7:02 | The Vassar Student Association (VSA) Council meeting is about to begin.

7: 03 | Attendance.

7:05 | Forum with EMS Captain Sam Black ’12: This year for Halloween EMS saw 11 intoxicated students and sent two to the hospital. This represents fewer calls and hospitalizations than last year. However Black says, “If Arlington would’ve been running our students to the hospital that night, I think we would have sent more.” Because of the weather, Black says, the lower statistics may not be entirely accurate.

In the last four years, Black says that EMS has been sending more students to the hospital—a 200 percent increase over the last four years. According to Black, EMS responds to calls for intoxication, medical needs, and trauma.

“I don’t know if binge drinking is necessarily up, but from our numbers it looks like it might be,” says Black.

Black is also looking at numbers before and after Baldwin Health Center ended its 24-hour service. Black also adds that the VSA’s efforts to reduce the emphasis on drinking on Halloween has been successful and thinks it should extend to the rest of the year.

Black says that weekends with large all-campus events tend to cause spikes in calls, but he has noticed that EMS has had weekends with many calls despite no large all-campus events.

Black says that there were nine crew members on duty for Halloween this year. Last year, there were 12.

EMS does not collect data based on class years, but based on age. The Office of Health Education collects data based on class years. Director of Health Education Renee Pabst is also here and says that the increase in calls this year was spread evenly among class years.

7:32 | Forum on Sexual Assault Violence Prevention (SAVP) with Pabst:

Pabst says that the College is looking to fill a Sexual Assault Violence Prevention Coordinator.  “We are working with Human Resources to solidify the job description. Our goal still is by sometime beginning or middle of next semester to have that position hired,” says Pabst.

“For those of you who haven’t seen the Break the Silence website, I think it could be very educational for you,” adds Pabst.

Pabst notes that though reports of sexual assault are up this year, that does not mean that the occurrence of sexual assault is necessarily on the rise. Similarly, when the SAVP Coordinator position ended two years ago, reports of sexual assault plummeted, says Pabst.

Pabst says that her office is also working with Associate Dean and Director of Equal Opportunity Belinda Guthrie on being fully in compliance with Title IX legislation. In two weeks, Vassar will be hosting a meeting with other colleges on Title IX. According to Pabst, Vassar is ahead in the area of Title IX.

Pabst says that just as the College worries about incidents of intoxication during large parties, it is also concerned about spikes in sexual assault.

Though it seems counter-intuitive, “We want to see the numbers go up because we know it’s happening,” says Pabst because anonymous surveys indicate that sexual assault occurs more than it is reported. Pabst would like to see the two sets of data line up and then to see the numbers decline overall.

Pabst also decries the number of lights that are out around campus.

“One of the difficulties I think is when you take a full time position, or what should be a full time position, and put it on another position…it’s just not enough,” says Pabst. She notes that this makes it difficult to publicize SAVP services. “At Vassar we refer to people and not offices … That’s why having a separate person identified with it is going to help that.”

Pabst is discussing Title IX. “It’s any gender-based discrimination,” she says. “We are seeing male survivors coming forward, and I’m so happy about that because we know they’re out there.”

Pabst says that the campus counseling service is free and confidential. She is discussing other on and off-campus resources.

Pabst is addressing concerns about the legitimacy anonymous forums, like Break the Silence. She says that false reporting does not happen often and that it would take a lot of effort for someone to make up a story, especially because perpetrators are never called out by name on the site.

8:15 | Executive Report from VSA President Tanay Tatum ’12: The More than Meets the Eye Committee on institutional memory, specific events regarding student identity, recently met with the Freshman Orientation Committee. Tatum says that the VSA will coordinate an event based on this history during Orientation Week.

8:22 | Fund Application from Vassar International Students Association (VISA): VISA is hoping for more than the $2500 it was allocated last week to help cover the costs of its Kaleidoscope event. A motion to increase the allocation to $3500 fails.

Tatum moves to increase the allocation to $3000.  The Council splits its vote, and Tatum, who only votes in case of a tie, votes in the affirmative passing this motion.

Council moves to allocate $3000 to VISA.

9:01 | Executive Report from VP for Operations Jenna Konstantine ’13: There will be a new online library for VSA documents.

Konstantine hopes to host student dinners to discuss VSA restructuring.

9:05 | The Council votes to have a five minute recess.

9:12 | Campus Dining Review Committee Update with VP for Student Life Charlie Dobb ’12: The CDRC is winding down its operations.

9:17 | Resolution Supporting Multidisciplinary Programs with VP for Academics Kate Dolson ’12: Dolson explains that multidisciplinary programs have suffered because of the recent economic crisis, and that upcoming renovations on the New England building, which houses these programs, will hurt them more. The Council moves to adopt this resolution.

9:26 | Resolution Encouraging Conduct Reform with VP for Student Life Charlie Dobb ’12: This resolution was prepared in response last week’s announcement that housing relocation is a logical consequence for hosting an unregistered party. Dobb believes that the relocation policy runs contrary to Residential Life’s stated goals, and hopes that this resolution reflects that belief.

Noyes President Deb Steinberg ’14 fears that the policy was miscomunicated, and that the Council should learn more before adopting the resolution.

The Council unanimously moves to adopt the resolution.

9:47 | Amendment regarding Conference Fund with 2013 President Vincent Marchetta ’13: This amendment will make it easier for organizations to attend competitive conferences. Thottam reminds the council that some funding applications do not line up with VSA bylaws neatly. The amendment is tabled to the Operations Committee.

9:53 | Open Discussion

2014 President Michael Moore ’14 expresses his concern that the earlier discussion with VISA was problematic because several key questions regarding past and projected ticket sales could not be answered. Tatum thinks that the VSA is exercising too much creative control, and hopes that the VSA Council will behave less like an interrogator in the future.

Marchetta reminds Council that the Letter to Senator Saland has not been sent to Mr. Saland’s office yet.

Thottam announces a new Meet Me in Poughkeepsie website.

Davison President Doug Greer ’14 hopes that the VSA will promote his plans to increase discriminatory education on campus.

Lathrop President Dallas Robinson ’14 and Main President Jeremy Garza ’14 tell Council that each of their houses have suffered from incidents of discrimination.

10:20 | Council adjourns.

Dean of the College Christopher Roellke, in an all-campus email sent out at 5:05 p.m., condemned “hurtful” graffiti that was derogatory against women found in Davison House  as “vandalism.” Previously, homophobic graffiti was discovered in the same residential house.

Roellke pointed out that Vassar’s Campus Life Response Team, which operates under the authority of the Campus Life and Diversity Office, is working with other members in the Dean of the College division to “promote dialogue and inclusiveness.”

The full text of the email is attached below.

Read the rest of this entry »

7:02 | Attendance.

7:05 | Executive Report from the Vice President for Activities Mookie Thottam ’12

Right now it looks as though there will be 14-16 activity choices for Meet Me in Poughkeepsie. The Council hopes that Meet Me in Poughkeepsie will emphasize more community interaction this year.

Thottam also acknowledges that pushing the event later into the semester affected the kinds of activities that organizations can offer. For example, it will be too late for apple picking in November.

7:10 | Executive Board Report from the Vice President for Finance Jason Rubin ’13

Rubin is updating the Council on the financial status of the VSA’s special purpose funds. He says that the funds are healthy, but the Speakers, Lecturers and Panels Fund has taken the greatest hit because of an upcoming lecture from Cornel West and the upcoming Jomama Jones concert during the Smashing History Conference.

The VSA has also created an Org Accountability Committee to review the financial responsibility of VSA organizations.

7:15 | Update from the Board of House Presidents (BHP)

BHP is working on safety in the houses, particularly regarding recent incidents of non-student entries into houses.

7:18 | The Council is discussing the upcoming Seven Sisters Conference at Mt. Holyoke College on the weekend of Nov. 11.

7:25 | Appointment of Danielle Falzon ’12 to co-Chair of the Founder’s Day Committee: Falzon is appointed unanimously.

7:27 | Appointment of a second Founder’s Day co-Chair: The Council is considering Eli Schutze ’12 and Jake Levitt ’12 for the position. In previous years there have been three co-Chairs, but the Council is looking to fill two spots this year. The VSA Operations Committee could not come to a consensus on these two applicants. 

The Council will move into closed session to discuss the applicants. Both Levitt and Schutze are requesting that the Council consider having three co-Chairs again. The VSA’s bylaws also require that the co-Chairs appoint a Founder’s Day Treasurer.

Both Levitt and Schutze are discussing their ideas for leading the Founder’s Day Committee as well as for the event itself. They both hope to have a more cohesive committee and for the Committee’s subcommittees to communicate more.

Schutze and Levitt are responding to a question about making Founder’s Day an inclusive event for students who choose not to use substances or can’t as well as how to make the event accessible.

While the Council is looking to appoint one of the two candidates, Schutze and Levitt are taking a collaborative approach to the interview, responding to and working with each other’s comments.

8:05 | The Council has moved into closed session.

8:30 | The Council remains in closed session.

8:50| The Council is still in closed session.

9:01| The Council is out of closed session. The contenders are being questioned on how they differ in the contributions they bring to the table. “We come from very different parts of the student body,” says Schutze. Levitt argues that he doesn’t think that being in agreement on things with Schutze “is going to be a problem at all.”

9:08| Council votes in favor of voting to consider multiple options: whether to have two co-chairs or three. The motion passes. They will now move into voting. Greer points out that he thinks “it’s a good decision to have three because both of the candidates” are equally capable. The council votes to have three chairs.

9:15| There is a motion to appoint Levitt to Founder’s Day co-Chair. It passes. There is a motion to appoint Schutze to Founder’s Day co-Chair. It passes.

9:16| The council votes in favor of a five-minute recess.

9:23| Dobb updates the Council on a new update that Residential Life emailed to the community.  The email indicated that the baseline corrective action for hosting an unregistered party is a house change. Dobb says he thinks “this is an abuse of our joint governance.” The laying down of flat policy for Res Life is an example of the division’s acting outside the penumbra of its authority. “This is a delicate issue,” says Dobb. Dobb has met with Inoa and Roellke, but Dobb wants Council to issue a           resolution clarifying Council’s position on this procedure.

Mastermann asks Dobb why this procedure was introduced. Dobb says that Inoa noted that this decision is the result of a yearlong discussion; his office came to the conclusion that the “punishment was not effective in the past.” This decision was to add more weight to the punitive action taken against those students who choose to break the rules of Vassar’s residential life.

Wheeler fears that the policy change can have a negative impact on the freshman Fellow Group system. He thinks that, if this policy is put into place, then students who move will lose all contact with their former fellow group.

Wu is worried that this policy would give Campus Security too much power. Dobb reassures the Council that, theoretically, all charges of misconduct will still be channeled through the old disciplinary system.

Rubin says that while he’s against the VSA Council “pushing back against the administration” for its own sake, this procedure is “against the interest of the entire student body,” so some degree of activism on the part of VSA Council is warranted.

Wheeler comments that he thinks members of VSA Council make sure that in their emails to administrators, they must make clear that Vassar’s culture is not a drinking culture, but that drinking is just a part of Vassar’s culture.

10:09| Tatum moves to vote on Vassar International Student Association’s (VISA) fund application to the next week. VISA got in touch with Tatum and said that the body feels “discriminated against.” Tatum reminded the organization that the allocated money was “the largest allocation made from the Council Discretion this year.” Rubin says that VISA has lost its chance to contest the decision by not being present at the meeting today. VISA can still “come in at any time and make a motion for Council to reconsider its decision,” says Dobb.

Council votes to allocate  $2,500 to VISA.

10:21|Open Discussion

There are 210 days until commencement, reports Vogel.

Konstantine reminds council that this past Friday, there was a meeting about VSA restructuring.  ”The conversation brought to light things that we haven’t thought about yet,” including questions about how the VSA stands politically in the administrative structure of the College.

Moore says he was “embarrassed” by some members of Council and the way they conducted the proceedings of the night. “A lot of today was a dangerous backtrack” to last year’s disarray and bickering in VSA Council, that “brought some Council members to tears.”

Dobb explains again that VISA has the option of making a motion to reconsider the allocation, based on a question from Vogel about VISA’s options going ahead from this point. Tatum will be in touch with VISA’s leadership about its options.

1o:46| There is a motion to adjourn. It passes.

6:55 | The Vassar Student Association (VSA) Council meeting is about to begin.

7:00 | Attendance. Tonight the Council will discuss the potential restructuring of the VSA as well and the Campus Dining Review Committee’s recent trip to explore other colleges’ dining options.

7:01 | Executive report from Vice President for Academics Kate Dolson ’13:

Dolson says that she is working on the possibility of a social consciousness requirement. The requirement would be similar to the College’s quantitative analysis requirement. She is also working with ACCESS, a student organization that focuses on campus disability issues, on how professors work with disabilities in the classroom.

7:06 | Executive report from Vice President for Student Life Charlie Dobb ’12:

Dobb says that the Committee on College Life, on which he sits, has not met recently, but he says that he is proposing a student comment period for major policies that come out of the committee, such as the recent ban on kegs.

He adds that the Committee on Inclusion and Excellence is working on a mapping project to see how its recent cultural audit has been received in different parts of campus and how it has influenced policies.

This week the CDRC will be beginning its focus groups this week.

The VSA Student Life Committee is at the beginning stages of reviewing Dean of the College Chris Roellke.

7:18 | The CDRC recently traveled to several colleges, including Bryn Mawr, Mt. Holyoke and Middlebury, to review their dining services and met with student government delegations.

Class of 2012 President Pam Vogel ’12 says that the three schools had more dining venues with fewer options at each one and that most of the options were self serve.

Dobb hopes to foster greater relationships with student governments at other colleges.

Dobb says that the CDRC will be having conversations with administrators at these colleges soon.

7:35 | Forum on VSA Restructuring:

The Council will be discussing the process of reviewing and restructuring rather than the content of a restructure.

Class of 2014 President Michael Moore says that he is concerned that “restructuring” will become a buzzword and remind students only of last year’s Council’s attempt at restructuring. He says that it needs to be clear that this is a new effort.

Vice President for Finance Jason Rubin ’13 says that the Council must learn from last year. He says that the lessons include the inclusion of at-large student voices from the beginning of the process and moving forward in a timely manner as elections are held in April.

VSA President Tanay Tatum ’12 says that the VSA should ask why a restructure is necessary, if it is, and what an ideal student government should accomplish. She adds that the changes may not be large scale.

Dobb suggests creating a body outside of the VSA Council to work on restructuring.

Town Students President Hannah Turk ’14 suggests including members of past VSA Councils in the conversation.

Class of 2015 President Benedict Nguyen says that students need to understand how student representation works now before they can suggest changes and notes that not every student is well informed on the intricacies of the VSA’s current structure.

Dobb suggests that the Council consider the next step in the process.

Tatum suggests that the Council create a task force to review the VSA’s governance.

The Council is wrapping up this discussion and will continue to work on a timeline for the process over the next week.

8:18 | Charter of the Alcohol Task Force

The Alcohol Task Force will be holding focus groups on campus alcohol culture in a similar process to the CDRC.

Dobb adds that this will be a closed committee due to concerns about its effectiveness from the Dean of the College’s office.

The Council unanimously approves the charter.

8:45 | Council is adjourned.

6:59 | Council is about to begin. Tonight the Vassar Student Association (VSA) Council will vote on Capital and Supplemental Budgeting. The Council will also have a forum with the Senior Class Gift co-Chairs and hear a report from Vassar College Entertainment (ViCE).

7:03 | Attendance.

7:05 | ViCE Report

ViCE Director Mitchell Gilburne ’12 is explaining ViCE’s committee structure.

In response to calls for internal accountability, ViCE has instituted a probation for Executive Board Members who are not fulfilling their duties. They have also set a $2000 allocation minimum for Executive members to meet with the ViCE Finance Director. ViCE began the year with a $30,000 debt.

ViCE Finance Director Sean Shoemaker ’12 says that the organization is also working to plan events early.

The ViCE Music Committee is allocated about $60,000 annually.

ViCE also gets many requests for collaborations from other organizations, which Gilburne says it encourages. Shoemaker has also drafted a new collaboration contract for accountability in these events.

ViCE will be announcing its fall concert soon.

7:21 | Forum with Senior Class Gift co-Chairs

Senior Class Gift co-Chairs Gilburne, Boyd Gardner and Zan Schmidt,  all ’12, are here to discuss the process of choosing the Senior Class Gift. The Senior Class Gift Committee is hoping to have all suggestions for gifts by the end of October break in two weeks. The Committee is also hoping to announce the gift at the event 99 Nights in December.

Gardner says that the gift has to be a one-time gift and has to address an area of great need.

“We’ve had a really big push from our constituents to do something more tangible,” says Schmidt. The gift may still resemble last year’s All School Gift in the effort to get underclassmen involved. The conversation about whether there will be a sophomore class gift this year is ongoing.

The Council is discussing the role of a sophomore class gift and how much class councils should be expected to participate. Suggestions include bringing in representatives from younger classes to participate on the Senior Class Gift Committee.

7:45 | Executive Board Report from VSA President Tanay Tatum ’12

Tatum says that she is involved on a committee that is working on finding a new Director of the Career Development Office as well as improving the connection between alumnae/i and the office.

The Sesquicentennial event, Day at Vassar, will be on Saturday, Oct. 15. The event will bring members of the local community to campus for classes and other programs.

7:53 | Executive Report from Vice President for Operations Jenna Konstantine ’13

Konstantine is addressing the non-discrimination clause of the VSA Constitution. The current clause in Article XII of the Constitution reads:

“The VSA shall not discriminate, nor by its actions encourage discrimination, based on race, color, religious belief, sex, marital status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability, veteran status, or age.”

The Operations Committee has been looking to the non-discrimination section of the College Regulations in the Student Handbook for a model in making the VSA’s language stronger.

“As students, we are covered in College Regs,” says Konstantine. “But as students we need our own language to cover things in our own context.” Konstantine says that the Operations Committee will be meeting with Associate Dean and Director of Equal Opportunity Belinda Guthrie for further guidance.

8:07 | Amendment to the Constitution concerning the roles of Class Representatives: Article VII, Section 2(F)

The Council may not vote on this amendment tonight. This amendment would allow Class Councils to add at-large members at their discretion.

The Council is hoping to have a larger conversation about the structure of Class Councils. Noyes House President Deborah Steinberg ’14, one of the amendments principle authors, suggests that this amendment should fail so that the Council can reconsider the issue.

The amendment has failed.

8:17 | Amendment to the Constitution concerning the composition of House Teams: Article VIII, Section 1

This amendment aims to clarify the positions on House Teams to include Student Fellows, House Student Advisors and House Fellow Advisors. The Council is discussing the value of holding these individuals accountable to the VSA Council when they are already employed and, therefore, accountable to the Office of Residential Life.

“I’m uncomfortable with the overlap,” says President of the Class of 2014 Michael Moore.

Steinberg argues that because these students are voting members of House Teams they should be acknowledged in the VSA’s governing documents.

The Council has voted to strike the acknowledgment of these members of House Teams from the amendment.

The amendment will now read:

“SECTION 1: Article VIII, Section 1.A shall be revised to read:

Each House shall elect a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Freshmen Representative, Sophomore Representative, and Junior Representative(s) from their respective residents. These individuals shall be the House Officers of the House Team of each respective House.”

8:33 | The Council has voted to take a five-minute recess.

8:41 | Capital Budgeting

The Council must vote on the entirety of the Capital Budget allocations. If the Council decides that allocations must change, it must fail the motion and send the budget back to the VSA Finance Committee for reconsideration.

Capital Budget allocation has passed.

8:51 | Supplemental Budgeting

The Council may amend the budgeting without tabling it to a later time, but must move already distributed funds from one org to another; nothing can be added or taken away.

Supplemental Budgeting has unanimously passed.

8:53 | Open Discussion

Vice President of Activities Michael “Mookie” Thottham amends the bylaw that says Founder’s Day Committee Co-Chairs will be appointed before October Break.

The council votes to amend the bylaw unanimously.

Moore discusses the recent issue of people on campus who are not Vassar students who have caused discomfort and harassment. Strong House President Manning Wu ’14 reports that, in an instance with two men found in Strong bathrooms, one man was on parole and they were in possession of drugs an weapons on Vassar campus. Other incidents have occurred in Jewett and Davison Houses.

Cushing House President Dan Shaw ’14 expresses concern of the lack of emergency blue lights near Cushing.

Tatum and Vice President for Student Life Charlie Dobb ’12 express their concern for the sensitivity of the subject and encourage mindfulness of what people say in open discussion. That said, Tatum is concerned with the lack of response to the incident of two men in Strong bathrooms. She intends to email Dean of the College Chris Roellke about the recent events.

Dobb announces the campus-wide town hall meeting at UpC next Wednesday, October 12th. The panel will consist of an array of members from various areas in college administration. Slow Food Vassar will be providing refreshments.

After the success of the meet-and-greet pizza lunches with members of Buildings & Grounds this past Friday, Freshman Class President Benedict Nguyen ’15 suggests a familiarizing event with B&G earlier in the year.

9:16 | Council votes to adjourn for the evening.

At 8 p.m., the Miscellany News will live blog the results for the 2012 VSA Freshman Elections.

The Judicial Board

Freshman Representative to the Judicial Board (4): Gagandeep “Deep” Anand; Lisa Donnelly; Zehua Yang; Kristin Park.

Freshman Representative to the Committee on Admissions & Financial Aid: Leighton Suen

Freshman Representative to the Committee on College Life: Alex Voynow

Cushing: Yehudi Baptiste

Davison: Kayla Ab

Jewett: John Sheehy

Josselyn: Casey Hancock

Lathrop: Sophia Wallach

Main: Benjamin Parra

Noyes: Eunice Roh

Raymond: Catherine Chapman

Strong: Madeline Vogel

Class of 2015 Council

Class of 2015 Treasurer: Angela Croce

Class of 2015 Secretary: Michelle Yuan

Class of 2015 Vice President: Alexandra Hamilton

Class of 2015 President: Benedict Nguyen

6:58 | Council members are beginning to arrive.

7:05 | Attendance.

7:07 | Campaigning for Freshman Elections ended this evening at 5 p.m. Voting will begin tomorrow at 5 p.m. and end on Wednesday at the same time. The results party will be on Friday evening at 8 p.m.

7:08 | Executive Report from Academics

Peer advising will go live on Wednesday, says Vice President for Academics Kate Dolson ’13.

President of the Class of 2012 Pam Vogel asks about the cancellation of several Vassar prison programs. Dolson notes that the cancellation was not the fault of Vassar or of the faculty. She also says that there is broad support for reshaping the programs and says that in the future they may mirror courses taught at the Taconic Correctional Facility, a local women’s prison.

“What it is forcing Vassar to do is to reevaluate the program, and to institutionalize it more,” says VSA President Tanay Tatum ’12. Tatum adds that if students want to be involved in the program as it moves forward, they should contact Professor of Religion and Africana Studies Lawrence Mamiya.

7:15 | Executive Report from Student Life

The Alcohol Task Force, says VSA Vice President for Student Life Charlie Dobb ’12, will be addressing campus-specific alcohol issues. The Task Force will be meeting for the first time tomorrow morning.

The Campus Dining Review Committee has also been active, says Dobb. The Committee will be recruiting students for six focus groups on dining in the first two weeks of October. The focus groups will be incentivized, says Dobb. The Committee will also be conducting a survey in November.

The VSA Student Life Committee will also be looking into issues with Buildings & Grounds in the future.

Dean of the College Chris Roellke is also undergoing his five year review, and the VSA will have a limited part in that process.

Dobb says that he also sits on a number of College joint committees including the Committee on College Life (CCL), the Drug and Alcohol Education Committee (DEC), the Campus Life Resource Group (CLRG), the Committee on Inclusion and Excellence (CIE)  and the Student Orientation Committee.

7:26 | VSA Vice President for Activities Mookie Thottam ’12 opens positions for Founder’s Day Committee co-Chairs.

7:30 | The Council is discussing an amendment regarding the roles of Class Representatives. The amendment will be referred to the Operations Committee and voted on at the Council’s next meeting.

7:31 | The Council is discussing a motion to amend the bylaws regarding the Board of Elections, opening up the board for more than four members. The Council has unanimously suspended the current bylaws restriction the number of members and will vote next week on changing the bylaw permanently.

7:34 | The Council unanimously appoints Alex Koren ’13 to the Board of Elections.

7:35 | The Council is now discussing a “Position Statement on Identity-Discrimination,” which addresses a number of sexist comments recently said at Serenading and on the website SayAnything Vassar.

The Class of 2012 Council is also addressing the issue of Serenading on its own.

“We want the student body that this type of language is not something that the VSA supports,” says Tatum.

Tatum adds that the Council will be adding a more thorough anti-discrimination clause to the VSA Constitution.

Ferry House President Grace Saffron Ashford ’14 thanks the authors of the statement for writing it. Strong House President Manning Wu ’14 thanks both the Council for the statement and the Class of 2012 Council for their recent apology letter published in The Miscellany News.

The Council unanimously endorses the Position Statement, which will be signed by Tatum.

7:49 | The Council is now discussing a letter to State Senator Saland (R), which was introduced in Council last week. The letter thanks the Senator for voting to approve gay marriage in the State of New York.

The Council is discussing an amendment to the last sentence of the letter, which would imply that a majority vote of Vassar Student Association Council endorses the letter rather than the Vassar Student Association as a whole, which includes all students.

The Council has voted to consider multiple options on the last sentence of the letter, “by majority vote of the Vassar Student Association Council,” and leaving the last sentence as it stands but adding a note at the bottom of the page that clarifies that the letter was endorsed by a majority vote of the Council.

The Council has voted on the latter option.

The Council has voted to endorse the letter.

Tatum says that students will have the option to sign the letter on the cork board outside of the VSA Office on the second floor of the College Center.

8:17 | Thottam thanks Zan Schmidt ’12 for her work on the Arlington Street Fair.

8:23 | The Council is adjourned.

7:52 | The candidates are filing in with the audience. The debate is about to begin!

8:02 | We’re about to start, but before we do, here are the four Presidential candidates: Seth Bynum ’15, Alison Ehrlich ’15, Benedict Nguyen ’15, and Lanbo Yang ’15.

8:06 | The debates are beginning! Wheeler ’12 and Warner ’14, the two Co-chairs of the Electoral Board are introducing Molly Turpin ’12 who will be moderating the debate. Turpin is now outlining the debate format and the candidates are introducing themselves.

First question: “How will you be open and accessible to your classmates?”

Yang wants to hold office hours and make himself personally available.

Ehrlich will, in addition to her office hours, wants to make a presence during events and programming.

Nguyen wants students to stop by and talk to him whenever.

Bynum, who posted his phone number online, encourages his classmates to call or visit his dorm room whenever.

8:12 | “How will you familiarize yourself with Vassar and how the VSA works? How can the VSA improve?”

Bynum thinks that the fact that there is only one freshman on the VSA board is a serious issue.

Nguyen seconds Bynum’s explanation.

Ehrlich boasts about her knowledge of the planned VSA changes from last year. She wants to make big changes to the VSA.

Yang also wants to restructure the system. He wants to modernize the VSA, saying that some of its elements are antiquated.

8:16 | “What aspects of campus dining need to be scrutinized, and what works well?”

Nguyen thinks that although it deserves some attention, it isn’t the most important issue.

Ehlrich disagrees. She wants to actively explore new dining options and alternatives.

Yang thinks that there need to be some changes, emphasizing that there should be more vegetarian options.

Bynum doesn’t think there’s enough prepared food at ACDC. He wants to learn more about freshman opinions before making a firmer statement.

8:20 | “How will you develop a safer drinking culture? Where, if at all, do you draw a line about underage drinking?”

Ehlrich wants to have more social events that don’t necessarily involve drinking, and more open conversation about “what is and what is not safe drinking. I want a true dialogue.” She doesn’t think security should be so involved with breaking up social events that aren’t dangerous.

Yang wants to open UpC earlier during the year as an alternative recreational environment, and echoes Ehlrich’s thoughts on campus security.

Bynum says that “the one thing that needs to be stressed is education.” For him, if students make bad choices, “it’s [their] fault.” He wants students to be educated enough to make smarter choices. He respects security for only writing up dangerously drunk students, or students that are “a danger to [themselves]“. “I stand by with what security is doing.”

Nguyen thinks that the culture is too focused on drinking. “I don’t think that’s the number one reason why we’re here,” he said, explaining that this, like food, isn’t an important issue. He wants to focus on education and community outreach. “I think if we keep giving ourselves reasons to be responsible there won’t be any issues.” He agrees with Bynum with regards to security.

8:29 | “Do you have any plans to help your classmates to familiarize themselves with Poughkeepsie?”

“I do think that there is the Vassar Bubble,” said Yang, adding that he wants to bring VCash to other businesses in the community.

Ehrlich thinks that Meet me in Poughkeepsie is a great event and that there should be more events like it. “I think that students in general have so much power to affect the world, and it’s not silly to think that we can make an impact,” said Ehrlich.

Nguyen thinks that most community outreach events are very self-selecting; people that aren’t interested won’t join in.

Bynum is dissatisfied with the amount of students that go into Poughkeepsie. He followed up by encouraging students to just start walking. He thinks that the programs, although great, don’t do enough. He thinks that the student’s initiative is important. “It starts with all of you guys. You have to walk down the street.”

8:35 | “When an issues of personal importance, how will you make your vote?”

Bynum is prepared to cast away his personal beliefs if his constituency thinks differently.

Nguyen said that he would mostly agree with Bynum.

Ehrlich thinks that a President can sometimes be more capable than the students at making a certain decision, although she will look out for student input. “I think there has to be a trust in our elected representative to make a decision that would benefit everyone.”

Yang wants to work closely with house teams and with students to make decisions.

8:38 | “What do you think is the biggest issue that faces Vassar today and what will you do to address it?”

Ehrlich wants to get people involved. She wants to get everyone’s ideas heard and improve communication.

Yang also wants to integrate students in the political process. He also wants to improve students’ relationships with campus employees.  ”I want to make [Vassar] more of a home.”

Nguyen echos Ehrlich and Yang, adding that “as a college, everyone says the word community. I think, while those are good ideas, we can make them truer by integrating ourselves with the people around us.” He wants to help the Class of 2015 bond.

Bynum doesn’t think he knows enough about Vassar yet, after only four weeks, to observe it’s “biggest problem”. “I’m not saying that Vassar College doesn’t have any problems, I just think that we haven’t been here long enough to know what the biggest problem is.” He wants his classmates to help him figure out what the biggest problem is.

8:43 | Audience questions! “So you all spoke about community. Pretty often, as the VSA, we have to deal with issues like discrimination, sexism and racism. How would you as a freshman class president make the student body inclusive and a safe place for all students?”

Yang wants to use campus resources to initiate a dialogue and deal with the problem.

Ehrlich also wants to use already existing campus organizations to deal with these problems. She doesn’t think that there is a prevalence of these issues, and wants to handle them on an individual basis as isolated incidents.

Nguyen echoes Ehrlich and Yang’s statements.

Bynum wants to increase “dialogue and education” with people who have gone through such issues.

8:49 | “How do you balance the conversation for safe drinking with the fact that it is illegal for people under 21 to drink?”

Ehrlich acknowledges that students will always drink. Security shouldn’t get mixed up in the legality issue, but rather focus on keeping students safe. “It’s about situations where security is trying to prevent students from doing things that aren’t dangerous.”

Bynum thinks that security is “balancing pretty well.” “They could write everyone up, but they don’t,” he said, highlighting his experiences by the THs where students were visably intoxicated in front of security, and weren’t written up.

Nguyen is proud of Vassar’s conversational atmosphere, citing orientations alcohol education programming.

Yang wants to start a dialogue between students and security. “Talking to the head of the office of health education is where we start,” he said, explaining that that office should be involved.

8:56 | “What makes you the leader we should vote for?”

Nguyen wants to assure his classmates that he is “ready to take charge and lead the class.”

Ehrlich thinks that each candidate has already explained everything that there can be explained, adding only that she wants to “build a community.”

Yang said that he ran for the position because “[he] love[s] the school so much.” He continues by encouraging students to come and talk to him whenever they want. He wants to facilitate more conversation.

Bynum is excited to represent his class, and each individual students.

9:03 | “How will you handle questions from your classmates that you, personally, believe will result in a conflict within yourself, the Council, or the administration?”

Bynum explain to his classmates that some things just can’t be done, adding that “I’m not going to baby you.”

Nguyen agrees with Bynum.

Ehrlich disagrees, explaining that she will always open up discussions about any idea.

Yang says that he will deconstruct each proposal and bring it up with his class council.

9:07 | “What will you do to tackle issues with drugs. What will you do to help fix such issues?”

Ehrlich admits that she doesn’t know much about drugs, adding that education is the most important thing. She is disappointed that drugs aren’t discussed more in orientation. “If we’re going to live in the real world we need to accept that people…will do illegal drugs.”

Bynum agrees with Ehrlich about increasing education, adding that, ultimately, decisions are made by students and they should be penalized accordingly.

Yang wants to start a conversation within Council, and with security.

Nguyen agrees with Bynum and Ehrlich with regards to improving education.

9:12 | Good debate, everyone. Good night.

7:09 | VSA is about to begin.

7:13 | Attendance. All are present.

7:15  | Executive Report from VSA President Tanay Tatum ’12

There will be a Sesquicentennial conference called “Educating the Global Citizen”in November.

The VSA is beginning an “Institutional Memory Project” along with some students at large. The focus of this project is the history of activism at Vassar. Tatum says the project will be “celebrating Vassar’s history while looking at it critically.”

The Council is considering having a once-a-month “brainstorming session” to consider their goals for the following month. Tatum is unsure of whether these meeting will be open to the student body.

7:23 | Executive Report from VSA Vice President for Operations Jenna Konstantine ’13

Konstantine says that Freshman Elections are “well under way.” The Freshman Presidential Debate will be on Thursday, Sept. 22 at 8 p.m. in Sanders Classroom.

The popular Tasty Tuesday program will resume on Tuesday, Sept. 20.

7:27 | Forum with Vice President for Finance and Administration Betsy Eismeier

Eismeier is discussing Buildings and Grounds and the way “we all see our campus.” She is addressing problems of litter on campus. “The Buildings and Grounds staff are not our servants,” she says.

“I really think that one of the things that brings us down is the attitude towards cigarettes and cigarette butts on campus,” says Eismeier. She says that the College will be working on wellness programs for smokers this year in addition to awareness of campus cleanliness.

Noyes House President Deborah Steinberg ’14 suggests that the College narrow the gaps between smoking policies and smoking realities on campus, namely the distance of receptacles from buildings. Smoking is not allowed within 50 feet of a building entrance, but smokers as well as receptacles are very often within those bounds.

Vice President for Academics Kate Dolson ’13 has suggested that the VSA begin a campus clean-up project. President of the Class of 2014 Michael Moore suggests that the VSA collaborate with others to tackle the project.

The Council is discussing different information campaign ideas.

Eismeier is addressing a question about changes to the schedule and work of the custodial staff. Beginning in the fall 2009, the College revised the format of its custodial workday.

8:26 | The Council is now appointing co-Chairs for the Board of Elections. The Council unanimously appoints President of the South Commons Matthew Wheeler ’12 and Seth Warner ’14.

8:35 | The Council unanimously appoints Jewett House President Clayton Masterman ’13 to the Committee on College Life.

8:37 | Moore is discussing an amendment to the VSA Constitution that would, among other things, change the nature of the Junior Representative from each house. Instead of running for the position of Junior Representative within their houses, juniors would be able to run for the spring, fall or for both semesters depending on their availability, especially regarding junior year abroad plans. The amendment passes unanimously.

8:47 | The Council has voted to take a five minute recess.

8:51| The Council is back from recess. It is now beginning discussion of a letter sent from the VSA to New York State Senator Stephen M. Saland.

Tatum explained that the Vassar student body is very appreciative of the senator’s support of legalizing same-sex marriage, and thus the VSA has decided to send a note of thanks to the senator.

Davison House president Doug Greer ’14 says that the letter may not necessarily represent the views of the entire student body. Tatum responds by saying that the council now has two options: either to vote to endorse the letter, or to defer the endorsement to next Sunday’s meeting. Several Council members note that any political messages the Council sends may not reflect a hundred percent of its constituents, but of it strives for that kind of approval, it “will get nothing done,” said Class of 2014 President Michael Moore.

Council votes to table the endorsement to next week.

9:04| Discussions about Serenading

Class of 2012 President proposes that Council engage in discussion about serenading. “Even though it’s been more than a week, it’s important to have this conversation now,” she said. “Is it inherently a hostile event?” asks Vogel, who will seek an answer to this question from Council, as well as general feedback from Council members.

President of Strong expresses gratefulness for this year’s serenading improvements regarding the overall mood.

Class of 2013 President suggests that Council look to Serenading history before it considers further changes.

Masterman says that in debriefing about Serenading, questions about the purpose of the event emerged: “What is the point of Serenading,” asks Masterman.

There were four house presidents and seniors who were physically assaulted during the event, reports Masterman, noting that the nature of the event — “going around throwing water at underclassmen” — innately encourages some level of violence. “I don’t think that just because is something is a tradition isn’t enough of a reason to keep doing it,” he noted. Steinberg noted that some freshman found the event a little demeaning, but “some people had fun.” “If it’s done well, it’s a great community builder,” she said.

“I think Serenading is an experience where a lot of people from different classes get an opportunity to come together, and it definitely can improve over time,” says Rubin.

Vogel says that this event is entirely carried out by the seniors, so “we have complete control over the event”; a take over of the event by the administration is a possibility, however, she notes.

President of Ferry Grace Saffran Ashford says she, as a freshman, was disgusted by the idea, as it was a form of hazing. But her opinion changed after moving to another dorm; as it stands now, she contends, the event is a “symptom of disrespect to the community.” Perhaps, she said, the event has potential to bring the campus together, and that she hopes “we can turn this event around.”

President of the South Commons Matthew Wheeler ’12 says that the tradition has the ability to adapt to the current context. In saying so, he backs the idea that Serenading should exist, but argues that it be modified to address campus concerns about safety and animosity.

Cushing House President Daniel Shaw says he doesn’t like Serenading, but likes tradition. Noting that Cushing house is the first to get hit, “it gets screwed over more than any other dorm.” “I didn’t think it well, and I cannot feign excitement for it,” he said, and because of that, the dorm’s song “didn’t work out as well as it could.”

9:57| Open Discussion

There are 245 days until graduation.

Marchetta says that on Friday the Class of 2013 launched its blog about the experiences of juniors who are abroad.

Meet Me in Poughkeepsie will be held November 19 this year.

10:03| Council is adjourned.