Senate Beat: It's Election Season!

Student Body Head Treasurer Wani Pandey (‘23) recommended the allocation of $346.45 to HUM play. The motion passed almost unanimously, though Senator Lindsay Worrel (‘25) abstained, having been the one who requested the money. 

“Keep applying for Sub-Czar and Volunteer positions for Renn Fayre,” said Pandey. “Renn Fayre only works if people help out.”

Senator Meera Balan (‘26) reminded students to email her or CSO Gary Granger about which places on campus they would like more lighting to be installed, as part of Balan’s ongoing campus lighting project.

Commons is currently running a program where students can submit their own recipes to be integrated into the Commons menu. “Please submit your own recipes,” said Senator Xixi Dukes (‘26). “If you want to see change at Commons, you have to participate,” added Balan.

Vice President Sean Brown (‘24) reported that the Student Committee on Diversity (SCOD) would have a meeting soon with the Assistant Dean for Institutional Diversity Jessika Chi.

Senator Jefferson Ratliff (‘25) announced that the promotion campaign is underway for the Senate Appointments Handshake. They are working on setting up posters so students are more aware of Handshake postings, and will be able to receive email updates when new positions are posted.

Additionally, Senator Ratliff reported that they will be meeting with the Director for the Office of Student Engagement, Janice Yang, to further discuss the cleanup of the student spaces they recently toured. Senate is working on clearing up the trash in the spaces to make them more usable for students. 

Applications for JBoard member are currently open on Handshake, but will be closing this Sunday. “It’s a really fun job if you want to be involved in JBoard,” said Senator Ratliff. 

Student Body President Safi Zenger (‘24) met with Vice President for Student Life Karnell McConnell-Black and Dean of Students Tawana Parks last Friday. They discussed Renn Fayre plans — “We’re making sure that everything that needs to happen is happening, and that it’s happening in a good way,” said Zenger. Additionally, President Zenger updated the two on Senate’s current work on Reed’s Community Constitution, specifically discussing some bylaws that Senate is looking to update. The bylaws are currently unavailable on the website, but will be up on the website after they have been reviewed and updated.

As Senate finished stating their business, Aries Carnathan, a member of the wage review committee, reminded the Senators, as well as everyone else appointed by the Senate, to fill out their wage review surveys. After apologizing for not having filled out the survey yet, President Zenger said, “Wage review is really important. It literally dictates the wages of the people that we hire. [...] If you have a problem with your wage, this is the best and most effective and streamlined way to affect that.”

Another member of the audience asked about the bulletin board currently outside the Honor Council room on the first floor of the Gray Campus Center. They would like the board to be updated, possibly by adding council members’ pronouns or photos to the board. The audience member also asked if there were any updates on Senate’s logo situation — the logo had previously been described as “fugly.”

With regards to the bulletin board, President Zenger responded that the board has been outdated for some time — it had not been updated for almost two years. They plan on updating the board, but most likely by next semester. The logo for the Senate has also been unchanged since Carnathan pointed it out at Senate Public on February 20th. Though Carnathan had previously volunteered to design a new logo for the Senate, free of charge, they had been too busy to work on it. The Senate has put the logo on their agenda, and might look to solicit someone to design the logo. 

Senator Ratliff announced that elections are coming up both in the Senate and in the Quest. When asked to name reasons to run for Senate, Ratliff said, “Good vibes, happiness, being blessed.” Ratliff also later added, “If you’re nosy, [Senate] is a great job for being nosy.” President Zenger also added that the Senate is in the market for a new “Baby Money” — an affectionate term referring to the Assistant Treasurer position that Anahi Sanchez Marcial ('25) currently holds. “If you’re interested in the Baby Money position, feel free to reach out to any current treasury team members,” said Treasurer Pandey. The position is a three-semester-long appointment, so anyone who does not graduate within the next three semesters is eligible to apply. The Quest will also have three seats open this election season. “If you have any questions about that,” said Zenger, “you should talk to the Quest.”