Wesleyan Student Assembly — Wesleyan University

Minutes: October 24, 2004, No. 5

WSA Officers

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

Meeting Agenda and Business

1. Approval of last week's minutes
2. Approval of SBC appointment
3. Presentation on new housing facilities by Rob Schmidt and Marcia Bromberg
4. Committee reports
5. Trustees weekend recap by Jeremy Abrams
6. Gender neutral housing poll results
7. New business and announcements

Opening of Meeting
The meeting was opened at 7:12 PM.

Approval
Minutes approved.
Jerry Ai approved as a memeber of the SBC.

New Housing Facilities

Freshmen dorms on Fauver Field: Rob Schmidt speaks on the new Fauver Hill residential facilities, shows artistic rendering. He says there will be a big improvement to the landscape with the project. He shows the final rendering of the buildings, which will be constructed at Vine and Cross. The lower hillside will be a prairie grass area. Two-thirds of the building will be three stories high with only two visible from Foss Hill Drive. People will be able to pass through the lobby area without entering the dorm areas. The facility will have laundry, vending and other services. Each floor will have at least one lounge, some for studying and some for program activities.

Stack

• Jeremy Abrams asks if there will be wheelchair access on a proposed bridge. Rob Schmidt demonstrates that nearly every side of the building will have wheelchair access and that the bridge will not be part of the present design.
• Nora Connor asks if the building if the entryways will be open air and if the lounges will be open and carpeted. Matt Ball asks what the size of the rooms in relation to others is. Rob Schmidt replies that the new dorms are slightly longer Nathan Victoria says they are slightly larger than Clark.
• Ali Gomer requests that furniture be flexible for different setups and Rob Schmidt says that they will be "loose"-the shelving, dresser, beds and chair.
• Ben Evar asks if the staff will be able to live in the apartments, and Rob Schmidt says no.
• Elaine Garven asks about room breakdown and amenities: Rob Schmidt says 80 doubles, six singles, one area coordinator on each floor. Public bathroom on each floor. Sink on each wing. Lounge on each floor.
• Evan Simko-Bednarski asks about bathrooms and Rob Schmidt says that there are four showers in each bathroom, and 2-3 toilets on a slightly lower level. Public bathroom will have a sink and a toilet. Anda Greeney asks if all rooms will have the same amount of windows: yes.

Upper-class apartment building: Upper-class facility has four stories on the western side. This building is sixty feet away from the freshman building. Three suites and mechanical space. Each suite has a shower, a sink and a toilet, each in different rooms. Second floor has RA suite. Building has total of twenty 5-bedroom suites. Third and fourth floor setups have essentially same designs.

Stack

• Jeremy Abrams asks about construction noise. Rob Schmidt says that the construction will begin during winter break or right after.
• Ali Gomer asks about backyards. Robert Schmidt says that there will be decent-sized backyards that will be shared. There will be pulloffs for three cars per building.
• Karen Courtheoux asks about possible town houses and Schmidt replies that they would not fit in the neighborhood.
• Karen Courtheoux asks about basements. Marcia Bromberg replies that they will be inaccessible. Anda Greeney asks about attics. Schmidt says they will be closed.
• Jerry Ai asks if these houses will be available for next year's seniors: yes.
• Pacho Carreno asks what is the cost to build of the dorm: about $75,000 per bedroom.
• Nora Connor asks where will seniors be living in the future. Marcia Bromberg replies that seniors will be living in houses on behind the science library. Vine street area will also be looked at. They want to move students from the outer streets like Washington; want to move students closer to campus. Twenty students will live in the Warren and Fountain houses, and 269 will be able to live in the Fauver Field residencies.
• Nathan Victoria asks if there will be a parking lot below the Fauver Field dorms: no, too steep.

Committee Reports

CC

• Still need an IPC member and will be holding interviews next Sunday.
• Jacob Mirsky is the member of the week for helping with the poll.

EC

• Holding a hazing policy forum this Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. in the Woodhead Lounge.
• We need to continue publicizing the results of the gender-neutral housing policy.
• WESU: ask questions during stack.

IPC

• Winter Carnival has been changed to Snowy Showy.
• Anda Greeney is looking into the readership program: is there too much waste? He will also be the possibility of getting papers on the weekends.
• Jeremy Abrams asks about where to look for student spaces, where to have parties.

SBC

• Pacho Carreno says that next week they will present the Initial Budget Report.

COCo

• Nora Connor says that they will be meeting with AWARE this week.
• Ask Nora for rest of committee report.

FiFaC

• Says that the committee wants to "touch issues before they happen".
• Major maintenance: fund that deals with revamping and maintaining the quality of buildings on campus-has to do with existing things.
• Construction: wants the housing on Washington street to come to other side of science center. Want to consolidate grad student housing on home.

SAC

• URLC identified issues that they want to consider this year.
• Talked about major maintenance issues and put together a package deal of student space ideas for the next ten years.
• SLC reviewed one card and the RIDE
• Wants someone to serve on the alcohol and other drug working group or the SAC to OBHS
• Nathan Victoria says that in the long run, the construction services want to add kitchen services to all housing facilities and revamping lounges.

EPC

• Student Library Advisory Committee will be getting underway this week.
• Will be accepting applications (through email) from anyone on campus

 

Stack

• Karen Courtheoux asks if the money for snowy showy could be spent on spring fling instead. Jess Macintosh says that the budget for snowy showy is $7,000 and leaves a lot of money for spring fling. Jess Macintosh says that last year was bad but before was fine.
• Karen Courtheoux asks if the shuttle was supposed to pick her up the other night: no.
• Ali Gomer asks Nathan Victoria about the major maintenance process. He says that they will begin to work on it this week and report next year.
• Nora Connor asks if Jeremy Abrams will look into the third floor campus center: no, Elaine Garven will. Nora Connor asks when the Westco Cafe will be completed: 2005. Jeremy Abrams requests that Erik Gonzalez send out emails to student press organizations before sending out the weekly WSA report.
• Anda Greeney asks if we have always funded the winter dance: Pacho Carreno replies that perhaps the money could be better spent but that should be the assembly's decision. Brittany Mitchell says that the leadership changes and that groups can improve.
• Karen Courtheoux asks who will get clarification about what is happening with RIDE and Emily Polak says she will.
• Zach asks if Coco will be working on the internal review of the committee: Nora Connor says OK.
• Brittany Mitchell asks if there is a way to get anything concrete about the RIDE done: yes.

Trustee Weekend Recap

• Topics discussed range from long term financial strategies to our endowment. Subcommittees gave reports around the table. President Bennet's long-term policy was discussed. Karen Courtheoux says that the trustees exercise broad oversight of the university's decisions. They look at the process behind these decisions. Communication was also discussed, and the suggestion was made that the trustees write a column in the Argus. Pacho Carreno says that most important is communication.
• Evan Simko-Bednarski said that in his open conversation with David Seagull, there were points about course access; there was not much discussion of gender-neutral housing at the Friday closed talk. Nora Connor requests that we are receptive to President Bennet's emails and that we send back emails to the trustees.

Gender Neutral Housing Poll

• Ali Gomer asks, "What we should do about the poll results?"
• Evan Simko-Bednarski says that the trustees were not as aware of the issue as we tend to envision it. Nora Connor added that Seagull said the university is trying to prevent perpetuation of Wesleyan's "weird" image. He suggested the possibility of doctors or parents approving their children to live under such circumstances. Simko-Bednarski says that this would be an understandable, but "far less than ideal" compromise. Brian says we should not be reduced to students seeing a psychiatrist this because it would cause more trouble than benefits. Evan Simko-Bednarski says that this was not David Seagull's recommendation; Seagull strictly said parents' recommendations.

Stack

• Jacob Mirsky asks how can we revisit the issue. Evan Simko-Bednarski replies that getting objective press coverage would be the best method. Jacob Mirsky asks if we can print out a concise statement asking for him to reverse the policy. Evan says that it is very hard to get a response, but if we hand Bennet a resolution and work with the press, it would be possible. Emily Polak says that the poll has not been sent to senior staff yet. Ali Gomer requests that we should keep getting outside help. Elaine Garven remarks that getting press help would not be a cure-all. Evan Simko-Bednarski says that we could not lose ground by going to the press.
• Matt Lerner says that the administration has not historically responded to the WSA. We should not be about force; instead we should focus on type, like what Ali was saying, that we come in with a small group of well-informed students and outside people to speak to administrators. In terms of the gender-neutral housing, we have come far.
• Brittany Mitchell requests that we should focus on which direction to take on the issue-focus on the perceptions of incoming students and graduates who are the ones to commit money to the university.
• Nora Connor requests to bring in someone who could start a rallying cry like there was for the chalking issue. Karen Courtheoux requests that we select a group of five or six people to create a program to discuss the issue with President Bennet and Dean Patton. Nathan Victoria requests that IPC goes to Mike Sciola to get emails of alumni, not pre-frosh, to work on the issue.

New Business and Announcements

• Zach Kolodin requests that we talk to him about the dean search.
• Brittany Mitchell requests that we talk about remaking the WSA office .
• Anda Greeney brings light to the fact that we are a division III athletic school. He was kicked off the cross-country team for missing a meet. Would this happen at a division I or II school?

Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 9:17 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
Arie Eernisse, WSA Secretary