' and 'the' do not work.
   • Heindel says she is surprised how little teachers know about the Add/Drop system.
   • Courtheoux says students can call Add/Drop help-line and tattle on professors who do not want to conform.

State of the WSA Address -- Sohana Punithakumar

Per the constitution of the Wesleyan Student Assembly, there are very few instances where the President formally addresses the body. Nevertheless, I thought it appropriate at the start of the semester, and with the addition of some of our new representatives, to comment on the state of the assembly.

In recent years, the WSA has truly become a legitimate body that is considered a viable source of representation for the students. This year in particular we have navigated a course challenged by administrative turnover and a divided student body. I think that more often than not we have responded appropriately to these challenges by maintaining a professional stance and creating outlets for student concerns. We have formed a working relationship with interim Dean of the College Peter Patton, created a subcommittee to critically examine Student of Color issues, as well as overseen the expansion of the dining program on campus. The WSA has continued its quest for institutionalized student representation in the establishment of the Campus Facilities and Services Advisory Committee and for the first time ensured student representation at the Board of Trustees meeting in January. We have fought on the Undergraduate Residential Life Committee to counter the suggestions of! the external review that were particularly troublesome to the independent nature of student life on campus. The electronic drop/add system was implemented this semester after considerable input on behalf of the students. As the SBC will report later we have continued our trend of fiscal responsibility. In the interest of efficiency and compliance, we have initiated a review of the WSA office budget as well as of the current constitution. And, these are just some of our accomplishments. The WSA has repaired its reputation with the administration. We have a strong rapport now and our opinions are solicited and valued. Yet now is not the time to continue at this speed, but rather the time to shift gears. I am confident that the Assembly can earn this same level of respect from the student body and its representatives.

Since my freshman year, the WSA has struggled with issues of communication. This has not been intentional, but rather a direct product of timing and confidentiality. In response to concerns about the level of assembly members' engagement with the decisions of this body, the Executive Committee has switched its meeting time so that the committee chairs can meet collectively prior to individual committee meetings. By switching the time, it is my hope that chairs will be able to discuss upcoming issues, broadly and in detail, with their committees in a more intimate manner than the general assembly meetings allow. But this is just part of the solution. In the process of seeking ways to rectify this age-old problem of inclusivity, I encourage assembly members to share their suggestions for improvement.

Beyond the assembly, we must increase our visibility in the eyes of the students. Specific student groups are highly aware of the degree of influence we have in University decisions, but we need to share this with the whole student body. This semester we must build on the foundation that has been laid to seek out student opinions and initiatives so that we can be more proactive in our struggles. As an assembly we must devote more time to direct interaction with the student body in our capacity as elected representatives. We can utilize our access to administrators to push forth new projects that are deemed necessary and worthy by the students. The launching of the revamped WSA website has given a new face to the assembly and prepared us to really connect with students. We must demonstrate to the students that we are genuinely interested in their concerns and that something can be done to better their time here.

I am calling for a new level of dedication. I am extremely proud of what we do as an assembly. But, we can do more, and we all know it. I said before that the WSA had only recently come to be a body worthy of respect. We, and the student leaders before us, worked diligently to legitimize the WSA. And I am grateful for their efforts, but I think we are ready to take the assembly to the next level. Solid relationships with the administration and the student body are not mutually exclusive. We can actively pursue both, and not to the detriment of one, or the other. I am confident that we can use the base that we have established to further our presence on campus and make Wesleyan better.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 2:50 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
Juan Sebasti—n Moreno, WSA Secretary