Senate
 

• MINUTES

Agenda

I. Call to order 6:30 PM 

II. Passage of previous meeting’s minutes

 

III.  Old Business

A. KOXY Discretionary Request (5 minutes)

B. Constitutional Amendments (30 minutes)

    a.Freedom of Information (10 minutes)

    b. Student Body Fee Increase Cap (10

        minutes)

    c. Renewable Energy & Sustainability    

       Fund (10 minutes)

C. Elections Update (3 minutes)

IV.  New Business

A.     GA Update (5 minutes)

B.     Finance and Public Relations Committee Update (9 minutes)

    a. Funding Requests (7 minutes)

    b. Web update (2 minutes)

C. Campus Culture Committee (5 minutes)

    a. Cultural Grads- Denise

D. Scholastic Committee Update (8 minutes)

    a. Dean of the College Student Advisory Committee

E. President’s Update (10 minutes)

    a. No meeting next week – Happy Thanksgiving?

    b. Dinner with Dean Avery – Thursday at 6:00 PM.  Meet at ASOC Office at 5:40 to walk there. 

    c. Party Policy Review Committee – Need a Senator and 2 other students

    d. Hold January 26, 2008, 12:00 PM –        5:00 PM for Mid-Year Training

V.  Open Forum
General Comments (5 minutes)

Brainstorming Concerns & Problems (3 minutes)

VII.  Close Meeting

Download pdf minutes: 11-13-07

Minutes from November 13, 2007

 

I. Call to order 6:32 PM 

 

II. Passage of previous meeting’s minutes

 

The minutes were passed 10-0-2 with Xochiltl and Ken abstaining. 

 

III. Old Business

A.     Dance Team Request

Ryan told the Senate that the Oxy Dance Team had a trip in January to Orlando, and that they had recently met to determine the possibilities of funding the trip from the ASOC leadership discretionary fund. 

 

Allison Truscheit addressed the Senate, telling them that the Dance Team had made nationals and was nationally ranked.  Since this had never happened, they had not been allocated the funds to go on this trip.  The total cost of the trip would be $8400, or about $600 per person.  Ryan suggested funding $500, since OSL committed $300 and Dance Team had been able to raise $3000 themselves from bake sales.  He stated that $500 would be a symbolic donation of 10% of the $5000 the Dance Team still needed to accrue, and that the benefit of the Dance Team going to Orlando would be greater prestige and an increased reputation for Occidental. 

 

Mike said that he would be in favor of funding the event in some capacity, but that this request did not seem to meet the Leadership Fund guidelines.  Ryan clarified that he was proposing this under the guidelines.  Patrick stated his belief that this was still problematic, as the guidelines focused on direct collaboration with clubs and this proposal may undermine them.  Ryan replied that this event was outside the general purview of an Oxy club, and that the guidelines were kept loose for this reason.  He then entertained a motion on the matter.

 

Alison replied that there was no proposal, and that the Senate had not had time to think about the matter.  Mike asked Ryan to bring in a written proposal next week, to which Ryan replied that there would be no meeting next week.  Allison noted that the Dance Team had to apply for funding from other organizations before they could apply to the Dean of Students for funding, and that they had to have $300 per dancer sent in by December 7^th, a date which would live in infamy.  Rob asked if the Dance Team could be funded through the Club funds, to which Patrick replied that this would constitute double-dipping, as student services such as club sports are allocated funding at the beginning of the year.  Ken asked how club sports were funded, to which Allison replied that they had been given $180 multiplied by 10, the minimum number of dancers needed on the field. 

 

Mike stated that he would be more comfortable passing this request if he had more time to consider it, and asked Allison if the 27^th was an acceptable date.  She said that as long as the Dance Team got their funds in time, it would be fine. 

 

Rob moved to fund the Dance Team $500 with the stipulation that a media presentation showing the performance of the Dance Team in Orlando was shown afterwards, even if they did not make the televised finals.  Tilak seconded.  The motion passed 8-3-1, with Dom, Alison, and Pat opposing and Ken abstaining.

 

B.     Constitutional Amendments

Ryan told the Senate that they would pass the amendments in question one by one, since there was no way they could pass them as a group. 

a.     Renewable Energy and Sustainability Fund

Link to amendment text:

 

Ken suggested making changes under point C so that they had the flexibility to recruit other faculty members; Kenna recommended bringing other faculty members in as consultants only so that feedback could be obtained from them without making them official committee members. 

 

Ken moved to approve the amendment.

 

Mike thought that the $10 per student fee should be optional, since more student body fees should not be forced on those who do not wish to pay.  Dominique asked who would monitor the fund to ensure that 50% of it was spent on new technologies; using body language, Kenna indicated that it would be the Senate.  Regarding point E, Rob asked whether Senate would have to submit an amendment if it wanted to modify or end the program.  Ken stated that he disagreed with that section of the amendment, since he did not foresee the environmental fund being voted down. 

 

Mike moved to make the $10 per student fee optional, and Patrick seconded. 

 

Santiago asked if those who wanted to pay more into the environmental fund could be allowed to do so.  Ken replied that if it was really optional in such a manner, people might as well send a check to their preferred environmental organization of choice, and suggested allowing only those ideologically opposed to the fund to opt out. 

 

Mike decided to amend his amendment to make Part B say that “students could opt out of the $10 fee”.  Language and semantics were discussed at length, and the Senate eventually settled on “Individual students may opt out of this program while paying the student body fees”.  Kenna noted that information would have to be provided to students as to how to opt out. 

 

Andrew seconded the amendment that inserted the new language and it was passed 10-1-0 with Xochiltl opposing. 

 

Santiago moved to pass the amendment as it now stood, Ken seconded, and it was passed by general consent. 

 

b.     Freedom of Information

Link to amendment text:

 

Rob asked where the financial information would be made available.  Ken said that with the federal government, you submit a request and those in charge give you the information.  Patrick stated that his major problem with the amendment was its impingement to the autonomy of the news media on campus, since it gave Senate the ability to scrutinize their budget.  Ken replied that Senate could not cut the budgets of news media; Kenna corrected him, saying that Senate had to give a percentage of their funds to news media, but that they could vote to lower the percentage. 

 

Ryan displayed an e-mail from the past president, who backed up Kenna’s claims and also asserted the editorial independence of the news media.  Ken compared state-owned newspapers and government-owned television outlets to the Oxy Weekly, saying that just as the government does not censor editorial content of those outlets, Senate would not censor the content of Oxy’s media outlets.  Pat replied that given the much smaller size of Oxy, the situation was quite different.  Dominique stated that she was opposed, at it seemed like too much of an intrusion, and she did not want the Senate to be able to parent every club and organization. 

 

Alison asked for someone to explain freedom of the press with respect to Oxy news outlets.  Ryan said that generally journalism should be as objective as possible, since if financial or social pressures were involved, untruthful journalism could result. 

 

Rob stated that as a private citizen he wanted to be able to see what his money was being spent on to make sure it was being spent prudently.  Kenna replied that advisory boards handled the finances of those groups.  Ken reminded the Senate that this amendment would also allow students to make sure that Programming Board and clubs were spending funds wisely.  Denise replied that the Senate did not need to police the clubs to make sure their funds were being spent properly, and Ken agreed with this sentiment, as he did not wish for the Senate to become a police body either. 

 

Ryan entertained a motion.  Rob moved to pass the amendment as is, Ken seconded, and the motion failed 6-6-0, with Tilak, Xochiltl, Denise, Mike, Patrick, and Dominique opposing.

 

c.      Student Body Fee Increase Cap

Link to amendment text:

 

Kenna told the Senate that the amendment was not grammatically correct in one section; it should say “more than the level”.  Ryan said that the way he understood it, if student fees continued to increase with tuition, they would be huge.  Ken agreed, saying that Oxy had the highest student fees in its peer group.  Under the current rate of increase, current frosh would be paying $330 in student fees by their senior fees.  Ken noted that Patrick would argue that employees’ salaries would be affected by the student fee caps, and said that their salaries only increased by no more than 4%, roughly the rate of inflation.

 

Patrick then brought up the point that the amendment would remove Senate’s ability to levy additional fees in the future, since it is unlikely that students would vote to pass new fees.  Ken replied that Republicans and Democrats were both capable of regularly raising taxes, to which Patrick argued that tax rates are raised through acts of Congress, not through the people’s vote.  Ken stated that if Senate did business as usual, it would not need the extra money, and that the student body would vote to fund worthwhile programs such as the environmental fund. 

 

Mike moved to amend the amendment language to read that “any additional charge must be approved by 2/3 of the Senate”.  Dominique seconded. 

 

Mike then moved to amend his amendment to the amendment to also read that the Senate could not increase fees by more than the tuition percentage increase.  Patrick seconded.  The amendment with the newly revised language passed 11-1-0, with Ken opposing. 

 

C.    Elections Update

Ryan stated that there were seven people running for campus elections.  Kenna said that she had received petitions for Campus Wide positions only, and that the GA co-chair positions would be filled in the spring elections. 

 

IV. New Business

 

A.     GA Update

Kenna told the Senate that the GA did not have a speaker for the coming week, and recommended that the Senate make a street team and ask students about their concerns during lunch.  She noted that the Senate would have to be outgoing, and asked them to be prepared to meet at 12 at the ASOC office to receive questions from the Co-Chairs. 

 

B.     Finance and Public Relations Committee Update

a.     Web Update

Ryan told the Senate about the improved website, saying that he was keeping the calendar updated with events, and that he wanted each Senator to e-mail him a write-up on their individual projects by Thursday so that he could post them on the web site. 

 

b.     Funding Requests

Club/Org	Event/Program	Funding Amount	Vote
BSA	Thanksgiving Brown Bag	$192.41	Patrick moved, Dominique seconded, passed 10-0-1 with Patrick abstaining
APIA	Dive into Diversity Week	$40.00	Patrick moved, Denise seconded, passed 10-0-1 with Patrick abstaining
APIA	Mochi Fundraiser	$85.24	Patrick moved, Andrew seconded, passed 10-0-1 with Patrick abstaining
KASA	Noodle Fundraiser	$60.00	Patrick moved, Tilak seconded, passed 10-0-1 with Patrick abstaining
KASA	Korean BBQ	$237.70	Patrick moved, Xochiltl seconded, passed 10-0-1 with Patrick abstaining
SASA	Diwali (Festival of Lights)	$118.14	Patrick moved, Rob seconded, passed 9-0-2 with Tilak and Patrick abstaining

 

C.    Campus Culture Committee Update

a.     Cultural Grads

Denise gave a short presentation on the cultural graduations.  She said that she had been working on a way to split up funds among the cultural graduation clubs.  She, Mike, and Patrick had come up with two different options: A percentage amount based on the amount the clubs still needed, or funding on a per-person basis.  They had decided that the second option would be more equitable. 

 

Denise moved to fund the cultural graduation clubs on a per-person basis of $72.12 per person, and Santiago seconded.  The motion passed 9-0-1 with Dominique abstaining. 

 

D.    Scholastic Committee Update

a.     Dean of the College Student Advisory Committee

Ryan told the Senate that Eric Frank, Dean of the College, had put together the DOCSA committee, which needed 2 senators, most likely the Scholastic Committee senators, along with eight other students.  Ryan asked the Senate to send out e-mails in the Digest or bring in individuals suitable for the committee. 

 

E.     President’s Update

a.     No meeting next week-Happy Thanksgiving?

Ryan said that there would not be a Senate meeting next week unless there was a consensus that quorum could be met, and said that the Senate could look forward to a Thanksgiving e-mail from him. 

b.     Dinner with Dean Avery

Ryan told the Senate to meet at the ASOC office at 5:40 on Thursday to go to Dean Avery’s, and also said to dress comfortably. 

c.      Party Policy Review Committee

Kenna said that 2 senators and 2 other students were needed for this committee.  She needed individuals who could work during winter break so that policy could be implemented during the spring.  The Senate confirmed Mike to serve on the committee.  The Senate also brainstormed students that could be recommended for committee service, including Devon Puglia, Vince Carlin, Rozell Hodges, and Amy Lazlett.  The Senate decided to delegate the responsibility of finding student committee members to Mike. 

 

d.     Hold January 26, 2008, 12:00-5:00 PM for Training

Ryan told the Senate that next week there would be two new senators, and to reserve the date for mid-year training. 

 

V. Open Forum

 

A.     General Comments

Denise brought to the attention of Ryan comments from club leaders who had told her that sending Ryan information concerning their events to be put on the master calendar was an inconvenience.  Ryan said that he would try to look into alternatives, but that this would only take the club leaders roughly 30 or 45 seconds to do. 

 

Andrew said that he would bring a proposal for next week’s meeting, and added that a new funding system was needed to replace the algorithm, or at least a revision to the algorithm to make it more difficult to fraud.

 

Santiago recommended changing the way GA works so that students would actually show up. 

 

B.     Brainstorming Concerns and Problems

Ryan asked the Senate what issues and needs it wanted to bring up in future meetings.  Ken wanted to revisit the Senate’s stance on funding bartenders.  Patrick recommended revising the Leadership Fund guidelines, Santiago wished to extend the length of dances, and Andrew wished for the Senate to make themselves more accessible to the general public so that students could voice their problems.  Ken wanted to make the media services even more independent and also spoke of his concern that the student body was growing like rabbits.  Alison wanted to review the Bengal Bus; Kenna recommended giving the Bengal Bus feedback so that they could make changes.  Ryan also wanted to advocate looking into green specifications for the new residence hall, since the environment was a big student issue.  Santiago asked if administrators could speak at Senate meetings, while Xochiltl recommended a publicity blitz for GAs. 

 

VI. Close Meeting

 

Alison moved to close the meeting, Santiago seconded, and the meeting was closed by general consent at 8:53 PM.