Williams:
We hope finals are going well! Take a few minutes to read this e-mail about what your student government has worked on this semester. Don’t worry, we give you permission to procrastinate (that was a Peter joke…).
We want to wish all of the graduating seniors the BEST OF LUCK as they pop the Purple Bubble 🙂 We especially want to thank Francesca Barrett and Nick Fogel for their leadership this past year. We have big shoes to fill.
College Council has been working very hard this past semester, and we hope that you find the work we do relevant and effective. Keep reading to see what we’ve been up to!
T o i m p r o v e s t u d e n t l i f e a t W i l l i a m s :
We came up with the idea for Purple Cow Gelato (yum!); we facilitated the a cappella groups’ return to Brooks Rogers and Chapin for their final concerts; we successfully worked with the CUL to extend swipe access hours into Hollander and Schapiro; we worked with Dining Services to increase variety at various venues on campus; we turned the super successful Great Ideas Campaign into a permanent committee that solicits ideas from students and turns their ideas into reality (see below for a list); we funded most of and assisted in the planning for Williams Day.
T o o p e n m o r e l i n e s o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n w i t h t h e s t u d e n t b o d y :
We post all of our meeting minutes and agendas on WSO and on our website, collegecouncil.williams.edu; we are visiting your group meetings, attending events, and being more attentive to the issues you care about; we’ve sought input via [email protected]; and the College Council Communications Team (CCCT) has worked to increase our presence around campus through our first-ever newsletter poster campaign, “You’re In the Know.”
T o f u l f i l l o u r p r o m i s e o f r e s p o n s i b l y b a l a n c i n g t h e s t u d e n t b o d y ’ s b u d g e t :
We created a new Assistant Treasurer position on College Council to provide a second pair of eyes managing our finances, and to help the CC Treasurer communicate with groups and students that want to request money; we formed a Rollover Task Force that will work over the summer to create proposals to advise next year’s Council on how to manage the $110,000 of rollover funds; we’ve scrutinized every funding request to ensure that it reflects genuine student need and interest; we’ve ensured the longevity of groups like the Sailing Team with high capital expenditures by allocating funds through the Capital Investment Fund (CIF).
T o e n s u r e t h a t s t u d e n t s f e e l s a f e a n d s u p p o r t e d a t W i l l i a m s :
We institutionalized the Mental Health Committee as an official College Council committee; we advocated for better resources for JAs through the Health Center; we worked with the Chaplain’s Office to reinstate Life Raft, a support group for students and community members struggling with grief; we partnered with the Mental Health Committee for an all-campus discussion, “Our Mental Health: Where Do We Go From Here?” (minutes attached).
It is a privilege to represent you. Have a wonderful summer!
Krista Pickett and Peter Skipper
CC Presidents
What has College Council done?
Appointing students to College committees: stay tuned for an e-mail from us next week with the results. We are pleased that so many of you applied!
NAB/SAB hours: Council worked with the Committee on Undergraduate Life to extend the hours of Hollander and Schapiro until 12:30am Monday through Thursday and from 1pm to 12:30am on Sundays.
Examined the structure and membership of College Council and wrote this resolution
Refined the process for starting a new club on campus: approved Men for Consent, Williams Triathlon Club, Williams Photography Journal, the Williams Globalist, and Ephs For Peace in the Middle East
Facilitated a discussion about the use of the Lower Goodrich Dance Studio to allow our performance groups access to it during their performances
Updated the Textbook Reserve Program: rent your textbooks for use in Sawyer and Schow
Reinstated Facilities Directors Committee, which discusses and recommends policy on issues such as summer storage, dorm room furniture, snow removal, campus beautification, and residence hall vandalism
Formed a Student/Security committee and had regular meetings with the Directors of Security to begin reviewing policies pertaining to parties, fines, and discipline at Williams
Great Ideas
Clarified final paper/exam return policy: be sure to ask your professors for your finals back if you want them.
Funded and arranged for the New York Times to be available again in Paresky. Should we renew our subscription for the fall? Let us know at [email protected].
At the request of All Acoustic Alliance, CC purchased a keyboard for use through the Equipment Loan Center
Buying computer chargers for rent in the libraries
Updated Sawyer’s Video Game Library
Bought paddle balls and rackets for the courts behind Mission (pick them up in Security)
Water dispenser in Schow
What CC’s Done With Dining
Gourmet Salads are now available in the 82 Grill
Late Night Specials: shaking up Snack Bar with well-priced specials
Oven mitts: purchased oven mitts for more than 20 dorm kitchens around campus
Drink selection at Grab ‘n Go: seltzer water and club soda are now available
Received confirmation from Dining Services that students will be able to check their meal points online come Fall 2012
Proposed the creation of the most Williams-y gelato in the world: Purple Cow! Yum.
Gelato vending machine: partnering with Dining to make it possible
More variety in Grab ‘n Go Options (including Hot Cheetos!)
Comment boxes in dining halls
Vending machines: increasing the variety and maintenance, including adding healthier options
Communication and Accessibility
You’re In The Know: CC’s bathroom newsletter
Reinstated [email protected]
WSO: posts minutes and agendas in the CC Updates section
Minutes: records all CC meetings and publishes thorough recaps of Council discussions for the student body
Facebook: CC now has a social media presence!
Brought President Falk, Dean Bolton, and Vice President Klass in to College Council meetings for conversations pertaining to student life and to allow CC members to give them constructive feedback about the student experience
Opened CC Campus (agenda setting meetings) and the CC Office to all members of Council
Invited the Student Chairs from the CUL, CDC, CEP in to Council to update us on their work and to see how Council can assist
Communications Liaisons: worked with the Office of Communications to design a small committee of students to give input about the way the College markets itself and solicited self-nominations via all-campus e-mail
Class and Community
Soph Send Off with Alumni Relations and SophomOrientation 2011 Committee
2013 Night at the Purple Pub: organized by Class Co-Representatives Wen Han ‘13 and Liz Visconti ‘13
SophomOrientation 2012: a program that re-introduces second year students to Williams. SophomOrient yourself this fall! Ben Augenbraun, Class of 2015 Representative, will e-mail the class with details.
SuperFan: renewed our commitment to providing fan buses and forming a committee that will begin hosting SuperFan events again in the fall
Leading Minds: will help to welcome the incoming Class of 2016 with the newest EphVenture
Gave the Students Against Silence First Year Experience task force money to buy entry books
Funding
Rollover Task Force: began exploring ramifications of and feasibility for an endowment vs. a spending plan for the $110,000 of rollover money
Assistant Treasurer: appointed Emily Dzieciatko ‘15 to pioneer this position. Thank you, Emily!
Reviewed the Capital Investment Fund to ensure that groups needing to make big purchases to maintain their functionality are able to do so
Considered proposing the CC begin the subgroup allocation in the spring, as opposed to the fall (an idea to be revisited next semester)
Prepared a Frequently Asked Questions section for the College Council website to help group Treasurers
Arranging a Treasurers’ Corner for the SARC
Funded the majority of Williams Day, including the exotic petting zoo
Mental Health
Hosted “Our Mental Health: Where Do We Go From Here?” and collected many ideas for ways to improve campus resources for students facing challenges with their mental health and wellbeing
Reinstated Life Raft, a support network for community members struggling with grief
JA Hours are now available through the Health Center’s “Let’s Talk” services in Paresky
Mental Health Board: a visible display of the resources and mental health and sexual assault awareness/education to be completed this summer
This Summer
Working to get a cappella groups to be able to practice in the Music Building again
Pouring through our bylaws to make sure they’re saying the right things
Re-doing the Student Activities Resource Center in Paresky second floor to make it a viable student space
Getting and maintaining a list of all student groups and its contact information online
Color printing in Sawyer and Paresky
Fall 2012
Examine and consider changes to the structure and membership of CC
Library hours/availability of weekend study spaces
Evaluating the needs of club sports teams and determining how CC can accommodate them better
We TRIED, but…
Washing machines in Hubbell: according to Facilities, it would be thousands of dollars to re-design the space to allow for the plumbing
Extending gym hours: limited resources and staffing make it an impossibility to open any earlier on Sundays
Looked into getting herpes testing available at the Health Center: they only do it if they suspect you have it, otherwise it’s not ideal to perform it (according to the Center for Disease Control)
Bike Share: the bane of College Council’s existence… we will use the summer to reach out to other NESCAC schools (again) to learn about their programs