General Assembly

Minutes from November 9th, 2005

Download Mission Initiative (PowerPoint): Mission Initiative Power Point

See the Original 18 point plan: 18 Point Plan

Occidental College

ASOC General Assembly

Forum Minutes

November 9th, 2005
Notes by Grace Canby

 

 

Matt Kuzio, General Assembly Co-Chair, welcomed everyone to the official student forum. The General Assembly is a place for students to bring up issues and policy change. The General Assembly recognizes that the student body is one of many forums that form the community. This is a forum for students to work with other students and administrators.

Katie Orme introduced the two student applicants who were appointed to the Honor Board Committee. They are Rourke Harrington and Rachel Johnson.

Voting of Proposals from Previous Weeks

Don Hammond summarized the text of his proposal to the General Assembly. He said that his basic goal was to let students know what they did wrong during an interview process if they were not given a job/position on campus. This also allows students to know what is going on in the administration on campus. (The full text of this proposal can be read online)

Caroline Kim asked student run departments fell under the category of departments that would have to follow this proposal.

Don Hammond responded by saying that student run departments did fall under this category and would have to offer students a chance to go over their interview process with student service heads.

Patrice Hall asked if this applied to ASOC senate positions. She wanted to know if the senate would have to inform all students that didn’t receive a position.

Kenna Cottrill emphasized that fact that it is the student’s decision to take part in this process. If a student does not want to have a meeting about their failed interview/application they do not have to.

Dane Muckler brought up the issue that the debriefing should be the norm and it is up to the student to decline this offer.

Vote on proposal: 30-5-10

Matt Kuzio introduced the second proposal from Don Hammond. This proposal specifically applies to the administration. He gave an example by saying that if a student does not get a position to work for the philosophy department the student would have the option to meet with a member of this department and discuss why they did not receive the position.

Jake Stevens asked if a committee could be formed by the senate or the GA to look into this proposal some more.

Matt Kuzio clarified that a committee was not specified in the proposal. The GA could take names after the meeting has ended of those who were interested in being a part of a committee.

Kara Abelson said that this committee could be formed in a similar way to the alcohol committee. An email could be sent out to the entire student body and those that responded with interest could be selected to participate.

Matt Kuzio said that it was in the GA bylaws to appoint a committee.

There was a tie in the voting on this proposal.

Kara Abelson asked for some justification for why some voted the way they did.

Don Hammond stated that this was exactly like what was passed in the first proposal. Only now it applied to the administration instead of the student departments.

Caroline Kim asked for the full text of the proposal to be read aloud.

Matt Kuzio read the full text of this proposal. (Full text can be viewed online)

Reid Mettler asked what the meeting with the administrator meant.

Matt Kuzio explained that this meant the student and administrator would sit down and debrief. The administrator needs to sit down and give advice for further interviewing processes. This gives the opportunity for students to improve interviewing skills for real job situations.

Don Hammond said that this process was to help students improve their interviewing skills.

Kyna Shilling wanted to know about a student that just wasn’t qualified for the job.

Matt Kuzio said that the important idea is that the student can decline debriefing. Email can be sent and the student can choose to respond.

Don Hammond answered Kyna’s question by saying that an under qualified student could go over what would make them a better candidate for the position.

Ali Raymond wanted to know if there could be a test run of the first proposal to see how it works. If it is successful for student departments then the GA could return to this proposal.

Matt Kuzio said that we needed to focus on if this was going to be passed tonight, not later on.

Caroline Kim asked if anyone had conversed with a member of the administration about this debriefing idea. She felt that there should be a discussion with administration members and then a discussion to see if it would work.

Don Hammond said that he had discussed this idea with various administrators over the past few years and that this proposal would just make it a formal request from the student body.

Caroline Kim felt that this proposal did not effectively voice the concerns of the entire student body.

Devon Puglia said that it is not the administrator’s responsibility to debrief everyone. But the administration is accountable to the students. There is nothing bad that can come out of this resolution. If someone wants constructive feedback, they can benefit from this.

Emme Haiken brought up the point that if a student wanted a debriefing they could just ask for it. She thought that the mandatory email was a waste of time.

Don Hammond responded to this statement that a professor could say no to a student. A student might want a debriefing and the professor could decline a meeting.

Emme Haiken asked if this had ever happened before.

Don Hammond responded by saying that he had not heard of it occurring but, if it did he was sure that the general student body would not hear about it.

Kether Hayden wanted to know about the financial cost and time that would go into this.

Don Hammond said that there would be not cost. It is just a short meeting that takes minimal time.

Fallon Christian brought up the idea of hundreds of students applying for only a few positions. She used the newspaper as an example. Over 100 students apply for 15 positions and it would take forever to send email and hold meetings.

Matt Kuzio asked for another vote.

Vote on 2nd proposal: 21-9-28

Matt Kuzio moved the meeting on to the next proposal. He reminded Dane Muckler that he only had 7 minutes before the Mission Initiative presentation would be made. He told Dane that he could wait until next week and then vote or he could talk quickly and vote.

Dane Muckler deferred to the next proposal. He would like more time to explain his proposal further.

Benna Gottfried read her proposal out loud. (Full text can be read online) This proposal is in reaction to the original resolution that Ken Smutny proposed and it is trying to work with student life and administration. This proposal is basically asking for student services to be able to use additional money that they make during that year. Student services shouldn’t have to wait until the next budgetary year to spend the money.

Dane Muckler agreed with the resolution and thought it should be passed.

Devon Puglia also agreed that this proposal should be passed. He wanted to know if it could be added that the committee presented in the resolution be elected by the GA.

Matt Kuzio said that was Benna’s decision. If Benna makes this an open resolution a vote would have to wait until the next GA meeting.

Jake Stevens wanted to know more about the formation of the committee. He asked if the GA would appoint a committee or if it would be an open application process.

Matt Kuzio said that elections could be held, but there would be no commitment to this idea right now.

Patrice Hall asked Benna if members of the student service departments would serve on this committee or if it could be open to anyone.

Benna Gottfried responded and said that she hoped those on the committee would have come background with budget issues. She said that she would not be able to be on the committee because she would be abroad next semester, but anyone with financial background would be nice. She didn’t create a way to form a committee and this leaves it open to the GA to decide who will be appointed.

Matt Kuzio agreed that it was the GA’s decision. New elections will take place in a few weeks but if it is said that this needs to be a student-wide election, then that is what will occur.

Don Hammond said that it would be a good idea to consult with the author of this resolution when the committee was being formed.

Vote: 46-0-16

Mission Initiative Presentation

A video of last year’s town hall was shown. The town hall was to alert the entire campus of discrimination that has occurred over the years in classes, on sports teams and in social life.

Kara Abelson reminded students that if they needed to step outside to calm down, they could. She asked students to keep this part of the GA meeting orderly.

Doctor Meada presented the progress of the administration. She told those at the meeting, for those that didn’t know who she was, that she is a professor in the religious studies department. She felt emotional while watching the video from last year’s town hall. She thanked everyone who has worked on the mission initiatives and for all those that are still working to have them realized. She talked about the mission initiatives from last year and the work that has happened since the end of last year.

Campus adopted a multicultural mission in 1983 because the school needed to appeal to a different population of students. For others this was a mission that was needed because current issues. The mission set out a way for the school to change its culture, curriculum and overall atmosphere. The actions of students last year show that the school has not been working hard enough on the mission since 1983. The school has to do a better job when it comes to these issues. The students working with President Mitchell last year and President Chan this year came up with an 18 point plan. All 18 points have not yet been realized, but the 18 points are well on their way. There is also much more beyond the 18 points that needs to be realized.

(Dr. Meada gave a PowerPoint presentation addressing her points in detail)

Goals of the mission initiatives: engage all areas of campus to think about their roles in changing the atmosphere on campus

Different Components:

Other Items from the 18 point initiatives:

Dr. Meada addressed the fact that some of the 18 points, such as orientation and open forums, were not discussed but are being worked on. She then opened the GA up to questions from students.

Ken Smutny asked about the process to approve a new department. He wanted to know what that system might look like.

Dr. Meada answered by saying that a new department had not been formed for some time. The school is looking at the Asian studies departments as an example. There are still questions about the formation process, but there isn’t a definitive process.

Ali Raymond asked for an elaboration on the ombudsperson.

Dr. Meada said that the job of this current ombudsperson is to define the role. There has been a lot of research about what this position can and can not be. The ombudsperson has mapped out how it will work. She has some final meetings and then will make a more formal presentation of her findings.

President Chan addressed the fact that she (the ombudsperson) had gone through lots of training and in the last 3 months had prepared a detailed description of her role.

Matt Kuzio said that this was now a good time to transition to President Chan.

President Chan said that he was very serious about this mission. He said that he has waited his entire career for an opportunity like this. He then opened the meeting to questions from students.

Tope Sosonya asked how the mission initiatives might affect the process of selecting a new permanent president for the college.

President Chan said that these initiatives will be a big part of what the selectors will be looking for. He will be out of the discussion because he is serving as president right now. Students, faculty and administrators need to ask that candidates about their background in these issues.

Ken Smutny asked how the mission initiatives will be integrated into the capital campaign. He wanted to know if resources had been redirected.

President Chan said that 65% of what is needed by the school is from tuition, the rest is from the endowment and donations. Donors are very interested in the mission initiatives and might direct some of their funds to further this process. But there has to be a balance between what can and can not be funded.

Devon Puglia started out by saying that he is an advocate to disband Pauley because it would provide for more interaction on campus. He asked President Chan to discuss what he thought about this.

President Chan said that he has no intention of disbanding Pauley. He thinks that Pauley is an example of the best residence hall on campus. The main reason he will keep it intact is because the people who live there love it. He hoped that other residences halls the same feelings about where they live. When students say that those living in Pauley are segregated just isn’t correct. All residence halls on campus are diverse, but Pauley residents are deeply committed to these ideas. The Women’s Center is similar to Pauley in this regard. He recognized that there is a disagreement about Pauley, but it is open to everyone on campus. There are also other places on campus that are open areas for discussion. Pauley is a strong part of this school.

Christina Wong asked about funding for the SSAP. She wanted to know if there would be funding this year or next year. And if not during one of those periods, then when? She also wanted to know what the opportunities for students to help this process were.

President Chan said that this should be an effort of the students and the faculty. The school is beginning to see results and later this semester proposals will be addressed. Numbers have to be put on the funding. A million will take time…but a more modest sum wont take as long. He reminded students that donors liked it when they were involved in the process of change.

Christina Wong wanted to know what Occidental can do right now to help the current students of the SSAP.

President Chan said that this was a difficult question to answer. To get specifics about this ask a faculty member that is in charge. He couldn’t give a specific answer.

Donald Johnson said that President Chan said that there are faculty that are supportive of the SSAP, he wanted specifics.

President Chan said that there were many faculty that were in support of this.

Don Johnson said that there is an issue about coordination between faculty members.

President Chan agreed that this needed to be worked on. Communication all over campus needs to be improved. If the school is spending money on things that need to be improved, this should be addressed.

Tamara Shogaolu asked about the funding of the SSAP program. She said that a lot of students are volunteering their time to this issue and she was wondering if a paid position to oversee this was possible.

President Chan said there needs to be a proposal and it is being worked on. He is not opposed to anything related to this, but the school hasn’t had enough experience to go off of.

Ken Smutny wanted to know if there has been any discussion about a gender neutral living environment.

President Chan said that discussion has occurred and that it has been very complicated and interesting. The administrators/faculty will remain neutral until the students figure out how this should be approached. The whole idea sounds much easier than it would be to implement. It affects the way the entire student body lives together.

George Simpson asked if this was just a matter of putting together a proposal and then getting the appropriate levels of approval.

President Chan said that he wanted students to discussion this issue. Once a proposal is formed it will go to the student affairs staff and then will work with it. Then it goes to the vice presidents and to Chan.

Siobhan Heard asked about the process that was now under way of the WSGS/anthropology departments being absorbed into the new department.

President Chan said that the anthropology department will be renamed but the WSGS department will not be absorbed. He was embarrassed about the state of our women’s studies program. He said that the school needs to figure out what the women’s studies program and what the gender studies program should be.

Michael Kaiser-Nyman asked about the efforts of the administration to increase communication with the entire student body.

President Chan said there is a web site hidden deep within the Occidental site that needs to be improved. He was reluctant to write news letters because they are intensive and take a lot of time. He would like to hold open meetings, like this one, every so often. He would like to be on facebook, but he though it would be an intrusion on a student community.

Most of the GA agreed that he should be a member of the facebook community.

Devon Puglia said that most of the discrimination that has been addressed has been about sexual orientation, race and gender. He wanted to know about political discrimination, especially those with conservative views.

President Chan thought that when there were open dialogues the school forgets about the silencing of political and religious views. He sees violent email being sent to some political groups. He agreed that the school has not done much about this. He wanted to have an open and honest community and wanted to invite all kinds of voices and backgrounds. But when this has been done in the past very few people came, there was a silencing by boycotting.

Devon Puglia asked if the concerned students should approach him to discuss this matter personally.

President Chan encouraged this.

Caroline Kim said that lots of ADHOC groups are being formed and wanted to know what was being done by the higher ups to ensure that work will continue.

President Chan said that Dr. Meada’s advisory group is very conscious about getting in tune with feelings of the campus. It is hard to institutionalize a revolution but the administration is keeping at the idea of keeping the mission moving and letting it evolve.

Tuan Ngo asked about the core program. He thought it was behind the times and wondered if there could be a program that taught students about diversity.

President Chan thought that this was difficult to implement in the frosh program. He thought it should be done later on in the college years, but he didn’t know when exactly. He said that there is a discussion about this right now.

Kether Hayden wanted to address what Devon Puglia had brought up earlier. She viewed this mission of the initiatives was to promote issues of diversity and acceptance. She though that issues of politics and intimidation should be addressed in this discussion. She thought that politics should be included.

President Chan said that he felt there need to be ways to allow open political dialogue. There is no single view on campus, and he sees that students are feeling left out.

Philip Arsenis thought that diversity was all about points of view and conservatives bring diversity. He wanted to know how the college is planning to expand women’s/men’s studies.

President Chan said that this question incorporates a lot of different issues. He was hesitant to answer because there is a discussion currently going on about this issue and he didn’t want to jump the gun.

Ali Raymond recognized that as interim president it was difficult to give definitive statements, but she wanted to hear how President Chan thought Occidental should be run keeping diversity in mind.

President Chan wanted smaller classes, good faculty, and good students. But, given a fine campus, faculty and students he thought that Occidental had a very diverse campus (geography, sex, race, and class). This still doesn’t mean that we can talk easily amongst ourselves. What he is passionate about is that the campus learns how to talk across boundaries. It is a little more real that other things we have discussed. But the larger picture for him is to get everyone talking about what the school hasn’t been able to discuss. He asked if a discussion couldn’t happen in this environment he wanted to know where it could occur.

Donald Johnson asked about equity pertaining to academics. He gave an example of the MCAT classes. These cost a good deal of money and he wanted to know what could be done for students that couldn’t afford them.

President Chan said that he wanted a level playing field but there are still inequalities that need to be addressed. If the college can help in any way, it will. But, sometimes, the college can not afford to fund everything that comes its way. A donor to help this cause would be great, but if not, a loan could be worked out. The college needs to press itself on that goal, but there is still a long way to go.

Jenna Lippiklein brought up the issue that it has been shown that SAT scores correlate with family income. She wanted to know how the college as going to take this into account when determining merit.

President Chan wanted to start out by saying that every admissions office asks for SAT scores. But he emphasized that admissions looks at much more than just scores. We read, and re-read and interview. The college picks an interesting class for students to interact with. On the broader scale those will very low scores probably wont make it in the academic environment, but everyone attending the school right how can do the work given to them.

Jenna Lippiklein wanted to know how the college is looking at merit.

President Chan said through teacher recommendations, writing samples and grades.

Jenna Lippiklein wanted to know about the ISP.

President Chan said that the school gets graded every year on who they bring in. There is a lot of motivation to diversify the campus. For instance there are fly-in programs that many students participate in.

Matt Kuzio ended the meeting by saying that he wanted students to consider everything that had been heard tonight.

End of Meeting