Senate Beat is Not in a Crisis
Highlights and action items: Students should donate their board points to the Renn Fayre feast. CARDS is a student activism group for campus-wide accessibility issues, DAR is for individual accommodations. The HCC has clinical case managers who can help students find off-campus therapists. Students must attend their housing selection meeting in order to get a housing choice (for rising sophomores) or get housing at all (for rising upperclassmen).
This week's Senate Public was held Monday, February 24, in Eliot Chapel. Student Body Vice President Lucy Knight-King '26 called the meeting to order, stating that Student Body President Andee Gude '26 was out and so she would be running the meeting. Knight-King reported that the Commencement Committee has contacted seniors' first choice of commencement speaker. She also reported that she has done legislation training and will attend the first meeting tomorrow. The Presidential Council on Campus Climate (PCCC) meeting on February 11 discussed a Reed Union, recent hate crimes, and a proposed sticker campaign on doors telling law enforcement that Reed buildings are private and they cannot enter. Knight-King stated that the Renn Fayre Committee discussed the initial Renn Fayre budget and board point donations for the Feast will open soon and students are encouraged to donate their spare board points.
Senator Catherine Hoyle '25 reported for the Accessibility Committee website subcommittee that they are working on removing duplicate web pages, making the site hub-style, and adding an accessibility issue reporting form. Hoyle also reported that the Accessibility Committee is considering an accessibility audit of various campus resources. They reported that the Commons Committee will meet this week, and students should reach out to Catherine Hoyle, Eleanor Davis-Diver ‘26, and Maya Gutierrez ‘27 with any feedback for Commons. Hoyle reported that the Community for Accessibility Resources & Disability Support (CARDS) mural in the GCC is done and just needs a top coat, and that the CARDS closet is open for use with headphones, sensory friendly lights, and galaxy lights for any students who email cards@reed.edu asking to borrow them. Finally, Hoyle reported for the Union Committee that there will be a Reed Union on the Honor Principle on March 14.
Senator Karter Stanton '26 reported that there would be Computer Policy Committee and Financial Aid Committee meetings on February 25. Knight-King also mentioned that she is working with Athletics Fitness and Outdoor Programs (AFOP) to work out what they will and won't fund for sports activities, in order to determine what Treasury should fund.
Senator and Appointments Committee Co-chair Bella Moore '26 nominated 3 J-board members: Vabis Qudus '28 , Jillian Booth ‘27, and Yuguo Han ‘26. Hoyle motioned, and Head Treasurer Maya Gutierrez seconded. With no opposing votes and two abstentions on the grounds that Knight-King was acting president and another senator zoned out, the motion passed.
CARDS would like to clarify that CARDS is the student activism group for students with disability and accessibility needs for everyone. The Accessibility Committee is a faculty-wide committee to discuss accessibility across campus. If students are confused or notice a campus accessibility issue, they can contact CARDS. Disability and Accessibility Resources (DAR)'s purpose is individual accommodations, and CARDS can advocate for campus-wide accessibility needs outside DAR's purview. Moore also reported that there will be a Harm Reduction Committee meeting next week. The Title IX Committee met with the work group going over new regulations and talked about communicating to students. The committee is not announcing anything yet to avoid spreading misinformation, but would like students to be aware that Reed still has protections for them even if Title IX does not. Finally, Moore reported that she met with L Mattson of SHARE to talk about student spaces and how to deal with students who violate Title IX, abuse student spaces, or harm other students.
Gutierrez ‘27 reported for FinCom, saying that Hot Pot+ requested $388.82 and got $388.82, and K-Pop Dance Club requested $914.08 and got $160.00. Gutierrez also reported that the Renn Fayre meeting discussed preliminary budgeting and housing for White Bird residents.
Senator Sima Fasihi '28 reported that the Student Committee on Academic Policy and Planning (SCAPP) is planning on sending the feedback they received about distribution requirements, specifically the second language requirement, to the Committee on Academic Policy and Planning (CAPP) for consideration, and she will meet with Christian Kroll about Hum 110 on February 28, and that the Student Committee on Diversity would meet on February 25.
Senator Alyssa Daggett '28 reported that she asked the HCC Committee about outsourced therapists on campus. She was informed that the HCC has no space and there are many insurance complications. The HCC wants to raise more awareness for their clinical case managers, who can find students off-campus therapists. Next year, the HCC will offer 12 therapy sessions per year instead of six per semester, in order to give students more scheduling flexibility. Daggett also reported that the Wellness Committee is going to run an event with journaling, advice for good sleep, and a raffle.
Senator Lina Eid '26 reported that she met with Residence Life and housing applications are now open. Students who want to live on campus next year should apply. If rising sophomores don't attend the selection meeting, they'll be randomly assigned housing. Upper-division students who don't attend the selection meeting will not get on-campus housing.
Senator Ren Raskin '27 reported that she and Gude met with Academic Support Services in early February. Raskin will meet with Admissions and Financial Aid in early March, and with CPI later this week.
Gude, via messages to Knight-King, reported that the Appeals Board is trained and waiting to process appeals, the Harm Reduction Committee is meeting on February 28, and they are attempting to update Treasury's information on the website. It was unclear if this means the Senate or Reed website. Additionally, Gude is working on a student spaces project that would create a voluntary sharing system for frequently used club items. There will be a Library Committee meeting next Thursday, where Gude plans to ask about lighting.
Vice Treasurer Yuri Garcia '27 reported that she met with the Occupational Health and Safety Committee and the Reactor Operations Committee, and has nothing to report. Assistant Treasurer Jules Flynn '27 scheduled a meeting with Restorative Practices. Senator Milo Gardner-Stephens '26 had nothing to report. Senator Eleanor Davis-Diver '26 met with the HCC, which has new COVID-19 test 2-packs and Flu A/B tests. Senator and Appointments Committee Co-chair Andrew Happy '27 reported that he was not at this week's ResLife meeting, but will be meeting with Sustainability Committee, Hum 110, and Restorative Practices on February 28.
The meeting then opened to questions. Tara Weling '25, STEMGeMs and Joyous Whimsy Club signator, stated that the two organizations had not received their rollover funds from the fall and that they were told that this was due to a discrepancy in disbursements. Garcia and Flynn reported that both clubs should have the rollover funds, but Treasury is in the process of updating rollover funds for all clubs.
Another student asked if Senate could share more information about the new housing selection process. Knight-King reported that she would like to ask Residence Life more questions. Tucker R. Twomey ‘25, a Housing Advisor at the meeting, clarified that students will get random numbers, then be able to select rooms in order of their number. Roommate preferences will be allowed, but friend groups are no longer an option.
Student body fee: Sofia Pomeroy '25 asked if Senate has considered raising the student body fee, since they reported to the Quest (see last week's "Senate Continues to Struggle with Funding Concerns") that Reed's student body fee is below those of similar institutions. Garcia, Moore, Gutierrez, and Knight-King stated that they are working on it, but changes to student body fees must be approved by a committee that meets very infrequently. Another student asked if the "similar institutions" in question had as much student body control over funding as Reed, and Moore reported that she does not know but will look into it as part of the proposal.
Pomeroy then asked, "How are you planning to change policies at large to prevent the type of mismanagement of funds and misunderstanding of available funds as noted by the Quest article last week from occurring again?" Knight-King said that the biggest step towards avoiding a similar issue in the future is to let Senate see the whole picture of the budget, not just their committee budgets. Senate will also have to reconsider the allocations to wages, clubs, Finance Committee, Renn Fayre, and Senate budget spending in order to avoid unsustainable spending habits. Knight-King stated that Senate's current discretionary spending budget (e.g. the budget used for Senate events and trainings, not the overall student body budget) does not make sense for their current financial situation and she hopes to bring it back down next semester. She also stated that last semester's wage review "was kind of a stop-gap" and Senate will review wages again next semester through the lens of equitable dispersal of funds across the student body.
Garcia noted that last week's Quest article was missing some comments about how "we're actively looking into these issues, and actively working with them, we're not trying to ignore them, and we are pushing forwards as a whole Senate to increase transparency and increase understanding around our expenses and our budgets."
Pomeroy asked, "So, you all know the overarching budget?" and several senators responded in the negative. Garcia clarified that Treasury presented the overall budget to the Senate, but senators don't have ongoing access to that information. Knight-King stated that she would like to discuss establishing ongoing access to the budget. Gutierrez noted that Senate has not had an executive session since last week's Quest was released, so they have not fully discussed planned changes to policy.
Winter break spending: Pomeroy then asked who were considered members of the Executive Committee, to which Knight-King responded that the Executive Committee is the President, Vice President, Head Treasurer, and maybe AppComm co-chairs depending on the situation. Gutierrez spoke up to clarify some points from last week's Quest article, and later clarified further to the Quest in her office hours. She stated that she was not involved in the winter break decision to spend $7,500 dollars on DEI training, which was made by Gude and Knight-King and did not involve a vote. She was involved in the later decision to raise Senate's discretionary spending budget from $5,000 to $10,000, which was done in accordance with typical procedure, through Treasury and the Business Office allocating the student body budget into different pools. After realizing that Senate was over budget already, Treasury and the Business Office raised the Senate discretionary budget to $10,000 at the beginning of the spring semester. Gutierrez stated that "the official recommendation from the Business Office was to increase the budget and then have a lot discussion with Senate about their spending," and asked "What can you do?" when the budget has already been spent. During the same Treasury and Business Office meeting, they also realized that Senate's spending was unsustainable and made the decision to present the full budget to Senate.
At Public after Gutierrez's clarification, Senator Gardner-Stephens said that the winter break spending decision was made without Senate input, and Knight-King stated that "this was a decision Andee and I made on our own… I saw it as coming from our rainy day fund for special projects, but I definitely think we should have considered it in relation to the actual Senate budget, and that was a mistake on my part." She continued that senators do not have time during the semester to meet with organizations about what their DEI training would look like, and they wanted to sign a contract before Senate orientation started. She also stated that the budget decision should have been made before the break, and she regrets that it wasn't, and clarified that the rainy day fund is a chunk of the budget reserved every semester to provide wiggle room for special projects.
Wage review: Pomeroy then moved on to the wage review, asking what student positions Senate had removed and if they had increased their own wages. Garcia stated that the wage review indicated that Senators are drastically underpaid, but the Senate didn't raise their own wages. The fall wage review raised Senate wages, which would have gone into effect the next semester, but that was removed in the recent spring semester review. Knight-King also clarified that it would be against the bylaws for Senators to increase their own wages in a way that would take immediate effect.
Senate signator and funding concerns: Pomeroy asked Knight-King if she could share anything about Senate's overall funding situation, as the Senate signator, to assuage student concerns. Knight-King initially responded that Senate does not have a signator, but was quickly informed by the other senators that she was, in fact, the signator of Senate according to the student body bylaws. Knight-King then answered that it would be best to ask Treasury, but stated, "We are not in a crisis, or on the point of bankruptcy or anything." She said that Senate's income has been declining but the spending has remained constant, and Senate wants to make changes now so that they do not have bigger funding issues in the future. Garcia agreed. Pomeroy then asked why Senate's budget had been treated as confidential prior to this semester. Knight-King stated that the policy had been passed down through Treasury, until Senate realized this semester that it was causing problems. Garcia shared that after discovering that they needed to reduce their rate of spending, Treasury decided to reveal the budget to Senate. A student asked if that meant they thought the budget should return to being confidential in the future, and Garcia and Knight-King responded with a firm "No!" Pomeroy then asked how Senate was supposed to make an informed decision on budgets if they didn't know the total budget, and Moore stated that Senators always have access to the relevant parts of the budget that they are voting on. She stated that Senate doesn't have the time for finer budget adjustments, but that going forward they will add more context that is necessary to make more informed decisions. Pomeroy asked, if Senate's budget had been declining slowly over time, why was the issue only noticed this semester? Knight-King responded that because of high turnover, Senators do not see the overall trend of increasingly unsustainable spending because they are only looking at the previous semester.
Treasury and Business Office: Pomeroy asked how often Treasury and the Business Office discuss total spending, and Garcia stated that Treasury meets every other week with the Business Office, in addition to a weekly meeting between the Assistant Treasurer and the Business Office. Knight-King and Garcia stated that all student body purchases and disbursements are looked over by the Business Office, and the Business Office would bring up anything "super alarming," but Treasury is in charge of funding allocations overall.
Unauthorized Spending: Pomeroy then circled back to the unauthorized winter break purchasing decisions reported in last week's Quest, asking if the $7,500 in spending was spent before or after Treasury's raising of the discretionary budget from $5,000 to $10,000. Knight-King answered that the contract for the training was finalized before the budget raise, since she mistakenly thought it was from the rainy day fund instead of the Senate Budget.
Treasurers voting: For her final question, Pomeroy asked why the Treasurers had been voting throughout the meeting, since they are established as non-voting members in the Student Body Constitution. Garcia stated that "the bylaws work with us" and "whatever we wrote in the Bylaws tends to override the Constitution…because the Constitution is harder to touch and move." Pomeroy objected that this should mean the Constitution overrides the Bylaws, and Knight-King stated that Senate "can't react to situations that are emerging" using constitutional changes.
The Quest then asked why Treasurers voting was an emergent issue, and Knight-King responded that a previous Senate made a bylaw change to let Treasurers vote. Moore stated that at the time, Treasurers didn't come to executive meetings at all, but as time went on they came more, and that Treasurers have been voting for a long time. Eid stated that the current constitution was last updated 12 years ago (April 13, 2013), and that she does not know how to update it. Knight-King proposed asking Karnell McConell-Black how to update the Student Body Constitution, at which point Pomeroy began to read aloud the relevant section of the Constitution (Article IX Section 2). Garcia responded by saying that they'd look into it, but that Senate works by the Bylaws. Moore questioned why Pomeroy did not want Treasurers voting if she was so concerned about Senators knowing about the budget, to which Pomeroy responded that she didn't mean Treasurers shouldn't come to meetings, but she was concerned about the discrepancy between the Bylaws and the Constitution. Knight-King closed the meeting by saying that she appreciated the engagement questions at this Public, since they help Senate think about how they can change and improve.
