7:02| The following Consent Agenda is approved.

1. $1,150 from Conference Fund to Vassar Debate Society
2. $992 from Conference Fund to Vassar Debate Society
3. $1000 from Council Discretionary Fund to Shakespeare Troupe

7:02| Executive Board Reports

Academics

The application for student seminars “is going to be out sometime next week,” reports VSA Vice President for Academics Kate Dolson ’13.

She also reports that the Committee on Curricular Policies will focus on Course Evaluation Questionnaires (CEQs), because the CEQs “clearly do not reflect the best way to evaluate the course,” she said. The discussion will continue throughout the semester.

Student Life

VSA Vice President Charlie Dobb ’12 says that the Campus Life Office will consider the position of an LGBTQ Director as a full time position.

“The alcohol task force is at the height of activity,” says Dobb. The results of its studies will “be released concurrently ,” he says; these studies are the result of a lot of “time and money being invested” on the part of the task force.

He says that the Campus Dining Review Committee (CDRC) is “still looking for feedback informally.” The CDRC, says Dobb, will turn its focus on the renewal of dining-service provider ARAMARK’s contract with the College.

Student Life is also looking for ways to best bring the student voice to Dean of the College Christopher Roellke’s review.

He also reports that the Committee on Inclusion and Excellence (CIE) will work on the “encouragement of transfer students from local community colleges.” The CIE will work on how to encourage those transfers.

7:15| Update from the Student Technology Advisory Council (STAC). 

VSA Vice President for Operations and co-Chair of STAC Jenna Konstantine ’13 reports that STAC is talking about the switch from Zimbra to Google as Vassar’s email provider. The committee is currently is beta testing the new Google Apps for Education.

She reports that STAC is considering “things to put in a Vassar mobile app for a smartphone.” “What would you like to see on such an app?” Konstantine asks.

7:25| Update on the Fall Leadership Conference (FLC)

VSA President Tanay Tatum’12 — who sits on the FLC’s planning committee — reports that the committee is preparing for backup plans for the conference should, as it did last year, the schedule be disturbed by natural disasters such as Hurricane Irene.

VSA Vice President for Activities Mookie Thottam ’12 says that committee is “planning to have a keynote speaker at the conference.” “An alum who has had some leadership experience on campus” would be the profile of the speaker, he says.

Tatum reports that the committee is looking for ways to receive student input on the FLC to improve it in the coming years.

7:30| Update on the “Constitution Marathon” 

Konstantine reports that says that the VSA is looking at purging “grammatical errors, inconsistencies and gender binaries” from the VSA’s governing documents. Members of the VSA Council “locked themselves in a suite in Jewett and read the constitution for six hours,” says Konstantine. The changes the committees thinks are advisable will be brought to Council for ratification. “We’re not trying to sneak anything in,” confirms Konstantine.

7:37| Recommendation to Appointment Madeline Zappala to 2012 Vice President

Konstantine says the the Operations Committee reviewed candidates and now recommends Madeline Zappala to the position, which will mean that she will sit on the Class of 2012 Executive Board. The motion to appoint Zappala passes. Disclosure: Zappala is photography editor for the Miscellany News.

7:45| Open Discussion

There are 111 days left until graduation, reports Class of 2012 President Pamela Vogel. “There is also representation from all four classes on the gift committee,” she says.

There is some confusion over whether or not the VSA council’s time for 7 p.m. is set in stone. The online version — “the master version that trumps all others” according to Konstantine — says that it is set at 7 p.m. There is a motion to move the meeting to 6 p.m. since  ”next Sunday is Superbowl Sunday,” says Tatum. She says that students and administrators alike tend not to attend Council on that Sunday.

Jewett House President Clayton Masterman ’13 says that the Board of House Presidents meets before Council, and changing the time of the meeting distrubs that. “Doing it just for a game to watch on TV” seems inappropriate, he says.

A member of the audience says that because the Superbowl is “important culturally,” and many Residential Houses host special events on that day.

The motion to bring the meeting forward to 6 p.m. passes.

There is a motion to adjourn. It passes.

7:07 | The Council welcomes Class of 2015 President Benedict Nguyen.

7:08 | Attendance.

7:11 | Student Conduct Forum with Batia Epelbaum, Assistant Director for Student Conduct and House Student Advisor for Lathrop and Jewett, and Rich Horowitz, Associate Director of Residential Life

Epelbaum explains that she in charge of all investigations of student conduct cases that could go before the College Regulations Panel.

Class of 2014 President Michael Moore asks how the VSA should be involved in student conduct issues and the student conduct process.

Horowitz says that the VSA’s role has grown over the last few years, especially with the creation of the Student Conduct Panel two years ago. The Student Conduct Panel is made up of members of the Judicial Board and hears relatively minor student conduct cases.

A new panel has been created with three students and two faculty members to hear Title IX issues, which are sexual misconduct issues. The panel takes an “investigator” approach, in which an investigator interviews students ahead of time and presents the information he or she collects to the panel. Epelbaum notes that all student conduct processes are moving toward this “best practices” model. The members of the Title IX panel receives additional training to hear these particular cases.

Horowitz speaks to the balance between taking context into account in student conduct cases and making the consequences of particular actions clear. He adds that students are often given a list of the typical outcomes of violations.

Epelbaum says that thus far the statistics of students on probation have been lower than usual, though she and Horowitz are unsure if this can be attributed to the new policy in which students on probation drop far down the room draw list.

Horowitz says that in cases when a student’s story differs from that of a Safety and Security Officer, he will often side with the Safety and Security Officer because they do not have any incentive to misrepresent the event. In fact, he continues, they have incentive to be entirely accurate because their positions depend on that accuracy.

Vassar Student Association (VSA) President Tanay Tatum ’12 asks what the conduct process is for students who are caught with kegs. Horowitz says that in the cases that have come up so far, if it was a first offense, then the result was a warning. If the keg was a part of an unauthorized party, then the house would be prohibited from throwing parties for the rest of the academic year.

Tatum also asks about the new role of Campus Patrol. Epelbaum says that the role has not changed very much and they are looking for safety concerns. They can address noise complaints by working with the students involved. She adds that they do not report specific room numbers but rather general areas of dorms, such as “3rd-floor Strong.”

“It’s student to student engagement,” says Epelbaum. She adds that Campus Patrol is on the same radio channel as Safety and Security, but says that Campus Patrol does not work to inform Safety and Security.

Epelbaum says that Campus Patrol students are allowed to schedule as many hours as they would like up to the yearly allotment allowed by the student employment office.

“It’s definitely a pioneer year,” says Horowitz.

VSA Vice President for Academics Kate Dolson ’13 asks about how the student supervisors of Campus Patrol quit has affected the continuity of the program. “It has created a problem,” says Epelbaum. She says that if there were more supervisors, Campus Patrol could run more than Tuesday through Saturday nights.

“Noise complaints are dramatically reduced thus far,” says Epelbaum.

8:08 | Executive Report from VSA Vice President for Finance Jason Rubin ’13

“The VSA is in good financial health,” says Rubin. Today the Finance and Activities Committees went over capital and supplemental budget applications, which the Council will vote on at its next meeting.

Rubin is also working on replacing the DJ sound system this fall. He says that the band sound system will likely be replaced next year, but possibly as early as next semester.

The Finance and Activities Committees are also working on reviewing the financial accountability of student organizations.

8:12 | Executive Report from Vice President for Activities Mookie Thottam ’12

The Meet Me in Poughkeepsie Committee is active. It will be co-chaired by Noor Mir ’12.

“There have been discussions about the use of UpC,” says Mookie of the restrictions on the space. “We’re going to try to open it up again.”

Thottam says that organizations will be asked to send their mission statements in order to update the VSA website’s organizations page.

“There are about 20 organizations looking for certification; we are looking to decertify about 2,” says Thottam. He notes that there is no limitation to the number of organizations that the VSA can have, but there are budget constraints to consider.

8:17 | Certification of ACCESS

ACCESS is a group for students with disabilities, which has been gathering for about a year.

“ACCESS has been a phenomenal resource to us,” says VSA Vice President for Student Life Charlie Dobb ’12.

The Council unanimously votes to certify ACCESS.

8:21 | VSA Vice President for Operations Jenna Konstantine says that two people from the Council need to sit on the Committee on Academic Technologies.

8:27 | Amendment Concerning the Composition of House Teams: This amendment acknowledges the fact that Student Fellows, House Student Advisors, and House Fellow Interns are a part of House Teams.

Right now this policy is widely adhered to, but is not formalized by the VSA’s Constitution.

“This legitimizes student fellow votes on House Team,” says Noyes House President Deborah Steinberg ’14.

Dobb says that this amendment gets to a larger issue of how House Teams fit into the VSA’s governance.

The VSA Operations will consider the amendment, and the Council will vote on it at its next meeting.

8:37 | An Amendment Concerning the Roles and Responsibilities of Class Representatives

This amendment allows class councils to vote at-large members onto their councils. The Council is discussing the issue of how these students would vote on class councils, or if they should be able to vote.

The Council votes to amend Article 1 Section 2 F, to say that the appointed members to class councils will serve as non-voting class council members. The motion fails.

The Council is now voting the amendment to table the amendment to Operations Committee to propose it when it sees fit. It passes.

Amendment of Article V Section 22 of the VSA Bylaws

The composition of the Library Committee is changed to have the VSA vice president for academics and one member of the VSA Academics Committee, as opposed to VSA Council. The motion passes.

Amendment of Article VI Section 1  of the VSA Bylaws

The amendment makes it possible for more than four at-large members to serve on the Board of Elections. The motion passes.

Open Discussion

There are 231 days left until graduation.

Dobb reports that the Campus Dining Review Committee is “in full swing.” The committee is moving through the residential houses “with Twisted Soul empanadas” to talk about issues about campus dining as a part of its review. The committee will now host a town-hall-style meeting, and be tabling the North Atrium of the College Center to advertise its initiatives.

Council is voting to amend the phone numbers on the Council Members Contact Sheet.

There is a motion to adjourn. It has passed.

7:16 | Attendance.

7:17 | There will be a referendum hearing with the Judicial Board tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. in Rockefeller Hall 300.

Vice President for Student Life Samin Shehab ’11 is explaining that a member of the class of 2013 contested the recent referendum.

If the Judicial Board decides that the vote was unconstitutional, the vote will not stand. If the Board decides that the vote was constitutional, then the amendments will have been ratified. Regardless of the decision, filing for spring elections will begin on Tuesday, April 12. If the vote is valid, students will be able to file for the new position of class senator as well as the revised house president position.

The Judicial Board hearing is open to the public, but the final decision will be made behind closed doors.

7:23 | Inoa is here to discuss Residential Life. He says that this is a “year of transition for the office.” The Residential Life Office has several new House Advisors this year, and their responsibilities have been split between the houses and various offices in the College, such as Campus Activities.

Inoa is also explaining some changes to the room draw process.

Inoa says that the office is considering moving students who are on probation to the bottom of their class room draw list within their house. “We did survey students on this particular question,” he says. According to Inoa, he has gotten a lot of feedback from students saying that it is unfair for students on probation for residential violations to potentially received the most desired rooms. “It’s really in its infancy,” he says. “Where we are stuck is the impact on apartment draw.”

“We’ve also heard students say, well ‘probation here doesn’t really mean anything.’ Well, now it does.”

Inoa says that the bathrooms and elevators in Lathrop will be updated this summer. The kitchens in Main House will also be updated.

The Residential Life Office will also be hiring one new House Advisor, who will be working with Campus Activities on the UpCafé, working with Health Education and establishing some quiet spaces for students on campus.

The Office is also responsible for the Transitions Program. He says that the committee working on the program is working on putting together a full-year report on the program. The program was first instituted this academic year. The program focuses on first generation college students. The Committee on Inclusion and Excellence also oversees the program.

President of 2011 Moe Byrne asks about dorm damage this year, noting that the beginning of the was “rough” in regards to alcohol issues and dorm damage.  “I don’t know why we’ve stopped talking about it as much, but it doesn’t feel like as much of an issue as it did at the beginning of the year,” says Inoa.

Shehab adds that the Committee on College Life (CCL) as well as the Student Life Committee is looking into alcohol and social norms, but notes that it has so far been “all talk.” He hopes that the committee will be able to put together a campaign about campus culture.

7:54 | Allocation of $1,060 from the Conference Fund to the Debate Society: The Debate Society is hoping to attend a conference at Amherst College. Main House President Boyd Gardner ’12 makes a motion to amend the allocation to $1320 so that the team can rent cars to get to the conference. The motion passes.

Vice President for Finance Travis Edwards ’12 is giving a brief update on the state of the VSA’s funds, noting that some of them are rather depleted.

8:06 | The allocation to the Debate Society passes.

8:06 | Allocation of $1200 from the Council Discretionary Fund to the Vassar International Students Assocation (VISA): VISA is requesting funding for their Senior Week event, which will be hosted in Shadows Over the Hudson. The motion has been tabled until next week to review VISA’s application again.

8:28 | Allocation of $5400 from Community to MEChA: MEChA is planning on attending a march for workers’ rights and will be hosting a Vassar workers’ appreciation dinner.

8:39 | Allocation of $1000 from the Collaboration Fund to ViCE: ViCE is planning the event South by South Commons. The allocation passes.

8:40| Motion for a five minute recess. The motion passes.

8:53| Student Amendment to Bylaws – Article VI

Seth Warner ’12 is “happy to be so well supported by the VSA [administration] for supporting [him] to effect changes” to the elections procedure. He is now enlisting the benefits of his proposed amendments, which would extend the filing period for elections. “These reforms will make elections more substantive and competitive,” he says.

Class of 2014 Michael Moore says that “this is the kind of change we will need if the senatorial passes. This is a fantastic example of how students can get involved,” he said.

VSA Vice President for Operations Ruby Cramer ’12 informs Council that Warner was at the last Operations Committee meeting to “tie up some loose ends” about changes. The biggest change made from Warner’s fist proposal is the addition of clause that states the VSA administration will be in touch with the Office of Residential Life in order to coordinate elections with room and apartment draw.

VSA Vice President for Operations Tanay Tatum’12 wishes strike Section VII of the proposal, that states the candidates are allowed to use fliers to campaign. Tatum feels that this is “unsustainable,” and “may not promote face-to-face contact,” something that the changes wish to encourage.

Shahab clarifies that Section VII directs candidates to hand student fliers only when they have conversations with them, and Warner agrees that in this way, allowing the use of fliers does promote face-to-face contact.

Moore says that there are more sustainable ways for campaigning than the use of fliers, such as campaigning through the internet.

The motion to amend the proposal to strike Section VII passes unanimously.

Moore proposes that the amendments be postponed for next year in light of the recent changes, because as it stands now, “it may get too hectic” as student are not informed enough. Warner however argues that those running will be in close contact with the Board of Elections, who can inform those running of these changes.

“Because people are not going to know until Tuesday night about what position they are running for,” enacting that clause of the amendment that says that the candidate may put up posters during the filing period would be unfair to some candidates said Tatum. She also stressed that she has not spoken with Dining Services and the Campus Activities Office to make sure if they are open to having spaces on campus for posters.

Warner makes a motion to amend the proposal so that the changes be implemented for the 2011-2012 elections cycle, “not the one starting on Tuesday” — this amendment would only change the “Enactment Clause” of Warner’s proposal. The rest of the proposal stays as is. This motion passes unanimously.

Council passes Warner’s amendment.

9:37| Appointment of Aaron Grober’11 to Board of Elections Co-Chair

“Right now, [Terrace Apartments President Sam Allen'11] is the only appointed Board of Elections co-Chair, and [Grober] applied to fill the other position. He has a lot of VSA experience,” said Cramer.

Strong House President Sophie Wassermann’12 “[feels] uncomfortable, appointing someone without an open declaration,” to which Riker responds that “we should not punish [Grober] for knowing that the position was open, and we did declare the position open at the beginning of the year.”

The council appoints Grober unanimously.

9:51| Executive Board Reports

Activities

Tatum says that The Limit will write an apology to the Department of English, and an area of Sanders Spitzer Auditorium will no longer be able to students for activities. This is in light of accusations against the comedy group of vandalization of academic space last week. “I will not approve any more events after this week,” says Tatum. She also plans to certify certain organizations, including Slow Food Vassar.

Finance

Edwards reports that the Vassar Pagan Circle will be decertified conditionally, as “the organization has been in debt for two years in a row.” The VSA has close to $17,000 that can be moved across funds should any one fund run low in its balance.

10:00| Open Discussion

There are 42 left to graduation.

Vice President for Academics Laura Riker wanted to follow up with Council members on whether they have given any thought to FOCUS weekend. Several members have approached the event’s organizers with ideas; Class of 2013 Secretary Ann-Marie Alacantra, who is a proxy for the Class of 2013 President Eli Berns-Zieve, says that “if people are thinking of ideas, they should contact me because I’m the Admissions Office Intern responsible for FOCUS weekend.”

Town Students President Maya Acevedo ’11 asks if members of the Residence Council — if such a structure were to be adopted — would be required to sit on VSA internal committees. She also “wants to see more concrete ideas come out of tonight’s meeting relating to how we’re going to educate Vassar students.” Shehab responds to the former question that members of the Residence Council members will not sit on the committees — while such a change was thought about, it was not included into the referendum sent out to students.

“We need a ghost army right now” says Moore. “Council will be that ghost army… There needs to be not just talk but some very physical motion towards a yes. We all have to hold to what our constituencies have voted on. If tomorrow the Judicial Board Board votes it down it will be like the witch king has cut off Gandalf’s head.”

Tatum hopes next year’s Council will continue to hold open subcommitee meetings so that House presidents will be able to sit on them regardless of a seat on Council. She hopes VSA  Council will go forward and educate students as a unit rather than as a divided body.

Lathrop President Samantha Garcia object’s to Moore’s Lord of the Rings simile. “There’s an idea of good versus bad and I don’t think that’s fair at all. If the referendum stands we all need to get behind it and make sure it succeeds,” said Garcia.

Cramer believes that the Judicial Board hearing will conflict with the scheduled Operations Committee meeting on Monday. The meeting will be rescheduled tentatively to 8:00.

“I’m conflicted about the voice we want seniors to have on this”, said Senior Class President Moe Byrne ’11. Riker reminds Council that seniors vote for Executive Board elections.

Acevado adds that seniors have an advantage of having four years of experience with the VSA.

Shehab thanks Executive Board and acknowledges that the past weeks have been particularly trying for them.

Courtesy of Jenna Konstantine

6:54 | The tables have literally turned for tonight’s VSA Council meeting. The Council has changed the orientation of their u-shaped table arrangement in the CCMPR such that they may now face an audience in the back of the room.

7:03 | Council is about to begin.

7:07 | Attendance.

7:13 | Forum with representatives from the Drugs and Alcohol Education Committee (DEC) Director of Health Education Renee Pabst and Head Athletic Trainer Jeff Carter: “Some of the things that make Vassar Vassar also make Vassar prone to these issues,” says Carter of the rise in intoxication incidents this year.

According to Carter, this year the DEC has been given the ability to come up with more policy suggestions than it has in the past. Part of this has been identifying and consolidating existing policies on alcohol and drugs: “There’s four different policies on campus for the exact same thing sometimes,” he says.

Carter says that the committee faced the same issue when they began reevaluating smoking policies last year.

“ I think one of our major concern is that after 5 o’Clock on Friday afternoons, the administration disappears,” Carter continues, adding that the same is true of faculty. “ The DEC has also been trying to say that the administration needs to take a more active role.”

Pabst adds that one way the administration and VSA have been supportive of addressing alcohol issues this year has been the establishment of the alternative space in the second floor of the Students Building. “I still think there needs to be a lot more done in that area,” says Pabst. “I think it all comes down to, ‘where do we put our money.’”

Carter and Pabst identify several reasons that Vassar is perhaps more prone to problems with intoxication than other campuses might be. One is that there are many fewer classes offered on Fridays, which Pabst says leads to more incidences on non-weekend nights, especially Thursdays. “I have the research that shows that this is an environmental factor,” she says.

Changing this trend, however, would be unpopular for faculty as well as students. “When you’re looking at these overall environmental approaches…it’s a collaborative effort,” she says.

Another reason is that kegs are allowed on campus. Carter says that while in theory hosts should card people at parties, in practice it rarely happens. He adds that there are few repercussions on the Vassar campus for serving alcohol to a minor, whereas off-campus the infraction would be treated much more seriously.

Pabst adds that there are statistics show that campuses that allow kegs tend to have higher rates of intoxication. “There’s different levels regarding alcohol and other drugs…I think repercussions need to be reflective of those different risks,” says Pabst. “I don’t think that we are always good about educating you all about those different risks.”

Another factor that leads to high rates of intoxication is the mixing of classes within the houses, but they clarify that they do not want to change that tradition. Rather, it is something for the College to work with.

Pabst and Carter have addressed any changes in drinking trends that may have happened due to the state ban on FourLoko. “I would love to say that we’ve seen a decrease in some of the FourLoko stuff,” says Pabst. “Unfortunately, students can still get it.”

“It’s still the culture that promotes that kind of binge drinking,” says Carter.

According to Carter and Pabst, there is always a spike at the beginning of every semester, and while FourLoko drew focus to a particular kind of alcoholic beverage, there is still a problem with alcohol on the campus. Carter adds that during the first all-campus party of the spring semester, Vassar used all of the ambulances available in Arlington and more had to be called in from the surrounding area.

According to Pabst, statistically, Vassar students tend to arrive at the College drinking at lower-risk levels, but after six weeks on campus that is not always the case.

According to Pabst, this year, more students have called from parties at the Town Houses and Terrace Apartments when they have gotten out of hand, which is a pattern that she commends. “It’s part of the collaboration [between students and Safety and Security],” she says.

Pabst has also addressed concern with the use and abuse of “study drugs,” such as Adderall. “I think the difficulty is that we feel like it’s the majority of students, and it isn’t; it’s a very small minority. I know it feels like it is because everyone is talking about it,” she says.  “I just really need to stress that it’s not the majority of students who are doing it.”

Carter is inviting more student voices to join the DEC.

Pabst and Carter have noted that this year several students were found by Safety and Security before being sent to the hospital; Town Houses President Sam Seymour ’11 asks why that has been the case. Carter says that not all students are aware of the College’s “Good Samaritan” policy that exempts students who call EMS or for whom EMS is called from disciplinary action.

Class of 2011 President Moe Byrne asks if there have been more or fewer repeat cases of intoxicated calls. “I’m seeing I think less this year than I have—I haven’t compiled the stats…I feel like I’m not seeing as many repeat people than I have in the past,” says Pabst. “The severity is higher than I have ever seen before.” Pabst says that this is the first year that she has been evaluating students’ blood alcohol level when they come to her office.

Carter adds that this is the first year that he has heard of parents being called because of students’ lives being in danger because of alcohol poisoning.

Carter is now discussing the role of the Arlington Fire Department in responding to Vassar’s intoxication calls.

8:46 | The forum has concluded.

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

8:52| Council members have begun entering the room.

8:55| Allocation of $1,000 to Polo from Council Discretionary: Vice President for Finance Travis Edwards’12 introduces the fund application. The polo team is present. Representatives say that the team is not supported by the athletic departments, but Vassar’s Polo team depends on the VSA for funding. They feel that fundraising will not go far enough for them to meet their needs to host the pre-regional tournament. Edwards reports that the allocation was reduced by $500 because there “is not a lot of money left in the fund.” The motion passes unanimously.

9:01| Allocation of $1,150 to  the Vassar Islamic Society (VIS ) from New Organizations Fund: The Vassar Islamic Society has not sent representatives to the meeting. The motion passes unanimously.

9:03| Allocation of $1,650 to the Grassroots Alliance for Alternative Politics (GAAP): Representatives from GAAP informed council that the organization is bringing of Anthropology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York David Harvey. This motions has passed unanimously.

9:06|Allocation of $1,900 to GAAP from Community Fund: The additionally money is required for food and advertising. Class of 2014 President Michael Moore asks GAAP if it will have the resources to “get the word out” seeing the event’s close proximity to Spring Break, to which a representative said that advertising for the event has already begun.VSA Vice President for Activities Tanay Tatum’12 introduce a motion to increase the allocation to $2,390 because of the need expressed by GAAP. The motion for the amendment passes unanimously. The Council also votes to pass the $2,390 allocation to GAAP.

9:21| Edwards moves to allocate $3,000 to the Council of Black Seniors (CBS) from the Speakers and Lecturers Fund. CBS representatives say that they are inviting Sonia Sanchez to speak on Baccalaureate Weekend before Commencement on Sunday, May 22. The allocation is made unanimously.

9:30| Executive Board Reports

Activities

VSA Vice President for Activities Tanay Tatum’12 reports that 20 organizations have not submitted their reports. She also reports that the event calendar is very full, and advises theatre groups to keep this in mind when planning their shows. She and the activities committee are deliberating on whether to put a three-show cap on theatre groups.

Student Life

VSA Vice President for Student Life Samin Shehab’11 informs council that a big part of his committee’s work, they have been focussing on the election process and how to make it more inclusive. He mentions that his committee is working closely with the Operations Committee to meet that end. He says that the other sub committees for Student Life have had “little to no progress.” He is also working on social norming during orientation, which among other things will focus on sexual wellness and eating disorders.

Academics

VSA Vice President for Academics Laura Riker’11 says that the student-seminar application were due the last Friday, and received 15 submissions for potential seminars. She also announces that a there will be a Majors Fair to be held close to the preregistration period.

9:53| Open Discussion

There are 83 days left to graduation, reports Byrne. She reports the 39% of the senior have given to the 2011 All-School Gift, and close to 700 students have given to the fund.

President of Jewett House Mariah Minigan’13 reports that her House’s Seven Deadly Sins event went really well. She said that her interaction with Safety and Security were generally good. She said that there was unclarity about the number of security guards to be employed at the event, and ended up with 7 officers who “just sat in the lobby [of Jewett].” In response, Tatum says that Council is seeking to create a sub-committee to address issues with Safety and Security.

Byrne reported that after the 100-nights celebration, the Thompson Memorial Library was “trashed” after the champagne toast. The Library has now determined that alcohol will not be in the library from now on.

Shehab reports that All-College day was not as well attended as he had hoped. Upon Class of 2012 President Pamela Vogel’s suggestion, he and the Campus Life Resource Group will consider changing the date from Wednesday — a day which is “busy for most student” according to Vogel — to another day.

10:13| President of Josselyn House Dan Flynn’13 reports that Mr. Vassar went as planned. He motions to adjourn the council; the motion passes unanimously.

7:04 | Council is running late due to some last-minute changes to the agenda. It will begin in five minutes, according to Vice President President for Student Life Samin Shehab ’11. The additions to the agenda are all fund allocations.

7:12 | Council members are still waiting for the meeting to begin. Meanwhile, one of the VSA’s largest audiences of the year has assembled in the back of the room. Though Council meetings are open to the entire student body, they are usually poorly attended by non-Council members.

7:17 | The meeting is beginning. VSA President Mathew Leonard ’11 opens the meeting by jokingly condemning VPrint.

7:19 | The audience is generally made up of the members of organizations who are applying for funds tonight. The Council has moved fund applications up in the agenda so as not to waste the time of the various org members in attendance.

7:20 | Allocation of $1350 to Future Waitstaff of America (FWA): FWA will be putting up a production of “Reefer Madness.” They will be working with Vassar’s Ballroom Dance club to stage the shows large, partner dance number. FWA will also be producing “The Fantasticks” later in the semester. The organization will also be hosting a cabaret show on Saturday, Feb. 19, to raise funds.

Main House President Boyd Gardner ’12 moves to amend the allocation to $1850 due to some unexpected fees to FWA. The motion passes unanimously. The fund allocation passes unanimously.

7:36 | Allocation of $970 to Vassar EMS from the Conference Fund: VCEMS will be attending a national conference for collegiate emergency medical services. President of the Class of 2014 Michael Moore ’14 moves to raise the allocation to $1,170 to account for an increase in the lodging costs. The motion passes unanimously. The allocation passes.

7:47 | Allocation of $8,000 to Hip-Hop 101 from Council Discretionary: Hip-Hop 101 will be hosting their annual Throwback Jam, which welcomes attendees from Vassar and Poughkeepsie. President of the Class of 2013 Eli Berns-Zieve ’13 moves to amend the allocation to $10,000. There are some unknown costs, such as lighting, for the event, which has led Council to consider tabling the motion, though no one has made a formal motion to table it. The amendment to the allocation passes.

President of Town Students Maya Acevedo ’11 moves to postpone the allocation. Some council members are concerned that if the amendment is postponed, Hip Hop 101 will not be able to make an offer to potential performers. As the largest unknown cost is lighting, the Council is attempting to parse the potential costs of lights so that the allocation may be passed tonight. The motion to postpone the allocation fails unanimously.

The fund allocation passes unanimously.

8:18 | Allocation of $5,000 to Asian Students Association (ASA) from the Speakers and Lecturers Fund: This year, ASA’s annual conference will focus on gender and sexuality in Asian Americans. The allocation passes unanimously.

8:30 | Allocation of $5,000 to Vassar Greens from Council Discretionary: The Greens are working on restructuring their organization completely. They have worked on a campaign to reduce the consumption of bottled water in favor of tap water. They are working on reducing waste on campus by opening a “free store,” and have been campaigning against an enlargement of the local incinerator. They are requesting funds to attend the biannual Power Shift conference in Washington, D.C. in April. President of Lathrop House Sam Garcia’13 points out that according to VSA’s bylaws, the governing body is not allowed to send more than 10 students to a conference; the Greens are planning to send 45 students.

Garcia motions to amend the allocation down to $3,800 in light of the VSA’s policy on sending students to conferences. Ferry House President Kate Dolson ’13 voices her support for the amendment, and says that it would be prudent to support it “keeping in mind that the VSA has to support other organizations as well.” VSA Vice President for Activities Tanay Tatum’12 asks the Greens if it is carrying out any amount of fundraising, to which representatives of the organizations report that they are planning to sell free-trade coffee that has been donated to them. The motion for the amendment passes.

The motion to allocate $3,800 to the Vassar Greens passes by vote of 18-3-1.

9:08| The Council has now entered a five-minute recess.

9:14| Council members have begun convening after the recess.

9:17| Executive Board Reports :

Academics Report

VSA Vice President for Academics Laura Riker ’11 informs Council that the application for mini courses has been prepared. She also reports that the Committee on Curricular Policies is reducing its size to six student members in an attempt to increase efficiency.

President’s Report

VSA President Mat Leonard’11 reports that the Vassar Board of Trustees will meet in February to approve the budget.He adds that he and VSA Vice President for Operations Ruby Cramer’12 will be in touch with the Governance Review Steering Committee, and will be representing student opinion on shared governance. He congratulates the Senior Class and Noyes House on the events they hosted this weekend.

Operations Report

Cramer and VSA Vice President for Student Life Samin Shehab’12 will create two new committees: one on Elections, and one on revising the VSA’s “internal structure.” The Operations Committee has been working on reviewing the VSA’s governing documents; “we have wholly-modified our constitution,” said Cramer. The Committee also aims to purge inconsistencies within the documents. Cramer and the President’s student assistants are working on a set of panels that President of the College Catharine Bond Hill will host in place of Town Halls; the topics will include financial aid, capital projects, campus dinning, academics and the relationship between Vassar and the economy. The date and times are not fixed, and are dependent on the panelists’ schedule. She announces that Mind the Gap is on Thursday, Feb. 17.

She has now asked the Class of 2011 President Moe Byrne’11 to talk about the 2011 All-School Gift. “Development and the senior class are very interested in developing a sense of philanthropy among the student body,” she added. “Our goal is to send the message that the Class of 2011 really believes in sustainability,” she said.

9:36| Open Discussion: There are 98 days left to graduation.

Garcia: “I’m a little uncomfortable with what happened with the greens. If it’s a conference, we should only send 10 people.” Riker disagrees: “It’s more than a conference; it’s also a rally.” Shehab agrees with Riker, and says the event that the Vassar Greens wanted to attend was not technically defined as a “conference.”

Noyes House President Jenna Konstantine ’13 congratulates the organizers of her event Day-Glo Today, and reports that there were no Emergency Medical Services calls to the event. Konstantine says that her House Team brought up redundancies in Council’s discussions, and Leonard responds by saying that he may impose a rule that allows students to speak only twice on issues. Finally Konstantine brings up last Sunday’s council: “I feel like the way people conducted the meeting was a little bit obnoxious. Things just didn’t happen. If getting out of the meeting is so important that you have to physically prompt people to leave, send a proxy. I appreciate the Superbowl was happening…but we didn’t talk about anything.” Leonard: “The meeting was not held as it was supposed to.”

Byrne says that the “Senior Class has had a crazy, crazy weekend.” The class hosted the Faculty-Student Basketball Game, a night at Mahoney’s and the annual 100-Nights celebration. She reports that Saftey and Security refused entry to students into the Villard Room as Aramark was late to the event. “I controlled the crowd,” which she found inappropriate as “security just sat at the door and did absolutely nothing.”

Edwards makes a motion to move $500 from the Council Discretionary Fund to the Student Seminar fund, a pilot program that allows for student-taught mini courses. The fund will roughly provide for $5 per student. The motion passes unanimously.

Class of 2012 Pamela Vogel’12 commends everybody on the lengthy budget allocations and believes that “it’s important that [organizations] see that we treat all of our constituents with equal scrutiny.”

10:08| Davison House President Michael Thottam’12 moves to adjourn the meeting. The motion passes.

7:05 | Forum with Director of Safety and Security Don Marsala: “You probably heard that we caught the suspects in the series of incidents,” says Marsala.

Marsala says that the suspect was caught as a result of two calls from students. Right now the suspect is sitting in jail on a different arrest warrant and will actually have to get out before the College is able to arrest him on the crimes committed at Vassar.

Safety and Security officers are required by the state to have an eight-hour class every year, which Marsala and Kim Squillace teach to make it more Vassar-specific.

7:08 | Josselyn House President Dan Flynn ’13 asks about the ability of Safety and Security to handle large crowds, specifically referencing the unruly crowd at this semester’s Shiva Rave.

“We discourage large crowds just for that reason,” says Marsala. According to Marsala, there are times when security is not able to handle the crowds because it becomes larger than expected.

“I think in planning our events, we need to be very cognizant of our talks with Fire Watch,” adds President of the Class of 2011 Moe Byrne ’11.

“If things get out of hand, we call the police,” says Marsala. “If it looks like it’s going to be a larger-than-normal group we might call outside contracts, but we haven’t had to do that in a number of years.”

7:13 | Marsala describes the two different kinds of e-mails that get sent from Safety and Security. Campus Advisory for somewhat less serious issues that students should be aware of, such as a string of thefts.

Campus Alerts are for “when there’s an immediate danger,” such as a sexual assault or someone “lurking” around the buildings. Marsala adds that he has not been able to send out an official e-mail about the arrest of sexual assault suspect because, while he is personally certain he is the perpetrator, he cannot be officially sure until they question the individual.

7:18 | “I think we had three go to the hospital this weekend,” says in response to a question about whether incidents of hospitalizations from intoxication have declined. “I think [Shuttle Driver] Rodney Young found two just driving around.”

Marsala does say that this represents a leveling out of incidents, but it still isn’t great.

7:21 | Marsala is describing incidents in the past several years. Since a series of thefts and other incidents, Marsala says he has asked Town of Poughkeepsie police officers to patrol the campus from time to time and has posted officers in the evenings at North Gate and Main Gate.

“It hasn’t affected the coverage [of dorms] at all,” says Marsala.

7:24 | President of Lathrop Samantha Garcia ’13 asks how officers respond to an incident like the recent assault given that it happened in a residence house rather than outside or on the periphery of campus. Marsala says that students need to help by not allowing “piggy-backing,” which allows strangers to get into a dorm after a student swipes in. However, if a student notices a suspicious person or stranger, Marsala says that they should call Safety and Security to investigate rather than address the situation themselves.

Garcia also voices a concern that Vassar College Entertainment (ViCE) staff had to take on a crowd-control role during the Shiva Rave. Marsala says that security thoroughly debriefed after the Shiva Rave to prepare for the future.

7:33 | “I just hope that strangers on campus aren’t immediately treated as criminals,” says South Commons President Brian Kim ’11.

Marsala says that is not the case at all. “That does not happen.”

7:35 | Byrne asks if there might be an increase in the number of parties allowed to be registered in each block of senior housing. Currently, students are allowed to register two parties in each group of housing: Terrace Apartments and Town Houses.

Marsala says that this has been a recurring problem. In the past the limit was five parties, and he says that this led to an overwhelming crowd scene each weekend.

7:39 | Vice President for Activities Tanay Tatum ’12 asks that Marsala includes crowd control in the next round of security training.

7:40 | “We have 24 full time officers, we used to have 27,” says Marsala. “We have 4 Sergeants; we used to have 3, so a little bit of a trade-off there.”  He says that this is a lot for a College of Vassar’s size.

“We have three cars rolling at all times, including a supervisor,” says Marsala.

“The biggest problem that most colleges have is retaining security officers,” says Marsala. “We don’t have that problem for some reason.”

“They have all different levels of experience,” says Marsala in response to a question about the required experience for Vassar’s security officers. “But once they have they have their New York State security license, they are allowed to come on.”

7:49 | Certification of HYPE: HYPE is a dance troupe that also teaches dance and uses dance in community outreach, says Tatum. According to HYPE’s members, the organization is a place for students who love to dance but may not have been able to get into FlyPeople or Vassar Repertory Dance Theater (VRDT). The organization is more about learning rather than performing. VSA President Mat Leonard ’11 moves to certify HYPE. The motion passes unanimously.

8:01 | Executive Report from Student Life: Vice President for Student Life Samin Shehab ’11 says that the Student Life Committee has submitted a draft of a Relationship Abuse charge to several administrators and is waiting for feedback.”We’ll have a busy next semester,” adds Shehab.

8:04 | Executive Report from Academics: Vice President for Academics Laura Riker ’11 says that she has been thinking about working on more communication between majors committees and Committee on Curricular Policy representatives.

8:06 | Course Repeat Policy Memorandum: Riker has introduced a memorandum endorsing a course repeat policy that would allow students to retake a course in their first three semesters in which they receive a D or lower. CCP passed this policy last month, and after the endorsement the faculty will have to vote on the policy before it becomes official.

8:10 | Open Discussion

8:11 | Vice President for Finance Travis Edwards is discussing the financing of a Sesquicentennial party at the beginning of next semester. The party will cost $10,000, and in order to finance it, Edwards says that the Council needs to vote to transfer the money from the Discretionary Fund into a special fund set up for the event. “All of this money is very much going into the production value of the event,” says Edwards.

There is no bylaw that specifically addresses how to transfer money between the VSA’s internal funds, which Edwards implies might be something the Council should address.

“As of right now, all of the DJs are going to be Vassar alumni,” says Tatum. “It’s going to be a really really big event.”

The motion to allocate $10,000 to the Sesqui Fund passes.

8:17 | Vice President for Operations Ruby Cramer ’12 is discussing “The Birthday Party” that the College is hosting on February 3, 2011. “We’re asking students to contribute their own baked creations to this event,” says Cramer. The cakes will be a part of a student cake competition.

8:29 | “I want to thank everyone for a wonderful semester,” says Leonard.

8:32 | Council is adjourned.

9:00 p.m.| Residents of the two dorm are arriving at the MPR. Hill and Roellke are present.

9:05| Roellke and Hill are waiting for students to finish dinner provided by the Dean of the College Division.

9:08| Hill introduces herself and Roellke. Hill: “It seems remarkably normal this year.” Roellke apologizes for missing the cancellation of a previously-scheduled Town Hall meeting. Roellke introduces his and Hill’s student interns.

9:10| Roellke “opens up the conversation for questions.”

9:11| Hill answers a question posed by Joesselyn House President Daniel Flynn ’13 about her summer. Hill mentioned that she travelled across the country meeting alumnae/i and other friends of the College. Roellke joked that he “did no work for the College.” He continued to talk about visiting sports games and spending time with his family.

9:15| Cory Epstein’13 asks Roellke about the banning of a high-alcohol-beverage “Four Loko.” Roellke said that the banning of a substance must go through the College’s joint-governance system. The ban, if one were to be placed, would come through students as well as the administration; more specifically, the item has been placed on the agenda of the Committee on College Life.

9:18| Roellke and Hill discuss the College’s plans for creating a space for “alternative” programming, one in which students who do not want to participate in activities that involve the consumption of alcohol can spend Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Roellke says that he is looking for ways to attract students to such a space.

9:22| Sophomore Paul Weinger asks Roellke about keeping Baldwin medical services open during the weekends. Roellke says that such plans are not going to be addressed in the near future. He qualifies that by saying that he prefers that students spend time at a professional hospital if they are in need of care.

9:24| Louise Dufresne ’13 asks Hill what she thinks about the budget cuts that the College has carried out, and “where [she] sees Vassar 5 years from now.” Hill said that there is a lot of uncertainty in the future, and that an upwards trend in the College’s finances is contingent on the improving health of the economy. “We are fairly hopeful that we’ll get it right, economically,” Hill commented. Roellke said that, at least in the Dean of the College Division, the “economic downturn was an opportunity” for the Division to rethink its structure and streamline to create certain natural efficiencies that would not have  been realized under normal economic conditions.

9:31| Roellke and Hill are asked about the “future of campus dining,” and the lack of “quality and quantity” thereof. Roellke says that “we are still working out the kinks” in Campus Dining. Roellke stresses his commitment to improving the quality of Campus Dining along with the Food Committee. “We’re on it,” concluded Roellke. Roellke also commented that the College is most likely going to renew its five-year contract with Aramark, Vassar’s catering partner.

9:40| Epstein asks Hill what the one thing she would like people on tours at Vassar to know about the institution. Hill said that “talking about the quality of the intellectual activity at Vassar” is a very important element of the Vassar experience to share with those on tour.

9:42| Davison House President Michael Thottam ’12 asks Roellke about certain unused spaces on campus. Roellke said that there will be intermittent use of such spaces as programming allows. He continued to say that a number of options are being revisited, but most changes are dependent on the economic climate the College will find itself in the future.

9:46| Flynn asks Roellke and Hill how the students will be impacted by the College’s Sesquicentennial. Hill said the College has tried to structure the “sesquibrations” around the already-existing programming. Co-Chair of the Sesquicentennial Student Advisory Committee and Vassar Student Association Vice President for Activities Tanay Tatum ’12 informs the gathering about the events that are planned for the upcoming calendar year. For more details, see the Miscellany News article on the topic.

9:55| An audience member commented on the fact that Vassar’s Career Development Office  (CDO) “is lagging.” To this, Hill informed the gathering that the College is in conversation with alumnae/i about increasing their bond with current students. Roellke commended the CDO and said that, during his time at Vassar, he has seen the CDO carry out some “impressive” programming. “I hear you, and I think that there is potential [for improvement],” said Roellke, optimistic about the future of the Office based on current efforts.

10:01| As there were no more questions, Hill thanked everyone for attending and participating in the meeting.

8:00 p.m.| The Vassar Student Association (VSA) Executive Board is still waiting for all the candidates to arrive before starting the debate.

8: 10| The candidates have taken their seats on stage. Adrienne Kurtz and Thomas Rafferty are not present. VSA President Mat Leonard ’11 is welcoming Turpin as moderator.

8:12:| Turpin asks all the candidates how tthey will represent their constituency, and how they will bring their constituents’ opinions to VSA Council. Thompson: “I will communicate through e-mail and Facebook.” Moore: “I will try and go dorm-to-dorm to increase face-to-face communication with my constituents.” Lester: “I will not send out too many e-mails. Not everyone has Facebook, and that’s why I would set up events outside the [All Campus Dining Center] to increase face-to-face communication as well.” Parlak: “Throughout the year, I will try to make myself available. I want to spend my time to get to know everyone in the Class of 2014.”

8:18| Turpin asks Lester how he plans to add to the already-existing student organizations on campus, as he mentioned in his statement. Lester: “There should be an easier way for students to do what they like to do, even if they don’t get into the groups they wanted to; there are a lot of people who deserve to get into groups but didn’t make it. That’s why, there should be more than 120 student organizations already present.”

8:20| Turpin asks Moore how he plans to improve Vassar-Pougheepsie relations. Moore: “I would work with organizations like Hunger Action…and make sure freshmen have access to these organizations” that provide opportunities for students to go out into the Poughkeepsie community.

8:24| Turpin asks Periera how she plans to foster community spirit. Periera: “I think getting the houses to interact more and making people comfortable venturing into other dorms is something I can do.” Periera also focussed on improving campus programming to appeal to all students and not just a limited few.

8:26| Turpin asks Petrarca how she will overcome the fact that she – as mentioned in her statement – isn’t very well acquainted with Vassar. Petrarca: “I think if I showed up at a VSA meeting, I would have no idea how to change things.” Petrarca hoped to “learn from her elders” at Vassar and absorb as much as she can.

8:30| Turpin asks all candidates how they will help their classmates celebrate the College’s Sesquicentennial.Thompson: “I think that we should do some big freshmen event like a carnival and a fair, where there would be a lot going on.” Moore: The freshmen presence must be strongly felt in the celebrations. Lester proposes a “Welcome-Back” carnival in January. Parlak: “To be honest, I have no idea, but I’m open to suggestions. I am glad that the freshmen class is here for the celebration, though.”

8:36| Turpin asks the candidates what the freshman class should know about the candidates. Thompson: “I love the color black. I always wanted to ride a lama. I’ve always been a person who’s open to meeting other people.” Thomspson says she’s a good listener and would love to hear other people and what they need. Moore: “Lion King is my favorite movie ever.” Moore explains “Servant Leadership” — a concept that implies that leaders work “at the same level” at its constituents, and one he has been exposed to and wished to implement in he tenure. Moore also adds that he “has the ability to listen.” Periera: “I am very friendly and I love talking to people.” Petrarca: “I am obsessed with student government; I will work really really hard if I’m elected. I hate when people make jokes about [student government.]” Lester: “I like Harry Potter things.” Lester adds that as president, he doesn’t want to be “the guy that leads people,” adding that he can “help [the class of 2014] to get to their goals and be there for them.” Parlak:”I’m half Turkish and half Greek, and I think this is the reason I thrive so well here and this is what makes me diverse.” As a leader, Parlak says “she’s objective and a hard worker,” and that she is “willing to sacrifice her free time” to work on her duties as President

8:46| Leonard asks the candidates what they would do if an issue of personal importance comes to VSA Council. Thomson: “I would do what’s best for my class and not myself.” Moore: “You represent your class’s voice, and that is the priority. But I wouldn’t say you have to be necessarily separated.” Periara: “Within a government, you have to separate yourself from an issue emotionally and look at it logically.” Petrarca: “It comes down to the president to decide what [he or she] thinks is right” by interpreting and processing various opinions.” Lester: “I would abstain to vote if I feel strongly about the issue.” Parlak: “I will make sure that the voice of my class is heard, and not mine.”

8:51| VSA Vice President for Student Life Samin Shehab ’11 asks candidates what they feel is the biggest issue at Vassar. Petrarca: “Food.” Moore: “I will increase involvement and dedication.” Thompson would “help student balance their activities and reduce stress.” Periera: “I think we need to get everyone to be united and everyone needs to be a part of what Vassar does.” Lester: “I concur, food.” Parlak would focus on solving the problem of alcohol abuse.

8:59| An audience member asks the candidates what they feel would be their biggest weakness. Thompson mentions that balancing her time would be a weakness for her, but she would try her best to work on it. Moore says the biggest problem for him would be “removing himself emotionally from an issue.” Periera says that “taking on a lot of things at once” would be her biggest weakness. Petrarca says that she feels she will face a problem with delegation of duties. Lester says that his weakness would be to acquainted with Robert’s Rule of Order, and that he would feel “out of place” — initially — at VSA Council meetings. Parlak thinks that, were she elected, she “would have no social life.”

9:01| Turpin thanks everyone for attending the debate.

7:04 | Report from Director of ViCE Peter Denny ’10 about the Flaming Lips concert. According to Denny, several restaurants reported excellent business on the night of the concert April 17.

ViCE “more than broke even” in ticket sales, Denny say.ViCE earned about $3000 from the concert, though they are still calculating the final amount, and ViCE still has upcoming events, which some of the money will go towards.

7:14 | Report from Vice President for Operations Brian Farkas ’10: The 2010 Endowed Scholarship Fund has reached its goal and is on route to exceed it, he says.  The senior class will be hosting a panel discussion called “Why Do We Need Financial Aid” on Thursday, April 29.

The VSA elections results party will be in the Retreat tomorrow, April 26, at 8 p.m.

7:17 | Report from VSA President Caitlin Ly ’10: “The College is close to an agreement with the county bus line.” The College will no longer run the campus shuttle during the week, but the VSA will continue to fund a weekend shuttle possibly on a more limited schedule. The county bus would not run students directly to the mall or to Stop&Shop, which the weekend shuttle will do.

The Old Laundry Building will be empty next year after development moves. As of right now, the space will be swing space–mostly office space–but the President is arguing for security to move into the building to have a presence in the center of campus or for the Computer Science Department to move onto the first floor.

7:24 | Decertification of Catalyst: “More of a merger than a decertification,” says Vice President for Activities Aaron Grober  ’11. The magazine Catalyst will become the publication of the Student Activist Union.

7:25 | Decertification of the Investment Club: The Investment Club will be joining with the Entrepreneurs Club.

7:26 | Decertification of Red Panda: The Red Panda humor magazine has not published this year, and they have not indicated any plans to publish, says Grober.

7:28 | Vice President for Academics Stephanie Damon-Moore ’11 is introducing a referenda. The referenda will ask students whether they would prefer to call ‘correlate sequences’ ‘minors.’

The argument is that many employers do not recognize correlates on students’ resumes and the when students come to Vassar they don’t understand what a correlate is and how it differs from a minor at other colleges. According to Damon-Moore, minors already differ amongst colleges and universities.

The Council is debating whether to include an explanation of what a correlate is. Damon-Moore says that she wants to understand how students already understand the distinction between correlate and minor.

7:48 | Allocation of $1250 from the Conference Fund to Christian Fellowship is unanimously approved.

7:50 | Allocation of $1500 from Collaboration to Town Houses for their music event “In Da Circle.”

7:53 | Open discussion.

7:01 | The President introduces special guest Peter Leonard, Director of Field Work. “We have a lot of stuff going on in Field Work, but internally our project is academic field work. For the last 60 years we’ve ben doing it. We excel at it and we do it better than other schools, and we do it for structural reasons,” says Leonard.

7:05 | Leonard: “This semester we have 303 students doing field work, and that’s a lot. Throughout the year, we have over 600 students. Looking at that every year, we’ll have at least 65-70 percent of students graduating having completed some kind of field work.”7:23 | Raymond asks how Leonard thinks the Poughkeepsie community has reacted to Vassar’s initiatives in Field Work. Leonard: “One of the things about Poughkeepsie that is astonishing to me is how open people are not only to us, but to each other. There’s a surprising openness here. I think there’s a curiosity about Vassar as an institution, and that works out very well for us. That’s been a thrilling part of working with Field Work.”

7:48 | Student Life moves to endorse the Sustainability proposal introduced to Council last week. Motion passes unanimously. Academics moves to endorse the SAVP proposal introduced to Council last week. Motion passes unanimously.