In an unusual move, the senate meeting this past Friday was moved from its home in the SU. In the wake of the shocking reappearance of the giant glowing orb that occasionally occupies the sky once in a blue moon, senators and students alike wandered out to the Great Lawn to shield their eyes and get a better look at the UFO. Maybe it was the stunning weather, or maybe there was actually not much to discuss, but Senate kept this meeting short and sweet, and students had the opportunity to absorb some vitamin D before they hibernate.
Committee Reports
The Reed Union (RU) committee met this week to discuss recent events. The RU can be molded to various effects, depending on the subject the committee wishes to address, which in this case was the efficiently dubbed Housing Crisis. Senator Miranda Mishan said that in reaction to the aforementioned crisis, the committee chose to discuss “low-SES experiences at liberal arts colleges in the U.S.,” and plans to host a Union on the topic in the fall. Mishan added that, ideally, there will be a student representative at the union.
“If any of y’all know someone who is active or cares a lot about this and is an expert—they don’t have to be expert—but if you know someone or are someone, we would like to get someone from the student body who would like to speak on a forum in front of everyone. Email me,” Mishan concluded. Interested students can reach Mishan at mirmishan@reed.edu.
CUS
Fortunately, the NSA doesn’t have much sway when it comes to how much information Reed has to supply to government agencies when they request the browsing history of a student. Policy has been implemented where Reed retains student internet use logs only as far back as two weeks, so if the FBI wants everything Reed’s got, well, they’re shit outta luck.
The idea of Reed logging student activity does bear several shades of NSA, so if that’s a disconcerting prospect for you, no worries, Reed’s been doing this the whole time, but did not have a uniform retention policy. This measure ensures that all logged information is uniformly deleted after two weeks. So Big Brother might be watching, but his hindsight won’t be 20/20.
New Calendar
Head Treasurer Rachel Kennelly has been working with Computer Information Services and Conference and Event Planning to provide a campus-wide calendar. Kennelly adds for the record, “CIS is Computer Information Services, which is different than CUS. I didn’t know that.”
The calendar will be password-protected, accessible on SIN, and will knock At Reed off its high horse. To ameliorate some concerns people had about censorship of events posted on the calendar, Kennelly said “your event is pushed through to this calendar through the IRIS login system—all it pushes through is the title of your event, the date, the time, and the place. You can put whatever description you want and pictures and that’s on you.” The calendar is also only viewable to students, if you’re into that.
COD (Not the fish or the game. Or the cape.)
The Committee on Diversity met with Dean of Faculty Nigel Nicholson to discuss a new pilot program that will extend visiting professors’ time at Reed from a year to two or three. This will be piloted in the music, physics, and theater departments in an attempt to make it easier for Reed professors to get on the tenure track.
Senator Elliotte Garling, CSO Liaison, recounted discussions she has had with the renowned Gary Granger regarding ways to improve CSO-student communication. Garling was optimistic at the prospect of increased student involvement, specifically in relation to the CSO hiring process.
“It’s going to look something approximately like Gray Fund trips. We will have a sign up. We can have three students per interview. You’ll get some information from HR about questions you can and cannot ask.” Garling explained.
She expanded, “This is a pilot program to gauge student interest,” and encouraged students to come to her with any ideas or concerns.
The AOD Policy is also being revised, as its current incarnation is grammatically inept. There is “some language [that] needs to be softened, especially with medical amnesty.”
“We want to clarify what students have the right to do and still receive medical amnesty. The goal at this point is to get a document with all the edits we want to add, and then in conjunction with Community Safety, staff, and faculty next semester we can motion to put it in the policy.”
Senator Dylan Holmes added that anyone who has “any personal experience with medical amnesty or even proximity reports too or just has general advice or wise words” is encouraged to contact Senators Garling, Vinton, or Holmes. Or all three. So many combinations!
The Community Constitution of The Reed College of Portland, Oregon is getting a renovation, not unlike the mold-blacker-than-my-future-riddled cross-canyon dorms! Former SB Prez AshHatch and former VP Nick Fiore are working with Mike Brody, Kathy Hoblitt in admission, and Mary Sullivan, physics department administrative assistant, to incorporate past recommendations into the new constitution. The main goal is to create a constitution that is “more efficient and incorporates staff in a more meaningful way,” according to Hatch. She added that the committee is currently working on a “document of shareable quality,” and urged students to send in any comments, concerns, etc. “It’s a big deal. It’s especially a big deal for non-Senate students to be aware of. It gets voted on by the Student Body, not Senate…so keep that on your radar.”
App Comm
App Comm’s nominations were motioned, seconded, and passed with flying colors. A hearty congrats to new Committee on Diversity members Alex Moses and Ashlee Fox, and new KRRC Assistant Manager Gabrielle Walcott. You are the heroes this campus needs, but doesn’t deserve right now.
Last But Not Least
Senator Audrey “The Keeper of the Banner” Dannar announced the arrival of banners emblazoned with “Are you practicing good consent?” in large white letters that will glow (!!!) under the blacklights in the SU. In very Reed-y spirit, the banner is reusable. Dannar stipulated, “I’m going to see how much of a pain in the ass that’s going to be.”
Vinton announced that the SU might actually be getting new couches. These oft mentioned hypothetical couches have approached mythical levels of abstractness, so only time will tell if these couches grace us with their comfy presence.
In other news, mural applications are in. While we wait with baited breath, we will soon know, and then we can sleep. Then we can sleep.