General Announcements

ASPC President Brian Andrews ’01 recapped issues discussed on the senate retreat this past weekend. Items discussed included picking up issues raised and subsequently dropped last semester, and shortening Senate meetings by trying to avoid repetition in discussion of points raised.

There was some confusion over the issue of TSL constitution. Andrews and Commissioner of Communications Harry Ou ’01 said that they are slated to meet with Ed Board, but there was some miscommunication and Editor-in-Chief Nora Lawrence ’01 said that she was told that the issue would be on the agenda this week, which it was not. Lawrence expressed her dissatisfaction with the way the issue is being handled, saying that it was being rushed and not fully discussed; Ou had not contacted her to tell her that the Constitution would not be presented at the meeting; the Print Media Committee had met, but lacked quorum because at-large members had not been appointed and representatives from other publications were not present–Lawrence pointed out that this was not TSL’s fault. Andrews said that as far as he is concerned it is a non-issue right now because more discussion needs to happen.

North Campus Senator Grayson Schaffer ’01 described a proposal under discussion in 5-C Senate for some form of intercollegiate J-Board. Schaffer noted that the idea had come from Scripps, and was driven by concerns about cross-campus sexual harassment and assault. The proposal does not call for a separate judiciary body but rather a system to allow for recommendations to be made to individual college J-Boards in cases where the student pressing charges is from a different college than the respondent (the respondent is always tried at his or her home college), and a representative from the other college could sit in on the proceedings. Andrews characterized the proposed system as more of a "J-Board outreach" than a new system. Schaffer said that the point was to allow involved parties from other colleges to be advised of procedures, thresholds for evidence, etc. Andrews noted that the realization of such a system is still a ways off but in the works.

Andrews also mentioned that the 5-C Senate has been looking at Baxter and the service it provides to the colleges. They have been collecting data about it and will have Baxter’s head doctor in at the next 5-C Senate meeting to discuss issues and questions raised.

Michio Brunner ’02 came before the senate to talk about this year’s Ski and Beach Day, which will take place on February 24. Brunner said that the itinerary will be the same this year as usual, with skiing in the morning and a barbeque on the beach in the late afternoon; there will be a sign-up sheet in the ASPC office to fill the 90 available spots. The cost of the day for each participant will be at least $20 for lift ticket, and more for rentals and beginner packages. Schaffer asked about the total subsidy allocated for this event; Brunner responded that senate was paying for $2700 and that Dean Quinley would be supplying $600 for transportation costs. Schaffer pointed out the incredibly high cost per student for this event. Senior Class President Lauren Shawn ’01 expressed discomfort with the fact that the day could be prohibitively expensive for some, especially considering the volume of student fees that go toward this event. Schaffer suggested that perhaps the total subsidy should be redistributed in such a way as to make participation equally feasible for all students. South Campus Senator Adam Rick ’02 noted that the question of need-based subsidies for events like Ski and Beach day has already been raised in budget committee. Junior Class Representative Jake Oken-Berg ’02 said that this was an issue that was bigger than Ski and Beach Day and should be examined separately; there was general agreement.

Commissioner of Community Affairs Leslie Mallman ’01 explained to senators the format of the Professor Service Auction, and encouraged senators to participate by auctioning off their own services. This year, proceeds will go to Teamworks LA, an organization that puts on activities for young people in LA’s underprivileged areas. The date for the Professor Service Auction has not yet been set, but it will be before spring break.

ASPC Vice President Ellen Lin ’01 passed around a list of registered student organizations and asked that every senator sign up to visit the meetings of at least four. The purpose of this is to facilitate communication between organizations and senate regarding their budgets and for the senate to learn about the effect of the new ID time upon freshman participation. Certain organizations will not be visited because they are chaired by senate members.

Commissioner of Academic Affairs Richard Sun ’01 described a proposal in the works for a universal course evaluation system. The objectives of a new system are to make end-of-semester evaluation forms required for every class and to structure the form so that the course review not only provides students with information but also provides feedback to professors. Sun will be running a poll in the dining halls with the help of the other senators to determine student sentiment about that issue as well as the add/drop and P/NC deadlines.

Sun also reported that the Curriculum Committee has voted to move the P/NC deadline back to make it the same as the add deadline. He explained that their rationale is that the purpose of the P/NC option is to allow students to explore subjects outside their concentrations without being uptight about performance; instead, it is used mostly as an instrument of GPA control. This proposal will now be passed on to the faculty, which will meet on February 23, for final approval.

Oken-Berg predicted that the faculty might table the issue indefinitely. He also noted that the issue came up in the first place because there had been complaints from students that they were not getting enough feedback from some professors before the P/NC deadline to inform their decisions about whether or not to P/NC. Oken-Berg said that the Curriculum Committee has glossed over this concern by bringing in assertions that the P/NC option is being abused and shouldn’t be used as a method of grade protection.

Sun asked what message the senate wants to send to the faculty when this issue comes before them. Off-Campus Senator Omayra Ortega ’01 and Sophomore Class Representative Tanya LaGuerre ’03 both expressed concern about graduate school applicants, for whom GPA protection is not a trivial concern. Lin said that if their concern is grade inflation (because if most students who would get lower than a B in a given class will P/NC the average grade is much higher), perhaps they should further limit the number of classes that each student is allowed to P/NC instead of changing the deadline. Rick asked whether they could move the add deadline later if they were to institute this change. Shawn pointed out that the decision to P/NC a class is a weighty one for most students, and it would not be good to rush them. Andrews called the issue to a vote and the majority of senators voted in favor of recommending to the faculty that the P/NC deadline not be changed.

Kristen Kearns ’02 came to speak to the senate about funds for a literary magazine called Passwords. The magazine had its first publication last semester and has requested funding in excess of $1,000 from ASPC for its April publication (all requests over $1000 must be approved by the entire senate, not just budget committee). The magazine is a five-college publication, but the majority of its contributors are from Pomona. Funds have also been requested from the other colleges but are not expected to pan out entirely so ASPC is being asked to cover the lion’s share. There was some debate over the fairness of distributing the magazine on all of the campuses when none of the other campuses are paying their share. A motion was made and passed to approve the funding with a stipulation that the distribution among the campuses should reflect the respective financial contributions of the colleges.