Wesleyan Student Assembly — Wesleyan University

• Student Budget Committee (SBC), Camille Zahniser, SBC chair, reports:
  The SBC met and allocated funds; the number of requests increased. The budget for the supplemental fund went down, but the speaker/music fund was increased to 100 thousand dollars from 85 thousand. Allocations this week included:
  • Students for a Free Palestine $1400: $800 for Kamal Halila (speaker) and $600 for Doctors w/o Borders (Speaker)
    
  • SALAAM $1190: $590 for Laila Farah (speaker), $470 for Iron Sheik (performer) and $130 for Zena Jamal (speaker
  • UJAMAA $1500
    
  • Wesleyan Women's Club Soccer $875 (Initial Allocation)
    
  • Femnet $1350

  The Committee welcomes Ben Evar as its newest member. Lastly, for the rest of the year, Ms. Zahniser will be announcing allocations in excess of $800 in the committee report.

  Vote to approve initial report and annual report: passed.

• Educational Policy Committee (EPC), Karen Courteoux, EPC chair, reports:
  The faculty EPC did not meet, the committee did met Tuesday for a successful meeting, and held electronic drop/add forums—faculty and tech staff contributed constructively.

• Student Affairs Committee (SAC), Rebecca Solow, SAC chair, reports:
  There is now a hot entrée on the third floor of the Campus Center as of last Monday. Pre-made kosher meals are also available in the Campus Center, as well as the cart in the Science Center. The freshmen class will have a breakfast equivalency at the Campus Center. Dining Services will convert meal plans to points for the freshmen residing in the Butterfield Dormitories. A Student of Color Committee has been proposed, in addition to the Diversity Sub-Committee of the Student Life Committee.

• Finances and Facilities (FiFac), Nathan Victoria, committee chair, reports:
  The committee members selected sub-committees under which they will be involved. WSA members should e-mail major maintenance suggestions to nvictoria by Wednesday. Victoria will meet with Many Cunard about renovations over summer.

• Community Outreach Committee (COCo), Rafael Medrano, COCo chair, reports:
  The committee has yet to schedule a weekly meeting. They will be contacting recognized groups on an individual basis. There will be a community meeting, which will include Middletown area residents on Thursday, October 16 at 8 PM in Science Center room 58. The committee will also be running the Science Center Café naming contest.

• Independent Projects Committee (IPC), Vice President Danny Rodriguez, IPC chair, reports:
  The committee did not meet this past week. The Career Resource Center Advisory Committee will meet this Wednesday, however. And, any WSA member interested in being on the committee should e-mail Rodriguez at drodriguez@wesleyan.edu. The WSA website will be on-line in its new updated version within a week, as well as E-Squid, which will be linked off the WSA web page. IPC welcomes its members Josh Bryant and Annie Heindel.

• Coordinating Committee (CC),Monica Arduini, Assistant Coordinator, reports:
  The committee met for appointments on Thursday. The CC will be organizing a community service event for the entire WSA to participate in November, and will be publishing a newsletter to explain the goings-on in of the WSA

• Executive Committee (EC), Sohana Punithakumar, WSA President, reports:
  The EC met with Senior Student Judicial Board members on Wednesday, and reviewed the process of making changes to the Code of Non-Academic Conduct. The executives also met with President Bennet to review the events of Trustee Weekend, the Code of Non-Academic Conduct, and dormitory and dining issues.

• Stack:
  Nora Connor asks, what the breakfast and hot entrée menu be will be in the Campus Center?

  Becca Solow responds that she has a list and we'll be working on the menu with the staff.

  Connor also inquires as to how many non-WSA members are on dining committee?

  Solow responds that there are 2 stewards and one USLAC member on dining committee.

Approval of Appointments

President Bennet replies that he has received about a dozen, and that the administration will put a lot of effort into student life improvements. For example, the highly regarded institutional values of the Honor Code and Code of Non-Academic Conduct will be protected.

Nathan Victoria asks, whether there are other ways than all campus e-mails to inform students about plan?

President Bennet replies that the email thing is new to him and appears quite efficient. Furthermore, the Board will host a retreat in January and will hopefully have good discussion coming out of that.

Justin Herman, the university communications director, adds that the administration will put a response link on the planning web-site, and asks that the WSA share ways to spread the document around.

Nora Connor states that she did not see anything about process of decision-making, and suggests that that be added to the plan.

Anay Shah says that the plan be reported in the Wesleyan Argus and be posted on the Daily Jolt web page, as well as having Resident Assistants share it with their residents during snacks. He says that it should be marketed as a consequential document affecting student life at Wesleyan.

President Bennet says that hopefully students will see that they can impact it positively.

Georgi Radev asks what are some of these outside funding source and are they identical to those of peer Universities.

President Bennet replies that Wesleyan's endowment is 450 thousand dollars and most donations come from alum and people contribute major capital gifts. Wesleyan should be 2 percent onto the endowment each year, and yes, the sources are the same as peer institutions.

Rebecca Solow also suggests that the Administration involve RAs. They should involve students and host small forums to better educate students.

Ali Gomer suggests that COCo contact student groups about the plan and to reach out to upper-classmen that don't have RAs.

Jose Marantes suggests that the plan be summarized for presentation to students.

Nathan Victoria says that Wesleyan is unique school and the Strategic Plan compared it to many other schools. Therefor, there should be as much student input as possible.

President Bennet agrees that Wesleyan is unique, but often permits itself to not be viewed as academically rigorous as other schools—diversity and politicization cannot be mis-interpreted as a dodge from academic rigor.

Daniel Rubin asks, beyond dialogue what would the President have the WSA do to help the planing process?

President Bennet says that Victoria's point is a big piece of the Assembly's participation. And, the realities of student life have to be the best possible. Wesleyan must be clearer about social values, and the WSA's understanding is better than anyone else's is.

Jesse Watson requests a round of happy birthday for Georgi Radev.

Sohana Punithakumar announces that there is a community meeting Thursday night with AWARE; it will a meeting sponsored by WSA and Deans office.

• We demand the prompt re-implementation of post –8 PM dining in the Campus Center
• Expansion of points to unionized restaurants
• Breakfast for freshman
• Accountability from dining services

15 Minute Debate:

Joann Lawler states that the WSA made demands in the Egg Campaign last year.

Rachel Cartwright says that, in the WSA's April 6 minutes, the only vote was as to which restaurant to offer point program.

Lawler clarifies that because the Interim Program is temporary, USLAC wants to define the future of the program.

Rebecca Solow asks if there are any unionized restaurants in Middletown.?

Lawler says USLAC does not know.

Solow states that the WSA can not move to pass the resolution then. Also, the WSA has made some of these changes. Currently, Butterfield Frosh are already points and there is a meal-equivalency in the Campus Center, that includes breakfast. There is now a saladbar and after 8 PM there is dining in the Campus Center as well. Regarding petition, it is misleading because many of the requests have been addressed, and the only issue left is off-campus points.

Sohana Punithakumar says that last year Campus Center only served pizza after 8 PM. This year, with Summerfields coming in November, we have to wait but it'll be done well. And, when you lump a bunch of issues, many votes might have been concerning those issues and thus are void.

Josh Bryant states that the WSA did not force Aramark to do anything regarding egg campaign.

Lawler says even though some of these changes have been made, that does not negate the petition. And, the WSA has influenced many of Aramark's decisions.

Motion to table vote until the next meeting once the resolution has been distributed: passed.

Respectfully Submitted,
Juan Sebasti—n Moreno, WSA Secretary