Good evening folks! After a brief discussion regarding last week’s meeting, the Senate got right down to business with several new bills and updates on the table.
The Campus Freedom of the Press Bill: passed unanimously, this bill ensures that the funding The Campus receives (awarded by the SGA) cannot be altered due to the nature of opinions of The Campus’ coverage regarding the SGA, SGA affiliated groups, or the SGA’s Executive Cabinet members. Appeals in this matter, instead of going to the SGA appeals committee, would directly go to the Student Activities Office.
MiddView Amendment Bill: After a long process of bringing the MiddView bill to fruition and debates over the funding split between the SGA & College Administration for the program — this amendment provides for the SGA to lock-in paying 50% of the trips cost for the first three years (previously passed up to 50%), with an agreement that after three years, the administration will fully cover the cost of the trips. While concerns were raised as to whether the verbal agreement with the College Administration described in the bill would be a binding commitment, the Senate was assured that in Vermont (only state that has this, apparently?) verbal agreements are binding. This bill passed with one dissenting vote.
Lamberti Faculty Appreciation Committee: While Staff awards are chosen by the SGA Senate, the Faculty award is chosen by a committee of five juniors and seniors of diverse academic fields of study along with the Dean of Faculty. If interested on serving on this committee, lookout for an email from President Recca in the near future asking for applicants.
Pass/Fail Update: Since the SGA passed the Pass/Fail resolution, the Resolution has been working its way through the Student Academic Affairs Committee, who then passed it promptly to the Educational Affairs Committee (EAC). As President Recca explained is within the EAC’s purview, the EAC has made some changes to the version passed by the Senate. The major changes are three-fold. First, the resolution passed by the SGA allowed for a student to take 2-4 class pass-fail over the duration of their study. This new version more holistically combines the idea of pass/fail with AP & Internship credits to create the space for a more tailored individual educational experience. The new version proposed would allow for student to apply at most 6 of 36 credits needed to graduate through the following: 6 APs, 6 Pass/Fail courses, 6 Internship credits, or some combination of the three.
Secondly, the version passed by the SGA passed a resolution mandating that professors would be blind to who is taking their class pass/fail. The EAC has altered this part of the proposal so it is not a blind situation, professors would know which students taking courses pass/fail (as some faculty felt it was unfair for them to not know, as they would not be able to allocate time to students with that in mind). Lastly, the EAC verision allows for pass/fail to fulfill distribution requirements, as lnog as they are not in one’s major or minor — something the version previously passed by the SGA prohibited. The EAC is presenting the results and findings of their open meetings in a Faculty Meeting this week. Following that, the EAC will formally present the resolution to the Faculty Meeting in April, whereupon it will most likely be voted on in the May meeting. Once the EAC formally presents their resolution, the SGA will examine the revised version and vote on the support of the new measure.
YouPower Midd Bike-Room/FIC Gym Update: After some administrative delays, the bike room is expected to be up and running hopefully a few weeks after spring break.
Until next week, enjoy your Sunday evening! And as always — email your senators if you want to know more about this, or any other legislation. We’re here to serve you, so be sure to share your voices.
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