Wesleyan Student Assembly — Wesleyan University

Minutes: October 3, 2004, No. 2

WSA Officers

President: Emily Polak
Vice President: Jeremy Abrams
Coordinator: Ali Gomer
Treasurer: Pacho Carreno

Meeting Agenda and Business

1. Introduction and approval of newly appointed members
2. Approval of last week's minutes
3. WSA President's strategy, presented by Emily
4. Presentation and discussion of a gender-neutral housing resolution
5. Brief conversation/assessment of the RIDE (shuttle program)
6. New business and announcements

Opening of Meeting
The meeting was opened at 7:08 PM.

Approval of Minutes

The minutes have been approved.

Presentation of the Gender-Neutral Housing Resolution

• B. Lake, Nora Connor, Brian Brotman
• Last year's policy was implemented. Random assignment to live in a room with another person regardless of sex. Project was revised to allow students to live in different places on campus under same policy. Dean Peter Patton and President Doug Bennett declined proposal at end of summer. Those who wanted to live in gender-neutral housing were forced to live in other places on campus. The administration didn't care if sex has been legally changed. The administration decides on gender based on what your birth certificate says.
• Reading of proposal designed to change policy. Summary: there is a double standard presented by the new program imposed by the Wesleyan administration while the students were gone over the summer. WSA supports the reimplementation of the gender-neutral housing program decided on last spring.
  

Stack

• Brittany Mitchell asks if sophomores, juniors and seniors can live in gender-neutral housing. Nathan Victoria says sophomores can now live in gender-neutral first-year housing. Pacho Carreno says that the Argus reported there was not enough demand. Emily Polak says there was not adequate interest among upper class students in the last year's gender-neutral housing program. Response was to make the plan universal. Approx. 80 students applied to live in the. Of them, 65 were placed in rooms with same-sex roommates.
• Danielle Krudy asks what we are trying to accomplish with the statement. Wants to create a less "empty" gesture. Nora Connor remarks that the first step is to present President Bennett with a statement of what the WSA supports.
• B. Lake says President Bennett's explanation was that he misinterpreted the resolution that was presented by him to say that first year students would be placed with students of the same sex.
• Nathan Victoria says that something should be added about the differences between freshmen and sophomores. Elaine Garven clarifies: current policy on housing is that upperclassmen can now live in first year housing with members of the same sex but that first-year students cannot. She then brings attention to idea that half of students requested singles and not doubles.
• Emily Polak says that she does not have any formal writing of what the proposal was. Karen Courtheoux says that the phrase "a significant number of students" lacks grounding. Elaine Garven requests that we change it to "a number of Wesleyan students recognize that students want to feel safe in their housing."
• Nora Connor accepts that the proposal should be changed to "Whereas a residential setting where biological sex is not taken into account for housing placement is recognized..."
• Nathan Victoria says that every place with the exception of first-year housing was already gender-neutral housing. Elaine Garven says she felt having everyone in one hall made them uncomfortable. Gender-neutral housing should make students feel more safe and free from discrimination. Karen Courtheoux concurs, remarking that it felt to people like a "gender blind ghetto." Brittany Mitchell says it was one of the worst halls on the campus. Emily Polak says there was no RA in that hall.
• Danielle Krudy says that Bennett really messed up and that it would be more meaningful to make the language of the proposal stronger. Brian Brotman says this is the only way to open up the topic for stronger action in the future. Nora Connor corroborates that if we don't do anything, President Bennet will ask why the WSA did not take action.
• Emily Polak offers amendment: "Whereas the WSA was not part of the communication..." to address problem that the WSA was excluded from any decisions that were made by the administration.
• Elaine Garven says that historical rationales for these same sex room assignments should be changed.
• Pacho Carreno motions to limit debate to stack. Motion passed.
• Matt asks, "What is the main goal of the resolution?
• B. Lake says the goal is to reimplement the policy that was passed in the spring-that people who prefer gender-neutral housing should be able to live wherever they are placed on campus with roommates who are chosen randomly on the basis of using WesID numbers.
• Evan Simko-Bednarski requests to address WSA's inability to address the issue because the decision was made over the summer.
• Anda Greeney asks if people that this proposal would affect have seen the proposal. Nora Connor says that they have. Member of Queer Task Force helped to create the document.
• Reading of document.
• Motion to reopen stack. Passed.
• Ben Evar requests to change wording to "including first-year students" in second to last paragraph.
• Karen Courtheoux motions to vote for clarification. Passed.
• Motion to pass resolution. Seconded.
• Argus will print this proposal on Tuesday. Nik, the new webtech, will post the proposal on the WSA website.
• Emily Polak presents President's strategy
• Emily's comments can be found on the attached document.

Discussion of RIDE

Stack

• Summary: Jeremy Abrams says that two years ago there were so many complaints about the structural failure of the system to meet students' needs. Two years ago, proposal was made to buy another shuttle to reduce wait time. Passed. Now, change was made. Two vans now run on schedules. Third van on order (special services).
• Daniel Rubin asks if the pick-up times will be respected. Jeremy Abrams replies that they will and says that when the program was designed he didn't feel need for two routes.
• Karen Courtheoux says that with escalating violence since last spring, escorts should not be sacrificed. She is totally unsatisfied.
• Elaine says if safety is main concern, Public Safety should be putting more money into escort instead of shuttle. Complains about time. For safety purposes, shuttle is "stupid."
• Brittany Mitchell says she was upset about shuttle, asks how our voice was silenced.
• Emily Polak says that shuttle is not under public safety budget.
• Brittany Mitchell asks if there is anything to do to get the escort back.
• Nora Connor asks how many escort vans we had. Jeremy Abrams responds that there was one.
• Emily Polak said Manny Cunard hopes students will not abuse the coming van as they did with the last one. She clarifies that there will be two vehicles available for student group usage.
• Jacob Mirsky requests that we find data.
• Motion to ask administration for more numerical information. Passed.
• Daniel Rubin says it is good to have two routes. Says we can't have this discussion until other van comes on line.
• Zach Kolodin says that liaison Emily should focus on the safety aspects of the shuttle.
• Daniel Rubin says that RIDE is possibly faster.
• Karen Courtheoux says people are not aware of the RIDE. We should not be discouraging people from taking rides by making it so hard to get a safe escort.
• Brittany Mitchell remarks that there were people who said they needed escorts. Maybe administration should buy a few more vans. Nathan Victoria says there is only so much money. We should think about how to publicize the vans so that they will be used more efficiently.
• Brittany Mitchell asks if we have to accept that school says they have no money.
• Arijit Sen pleads that the waiting for the RIDE is the problem because the stops are in open places. The three recent assaults have been near those RIDE stops. Evan Simko-Bednarski says that the transferring from one loop to another is a problem. Waiting in between transfers is a security risk.
• Elaine Garven says there are many students on campus who want escorts. We have a right to request transportation if we are alone and it is unsafe to walk home.
• Emily Polak questions what the frosh view is. Also says that Manny Cunard is pushing for a bar shuttle on Wednesdays. Josh Ente says it's hard to know when there is no data.
• Jacob Mirsky wants better definition of safety. Brittany Mitchell says she does not feel comfortable walking in the dark. She lives far from campus. Arijit Sen says he feels unsafe walking from Hirise to Westco at night because Middletown is not very safe.
• Jacob Mirsky wants to know what is the extent of the administration's power to increase safety.
• Danielle Krudin remarks that we need data to focus more on Middletown/Wesleyan relations.
• Brittany Mitchell asks if there is a way to start a safety committee.

New Business and Announcements

• Pictures of committees will be taken after this meeting.
• This Saturday from three to six there will be a leadership meeting with free dinner afterwards.
• Brittany Mitchell is named member of the week.
• Jeremy Abrams wants people to know that public safety shut down the only sober party was closed down. What else can we do? A gay friend of his was assaulted. What's going on? Brian Brotman says that this has been happening consistently. Happening from other Wes students. There is a meeting tomorrow at 200 Church.
• Arijit Sen says there were no formal complaints registered, so public safety could not do anything. It must be a victim or a witness.
• Nora Connor says that RA's word should trump that of the assailants.
• Rabs Hutchful says that the students denied it. Because no one has come forward, public safety cannot do anything.
• RA's word cannot trump word of the assailants because no one has reported being assailed.
• You can tell your chair about schedule.
• Arijit Sen asks what happens to the proposals passed.
• Ali Gomer says that Coordinating Committee will work to put them on
• Brittany Mitchell asks about health services shortage of hours on Sunday.
• Danielle Krudin requests that health center be open for longer on Sunday.
• Nora Connor is concerned that there is no coverage of hate crimes in school newspaper.
• Josh Ente wants to know how to find out more about gender-neutral housing.
  

Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
Arie Eernisse, WSA Secretary