Senate Beat 10/7: Ninas Strike Again

Despite Senate Public’s 9:00 a.m. start time deterring most of the Reed rabble from attending, Wednesday’s Senate Public was relatively well attended. Senate was only one senator short of quorum, and there were a whole four audience-members present besides your loyal Senate Beat reporter.

Student Body President Safi Zenger opened committee reports saying that she and Director of Student Engagement Janice Yang met to discuss allocation of student spaces to clubs who would make use of them, and with Vice President and Dean of Institutional Diversity Phyllis Esposito on how Senate can best work with the Office for Institutional Diversity.

Vice Treasurer Wani Pandey announced that the Finance Committee had two proposed allocations which required approval. Beer Nation was funded $6,035.50 to host one Beer Garden, with the intention of giving Treasury members a better understanding of a Beer Garden’s finances. Pandey also discussed Angel Booking’s request for funds, which was irregular because Angel Booking, a student group which funds and organizes concerts on campus, didn’t have an itemized budget for the use of their funds. Angel Booking negotiates with performers on the cost of a concert, and they need an idea of what funds are available to them before they can negotiate. Pandey recognized this need and said Senate would discuss it further before coming to a determination.

Pandey also discussed shifting responsibility for Paideia planning and funding from students to staff groups. Pandey explained that finding Paideia Czars is very difficult and creates work for czars, treasurers, and students on Appointments Committee during winter break, a time when they should be resting and aren’t being paid.

Senate Secretary Miles Sanford said there have been discussions about changing the tuition model for study abroad. While currently, students studying abroad only pay for the program in which they are enrolling, Sanford has been talking with International programs about having study abroad cost the same as tuition at Reed, with excess funds going towards travel and living expenses.

Senator Nina Baca reported that not all senators had sent her photos to be posted to social media. Sanford briefly lauded those senators who submitted photos and gently haragued those who did not.

Senator Astrid Liu reported that they were working with International Student Services (ISS) to ensure that international students were able to access internships and jobs off campus. Assistant Treasurer Nina Gopaldas added that ISS educated and informed students on the logistics and details of ISS programming, and was very open to working with students now that Curricular Practical Training is available at Reed. Gopaldas added that she had made photos of herself available for publishing to Senate social media as of 30 seconds from making her report.

Senator Kiana Cunningham-Rodriguez reported that she had been working on a personal project forming a student group to advise students making Discriminatory Harassment and Sexual Misconduct (DHSM) claims, focusing on Discriminatory Harassment. After committee reports, Assistant Dean for Student Rights and Responsibilities Cameron Tanner asked for more information on the advisory group. Cunningham-Rodriguez replied that during the Paul Currie protests, many students were upset about the process for reporting bias incidents. While information on the process is publicly available, many found it hard to understand and navigate. Cunningham-Rodriguez thought that a group of students who were well versed in DHSM processes would be invaluable to making the reporting of bias incidents more accessible. A large difficulty, however, was finding similar programs at other institutions. Putting together a new program without precedent made the undertaking harder than expected.

Senator Lennox Reeder announced that they would have news after Fall break on their project to expand wifi access to the Great Lawn and other outdoor spaces.

Senator Jefferson Ratliff met with Sustainability Coordinator Rachel Willis, who bemoaned the lack of data available to her on Reed’s sustainability practices like carbon emissions and waste handling. Willis was also reportedly interested in rethinking student spaces like lawns, as well as employing more students for sustainability-related positions.