Senate Beat Wants you to Run for Senate

This week’s Senate Public saw reports on the attempt to increase consistency across Hum 110 conferences and junior quals, a statement against scrounging, and the opening of special elections.

President Andee Gude ‘26 announced that the application for Renn Fayre czars was open and that interviews will be held soon, and that the result of Reed President Bilger’s Council on Campus Climate’s subcommittee on Prevention and Education, which according to a statement by President Bilger, “will develop and implement educational programs and initiatives to prevent discrimination and promote understanding across our community,”  “was really productive,” and that the subcommittee determined “what we want to prioritize.” Further details are forthcoming. 

Senator Lindsay Worrell ‘25, on behalf of the Appointments Committee (AppComm), recommended Senator Catherine Hoyle ‘25 as Community Accessibility Resources and Disability Services (CARDS) chair and Sokhna Gaye ‘28 as CARDS Engagement Manager. Senator Worrell also reported from a meeting with Admissions and Financial Aid (noting that she was unable to witness a private “executive” section of said meeting) on the result of the SCOTUS reversal of affirmative action that Reed’s first class since the decision is “seeing more diversity, not less” unlike the rest of the country. 

Senator Maya Gutierrez ‘27 reaffirmed comments from the last Senate Public on discussions within the Student Committee on Academic Policy and Planning (SCAPP) about how to increase consistency within Hum 110 during the second semester, when “racial and ethnic topics are covered across different conferences without consistency.” She also mentioned efforts to increase consistency across quals, and the debut of a committee concerning retention rates introduced by the administration.

Senator Andrew Sakahara ‘27 announced that he and Senator Hoyle met with Commons staff to discuss sustainability in Commons, ultimately leading to a decision to increase advertising of Eco-Containers and a drive to reduce waste.

Senator Sakahara also announced to the student body the Sustainability Committee’s position on scrounging, saying “Scrounging is creating a lot of extra work for staff of Commons as well as student workers.” Senator Sakahara also noted that the scrounge is near the dishwasher, which “has a lot of dangerous chemicals.” He also noted that late-night pizza has been “a big hit so far!” Senator Sakahara and Senator Bella Moore ‘26 stated that they hoped to have a review of the senate’s bylaws done before fall break. Senator Lina Eid ‘26 added on to Senator Sakahara’s discussion of Commons, mentioning efforts to replace pork in dishes which have only small amounts, in order to increase options for students who can’t eat pork for religious reasons. Senator Eid said that Commons would be “reviewing their menu” to see if such a change could be implemented.

Senator Catherine Hoyle announced a future meeting with Community Safety Director Gary Granger, and the training and “initiation” of Sokhna Gaye into CARDS, which involved mundane orientation steps like access to a Google Drive and sharing a meal, and about which Hoyle said “We hazed her. Don’t put that in [the Quest].”

Senator Hoyle also announced that the CARDS closet would open next week, and that all could gain access by emailing cards@reed.edu.

Vice President Jefferson Ratliff ‘25 said that a timeline for special elections has been made such that “hopefully we can have it all wrapped up by fall break,” allowing the regular election at the end of the semester to continue on schedule. VP Ratliff announced that petitions are open for anyone who wants to run. He closed the meeting saying, “Senate Beat wants you to run for Senate.”