Photo Courtesy of Ali Rossi
President Leo Higdon, Director of Events and Catering Merrill Collins and Professor Ruth Grahn of the Psychology Department and Chair of the Faculty Steering and Conference Committee came and signed the Covenant, a formal agreement to strengthen shared governance and improve consultation and communication throughout the campus community. The Assembly discussed other important campus issues with President Higdon such as sustainability, the availability of wireless internet and the offering of student social events. (Picture above)
The Assembly discussed online course evaluations and the reason for the shift to an all-online format as opposed to the old format where individual departments had their own evaluation processes. The criteria of evaluation are now streamlined and made more comprehensive across different academic departments, as discussed in a recent public email by Mihir Sharma ’12, Chair of Academic Affairs, and Professor Grahn, who have led the change.
The Blackstone House substance-free lifestyle policy is being reexamined. We heard a presentation about different options to consider for the house, such as designating it a wellness dorm or rotating substance-free living among different floors and dorms.
SGA approved the reconfiguration of the House Environmental Representatives (HER) program to become the Community Organizers for Sustainability Transformation (COST) program. This new program was proposed by students looking for more ways to get involved with sustainability issues on campus who saw the HER program as inadequately supported by the administration and thus not living up to their needs. COST will require more involvement from participants such as multiple meetings, required readings and peer education, and will offer interested students a chance to become more educated on issues of sustainability and allow them to share this information with students on campus in a more organized and informed manner.
Finally, we approved the purchase of renewable energy credits from 3Degrees, an environmental commodities firm. By purchasing the credits, the school will be contributing money to a Renewable Energy Fund at the firm that funds renewable energy efforts across the country. The purchase of these credits is said to offset the electricity that is spent here on campus. •
