President’s Corner
During the President’s Corner, College Government President Alexandra Brooks ’23 reminded students to register for the on-campus booster clinic on Oct. 17. With Friends and Family Weekend quickly approaching, students are encouraged to get their boosters ahead of time to ensure COVID-19 safety.
Dean’s Corner
During the Dean’s Corner, Dean of Students Sheilah Shaw Horton informed students that due to the optional COVID-19 testing protocols this year, fewer people are testing this year, making it harder for the College to track the exact number of those who test positive. As a result, she urged students to immediately notify the College Club of positive results from rapid tests, and to “continue to practice being COVID-19 safe by wearing masks and staying smart.” Addressing student concerns over testing accessibility, Dean Horton said that no changes will be made to establish another location for testing on the west side, and that all testing will remain at the College Club. Students with disabilities registered with ADR, however, can request rides to the College Club from Accessibility and Disability Resources.
HPC Corner
During HPC Corner, Gabby Szatkowski ’24 confirmed that the limited number of trash cans in residence halls is due to the current custodial staffing shortage at the College. In light of this issue, Szatkowski reminded students that they should continue to dispose of their trash in the trash rooms of their residence halls as the staffing issue is sorted out.
Announcements from Transportation and Mail Services
Peter Eastment, director of Transportation and Mail Services, gave updates on campus transportation and future changes to mail services. Eastment mentioned that Local Motion will continue to be the College’s preferred transportation vendor this year. He also announced that the exchange bus schedule now has an additional 8:00 a.m. departure time from campus, an hour earlier than the former 9:00 a.m. departure, to accommodate students with 9:30 a.m. classes at MIT. During Fall Break, the Senate bus will operate on its regular schedule, but with a limited schedule on Oct. 10. Eastment mentioned that students will receive an email with the updated Fall Break Senate bus schedule in the coming days. Additionally, the Babson-Olin-Wellesley shuttle schedule has been updated to include more breaks following drivers’ requests. Eastment also announced that the Office of Transportation is working on securing an additional van for the Movie/Mall shuttle to keep up with the increased number of students taking the shuttle on Saturdays. Both Eastment and Dean Horton noted that eligible students can even apply through the Office of Public Safety to become paid drivers for the Movie/Mall shuttle to ease the stress on the current two drivers.
Eastment also spoke on the significant backup of mail services, stating that the mail center in Lulu lacks adequate square footage to efficiently manage and scan the high volume of packages, thus causing the delays students have been experiencing. He announced that new technology to scan packages with mobile phones, in lieu of the current manual scanner, will be introduced in the near future to increase the speed and efficiency of mail services. Furthermore, the implementation of drivers to deliver overflow packages from Lulu to individual residence halls will also aid in this process.
Senate Officer Elections
Candidates for Senate Officers delivered their SOI’s before the Senators, and the winners were announced at the end of the Senate. Izzy Torkornoo ’23 was elected as Social Chair, Hailey Lunceford ’26 was elected as Historian, and Alison Lu ’26, Anna Boland ’24, Mia Cadena ’25 and Shreeya Lakkapragada ’26 were elected as Academic Council Representatives.
Open Discussion
Students at large raised concerns about limited seating at the Lulu dining hall and proposed opening Tishman Commons during dining hours to increase seating capacity. Students also proposed bringing rapid testing to residence halls.
Students voiced their mixed feelings about the Wednesday date of Lake Day this year, with some disliking that it was on a day where they had few to no classes or had a scheduled lab, and others appreciating the mid-week break. Ultimately though, the overall opinions of Lake Day were positive among Senators and their constituents.
Cab Announcements
Orgs Chair Sofia Rubio ’23 announced that applications for new orgs will be reviewed in two weeks’ time.
Student Bursar Amy Rose ’23 announced that the deadline for ARC applications has been extended to Oct. 6, and encouraged students to apply for the Transportation Advisory Committee to work alongside the Office of Transportation and Mail Services.
