Senate
 

• MINUTES

Agenda

I. Call to order 6:30 PM  
 
II. Passage of previous meeting’s minutes
 
III.  Old Business
 
Revisit Robert’s Rules (15 minutes)
Discretionary Fund Guidelines (10 minutes)
 
IV.  New Business
 
A.     Finance and Public Relations Committee Update (45 minutes)
a.       Funding Requests (30 minutes)
b.      Computers
c.       Public Relations
 
B.     Campus Culture (10 minutes)
a.       Campus Elections –Andrew
b.      Copyright Information & the RIAA
 
C.     Scholastic Committee (5 minutes)
a.       Textbooks in the library
 
D.     Reminders
a.       Send Ryan 3 proxies by Friday
b.      Send Ryan any non-committee agenda items by Monday at 12noon
 
V.  Open Forum

General Comments (5 minutes)

VII.  Close Meeting
            Target time: 8:00 PM
 

Download pdf minutes: 10-09-07

Minutes from October 9, 2007

Associated Students of Occidental College

Senate Meeting

 

I. Call to order 6:30 PM  

 

II. Passage of previous meeting’s minutes

 

Minutes passed by general consent pending changes to misspellings of both Nonda’s  and Xochiltl’s names, as well as revisions of comments made concerning Kecia Baker at the GA for purposes of accuracy.  Santiago made the motion, while Rob seconded.

 

III. Old Business

A.     Budget

a.       ASOC Discretionary Fund

       i. Guidelines for using the fund needed

 

Ryan stated that he had spoken with Ken one-on-one concerning this particular issue.  Kenna then encouraged the funding and public relations committees to create guidelines regarding the use of the discretionary fund, as there are currently no policies or procedures that apply to it, and that it is a large amount of money which is just sitting there at the moment.  Mike then volunteered to work on this issue.

 

ii.     Access Fund

 

Kenna expressed her excitement at the use of the Access Fund by students; unfortunately, the fund would be exhausted if more money is not put into it, leaving students unable to request money from it in the spring.  She stated that the fund is exhausted, and that the $6000 already allocated to it would be distributed to those who have already applied for funds.  Kenna recommended allocating $1000 more into the Access Fund.  Alison asked what the maximum amount a student can receive from the Access fund is, to which Kenna replied that students can receive up to $500 per semester, totaling to $1000 per year.  Alison suggested requiring students to reapply for funding each semester and also that there is no guarantee that the students must receive the full $500.  Kenna replied that the application for funding does not state that students must re-apply each semester, and that those who have already been promised funding must receive it, since the decision has already been made; she added that she does not want to suddenly switch the wording of the application.  Alison expressed her worry that circumstances will not change much: Those who have already received the funds have already planned out their year, and the Senate has already told the student body that they would allocate $6000 to the Access Fund. 

 

Pat agreed, saying that they had explicitly told the student body the figure of $6000, and that he was uncertain whether this issue needed to be pre-empted or if the bridge could be crossed once problems began to arise.  He recommended only refunding only if it became necessary.  Rob suggested giving out the full $500 to students this semester, then redistributing the funds next semester.  Kenna replied that the application offers up to $500 per students, but in the past, students have not been required to apply for funding for both semesters.  Kenna summarized, asking if the Senate wished to give students the planned funding for the fall semester, and if more students apply for funding during the spring semester the redistribution of funds would take place. 

 

Ryan added that he wished guests to introduce themselves to keep order during the meeting, senators should raise hands before speaking to achieve the aforementioned purpose, and also that the amount allocated to the Access Fund could be increased from 1-2% of savings to 2-3% in the future.  Andrew then suggested allocating more fund to the Access Fund if more applicants cropped up during the second semester, which would cause no problems for those who had already been granted $500. 

 

iii.    ASOC Computers

 

Ryan stated that he and Patrick had both been working on the issue of the outdated ASOC computers.  He had been to ITS and looked up computer specs similar to those the Weekly staff requested; the cost would be roughly $1200 per computer. Ryan added that this figure would be less were the Senate to purchase Dells.  He had also asked ITS for a ballpark figure, to which ITS replied that they would get back to him.  Patrick stated that he had asked the same question and that ITS had given him a similar answer.  Ryan estimated that the total cost of the new computers, factoring in educational discounts that ITS had at their disposal, would be around $2000.  He recommended taking this out of the discretionary fund.

 

Ken then asked why new computers were necessary; he offered that he could currently both word process and create spreadsheets, and wondered what more the computers needed to be able to do.  Ryan replied that since they are so old, they could use the upgrade.  Pat concurred, saying that some of the computers do not work at all, and that seeing as it the computers are in a student space, it would not be a poor use of funds.  Ken then argued that the funds spent on these computers could not be spent on another, worthier program.  Ryan briefly interrupted, reminding Ken to raise his hand before speaking.  Rob asked if the current computers could be resold, to which Ryan replied that they would not sell.  Kenna added that the computers belong to the College.  Siobhan stated that the student body may not know about these computers, contributing to their lack of use.  Alison reported that she did not see the need for new computers, since she never saw the current machines being used.  Andrew then suggested getting newer computers from ITS, since that is where the current computers originated.  Ryan supported this thought. 

 

Rob mentioned that the possibility of the purchase of a Mac had been brought up in the previous meeting, and wondered, if the Mac’s advantage lay in producing multimedia, what multimedia the Senate would produce.  Ryan, attempting not to be a “Mac defender”, extolled its lack of the constant need for upkeep.  Alison stated that a computer needed to have word processing, a spreadsheet, e-mail capabilities, and a calendar, and that she did not want to waste money on potentially unnecessary new computers.  Xochiltl replied that the computers were still located in a student space, and continued to say that since the Weekly had been asking for new computers, the Senate could invite them to use the (currently theoretical) new Mac in the student space.  Santiago said that he had been speaking to ITS, and that they recommended faster computers in order to update the ASOC website.  Ryan agreed, saying that the speed was too frustrating to accomplish anything save word processing and e-mail.  Rob asked whether or not the computers could simply be upgraded by adding more RAM or disk space.  Ryan stated that although there were many ideas on the table, the Senate currently lacked any actual facts or figures from ITS.  Alison asked who currently uses the ASOC computers besides the Senate and Honor Board; Kenna added the GA to the list of users.  Alison said that these computer purchases were unnecessary if they would only be used by these three groups.  Ryan once again importuned guests to introduce themselves before speaking. 

 

B.     How do Senate and GA present themselves well to the community?

 

Ryan moved discussion to this topic, which Xochiltl had brought up previously.  Xochiltl revisited the heated discussion two weeks prior, and recommended that no member of the Senate should act as if they have the sole power to do anything, as they are part of a democracy and the student body would not be able to invest trust in them if the Senate persisted in projecting a “not good” reputation. 

 

Ryan interrupted briefly to ask Ken to move up to the table with the rest of the senators. 

 

Ken inquired as to how the Senate could present itself as a united body when it is not.  He added that he did not always agree with the decisions that the Senate makes.  Xochiltl replied that she simply wished the Senators to not assert that they could do things on their own authority, and instead emphasize the democratic aspect of student government, adding that a majority must agree in order for anything to be accomplished.  Nonda remarked that since the Senate is divided on certain issues, it may not be best to have one senator speaking for the Senate.   

 

Mike asked if there was a specific issue that this discussion was meant to address.  Ryan and Kenna rejoined that this was concerning the GA meeting of two weeks ago. 

 

IV. New Business

 

A.     GA Co-Chairs Update

 

Ryan gave the floor to Laura for the GA Co-chairs update.  She stated that last weeks General Assembly concerned OSL and the ICC; they had to create a resolution and touched back on the resolution that was passed.  Denise said that she didn’t see any students present at the GA saving those from the Senate, ICC, OSL, and RHA.  Xochiltl asked Laura to send out an informative e-mail concerning the GA; most frosh, she said, did not know how to utilize the GA to make change.  Ryan suggested a publicity campaign in the residence halls.  Pat asked if administrators were being prepped on potential questions; he viewed this as a problem since the administrators did not seem to know what to say on certain occasions.  Laura answered that she and her partner tried, and recommended that questions be e-mailed to the GA a couple of days prior to the meeting.  Nonda wondered if the GA could be moved to Johnson Hall, since many events take place there and more people might attend.  Santiago then asked if students could e-mail their questions directly to presenters; that way, presenters would come ready to answer them. 

 

Laura responded to these questions by saying that although questions could be e-mailed to the presenters, she was not sure of the frequency with which presenters check their e-mail.  As to a location shift, Laura said that they had considered a variety of rooms, and that Johnson 200 was booked for the month of September.  She stated that in order to retain consistency, the assemblies would be held in Fowler 302, and also added that the shape of Fowler made it more conducive to dialogue than Johnson 200.  Ryan asked if the GA was at present considering a location shift, to which Laura replied that the assemblies would be held in Fowler 302 for the remainder of the semester, but that the location could be reconsidered in the spring. 

 

Laura also revealed that she had sent an e-mail to everybody concerning the next GA; the professional staff of ITS would give a presentation on their desire to have a student advisory board.  She added that since this was not a hot topic, she did not plan for there to be many attendees at the GA; as such, she wanted the senators to come prepared with input for ITS. 

 

Laura also brought up the subject of hiring a publicity coordinator, since the GA’s current chief of staff does not work the full seven hours a week and the GA therefore has the ability to appoint more officers as needed.  She stated that the publicity coordinator would focus on advertising the GA and taking questions from students.  Alison asked if they would be doing this with extra funds that would otherwise be used on Chelsea, to which Laura replied in the affirmative.  Ken asked who would be this new officer’s supervisor; Kenna replied that although she would be the supervisor on paper, the publicity coordinator would work primarily with Laura and Jessica. 

 

B.     Funding Requests

 

Club Name	Event/Program	Funding	Vote
BSA	Exploration of the Black Panther Party	Discussion moved to 10/17	Passed 10-0-2, Alison moved, Denise seconded, Ken and Pat abstained
Rozell began by saying that it was important that the Senate receives a perspective on why the program is not unnecessary.  Patrick stated that the algorithm gave the BSA $1565; Rozell replied that with the total event cost of $8962 the event could not happen.  He had already received $504 from the ICC, $500 from PB, and $700 from KOXY.  Kenna said that she did not know how much the OSL would give from the Remsen Bird Fund; a follow-up with Dean Franks was necessary to obtain this information.  Alison then asked how much BSA would ask for from OSL; Rozell stated that the requested amount was $1000.  Rozell added that BSA had already cut significant costs for this event, shortening its duration by a week and cutting 2 speakers.  Ryan asked for an abstract of the event; Rozell consented, saying that it is a critical analysis of the Black Panthers’ social movement, with a focus on their ideology, spiritual growth, and identity dynamics.  As far as its relation to campus, Rozell explained that there would be speakers as well as small group and campus-wide dialogues.  He also noted that BSA had drawn up a 10-point-plan on how to better Oxy and function as a community; BSA’s top priority was making a positive impact on campus, being inclusive, and being service-oriented.  Janelle elaborated, saying that the program would also serve to break down negative preconceptions of both the Black Panther party and BSA, and reiterated her feelings that this work would be both important and beneficial to students.  Ryan stated that it was hard to know how much to fund the event without knowing the funding that BSA would receive from other sources.  He asked if the Remsen Bird request could be appealed; Kenna replied that she had never heard of that happening.  When asked by Rozell when the next meeting would be, Ryan replied that there would be a funding-specific meeting next Wednesday.  Ken expressed his desire to hash out the matter tonight, while Alison stated that the Senate should not approve the funding if not all of the other figures were known.  Regarding the Remsen Bird funding, Kenna explained that the funding was not the only matter discussed by OSL during their meetings.  She said that so far $500 had been given to one program, and that the entirety of the Remsen Bird fund should be spent.  She also estimated that BSA’s funding could approach $200, but added that she was unable to make such judgments alone.  Kenna also revealed that the arrival of the exact amount of BSA’s funding would be dependent on Dean Franks’ schedule, and that she had been working with Rozell and Janelle for several weeks.  When asked whether Wednesday would be too late to be funded by Alison, Rozell responded that it would be fine.  Patrick asked Rozell how the attendance number of 400 was arrived at; Rozell admitted that that number may have been low, and that he had estimated 400 people attending events throughout the week.  Patrick advised re-discussing the number once more within committee.  Katherine agreed that the number may have been low, and submitted that the event was very important as to how BSA starts off the semester, and also related to Oxy through all of the dialogue concerning racial tensions that had been taking place as well as misconceptions concerning the Black Panther party.  She closed her statements by expressing how upsetting it would be were the event not to take place.  Siobhan recommended devising a new system for larger events; funding crises such as these could potentially interfere with contract issues as long as speakers were concerned.  Alison advocated discussing such a plan at a future meeting.  Ryan stated that it we no one’s best interests to pass the current funding; in response, Alison moved to move discussion to Wednesday, Denise seconded, Ken and Patrick abstained, and the motion was passed 10-0-2.
Asian/Pacific Islander Association	New Member Outing	$72.24	Passed 10-0-1. Patrick abstains
Patrick emphasized that this was a retroactive request, so that all of the figures were correct.  Andrew suggested not going through the motion process when voting on funding; it should be assumed that a vote would be taking place unless otherwise specified.  This concept was approved by general consent.
Queer-Straight Alliance	Coming Out Week	169.87	Passed 10-0-1, Patrick abstains
Santiago remarked that the attendance estimate of 200 was vague, to which Patrick replied that the estimate was based on foot traffic and may well have been an underestimation.
Oxy Women’s Surf Club	Surfing Trip	$75.00	Passed 8-3-1, Mike moves, Tilak seconds, Xochiltl, Santiago, and Dom oppose, Pat abstains
Patrick explained that the low attendance (15 people) and comparatively high cost ($1291) of the event led to the algorithm outputting a negative number.  He then presented several options including funding the event at the ideal rate of $2.50 a person or not funding it at all.  Rob suggested finding the point in the algorithm where it cuts off and begins to outputs negative numbers; Ryan replied that he had spoken to Jimmy, the person who designed the algorithm (now a student at Columbia) about putting a floor on the algorithm, and stated that it was something that was in the process of being worked on.  Ken suggested, since the group was gone for two days, funding the 15 attendees multiplied by two days.  Alison asked Pat if these were exact figures; Pat replied that they were the only figures that the Senate had to go by.  Ryan entertained a motion to fund the trip as Ken suggested barring the presentation of other funding ideas.  Kenna stated that Ken’s method would give the club $75.  Xochiltl advocated funding only the necessary items for the trip, and that the club could be able to take care of the rest of the expenses by dividing them up among its members.  Patrick replied that ASOC does not generally pick and choose which line items to fund save alcohol, and that it would be preferable to fund the totality.  Mike moved to give $75, Tilak seconded, Xochiltl, Santiago, and Dom opposed, and Pat abstained.
Outdoor Adventure Club	Yosemite Backpacking Trip	$140.00	Passed 10-1-1, Rob moved, Alison seconded, Santiago opposed, Patrick abstained
Patrick informed the Senate that this event was funded negatively by the algorithm for the same reasons as before.  He asked if the Senate could fund it in the same manner as the surfing excursion.  Denise argued that the Adventure Club was asking for half the money of the women’s surfing club; if the same method were to be applied they would receive double the funds of the surfing club.  Ken replied that his method acted as if the club was taking four separate trips, one for each of the four days.  He also pointed out that the Outdoor Adventure Club may have been more financially judicious than the surfing club.  Pat calculated the funding based on the surfing club method to be $140.  Ryan stated that these sorts of situations are tricky and arbitrary, and although the algorithm would take care of it in most cases, these exceptions need to be dealt with somehow.  Santiago shared his uneasy feelings about giving this few people such a relatively large amount of money, especially when BSA is scrambling for nickels and dimes, especially when the backpacking trip did not tangibly improve campus culture.  Alison countered, saying that she believed that outdoor education is good for students, BSA is receiving more funds from the Senate by a large margin, and also that the backpacking students have already paid fees, and should receive some money back.  Andrew echoed Ryan’s earlier sentiments, saying that the problem with having no algorithm was the element of subjectivity, and urged his fellow senators to be careful.  Kenna asked the Senate if this funding method was setting a precedent and whether that was okay; that is, should every club who gets funded with a negative amount get the ideal rate.  Ken did not believe that precedent was being set, saying that this was merely a stop-gap measure.  Xochiltl began to express doubts on funding the Adventure Club $140, especially when the Women’s Surfing Club received less funding.  Ryan asked her if she wanted to entertain a motion to grant less funding to the Adventure Club, to which she replied that she wouldn’t want to go back to the precedent issue.  Dominique supposed that $140 would be a fine amount to fund, but they should stick to the present method of funding negative grants until a better method was found.  Santiago again expressed his disagreement with the method, saying that it was similar to funding 56 people (14 people multiplied by 4 days), and they would not be contributing anything to the campus community.  Ryan stated that the discussion was going in circles, and entertained a motion.  Rob moved to fund $140, Alison seconded, Santiago opposed, Pat abstained, and the motion was passed 10-1-1.
Oxy Women’s Surf Club	Tie-Dye Fundraiser	$66.37	Passed 10-0-2, Xochiltl and Patrick abstained
Alison asked why 50 T-shirts were bought; Andrew replied that while it was a bring-your-own event, shirts were for sale as well.
Greek Council	Greek Tailgate	$640.33	Passed 10-0-2, Nonda and Pat abstained
Pat said that the 8 cosponsors boosted the funding by 10%.  Santiago asked if 450 people would really attend; Ryan said that this was likely because the tailgate takes place immediately before the football game.  Santiago proclaimed this to be most legit.  Alison asked if there was any way to ask them to advertise; Patrick replied that they could encourage them but not force them to advertise.  The only orgs who have to advertise are literary magazines, who have to advertise in the dorms.  Xochiltl asked if the tailgate was free, to which Pat replied in the affirmative.
International Students Organization	LA Galaxy Game	An amount lower than $77.56 to be decided once the cultural education parameter is removed	Passed 9-1-2, Dom opposed, Xochiltl and Pat abstained
Ken failed to see how this game could be classified as cultural or educational. He said that if this game was cultural education, then a case could be made for the tailgate party, a Lakers game, or a Dodgers game being culturally educational.  Ryan asked if the funding committee could address this issue; Mike replied that he didn’t think it was a cultural or educational event.  Pat concurred, saying that he would have to recalculate the funding accordingly, but could not at the moment since he did not have the calculator with him.  Denise asked if the event could be construed as educational, seeing as they were international students watching an American soccer game.  Santiago disagreed, saying that the Galaxy used to be a Mexican team anyway, and that soccer was a fairly universal sport.  Andrew suggested waiting until the cultural education parameter was removed to grant funding.  He moved to fund it at an as of yet undecided lower level to be made known once the cultural education parameter is removed.
Philipino United Students Organization	A Taste Of Oxy	Proposition was remanded to Finance Committee for further study	Passed 9-0-3; Dom, Santiago, and Pat abstained.
Kenna stated that this was PUSO’s request for A Taste Of Oxy, an event in which many cultural clubs partake and which is sponsored by the ICC.  Rob asked if every other club participating would be sending in a funding request for food.  Ryan asked if that would affect the business at hand; Alison replied that it would, since each club would claim an attendance of 350.  She recommended taking the entire 350 and having this being the only funding of AToO or finding out PUSO’s share of the attendance and basing funding off of that.  Ryan argued that each club would be expected to feed 350 people, necessitating 350 tickets.  Ken remarked that the proposal did not make sense; the Greek Council was feeding far more people in the tailgate with less money and without sharing the burden with other clubs or orgs. He also noted that he thought the finance committee could be doing a more complete job; he recommended remanding it to them so that they could come with answers to these beguiling questions.  Ryan entertained a motion to pass the current amount of funding.  Alison stated that this was not ready to pass, and that they needed to see the numbers for everyone funding this event.  Pat told the Senate that the ICC was funding $350.  Ken moved to remand the proposition to the Finance committee, and Andrew seconded.  Xochiltl asked if this delay would hurt their timeline in terms of planning. Santiago replied in the negative, saying that the food is simply cooked at the event.  Ryan advised the senators to raise their hands before speaking to avoid becoming out of order.  Andrew agreed, admonishing to respect the motion and the rules concerning it.  Ken moved to end discussion on the motion, and Andrew seconded.  The motion to remand the proposition passed 9-0-3; Dominique, Santiago, and Patrick abstained.
Alpha Lambda Phi Alpha	Toga Party	$527.38	Passed 10-0-2, Denise and Patrick abstain
Rob asked if the current cost figures excluded alcohol; Pat stated that alcohol was included but would not be funded by the amount that the Senate was granting.  He added that for record-keeping purposes, he writes down line items verbatim.  Alison asked if the photographer was a personal photographer; Kenna replied that the photographer is only there for a limited time and only takes pictures of and takes pictures of the house in general.  Kenna admitted that, though she was the org’s advisor, she had never been to the toga party; she inquired as to whether 500 was an appropriate attendance number.  Ken and Denise agreed that the actual figure would be at least twice the estimated one.  Alison attested that the event was “so sweaty.”  Ken asked if Patrick could amend the attendance number and then revisit funding.  Kenna reported that last year’s Senate revisited funding items, and that this year’s Senate was welcome to do that.  Ken moved to approve $527.38 pending an attendance adjustment.  Patrick stated that he could not send the approved numbers to Gabrielle if they would be revised later.  Santiago asked who came up with the 500 number; Alison replied that the org did and Patrick added that questioning this number was tantamount to questioning the org’s own count.  Ken moved to approve $527.38, Rob seconded, Denise and Patrick abstained, and the motion passed 10-0-2.
Occidental Entrepreneurial Society	OBAS Businessman Awards Dinner	$24.58	Passed 11-0-1, Pat abstained.
The Senate recalled that if the event costs $25 or less it could fund the event at 100%, but had already voted on the matter.
Asian/Pacific Islander Association	BBQ Mixer	$424.68	Passed 11-0-1, Pat abstained
Santiago asked how this event qualified as cultural; Patrick replied that a purpose of the event was to have people learn more about APIA via timelines and literature.  Alison asked if this was part of A Taste of Oxy; Patrick replied in the negative.
Korean/American Student Association	A Taste Of Oxy	All Taste Of Oxy Events Remanded to Finance Committee, Previous Vote on Item Line 11 Reversed	Passed 9-0-3, Dominique, Tilak, and Pat Abstained
Korean/American Student Association	APIA Party	(see above)	(see above)
Kenna stated that, having worked with the Korean American Student Association, their two requests were for the same event.  She also stated that clubs could request money separately for the same event.  Andrew thought that an event could only be funded once with everything under consideration; he suggested that bylaws be changed lest the Senate gets into all kinds of stuff.  Rob asked if cosponsoring meant that the cosponsor could not submit a funding request for the given event; Ryan replied in the affirmative and asked whether the list of co-sponsors for this request was available. Pat admitted that that had been an oversight.  Ken moved to give this event the same treatment as the other Taste of Oxy Events; Kenna suggested first reversing item line 11, the previous KASA event.  Ken moved to reverse item line 11, Santiago seconded, motion passed 9-0-3 with Dom, Tilak, and Pat abstaining.  Pat and Mike decided to look at all of the clubs involved in A Taste of Oxy so that they could not all claim the same attendance.  Ryan stated that he was bothered by these attendance numbers, since all clubs were claiming the same attendance.  Alison said that she wanted to fund the whole event with everything under consideration; although the clubs could make a case for their attendance numbers, combined it would mean that the clubs would be responsible for feeding 3500 people.  Rob said that it seemed like the KASA were just trying to get an extra hundred dollars; Kenna affirmed that it was an honest mistake.

 

C.     Committee Updates

a.       Finance and Public Relations Committee

 

Mike reported that he was still working on guidelines for the ASOC discretionary funds. 

 

i.         Webmaster Idea

Santiago reported that he had visited ITS to work on the ASOC web page; they had granted him access and he worked with a media services person to learn to work on the page.  Ryan stated that keeping tabs on the website would be advantageous.  He wanted to take over and make it a daily update position with a commitment of 5-7 hours a week. 

 

Ryan added that the website had been a great asset to previous Senates, and that it had served as a sort of master calendar.  However, such a calendar would necessitate a daily updating paid position; money is set aside for it and Ryan volunteered to take the position at $8 an hour, 7 hours a week.  The corresponding line item is for $1300 a year.  Ken asked for a proposal next week that would clarify the exact duties and payment of the webmaster position.  Ryan elaborated that it would pay $1300 a year for 7 hours a week, and that the webmaster would update the website daily, and that clubs or programming board could send in events and they would be posted on the master calendar.  Ken posited that the webmaster could also spend time making the website look better.  Kenna added that the webmaster would also update the minutes, funding spreadsheets, and make sure that every part of the website is operational.  Ryan also revealed that his previous experience in web design made him suitable for the position.  Ken said that it would be nice to keep the job in-house.  Santiago wished for PR to help out a little bit now and then with it; Ryan said that Santiago could definitely do that, as he was the point person on public relations.  Rob suggested that since there was no job description in the handbook for a webmaster, guidelines could be written on the funding and responsibilities of a webmaster.  Ken suggested that the committee make a proposal to be voted on during the next meeting. 

 

                                             ii. Campus Culture Committee

 

Andrew spoke concerning the promised projector, and also said that if he received no matching funds from anywhere else the money would be circulated back to the ASOC account.  He was now speaking to ITS about how best to receive an educational discount.  Alison recalled that when meeting with President Prager over the summer, Prager had given her word that over the summer this would happen; Alison then exhorted Andrew to speak with Prager and remind her of her vow.  Andrew stated that he had talked to Caroline Kim, who was displeased that he even attempted to e-mail Prager. Andrew said that he was becoming discouraged by these conflicting reports.  Alison suggested speaking with her after the meeting; this same type of problem had been encountered last year. 

 

On the newspaper front, Rob had continued speaking to housing Director Kecia Baker.  Baker had shown him monthly bills of the cost to housing of newspapers; it amounted to roughly $10000.  She was, however, open to cosponsoring the newspapers along with Senate and/or other departments; therefore, Rob, Tilak, and Santiago were working on securing commitments from other departments and contacting the LA and NY Times.  Rob stated that ResLife had been in the Scholars College Readership Program, which served as a middleman between the papers and the College.  He submitted this as an explanation for why the newspaper costs had been so high: They were not coming directly from the source.  Ryan asked if he had brought up the possibility of doing a trial run in the Cooler, and Rob stated that he had brought up putting them in various locations, but ResLife was unwilling to fully fund the papers regardless.  Ken suggested getting a sense of the demand from the bookstore; Rob added that the Senate could fund the trial afterwards.  Tilak reported that going through the library or bookstore would cost more than buying papers straight from the source, as the library and bookstore both add tax. 

 

Xochiltl told the Senate that she had e-mailed Kenna to find a point person on facilities issues such as extended hours and an expanded gym.  Denise stated that she had been speaking to the athletic liaison, and also had been working on the financing of cultural graduations.  Ryan estimated that the issue could be re-voted on by next week. 

 

b.       Scholastic Committee

 

Alison stated that the committee’s main goals were to work on the advising process and examining the flaws in the process, working on the textbook project, and looking into a socially conscious investment fund. 

c.       President’s Update

i.         Student-Faculty Mixer

 

Ryan reported that he had spoken with Professor Reddy, and that the mixer would be called ‘Get The Mission”, ad that it would be co-sponsored by the faculty council and ASOC.  He stated that the faculty would speak about what the Oxy mission means to them, the interpretation of key themes, the debate of central tenets of the mission statement, and added that it would be a unique opportunity for the constituents of the campus. It will be held in Johnson 200 from 2:30 to 4:30, the setting would be informal, and faculty members would be informed.  Ryan went on to say that ASOC would be funding refreshments such as coffee, decaf, juice and cookies, which would cost $255, and advertising, which would bring the total up to less than $300,  Ken asked how much funding Ryan wanted for advertising.  Ryan replied that posters cost $1.75 a piece; Ken then suggested funding $270 for the event. 

 

Andrew moved to fund $270, Ken seconded, and the motion was passed by general consent. 

 

d.       Room Update Committee

 

Ryan spoke about changing the venue for Senate meeting; the room in the library previously recommended was open only from 6:30 to 8:00, which would not work as the Senate could not run over the time limit as it has tonight.  He thought of writing Sigma Lambda Gamma, who possesses the adjacent time slot, to make an exchange of some kind; Ryan also suggested baking scrumptious cookies for the purpose of the coercion of said group, as well as possibly holding meetings in the Cushman board room. 

 

Ryan then addressed personal meetings with him; he expressed his wish to meet with each senator individually once or twice a month, and was in the process of setting up a white board to schedule appointments.  He noted that mid-day was the best time to meet with him, and explained that the meetings would help him keep track of and work together with all of the senators. 

 

D.     October 16 meeting- reschedule for funding only after fall break

 

Ryan then suggested holding a meeting the Wednesday after fall break exclusively for the discussion of funding, and asked the Senate whether holding this meeting at lunch would cause complications to arise.  Alison replied that the earliest she could be at a meeting would be 3:30.  Kenna suggested meeting at 6:00, the same time as the Campus Culture Committee, and that she would send out an e-mail specifying the exact time and place. 

 

V. Open Forum

               A. General Comments

 

Rob asked if the reallocations from last week would be visible on the web site; Kenna replied that she could update that information as well as update the minutes. 

 

Alison suggested another senator to sit in with those responsible for funding to have an extra pair of eyes, as funding is such a huge responsibility.  Mike replied that while there were some issues he should have caught prior to the meeting, he didn’t think it necessary.  Kenna noted that the learning curve for Finance operations is steep. 

 

Kenna then brought up Ken’s point of putting proposals, such as the new webmaster position, in writing before bringing them to Senate meetings.  Ken agreed, saying that it as a better way to communicate.  As such, Kenna recommended written proposals for complex matters that are difficult to convey verbally. 

 

Ryan asked if there were further comments, and explained that “Get The Mission” would be an all-ASOC event, and asked the PR committee to help post advertisements up in the quad. 

 

B.     Next Meeting’s Agenda Topics

 

Ryan decided to keep an open space in the next meeting for new proposals.  Ken wanted to bring up the newspaper and funding issues, while Andrew wished to discuss the discretionary fund guidelines.  Rob asked if the Campus Culture Committee elections should be discussed; Ryan replied that they could, as long as matters get settled before November.  Kenna explained that challenge elections could occur in December.   Andrew volunteered to be the point person for elections. 

 

VI. Close Meeting

 

Rob moved to close the meeting and the meeting was adjourned by general consent.  Meeting closed at 8:51