This week, Senate primarily discussed the problematic presence of Lewis and Clark students at campus events.
Announcements:
Senate has chosen to give out stipends for summer experiences (e.g. internships) as the first student opportunity subsidy. You can read more about this in “rainingmoney.gif” elsewhere in this issue.
Renn Fayre czar appointment applications are now open on sin.reed.edu/appointments.
Faculty are now required to post biweekly office hours and be present in their offices during these hours. This change brought accusations of “nannyism” from some faculty members against proponents of the change. They speak our language, folks.
Student Body President Danielle Juncal ’15 announced that Reed has started a search for a new associate dean for the life beyond Reed. If you have any opinions about career services at Reed, Danielle would love to hear them: djuncal@reed.edu.
The Senate is being forced to revisit the animal policy due to some of the language related to disability animals not being ADA compliant. May this policy pass (again) and molder in a vault until the end-of-days.
The Discriminatory Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy and the judicial board code will be going through minor changes this semester to remain compliant with new Federal guidance on sexual assault policy. Major changes may come next semester, as changing Federal guidance may force Reed to allow lawyers to be present at Judicial Board case hearings, among other changes.
Clarkies:
The presence of Lewis and Clark students at Reed events was the main topic of discussion at this week’s meeting. Director of Community Safety Gary Granger told Senate that around a dozen Lewis and Clark students are in next week’s blotter for offenses ranging from crashing a car into a retaining wall to sexually harassing Reed students. Lewis and Clark students that were caught doing shitty things had their names taken down and have been excluded from campus. Community safety officers will now be more proactive about approaching unrecognized groups of students during large events. If a Lewis and Clark student or group of students is contacted and they can’t name a Reedie host, they may be asked to leave campus. Granger also asked that students call Community Safety if they have suspicions that an individual or group is on campus without a Reed host.
Senator Dwayne Okpaise ‘15 expressed concern over profiling people who might “look like” non-Reedies, citing experience on a Reed committee working to combat racial profiling on campus. Granger clarified his intentions, saying “It’s not my suggestion that you would look for people who don’t look like Reedies, but if you see a group of people, and nobody recognizes anybody in that group…that’s the call that I would like to get.”
There was speculation as to why Clarkies might be coming over to Reed events. Alejandro Chavez ‘16 hypothesized that Lewis and Clark’s dry campus may be encouraging students to come to Reed to party, especially because the punishment for being caught drinking at Reed underage is significantly more lax than it is at Lewis and Clark.
Dean of Students Mike Brody is working to ensure L&C students are punished according to their AOD policy, saying “I talked to my counterpart (Dean of Students) from Lewis and Clark, and she reassured me that they would be held accountable for their actions as if they were on campus. Reed students may have great parties, but it is the worst place to come if you are going to be disrespectful.“
Senator Helen Spencer-Wallace ’16 and others expressed particular concern that, while Lewis and Clark students can enhance SU dances when behaving respectfully, their reputation is leading some Reedies to leave the SU when they become aware that Lewis and Clark students are at the dance.
Senators Vinton ‘16 and Okpaise ‘15 voiced reservations regarding the language and tone used in discussions surrounding Lewis and Clark students. “Clarkie used to be an endearing term, but now it’s almost like it means ‘that fucking Clarkie,’” Vinton said. Okpaise pointed out “we can’t pretend that Reed students are completely innocent. We have been sending a U-Haul full of naked students into their library” and reminded the room that “we have a problem with sexual assault here [as well].”
Various next-steps were discussed, including a campus-wide email sent to Lewis and Clark students explaining rule changes and general grievances, a Reed Senate/Lewis and Clark Senate summit, and instituting Reed ID checks at large events.
Perhaps we just need a bunch of muscley students in SU dances looking for fucked up behavior; surely that would be better than a CSO at every entrance checking IDs.