Dean’s Corner

During the Dean’s Corner, Dean of Students Sheilah Shaw Horton spoke on the purpose of her role in Senate and updated the College community on blue lights, testing and washing machines. According to Dean Horton, when the College investigated the blue emergency boxes last school year, they found many that were broken or were not actually emergency boxes. There are over a dozen of these emergency boxes around campus in order to make it easier for students to call Campus Police in case of an emergency. New emergency boxes were installed this week and are currently being tested. According to the Dean, they should be functional by the first week of October. 

Dean Horton also gave some updates on COVID-19 guidelines. When asked about student concerns over testing accessibility, Dean Horton said that she had not been made aware of any accessibility issues. Given that only 500 students are currently signed up for testing, she said the College could not afford to hire staff for both sides of campus. She also mentioned that there would be a booster clinic on Oct. 17. 

Cab Introductions

During Cabinet introductions, various College Government committees announced their updates and plans for the year. The Chief Justice, Nuzaina Faisal Khan ’23, proposed plans for moving towards more restorative and transformative justice for the student body, while the Political Engagement Chair. Liz Huang ’24, promoted “The Update,” the committee’s political digest. The Director of On Campus Affairs (DOOCA), Abby Lucier ’23, announced several opportunities to get involved with SBOG and campus events throughout the year, encouraging first-years in particular to get involved. Applications for ARC committees are due on Oct. 3. 

Open Discussion

Both Senators and students at large raised a variety of concerns during Open Discussion. A popular issue of the night was the limited availability of trash cans in the residence halls, with representatives of Beebe Hall raising concerns about there being no available trash cans. The addition of recycling bins in residential halls to potentially minimize this problem was also proposed by students. This issue is also partially due to an ongoing custodial staffing shortage. 

Concerns about future renovation plans at the Clapp Library were also voiced, particularly regarding the issues of class and library staff relocation. Furthermore, Vice President of Finance and Administration and Treasurer, Piper Orton, announced new efforts toward round trip travel reimbursement benefits for students seeking accessible reproductive health care in the area.