Student Union

Hey everybody,

The Wash U Food Committee, a collaboration between Dining Services and Bon Appetit, has created a website where you can submit ideas for naming the new servery that will appear on the South 40 next year, as well as the stations. 

Click here to submit your ideas. Make sure to submit them by March 12.

Hey guys!

Yesterday, I had an informative meeting with Provost Edward Macias. Here are some of the things we talked about:

1. A working group to discuss issues of diversity was established last year with a focus on faculty and staff diversity. They should have  a report by the end of the year.

2. He's also been working with the Deans and other administrators on cuts for next years budget. Not to worry, most of these cuts won't be noticeable by students. 

3. He discussed some worry about how hard it is to double major and dual degree across schools, and wonders if the dual degree program is as beneficial to students as it was initially hoped. 

4. We discussed the changing nature of reading/finals week and how many professors have finals other days or don't have them at all. He's not sure what could be done, but he is aware of it. Might be something for AcAff to work on.

5. Over programming on campus is another issue we talked about, but came to no solution on. Hopefully, the DAC legislation can at least create more collaboration among some groups on campus, leading to fewer, but better events. It's just disappointing when groups put on a great event, but only a few people come, just because there are ten other events going on that night as well.

6. Finally, we talked about sustainability and some of the resolutions Senate passed last semester. He believes the university is not beholden to coal companies, but understands the importance that advances in coal technology would have since so much of the world's power still comes from coal. Though it is unfortunate that energy is so cheap here that alternative energy sources are not cost effective. Overall, he seemed approving of the way students were taking an active role with regards to sustainability.

Thanks for reading,

Jason

Below is the explanation of the Diversity Affairs Council proposed legislation that will appear on the ballot next week.  Let us know if you have any questions, and the legislation is attached below.

The creation of the Diversity Affairs Council (DAC) represents a firm commitment from Student Union to issues of diversity, with a focus on facilitating: (1) Diversity Training, (2) Collaborative Diversity Programming and Scheduling, and (3) Issue Advocacy.  The DAC will provide a forum for students and student groups interested in multicultural, socioeconomic, religious, and GLBTQIA issues and more.  As a core component of Student Union, the DAC will work  closely with the Student Union President, Vice President of Programming, and Senate to improve the Washington University student experience.  Most importantly, the DAC will receive no budget and cost ZERO DOLLARS of your student activity fee.

The Diversity Affairs Council will provide:

(1) Diversity Training
-    Coordinate comprehensive diversity training in tandem with existing groups (e.g., WU/FUSED socioeconomic diversity training, Safe Zones training)
-    Connect organizations and students interested in diversity training with existing groups on campus, and publish a document listing all available training on campus.

(2) Collaborative Diversity Programming and Scheduling
-    Provide an opportunity for diversity-oriented groups to pitch programs to foster coprogramming and relationships between groups, for less redundant, more creative and more fiscally efficient programming
-    Advised by the SU VP of Programming, work with diversity-oriented groups at the beginning of and during the year to schedule events so as to minimize conflicts
-    Facilitate large-scale programs with many groups to highlight different backgrounds and cultures

(3) Issue Advocacy
-    Provide recommendations to Senate for issues of diversity related to campus policy, such as faculty diversity, improvements to university Admissions, a sexual assault coordinator, and racial profiling
-    Help coordinate rapid student responses to sudden issues related to diversity, such as the Mother’s bar incident

This Wednesday, WU Chief Investment Officer Kim Walker will join Student Union Senate at our weekly meeting at 9:05PM in Simon 120.  Ms. Walker will discuss the responsibilities of her position, the current state of the university endowment, as well as any potential questions from students in attendance.  Expected topics addressed include endowment transparency and socially responsible investing-- see below for a document provided by Wash U Students for Endowment Transparency (WUSET) that offers an overview from their perspective.  

Last Wednesday, SU Senate passed legislation to create a Diversity Affairs Council (DAC) within Student Union's executive branch by a margin of 22-2-1.  The proposed legislation would create a DAC with three primary functions: to serve as a nexus for student groups and students interested in issues of diversity, to work with Senate to implement policy changes related to diversity, and to help coordinate diversity training efforts currently present on campus.  The DAC would be led by a Chair appointed by the SU President and confirmed by both Senate and Treasury, as well as a Cabinet then appointed by that Chair.  For more info, check out this earlier post.  The legislation Senate passed is attached below.

The DAC legislation will next go to SU Treasury's meeting on Tuesday at 9:30PM in Simon 112.  Treasury must pass the legislation by a 2/3 margin for it to take effect.

Last July, my fellow Senator Jake Novick and I came forward with a plan to improve course registration at WashU (http://su.wustl.edu/blog/a-better-course-registration-exists). We proposed that students should be able to see syllabi from previous years when registering for classes. We made the argument that having more concrete information would help both students and faculty. Students would wait on fewer waiting lists and have be more excited with their class selection. Faculty would not have to worry about hordes of students transferring into or out of a class with all of the logistical complications that come with these transfers.

While running this project through the fall, we got the support of a lot of campus. To date, Dean McLeod, the Engineering Curriculum Committee, as well as seven departments have supported the project.

This semester, the project has taken another positive turn. My fellow Senator Jason Yakabu and I are serving on the E-syllabi Working Group to help get this project started and maintained by the University for all its students. We don't have any timeline, but we'll keep you posted. Regardless of how long it takes to become usable, this project is on the trajectory to becoming WashU sponsored, rather than just SU sponsored.

Next year, the Office of Residential Life will offer gender-neutral housing at all its North Side and off-campus housing locations, a major step for the university in terms of students' rights.  Previously, gender-neutral housing was only offered in Greenway and the Village.  This decision comes following over a year of discussions between SU Senate and the Office of Residential Life, as well as a resolution Senate passed in December 2008 advocating for this expansion.  As the sponsor of that resolution, I'm incredibly excited to see this change and grateful for the responsiveness of ResLife, which has been remarkably empathetic to students' expressed desire for this expansion. 

For more information, check out:
- The resolution Senate passed in December 2008
- Student Life's article on the expansion
- ResLife's Housing Selection website (scroll down for gender-neutral housing details)

Over the past few months, several members of Student Union, Connect 4, and other groups have developed a plan for a new, diversity-focused entity within Student Union's executive branch, the Diversity Affairs Council (DAC).

Under the current proposal, the DAC would run the Roundtable, currently operated by Connect 4 and in previous years by the Office of Student Activities.  The DAC would represent an expansion of the Roundtable and provide it with resources to help groups better collaborate, while providing a forum to promote dialogue between students and student groups.  The DAC would be oriented towards a wide array of groups, including cultural, religious, GLBTQIA and social justice-oriented groups.  With a defined structure and much closer ties to SU, the DAC would help groups work together to reach their common goals.

 To improve co-programming, the DAC would be advised by SU Vice President of Programming, and it is possible that incentives would be offered for groups that took advantage of co-programming opportunities.  It would also have a direct connection with SU Senate, helping members of the DAC to put their policy recommendations into action.  Thirdly, the DAC would help coordinate diversity training on campus, connecting groups like WU/FUSED with campus leaders. 

Structurally, the Chair of the DAC would be appointed by the SU President, and the Chair then would appoint a Cabinet to provide direction for the council.

Attached below is the current draft of the legislation for the DAC.  It is anticipated that this legislation will be first discussed by Senate on February 10th at 9:05 PM in Simon 112, and we hope all interested students will attend and share their opinions.  Connect 4 will also be hosting a Roundtable discussing the possibilities for the DAC on Thursday, February 4th at 7:30 in DUC 234.  Please let us know your thoughts, suggestions and criticisms! 

Also, click here for Connect 4's post on the subject.

Dear Anyone who Creates Art,

Kelsey Eng (your other Art School Senator) and I have created two strong initiatives to put student artwork on the main campus.  We have the DUC, ResLife, and Dining Services on our side, and now we need your submissions!  Please take the time over break to submit your work and/or get work from home:)

1. RaRa (Residential area Real art)- FRESHMEN AND SOPHOMORES- because SoFoHo is sort of a temporary dining area before the whole dining shebang appears next year, Kelsey Eng and I have gotten permission to nail core art to the wall!  We are asking that you please send in a photo of any core artwork that you like, along with dimensions, media, year, and the class in which you made it.

email it to:  submitrara@gmail.com

We will provide framing, curating, etc.  Just send it in!  We will also put contact information labels, if you so wish, so that someone may purchase your piece.

Note:  Don't take the core art home-  We will try and fit in as many pieces as we can!

2. Profile Me, an exhibit on racial profiling-  The DUC Visitor's lounge can be turned into a permanent exhibit space if we see continual submissions.  The curating committee is asking for pieces to be sent in with a title, media, dimensions, and contact information.  If you have ANY piece that fits with the theme (either 2d or 3d), please submit!

email it to:  submitprofileme@gmail.com

There will be a reception on February 12th with free food:)  

Submissions are due January 22nd.

Please don't miss this opportunity, either through RaRa or Profile Me or both, to put art on the main campus and sell your work!

Have a fantastic break!

Kelsey and Kelsey:)

Last night, Senate passed a resolution 23-0-1 supporting Bon Appetit's agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) to purchase tomatoes only from providers meeting standards of fair conduct for workers, and urging Aramark to follow suit.  This resolution came in response to prosecuted cases of slave workers in the Florida tomato industry, as well as abominable working conditions.  Please see the attached resolution for more details, as well as this statement from the Students for Fair Trade on the issue:

"Florida produces upwards of 90% of the country’s tomatoes during the winter season, including tomatoes that we consume here at Wash U.  In response to the human rights crisis in the Florida agricultural industry, Bon Appetit has pledged to only buy tomatoes from growers who sign a code of conduct agreement with Bon Appetit and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) (http://www.ciw-online.org/).  The CIW is a farmworker-led organization with thousands of members who work in the tomato fields surrounding Immokalee, in Southwest Florida, one of the country's central hubs of tomato production. The CIW and their student, religious, and human rights allies have succeeded in getting big corporations like Taco Bell, McDonald’s and Whole Foods to meet their demands for more fair pay and safer and more humane working conditions for tomato harvesters.  

The current situation of farmworkers is dire.  Workers make, on average, just 45 cents per 32-pound bucket of tomatoes harvested - a price that has not significantly changed in 30 years; at that rate, a worker must harvest and haul over 2.5 tons of tomatoes in a single day to make the equivalent of minimum wage for a 10-hour workday. Workers are unable to unionize, often get cheated out of wages and are exposed to undue safety risks.  In the worst cases, workers are held and forced to work against their will for little or no pay through the use or threat of violence. fThe CIW has aided the FBI and the US Department of Justice in uncovering and successfully prosecutingseven cases of modern-day slavery since 1997, sentencing 15 farm supervisors to federal prison and liberating a total of over 1,000 farmworkers. 

After these issues were brought to its attention by the CIW and the Student/Farmworker Alliance,the national Bon Appetit Management Company pledged to no longer purchase tomatoes produced under these conditions. It collaborated with the CIW to devise a code of conduct that farms must obey in order to get Bon Appetit's business. Only one Florida farm has agreed to that code of conduct so far, and that farm produces mainly grape tomatoes. That's why grape tomatoes are the only fresh tomatoes available on campus during the winter months. During the other seasons of the year, Bon Appetit will be able to provide the campus with large, round tomatoes from more local sources."

Senate also confirmed the nominee for SU Vice President of Programming, Nora Palitz, who sworn into office as well last night.