General Assembly

Minutes from March 1, 2007

Associated Students of Occidental College

General Assembly Minutes

March 1, 2007

12:00-1:30, J200

Minutes by Chelsey Brack

Senators Present: Andrew DeBlock, Amy Laslett, Matt Kuzio, Rozell Hodges, Mike Myers, Max Thoman-Tedford, Jimmy Gillan, Konstantin Chaykovskiy

Guests Present: Will Hambly, Mackenzie Israel Trummel, Brittany Sanders, Conor Sanchez, Mara Hosoda, Brittany Banbury, Maya Tatsuno, Andrea Cova, Daniel Landesman, Max Read, Dan Miller, Daniel Mendez, Sarah Richey, Sarah Arvey, Sarah Fischer, Katie Healey, Reed ?, Gabbie McKay, Kai Small, Jessica Cornick, Dean Avery, Earic Peters, Jonathan O’Brien, Jesus Maldonado, Amanda Atkinson, Kecia Baker, Serenity Blauvelt, Jim Tranquada, Jen Kyle, Chelsey Brack (30).

Spencer Jemelka and Katie Orme opened the meeting at 12:08 PM. Katie and Spencer 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 welcomed President Prager to the GA, saying that she was here to address questions and concerns.

1. President Susan Prager

She began by saying people can call her Susan, to feel free to do that. She said she is now concluding her first eight months here, and has been trying to do a lot of listening and learning. She said she has a concern involving students and faculty about falling short as a community of achieving a fully functioning diversely racial community. The school has goals that they set out to achieve decades ago, and for these goals, so many have joined this community. She said that we need to figure out what kinds of cultural changes need to happen to match our aspirations as a community. She said that the topic is increasingly on her mind. She has had three conversations with the campus council, Dean Avery, and Dean Frank. Have been talking about what they should do differently, possibly changing student orientation, etc., so that we are clear in our expectations in which fundamental respect for other human beings is what we have completely. She said she feels that we are falling short and that she is concerned, and the Oxy Weekly’s have raised her awareness even more of this issue. She said that she wants to hear from the GA, what their opinions or thoughts are on the situation. She has particular concerns about having more of a campus-centered life over the weekends, thanksgiving break, etc. because we are very much a national student body and we are not a commuter-school in any sense. She wanted to disprove the idea that the administration is going to demolish the Samuelson Pavilion, because it’s not going to happen. She agreed that there needs to be more space for students to meet and congregate.

Brittany Sanders asked if Susan was going to focus more on what separates us as racial or ethnic groups, or more focus on what unites us – not in terms of nationality – like interests, etc. Susan answered that she wondered if they should do more of that upon students’ arrival to the campus, as we’re introducing people to LA for the first time. She acknowledged that there are students of different disciplines, different interests, engaging them all in common interests. She mentioned first year housing and said that Dean Avery, Kecia Baker, and she are looking forward to using the housing to generate the type of theme that Brittany brought up. Brittany added that she would like to see people focus more on what unites them on the inside, rather than what separates them on the outside. Susan added that she feels that we need to recognize that there are a number of students, sort of known as the “dominant culture of the campus,” which is not satisfying every student’s needs.

Jen Kyle asked if Susan could tell the GA what she thinks of the Oxy community now that Susan has been here for a year now. Susan said there were a number of perceptions from the outside that have been worn out that she had in thinking of whether she was right for Oxy or not. She said she had the sense that faculty and students would come together in the context that there would be a lot of support provided for students, much more than at other institutions that she was associated with, that there is a lot of room for faculty and students to grow here. She said she likes the fact that students here, in general, are more supportive of one another than competing with one another, which is a hallmark of the place that we need to continue to make more perfect. She feels that we need to move it back to being more of a student-center-oriented campus. There has been some damage to that part of the community. The new approach to residential life is one way to get at that problem. She thinks that the alumni body really reflects a high level of intellectual curiosity, thus the liberal education offered here helps foster creative and intellectually curious minds. But she added that we need to return to a more hospitable environment, there are classroom climate issues, etc., and there are things that need to be changed. When things happen in those environments, silence is taken as support, which is not what it is. She said she is feeling the need more and more to talk to faculty about this; it is a particular problem in which we don’t have the same critical masses distributed throughout the curriculum. She said she has really enjoyed being here and living on the campus. She said she is working on many ideas for a fundraising campaign to get funding to get these changes going.

Amy Laslett said that at the Senate meeting this week that they talked about Thorne Hall and how many programs here like Vagina Monologues and Dance Production have to spend a lot of money to rent out the hall, which is becoming very difficult. Susan said that renting of Thorne Hall is driven by budget policies, and that the school focuses on the students to be the primary users of these halls and spaces on campus. She said she is going to make sure that more opportunities are created for the students. Amy asked if by the Fall of 2007 those spaces wouldn’t be so expensive to use, and Susan answered that the fact that students are being charged as much as outside users is kind of like “shooting ourselves in the foot.” Kenna Cottrill added that she was working on it, and as soon as she had an answer she would get it to Susan and Amy.

Rozell Hodges asked what the college’s stance is on budgeting. He said he and the Senate have talked about how the administration should take a more active role in helping the students with funding. Susan agreed, and added that there are other schools that have much bigger endowments than we do, but also we have much bigger endowments than other schools, so we need to sort out where our priorities need to be with budgeting. She said that being involved with student government has helped her learn more about the student body, its leadership, specialized organizations and clubs, etc. She said that she wants to make sure she gets advice from all of these – from Greek organizations to affinity-based groups to the graduation-organizing groups, etc. She said that there definitely needs to be more money on the student programming side.

Dean Avery added that it’s something that they’ve been talking about; she has contributed money to the Latino grad and the African-American graduate associations. They have to look at what the real costs are, if the costs are something that the school is providing, and then see how they can support all of them. Susan added that there may be a lot of misunderstandings, but her term at UCLA Law School showed her that funded celebrations for smaller groups are particularly important. The phenomenon of going to college at all is much rarer than it should be, but our graduation venue means we have to limit the number of people who have access. She said she never wants to do that, and she would not want the idea that there are those special graduations to erode their importance.

Maya Tatsuno asked about the issue of space and availability, she added that it is harder and harder to find studio space and safe places to practice dance. She wanted to know what Susan’s plans are not specifically for dance, but for space all over campus. Susan said that there are two problems, one of them is that there is not enough space in total, because some of the remodeling that went on took away large spaces, that there is actually less space for students now than there was before. The other problem is the one about outside use; she has asked Mike Groener to look at our uses revenues, but they haven’t been that great. One of the things she is working on is use of the dining hall even after hours, extension of the library – which is not a recreational space in any sense, but it is a gathering space. She said she is looking at other spaces on campus. In respect to the dance studio, it was remodeled to have the type of floor that is needed by the dancers. Dean Avery said that the discussion is continuing.

Katie Healey asked about gym hours being extended, especially on the weekends. Katie and Dean Avery said that the concern is security, making sure people are being watched and that doors are locked when they need to be, don’t want students there by themselves. Katie said she has heard other people talking about it as well. Dean Avery said that if they can find the staff or coaches to stay there, then they can have it stay open later – the issue is finding the resources. Susan said that it was a very reasonable endeavor. Jen Kyle asked if students could sign a waiver with CPR training, etc. so that people could use the facility in a safe way so that the school doesn’t have the liability. Susan said she hears the suggestion and will try to do something about it.

Andrea Cova said she is a current employee at the child development center and asked why the center has not been visited by Susan and why there is such a disconnect between them and the administration. She also has heard a rumor that their center will be broken down and she wants to know if it is true. Susan said there are a number of places she hasn’t visited, and said there was a period during Ted Mitchell’s term of presidency here where there was funding for a greater, flexible space for faculty and students, an events center place that would be near the campus core, outdoor areas, and that decision was made by the trustees even before the search for the new president was made. Eventually that site was no longer going to be the child care site. Last spring the possibility of another site for child care within close proximity to the campus, the block that we now own, and she thinks one of the reasons there is such upset is that they have a consultant looking at the economics of child care, looking at the statistics of what we would need. They have to think through and fund the new site before they can vacate the old site. Andrea added that many employees are out of the loop of the whole thing and don’t know what’s going on. The idea of moving the children’s off to houses in the neighborhood kind of removes them from the Oxy community as well. Susan answered that the center now occupies a prime central site, and the function can go on well on the perimeter or in the neighborhood, in her opinion. She added that most people would agree that more informal gathering space is needed.

Daniel Mendez asked about the Values and Vocations Grant, and he feels that it embodies a lot of the mission statement, and wanted to know if similar grants are going to be put up. Susan said that it was a project done by the Lily association and was somewhat religious-based, and agrees that it was something that showed us something about our own progress here at Oxy. Coming off of that conference, the institution decided to ask the Lily Foundation for more grants and funding, because of its success. Susan said that a number of alums have been very supportive of this project and that they are well underway to having Diana’s issue addressed, and that there are many alums involved. She said that for those of the GA who aren’t familiar, it’s about the vocation being a broader concept than just vocation being your work. She said she was pleased to find that people found it to be a good effort.

Maya went back to the liability waivers for using athletic facilities. She said she remembers when she was a first year, as dancers they would all sign the waivers, and were able to use the dance studio till much later. She knows that the safety and security of the dancers and the facilities have been heightened for a reason, but possibly having just a faculty member or coach or someone there could eliminate the time it takes for the dancers to relocate and find other places to practice. Susan asked if there really was a security issue here, and Maya answered that it really wasn’t one, that they were told the problem would be the attraction of people from off-campus by the music.

Jim Tranquada said that campus safety checks and finds on a regular basis that kids from the neighborhood have gotten in and are playing in the facilities, like the baseball diamond and the dance studio. Susan said maybe a phone should be installed in the dance studio in which people could call out when there was a visitor who was not affiliated with Oxy.

Will Hambly said that it seems like most of the issues are about funding, but thinks that many students on campus are very innovative and are coming up with their own fundraising. Susan said that there is going to be change; she said she sees this as a kind of accretion of rationales and that there are issues and such, but we need to make this a place in which the community can function well for all of the students.

Mackenzie Israel-Trummel said that in addition to dance production safety issues in the dance studio, the dancers can get hurt but are not allowed to go to the trainer for ice or taping or anything, which she finds unfair. Asked if there is a way for the dancers to be treated as athletes and get treatment for injuries. Susan wasn’t sure how that would happen, but that the main issue is about safety and security after hours.

Sarah Fischer said she was here to represent the track and field team. She said that there is a search going on to find a new track and field coach and to replace the interim track coach. Though it’s her first year running, older teammates have said there is a much better team dynamic this year and is a great friend, and that Robert Bartlett (interim) is a great coach. She said that the track and field team does not want the interim coach to be removed and a new track and field coach to be found. She strongly opposes it. Susan thanked Sarah for bringing up her concern, and urges Sarah to submit the statement to Dixon Farmer (get document!). Sarah added that there will be personal story submissions to Dixon farmer, Dean Avery, President Prager, etc. Susan said that she is not on the search committee, but that she’ll involved in choosing between the final candidates.

Katie Healey asked about the safety of the intersection of Avenue 46 and Paulhan. There continues to be accidents there, many injuries have been sustained there, and there are four Oxy student houses over there, so she is concerned about the safety of the intersection. Jim and Susan said they were not aware of this problem before. Katie said that they have petitioned in the past, and the fact that Oxy students walk by there and have been injured as pedestrians, and that it’s so close to home for her now that she is very concerned. Jim asked if it has been discussed with Eagle Rock neighborhood council or with other neighbors, and Katie said she had talked with other neighbors. Many are involved with the situation and are looking for help and support from the institution. Katie wrapped up the question and answer session with President Prager, and if there are more questions for the GA or Susan, to email the GA or to email her. Susan encouraged everyone to keep emailing her with questions.

2. General Assembly Bylaw Changes

Katie and Spencer went through changes they are making in the General Assembly Bylaws. They have made grammar and punctuation corrections, changed many instances of “General Assembly” to “GA”, changed “co-chairperson” to just “co-chair”. Bulk of change concerns resolutions. Types of resolutions include Action, Discussion, and Declaration resolutions. Their primary reason for altering bylaws was that there was only an action resolution, but there were other resolutions, so there needed to be a change to accommodate all types of resolutions. The bylaw amendments Katie and Spencer hope will bring in a new, different, and larger variety of resolutions in. Most recent declarations have been political, and they added that the GA cannot endorse or side politically, but students are allowed to come and state their opinion with their resolution. There has also been a change made in the article concerning committees. See changes below.

[

Bylaws

The General Assembly of the

Associated Students of Occidental College

Article I - Name

The name of this organization shall be The General Assembly of the Associated Students of Occidental College, hereinafter referred to as the GA.(changed most “General Assembly’s” to “GA”)

Article II – Purpose

Section 1. Purpose.

The object and purpose of the GA shall be to address the interests and concerns of Occidental College students by direct student representation in the creation of legislation and committees to further those interests.

Section 2. Fiduciary responsibilities.

The GA shall have no legislative responsibilities for the ASOC budget, but shall be permitted debate on the subject of the proposed budget.

Article III – Members

Section 1. Qualifications for membership.

Students enrolled at Occidental College and paying the Associated Student fee shall be members of the GA.

Section 2. Voting.

A member shall be entitled to one vote at GA meetings, There shall be no voting by proxy.

Article IV. – Officers

Section 1. Officers.

A. Elected officers. The elected officers of the GA shall be two chairpersons, collectively referred to as the “Co-Chairs.”

B. Appointed officers. Additional officers may be appointed by the Co-Chairs to assist the elected officers in their duties.

C. Qualifications for office. Candidates for officer positions and the officers themselves must be enrolled as full-time students during the respective term of office or appointment.

Section 2. Duties of Co-Chairpersons.

D. Co-Chairpersons.

The Co-Chairpersons shall:

1. be the chief executive officers of the GA;

2. preside at meetings of the Assembly and its executive committee;

3. have the power to appoint special committees subject to the approval of the Assembly;

4. appoint the chairperson of all committees, except as stated in these bylaws;

5. have the authority to interpret these Bylaws;

6. serve as ‘ex officio’ members of all assembly committees;

7. encourage participation at meetings;

8. encourage students to attend by advertising the dates, times and locations as well as clearly informing the student body on the resolutions being voted on at that meeting;

9. encourage consensus, fair debate, equal speaking time, brevity, and fairness of representation;

10. encourage dialogue regarding issues of diversity and social justice when considering resolutions;

11. perform other duties as assigned by the GA.

Section 3. Duties of appointed officers.

A. Recording Secretary.

The Recording Secretary shall:

1. be responsible for keeping accurate minutes of the GA;

2. make available a copy of the minutes of the GA to the Student Body President in a timely manner;

3. perform other duties as assigned by the GA in addition to agreed upon duties from the Co-Chairs.

B. Hall Information Officers:

The Hall Information Officers shall:

1. relay accurate information to their assigned Resident Hall on campus about the events of the previous GA meeting and what will take place in the next GA meeting.

Section 4. Election and appointment of officers.

A. Elected officers. The officers shall be elected annually by ballot during the ASOC General Elections to serve for one year. Their term of office shall begin on the last day of the spring academic semester. A plurality vote shall elect.

B. Appointed officers. Appointed officers may be appointed at any time by the Co-Chairs and shall take office immediately upon notification of appointment. The term of office for appointed officers shall be determined by the executive committee, but in no case shall the term exceed that of the elected officers.

Section 5. Term of office.

A. Multiple offices. Elected Members of the ASOC may not simultaneously serve in more than one elected position, or serve in an elected position and also serve as a Student Services Department Manager. (made more formal, what they are really called)

B. Multiple terms. No member may serve more than two consecutive terms in the same elected office.

Section 6. Vacancy in office.

Resignation: A General Assembly Co-Chair may resign in good standing by sending a letter of resignation to the student body president.
Filling Vacancies:

1. If there are more than ten weeks remaining in the semester, a special election will be held to elect a new Co-Chair.

2. If there are less than ten weeks remaining in the semester, the position of Co-Chair shall be filled, by a majority vote, at a regular or special meeting, for which notice of the vacancy has been given.

3. Vacancies is appointed offices shall by appointed by the executive committee.

Section 7: Co-Chair Protocol.

A. Stepping Down in a Meeting:

1. If a Co-Chair feels that they have a biased opinion or information to present which prevents him or her from performing their basic duties as Co-Chair, that Co-Chair may step down for that GA meeting and act as a non-elected member of the GA for that section of the meeting. The decision to step down is at the discretion of the Co-Chair. The Co-Chair may return for other topics addressed in the meeting.

2. If a Co-Chair does step down for an GA meeting, the other
Co-Chair is responsible for running the meeting.

Article V. – Meetings

Section 1. Regular meetings.

Regular meetings shall be held at least bi-weekly, September through April, unless otherwise ordered by the GA or, in an emergency, by the Co-Chair.

Section 2. Special meetings.

Special meetings may be called by the Co-Chair or upon the written request of five members of the GA. The purpose of the meeting shall be stated in the notice.

Section 3. Notice.

Except in cases of emergency, at least five days’ notice shall be given to members by telephone, in writing, or electronic means.

Section 4. Quorum.

The quorum for regular meetings and any special meetings shall be seventeen, provided that at least seven senators, seven non-senators and one Co-Chair are present.

Article VI. – Resolutions

Section 1. Definition.
Resolutions are official statements of the Associated Students of Occidental College once passed by the ASOC General Assembly and ASOC Senate. Before a resolution can be voted on, it must have been publicized to the student body for at least one week.

Section 2. Types and Formats.

A. Types of Resolutions: Resolutions can be proposed in three formats: Action, Discussion and Declaration.

1. Action Resolutions: Have a statement of the problem and proposed action (committee, letter, etc.). Action Resolutions are voted on in the GA and passed on to the Senate for ratification.

2. Discussion Resolutions: Have a statement of the problem and propose a discussion during the GA about the problem. No other action is proposed. No vote is taken and the resolution is not passed to the Senate but Senate is made aware that the discussion took place.

3. Declaration Resolutions: A student group makes a written declaration notifying the GA of their position on an issue and discussion at the GA meeting is up to the writers of the resolution. No vote is taken and it is not passed on to Senate for a vote, but Senate is made aware of the resolution. The presentation of the resolution is made by the authors of the resolution, but the discussion is facilitated by the GA co-chairs.

B. Format of Resolutions: Resolutions can be proposed in two formats: Closed and Open.

1. Closed Resolutions: A Closed Resolution cannot be changed by the general body of the General Assembly. It must be vote on in its original form.

2. Open Resolutions: An Open Resolution can be changed by the general body of the General Assembly. If the resolution is changed during a meeting, it may not be voted on until the next meeting.

Section 3. Meeting with Co-Chairs.
Students are required to meet with at least one of the Co-Chairs prior to the meeting in which they will present their resolution. Should the student fail to meet with a Co-Chairs, the Co-Chairs have the right to postpone the resolution until that individual meeting has occurred.

Section 4. Support. (increases credibility)
Resolutions should come to the GA with at least 5 students’ support. Those 5 students’ names should appear on the resolution. The 5 students should be familiar with the resolution. All supporting students are encouraged to attend the meetings in which their resolutions is presented.

Article VII. – Executive Committee

Section 1. Composition.

The members of the executive committee shall be the two Co-Chairs, and the advisor to the GA.

Section 2. Responsibilities.

The executive committee shall manage the affairs of the GA between regular meetings of the members.

Section 3. Meetings.

A. Regular meetings. Regular meetings of the executive committee shall be held as determined by the members.

B. Quorum. A majority of the executive committee members shall constitute a quorum.

Article VIII. – Committees

The GA may appoint standing committees as deemed necessary to carry on the work of the GA. The Co-Chairs shall determine how many students will serve on each committee. They will work closely with the author of each resolution requesting a committee to determine this number.

Article IX. – Amendments

Section 1. Proposal.

A. A member of the General Assembly or the Senate may propose an amendment to these bylaws at any regular meeting of the GA, provided that notice of the proposed amendment has been given to the membership at least seven (7) days prior to the meeting. The notice must include the complete text of the proposed amendment. A properly presented amendment requires a two-thirds vote for passage.

B. Approved amendments shall be referred to the Senate for final approval. Senate membership must receive notice of the meeting at which the amendment will be reviewed at least five (5) days prior to the meeting. A properly presented amendment requires a two-thirds vote for passage.

Section 2. Effective date of amendments.

Amendments to these bylaws shall take effect at the adjournment of the Senate meeting at which they are adopted unless otherwise provided. ]

Vote: 15-0-0, passed

Katie and Spencer thanked everyone for coming to today and encouraged everyone to email them at the asocga@oxy.edu with any questions, comments or concerns.

Meeting adjourned at 1:06 PM.