General Assembly
Minutes from November 2, 2006, 12:00
Download Word File: Minutes-11-2-06 12:00
Associated Students of Occidental College
General Assembly Minutes
November 2nd, 2006
12:00-1:30, J200
Minutes by Chelsey Brack
Senate Members Present: Andrew DeBlock, Matt Kuzio, Alison Dempsey, Ayesha Khan, Max Thoman-Tedford, Amy Laslett, John Wilson, Konstantin Chaykovskiy, Mike Myers, Teddy Zhou, Patrick McCredie.
Guests Present: Shannon Howlett, Brett Ory, Philip Grasso, Laura Smith-Heimer, Liana Rose Tobin, Christopher Mantik, Alison Eisel, Vanessa Robinson, Debbie Afar, Will Carlson, Katie DeMocker, Daniel Landesman, Sam Pena, Sarah DeNicola, Sonia Huizar, Ashley Lim, Michael Heffner, Rachel Kay, Ariana de Lena, Benna Gottfried, Ryan Cassutt, Tahanee Fisher, Zack Lundgren, Kelly Hasegawa, Owen Thomas, Juan Lugo, Sonya Reese, Katie Nelson, Liz Speidel, Erica Fick, Jacob Stevens, Eric Roddie, CJ Robertson, Roni Harrington, Henry McMillan, Logan Brown, Rob Theofanis, Riley Steiner, Richard Kerr, David Fong, Vince Karlen, Meagan Colvin, Nathalie Morrison, Justin Gunn, Brittany Sanders, Kate Fudosova, Shannon Hurley, Spencer Smith, Sophia Smith, Ken Smutny, Chelsey Brack (51).
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Patrice Hall and Katie Orme opened the meeting at 12:09 PM.
Katie and Patrice 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.
1. Chief Information Officer of ITS, Pamela McQuesten
Pam McQuesten introduced herself, saying she has been at Oxy since the middle of September, and is enjoying herself here. She has been a member of the faculty at California State Pomona, University of Texas at Austin, and has also worked for Apple and McGraw-Hill. She said she would like to talk, answer any questions the students have. She stressed that would like the students to help her “build a vision” about how technology is part of our lives and how important it is to us as students and as residents on campus in the grand scheme of being students at Oxy. She said she wants to make a plan about where we're headed, where we're going to go in the future. She wants students to help her understand how students want technology to play a role in their lives. She then proceeded to open up the floor for questions.
A Student brought up the speed of the network in the residence halls, asking what its status is, and Pam answered that the wireless connection is not as good as the wired connection. There have been throttles put on to networks that have to do with downloading materials. She said she has been getting letters about illegal downloading, and the way we stay legal is by saying that our students are not doing it because of the way the network is configured. She asked if it is sufficient for the students.
He said that a lot of his friends have gotten Mac Books which include iChat, but none of the audio/visual features work on the Mac Books when connected through the Oxy network. Pam told him to call the Help Desk and register that information. She said that recently the first meeting of Mac users with staff occurred at which information came out that they are moving slowly about it because no one on the staff knows much about Mac's, but that they are working on it. Pam said she knows that the students need to be able to configure things so we can use the cameras on the Mac Books.
Max Thoman-Tedford talked about how the server for the internet goes down rather frequently, when he is in his room on his computer simply checking Oxy Webmail, etc. He said that if it standard, then no problem, but wanted to know what the standard is and if the server status is normal. Pam answered that a couple of things are currently happening with internet: Oxy has one pipe, one connection to the internet, and it was funded in February 2006 to build an alternate pipe not so much to fix our connection, but was implemented to make the connection better. She said that she is not sure what would have gone wrong with the connection. The Connection is being updated multiple times a day because of bad viruses, and when other internet companies get bugs/viruses and we're connected to them, we receive the virus as well, which causes problems with the server.
Alison Eisel asked about Registration time here at Oxy when everyone is on the computers, bring up the prolonged time it takes for people to log on and log off. She wanted to know if something is going to be done about it that prolonged, annoying amount of time. Pam asked if the long amount it time it takes to log on and log off during Registration happens every year, and Alison answered that it typically takes a long time to log on during Registration, and any other day. Alison asked if the problem is possibly with the connection in the library, Pam answered that she knows there is a problem with the Internet Content Management System this year, that the problem was fixed, but what Alison is referring to may be a different problem.
Sam Pena brought up how these days all of the professors want projects and papers to be submitted for deadlines through internet, but many students want to do other forms of submitting their work. Separately, when professors want to show a movie but there is no movie player in the classroom, they have to use different classroom or at a different time, and thus he thinks technology plays a very large part in the lives of the students here at Oxy. Pam went on to say that if she were to turn that into a vision, a solution for the problem, only about 90% of classrooms are capable, so more opportunities for students to use technology for their projects could be offered.
Riley Steiner said that she would like to see some sort of workshops or training sessions to learn how to effectively learn how to communicate information in general. Possibly Pam’s department? The training sessions would be very useful for students. Pam answered that she would look into that, and advocated for PowerPoint as a means of creating projects and communicating information for students
Ayesha Kahn asked about implementing a web design class at Oxy, saying that it would help our education as well. She said that we're going to need web design skills in the next couple years to get any type of job, and a class could be offered here possible credit like other classes here. She said that it would be really helpful, and would integrate computers more into our education Pam said that a web design class would be less of an academic class than the institution would like to give credit for, but agreed that it would be useful to have this.
Anna Lulejian, Upper Area Campus Coordinator, brought up the discussion boards that are online, how quizzes/assignments may be posted online, and said that the faculty has expressed interest in being more internet-based. Students can access the class on their own time, as well as have discussions online. A discussion board was posted and used for Siobhan Darrow's book, and the site count showed that many people interested and took advantage of it. Pam added onto Ms. Lulejian’s introduction, asking about students having blackboard sites . She asked what kinds of functionality we would want available on blackboard sites to everyone. for class sites, educational sites
Mike Heffner said that he spends a lot of time with blackboard, and that almost every one of his professors have used it for grading or announcements. For example, his Physics class had online quizzes. He said he thinks blackboard is effective, but that he has only seen the discussion board feature used maybe once. He said that especially at a school this small, the professors are very available, and so he doesn’t think discussion boards would be that useful.
Alison Eisel suggested a possible training session for professors so they know how to use blackboard and discussion boards online for classes. She said that as far as discussion sites go, the Moodle site is awesome. Pam asked her why it was, and Alison answered that everything gets posted, it is very accessible, the class gets really good responses from students on the discussion boards, and that it is easy to load papers on the website.
Tahanee Fisher added that as an ECLS student, she thinks Moodle is great because it creates access to other people who can help with your paper, which in turn helps you.
Katie DeMocker said that she has one class with blackboard, one with Moodle, and doesn’t think either of them are being utilized like other people talked about. She said that to her the programs are kind of scattered and mixed up, and that maybe there was one really good universal program, it would be better. She said that she know it is up to the teachers’ preference, but if blackboard or Moodle goes down, then there are problems. Pam said that one of the reasons why the discussion today is being had is to look for the one product solution, so professors and students can use whatever they want to satisfy their needs.
Katie DeMocker went back to the previous discussion of wireless versus wired internet connection, wireless being not as good as wired, and she said that she uses a desktop and a laptop computer, and that if both she and her roommate want to use the internet, only the laptop will pick up the wireless internet connection. She asked if there is a way to have two chords so that occupants of a double room can both have internet simultaneously, and Pam answered that a power strip with multiple outlets could be purchased. The cost of trying to run new outlets would unbelievable, going through the concrete walls and such. Sam Pena said that he knows ITS used to sell them, now sold at bookstore for students who have a double or triple room. Patrice Hall said she thought Telecommution would sell power strips, and Sam corrected her that it does not.
Alison Dempsey said that she uses computer rooms to print things because she has a laptop. She said that it is difficult to email her papers to herself, log on to another computer, and print from there. She said would like to see a better way do it for Macs. Pam told her to call the Help Desk and ask for wireless connection to your Mac, and said that she was unaware that there were issues.
Debbie Afar brought up how the printers in the Residence Halls always run out of ink and paper over the weekends, saying that Norris hasn’t had ink in its printer for over a week. Pam explained how ITS pays designated students to keep the printers provided with paper and ink, so to please let ITS know so we can fix that and talk to the student is in charge of those printers. Tahanee said that she lives in Pauley and that they have information in the computer lab about who to call if there are problems, and Debbie said that over the weekends that student isn’t there. Pam told Debbie to let her know in the future if there are problems.
Laura Smith-Heimer said that she knows that we're encouraged to print on both the back and front of sheets of paper, but that we are charged for how many pages we use, and sometimes she has been charged twice. Pam answered that is a big problem that she is aware of. She knows that paper just disappears, and would like to figure out how much it is costing us for what we're printing/going through, so we as students do not get overcharged and the tuition does not have to be raised to pay for printer paper. She said she will look into it., and that she will also be sending out a web-based survey for faculty and students in either January or February asking what we want, need, what’s working/not working for us, and wants to get input to make things better. Pam closed the discussion and thanked the General Assembly for having her.
Katie and Patrice opened up the resolution portion of the meeting.
2. Resolutions
A. Ken Smutny, Senate Conduct Resolution.
Ken said that he went to Senate meeting, witnessed an occurrence, and because of that occurrence has created a resolution for an issue he saw that contradicts the mission. It concerns how should student officials conduct themselves. He added that though that he would like to stay away from specifics as much as possible
[“Resolution on A.S.O.C. Conduct
Whereas on October 30, 2006, representatives from several clubs came before the A.S.O.C. Senate to speak in support of funding allocations for student events.
Be it resolved that these club leaders were met with conduct of certain elected members of A.S.O.C. that was contrary to the purpose of A.S.O.C as stated in the Constitution and contrary to the purpose of Senate as stated in the Senate By-Laws.
Furthermore, be it resolved that ASOC officials should not engage in conduct contrary to the Constitution and Senate By-Laws
Furthermore, be it resolved that A.S.O.C. officials’ conduct on October 30, 2006 was appalling.
Lastly, be it resolved that the A.S.O.C. Senate will take great effort to prevent such conduct in the future.”]
Katie asked if there were five students who would come to next week's meeting to vote on the above resolution, and there were more than five students.
B. Sophia Smith, Dance Production Resolution.
She read her resolution for the General Assembly once again, and opened up the floor for questions.
Daniel Landesman wanted to know if the resolution is for next semester or next year or when. Sophia answered that she is trying to get the resolution approved by the end of this semester for the upcoming dance productions. Tahanee asked if both choreographers and dancers would get credit, and Sophia answered that they both would. John Wilson where the credit is put, and Sophia said that in the past it was in theater department but that she would want it in the athletic department. Allison Dempsey why the credit was initially taken away, and Sophia answered that the theater department said that it was losing money for paying for the credit. Max Thoman-Tedford asked if credit would be given per semester or per year, and Sophia answered per semester. John Wilson asked who the Faculty Advisor was, and Sophia answered it was Francisco Martinez.
Patrice said that the resolution needed a committee, and to email her and Katie at asocga@oxy.edu to pass this resolution and form a committee to make it happen
Voting opened, 44-0-3.
C. Robert Theofanis, Climate Change and Renewable Energy Resolution.
He read his resolution for the General Assembly once again, and opened up the floor for questions.
Teddy Zhou if there were deadlines for any of the goals, and Robert answered that his group was doing it through the Environmental Stewards class which is a semester-long class, so they are trying to get ball rolling as soon as possible ideally, but it is a long-term goal and long-term project, so it will receive long-term commitment.
Alison Eisel asked if any other groups are proposing to the same thing, and if the cost would be $87,000, where the rest of the cost would come from. Robert said that ideally the plan was to ask the administration to match what the students would come up with, which would possibly mean an increase in student body fees as well as monetary support from alumni. Then the administration could to pledge to bring it up to more environmentally interested alumni who would possibly get involved and would be more interested in supporting. Patrice interjected that a student body fees increase is very complicated and that it iswritten in the constitution, but the constitution can be changed.
Patrick McCredie asked about the recycling of Oxy's greenhouse gases, and Robert said that he was not very familiar with the details, but knows that its done at many colleges.
Andrew DeBlock asked if Robert was considering expanding more in the community other than just at Oxy - in Los Angeles or Pasadena possibly. Robert said his specific class has not talked about this, but environmental change is very important and is a big issue. He said that he is personally working toward making Oxy a more environmentally aware campus.
Matt Kuzio asked about the commitment and how it plays into a class grade. He asked what happens when the semester ends, if the next people in the class are going to keep the project going. He said that Robert was making a statement to the community by starting this, so he asked what Robert’s plans were. Robert proceeded to explain the planning of bringing community together to support the project. He said that on their parts, they are just starting to lead the charge on this, but if something happens to the class or something, someone will keep it going because they will be interested – that the ball will already be rolling.
Sam Pena said that he is taking the class next year to keep the project going, and that most of the students didn’t come up with the idea, that the professor did, so the professor will be one of the major contributors in keeping the ball rolling, and group of students like him will keep it going who continue taking the class.
Ariana de Lena said that a committee will be made to see it through, including a faculty advisor who knows that there are plans to keep it going. She said that it is such a long-term goal that so many people will be participating and will be committed.
Matt Kuzio added that he was in favor of the resolution, but wants to know if it is the students will or professors will to raise student fees. He said that it is so much more powerful if the students are more interested, not just professor pushing it. Sam Pena that the students came up with the idea of the student fees change.
Juan Lugo asked for more information about the solar panels, and Robert answered that he ahs talked about Oxy becoming a more green campus (bikes, etc.). For the project, the students chose solar panels because they are flashy, and will make more of an impact over time, that they will make Oxy a more sustainable campus. Shannon Hurley added that most of the students in class chose to take it because they are interested in the issues at hand. Ariana de Lena said that the discussion had covered alternative/renewable energies, and that she thinks this is the one that suits our school at this time
David Fong asked if other things can be done using wind power, waste oil from the marketplace perhaps to make bio-diesel. Robert his professor is looking into feasibility for campus to operate on bio-diesel.
Erica Fick, president of Bring Your Own Bike club asked about if the idea of getting bike racks or getting rental bikes is going to be put on the back burner because of this solar panel project, and Robert answered not so much back burner, but the focus will be put on solar panels to get it put through the administration to get funding, whereas bike racks are less expensive and a more feasible thing that does not really need to be pushed. Erica added that something like bike racks is much more tangible, where people will see a direct result, whereas solar panels are not so much. Robert agreed with her and would like to see it happen, but his class’ focus is on the solar panels currently.
Patrice entered the discussion clarifying that this particular resolution does not cover everything that is environmentally friendly to Oxy. She suggested to the General Assembly that if they are interested in these issues to form committees and get the process going with these specific things, because they do not all fall under this resolution. She added to keep the ideas coming and to form groups.
Teddy Zhou asked if Robert’s resolution had an open solution, and Robert answered yes. Vanessa Robinson clarified as well that nothing is going on the back burner, and that 10-15 students can only address so many things
Voting opened, 37-1-3
Patrice told everyone about the meeting at 3:00 PM in Johnson 204 for the IPO Study Abroad information session.
Meeting adjourned 1:06 PM