The Senate of the Claremont Colleges (SCC) lurched into action this past Thursday when delagates from all five student governments met to formulate an agenda for the fledgling body. With little precedence to draw from, the SCC is hoping to establish a clear purpose in the coming months.

For now, those present voted into existence two ad-hoc committees in order to deal with the issues they considered most pressing to students on the five campuses. A social committee and parking committee were formed, but have yet to meet in any formal manner.

Pomona Commissioner of Community Affairs Tamara Chellam ’00 was present at the meeting and will sit on the social committee. Chellam and her counterparts at the other schools hope to host a five college party by the end of the semester.

The goals of the parking committee, which include the lowering of parking tickets and ensuring that students sit on the ticket appeals board, will be delayed according to President of the student body at Pitzer Alex Clark. "Before we can work on five college parking," Clark explained, "the schools will first have to work out their individual problems." Parking spots, as Clark notes, are at a premium this year.

Aside from the two temporary committees, no other official business was conducted at the September 22 meeting. According to ASPC President Richard Park, "It was a feel-good session, when we could get together and say, ‘Hey, this a great thing’."

Clark, though confident, says at this point any belief in the body has to be based on faith. "Everyone was there and everyone was very cooperative. You can’t expect everyone to be very enthusiastic about it."

In order to function, the body will have to accumulate money and legitimacy. Most of the colleges, except Harvey Mudd and Pitzer, have promised funding from their individual senates. Legitimacy, however, depends upon the energy of the body itself.

"Legitimate influence is a problem," said Clark. "We have to decide if we want any official power, or are more along the lines of an advisory board," said Clark. "In a lot of ways, this is an experiment. We don’t know what the best way to do this is."

"It is not an organization that will wield a tremendous amount of power, but that was not the intention," continued Clark. Many involved considered it a mistake to create a body that would have any real policy setting power; rather, they envisioned it as an open forum where students can debate five college issues.

Park says the efficacy of the body’s influence depends solely upon its members. "It’s going to be as effective as the people who it is composed of want it to be," said Park.

The Claremont University Center (CUC) is the only equivalent administrative body at the Claremont Colleges, and Clark thinks it should be the role of the SCC to represent student desires to the CUC. "We’re definitely trying to establish ties with the CUC. That’s a real goal for us," admitted Clark.

For now, the goals of those in the senate appear homogenous and conducive to productivity. However, during the formulation of its constitution last year, some considered it necessary to proceed without the participation of Harvey Mudd.

HMC required a vote by the entire student body to enter into the SCC, which passed by a slim margin. At the inaugural meeting last April, the HMC delegation appeared to stonewall any efforts to create funding or by-laws for the body.

Park says such difficulties are, for the most part, in the past. "I’m getting a feeling from [HMC]. For the first time, it sounds like they want to work with us." Park says the HMC delegation expressed the least interest in the SCC, and like Pitzer, will not allocate funds to the organization.