News
Student Assembly addresses a broad range of student concerns
By Emily Eisler ’17
November 10, 2016
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At their Oct. 31 meeting, Student Assembly updated us on the Water Bottle Initiative. SA has already passed the resolution to reduce water bottle use on campus and they are working on beginning phase one of the process. Currently they are undergoing research to see how other NESCAC colleges have reduced their water bottle use and have found that the best first step is to remove plastic water bottles from the vending machines in student residence halls. This will not apply to vending machines in public spaces. Also, only large campus events that have over 100 attendees will be supplied with water bottles. Representatives will also be meeting with someone from Coca-Cola to talk about the possibility of water bottles being replaced by a different product.
During Committee Reports, the Days-Massolo Center recapped their Conversations to Commitment event on Oct. 29 which discussed allyship and how to operate in existing structures. Follow-up events will be happening later in the semester. Facilities Committee announced that trash cans have been removed from Kirner-Johnson classrooms due to the hassle and mess they created. Health and Safety reviewed their meeting with the Health Center to discuss STD testing, their operating hours and how to best communicate information about the Center to the campus community. Finally, LITS discussed changes to the Hamilton App they were working on.
Student Assembly met again on Monday Nov. 7 as well. The meeting began with announcements regarding the visit of Richard Dacalos, a Filipino entrepreneur, to campus this week. Dacalos held five workshops on campus in collaboration with the Career Center, the Oral Communication Center, the Levitt Center, the Dance Department and the COOP. He also visited several classes throughout a number of departments. His talk on Thursday Nov. 10 will be livestreamed to the NY6 schools, Middlebury’s Center for Social Entrepreneurship, and other schools across the country. SA also listened to a dispute over the implementation of a Jitney Stop at the Griffin Road Apartments, resulting in the administration promising to remind the Jitney service of the necessary stops.
In the Committee Reports, Constitution Committee discussed the results of their meetings to reevaluate funding codes. Next week SA will be debating changes to funding codes in their meeting. Cultural Affairs Committee announced that they were setting up an oral interview training session for the Hamilton Oral History Project and that their members would be attending the Student Diversity Council’s meeting that week.
The Days-Massolo Center announced the beginning of Caribbean Week and that Black and Latinx Student Union would be holding events throughout the week. The Voices of Color Lecture Series will also host “A Lens on Liberation: Black Queer Masculinities in Movement Work with Devyn Springer and Sean D. Henry-Smith ’15 on Nov. 11. Prior to their performance, Springer and Henry-Smith will co-lead a poetry workshop in the Days-Massolo Center at 4:15 p.m..
Facilities Committee discussed the administration’s plan to reduce water bottle use on campus, specifically by removing bottles from dorms and implementing more water fountains. They also discussed Bon Appetit’s efforts to address student concerns in Food Committee’s report. Health and Safety Committee announced they will begin to meet with Health Center staff bi-weekly to check in and discuss student feedback. They will also be meeting with Campus Safety officials to organize a community question and answer session with Campus Safety officers. They will also discuss with them why academic buildings are not Hillcard accessible after a certain hour.