Students invited to give feedback on Title IX campus policies
Carol Bate, interim dean of students, drew attention to the email sent on Monday, Feb. 13 by Jacqueline Anchondo, Title IX coordinator and director of Title IX/Nondiscrimination Initiatives. Anchondo is in the process of updating both the College’s Student Sexual Misconduct Policy and the Policy Against Sexual Harassment and Other Unlawful Discrimination, and is seeking student, staff and faculty input. The current policies can be accessed at the Title IX website, www.wellesley.edu/ titleix. Students can provide feedback via email to Anchondo at janchond@ wellesley.edu, or in person at student sessions on Wednesday, Feb. 15 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. in Pendleton East 216, and Tuesday, Feb. 21 from 4:10 p.m. to 5:10 p.m. in the Library Lecture Room.
Changes to Fall ‘17 Housing Policy
Meghan Todd, assistant director of Student Housing, announced key changes that Student Housing has planned for the Fall ’17 room selection process. In early March, students will receive their priority numbers for room selection and be able to make their choices in mid-March. A change to the housing selection form is that students are now able to choose suites and apartments alongside usual rooms in residence halls. After Spring Break, housing nights will occur, with the key change being the ability to choose from all residence halls and all rooms on the night itself in order of priority number. This is in contrast to the current process, where students attend rooming nights after being assigned a residence hall. However, students who are pre-halled will attend rooming night at the hall they are assigned to, as is current practice; similarly, the changes will not affect students assigned to particular rooms for disability accommodations. In addition, Todd emphasized that Student Housing aims to assign everyone a room, instead of having students be unhoused or on the waitlist. More information will be communicated to students in an email in the coming weeks.
Senators air transportation concerns
Various senators raised concerns about the College’s transportation situation. Senators shared personal experiences and feedback from their constituents, such as incidents of being stranded in the city in freezing temperatures, with many drawing attention to danger it poses to student health. Senators also called attention to the need to develop a more accurate way to track the Peter Pan bus, and recommended that students contact Peter Eastment, director of Faculty Housing & Transportation (peastmen@wellesley.edu) with feedback.
Senators create Mental Health Resources Flowchart
Senators Beryl Larson ’19, Maggie O’Connor ’20 and Caroline Taylor ’20 shared with Senate a flowchart they have created about campus mental health resources. The flowchart aims to make information about mental health resources more accessible to students, and has been approved by the Stone Center. Resources represented on the flowchart are divided by resources for urgent and nonurgent situations as well as their level of confidentiality. The flowchart will be placed in residence halls and emailed to students in the coming weeks. Students with feedback on the flowchart or suggestions for where the online version of the flowchart should be found can email the senators at moconno2, llarson2 and ctaylor3.
Senators provide input on Printer Ballot Initiative
Elizabeth Loizides ’19, Bates Hall executive senator, shared her experience executing the Printer Ballot Initiative. The Printer Ballot Initiative team has been working extensively with Library and Technology Services (LTS) since it was passed last April, and has managed to place printers in Bates, Shafer, Stone-Davis and Tower. In the process, printers from Pendleton East and Knapp Center have been relocated into residence halls instead. In response to questions about the relocation of these printers, Heather Woods from LTS stated that the choices were made due to the relatively low printer volume at these locations and budget constraints. Woods also reiterated that if students experience problems with any of the residence hall printers, they should email the Help Desk (helpdesk@wellesley.edu) with the printer location as well as a brief description of the problem you encountered. The Help Desk will notify the student workers supporting the residence hall printers to resolve the issue.
College Government Elections Updates
Zainab Younus ’17, College Government president, communicated to Senate that College Government Elections Committee met last week to set the CG Cabinet elections debate schedule. Elections Committee is now planning to hold information sessions regarding all Cabinet positions and the Ballot Initiative in the next two weeks. In addition, the committee is waiting on two student representatives to be appointed to the committee. Younus emphasized that March 13 is the cut off date for students interested in running for the Ballot Initiative, owing to the need for students to present their idea proposal to Senate twice before they submit their statement of intent.
