Old and New Business discussed at Senate
College Government President Zainab Younus ‘17 shared with Senate that in line with her platform, a committee will be formed to take action to improve access to and the quality of mental health resources for students on campus. In addition, the College Government Elections Committee is still seeking two student representatives from the student body at large. Students interested in serving on Elections Committee should apply through the Student Organizations and Activities Committee by Feb. 13, and contact soacappts@wellesley.edu for more information. Lastly, Elizabeth Loizides ‘19, Bates Hall Senator, shared with Senate that the Accessible Printers Ballot Initiative has been fully implemented, and will be funded by the Ballot Initiative for one year as a pilot. Should it be well-received, Library and Technology Services will continue funding the upkeep of the printers.
College Government Vice President announces new Student Events Calendar
Cece Tsui ’18, College Government Vice President (CGVP), introduced the new Wellesley College Student Events Calendar. Students from organizations can log in to the Calendar using their Wellesley College ID and add events to the calendar, regardless of their organization’s constitutional status. The calendar is accessible at cs.wellesley. edu/eventscal, and will first be released to organization presidents before going live next week. Senators raised concerns over the possibility of inappropriate events appearing on the calendar, to which the CGVP replied that as all event entries are tied to a student ID, there will be accountability. Students with feedback on the calendar – particularly in regards to its user interface – can email CGVP at cgvp@wellesley.edu.
Introduction of College Government Fund
Irene Ganahi, Beebe Hall Senator, presented on behalf of the College Government Fund committee about the plans for the fund’s administration. The College Government Fund stands at $10,000 and came from a gift from previous Wellesley College President Kim Bottomly. College Government intends for students to be able to use this fund as a resource for projects to help the Wellesley community, with $1000 being the maximum amount of funding per project. After students apply for project funding, a member of the CG Fund allocation committee will be assigned to the project to ensure proper project execution. Applications for the fund will be open to the student body in the next few weeks. Ganahi also asked for feedback on behalf of the committee as to whether this fund should be open to organizations as well. Students with feedback should approach their Senators.
Reiteration of campus marijuana policy
Carol Bate, Interim Dean of Students, reiterated that the campus policy on marijuana remains unchanged despite the state of Massachusetts voting to permit recreational marijuana use in certain circumstances. As Wellesley receives federal funding, the College observes federal law, which prohibits the use of marijuana. For more information, students should refer to the College’s Alcohol and Other Drug Policy, Residential Life No Smoking Policy and Wellesley College Health Service’s Frequently Asked Questions page. (http://www.wellesley.edu/healthservice/ healthed/students/AODEdu/marijuana).
