The Reed College Student Senate has officially entered the technological age; last Thursday, in an unprecedented feat of tech savviness, Senators, along with a smattering of Reed community in attendance, had the privilege of experiencing the (live) benefits of audio amplification at a Senate meeting. In collaboration with Sound Kollectiv, the remarks from the first Student Senate meeting of the 2019-2020 school year were delivered from a partially working, just ok-fi public address system.
The meeting proceeded promptly as there were very many senators and very few topics to awkwardly disperse amongst them.
Student Body President Pax Lloyd-Burchett announced that he will be meeting with a panel of professors and staff members on September 24 to discuss a recent influx of bias incident reports that have been filed at Reed. Lloyd-Burchett will also be working with Dean for Institutional Diversity and A.A. Knowlton Professor of Physics Mary James to further support diversity and inclusion on campus. Associate Professor of Music Mark Burford will be taking over for James this semester while she’s on sabbatical.
For the remainder of the meeting, Senators discussed the nuances and inconceivable complexities of the Student Body Funding Poll. Based on input from the current head and assistant treasurers, Salma Huque and Daksh Shami, respectively, identity-based funding has been established for this year’s Funding Circus, the all-day event where Senate money is allocated. Typically, only groups who place in the Top 40 of funding poll are eligible to be at Funding Circus. Identity-funding is a separate way to qualify for Funding Circus; it doesn’t change where the money comes from or how much money the groups receive. To be eligible, clubs and organizations must submit a mission statement which is evaluated by the treasurers.
These groups are also able to participate in Top 40 if they so desire. However, that does not increase the amount of money a group will receive.
In other news, a new student body website is in the works. Its main purpose will be for students to vote in elections as well as view budgets for student groups, along with other bureaucratic information related to the Reed College student government.
