Senate News
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At the Senate meeting on May, 3, 2013, Senators discussed the following resolution and passed it unanimously. Pomona College’s sexual assault audit can be accessed by the Pomona College community via the Dean of Students Sakai site or by clicking here.
The Associate Students of Pomona College (ASPC) Senate supports the implementation of all the Responses and Recommendations from Stakeholders in Tiombe Preston’s 2013 Audit of Campus Sexual Assault Response: Stakeholder Responses and Recommendations. The ASPC Senate recognizes the initiative taken by the college, in particular the Dean of Students Office, to change policy in accordance with the Title IX Dear Colleague letter, to initiate the audit conducted by Tiombe Preston, and their continued work on this issue. That said, we believe that additional immediate and concrete actions can increase the level of support for survivors on campus, make the campus culture safer for all students, and make information about reporting widely accessible. These objectives can be attained by short-term and long-term actions based on Preston’s recommendations in the audit.
In the short-term (at the latest, by the end of the Fall 2013 semester) the ASPC Senate calls on the Pomona College administration, in collaboration with student leaders, to create print and online materials made readily available to all students, faculty, and staff about the reporting procedure - including instructions, forms, the complainant’s rights, and the purpose of reporting. The ASPC Senate recommends that the College distribute these documents so that they are available around campus, such as at Resident Advisor desks, campus resource centers, the student health center, and the ASPC office. The second short-term recommendation is for immediate training of all administrators, deans, staff, and RAs beyond whatever current training they have already undergone. These individuals can and will be primary responders in incidences of sexual assault; thus, they should be prepared to treat survivors with respect and consideration with an up-to-date theoretical framework about consent and sexual assault. Each trainee should come out with a clear understanding of whether they are a mandatory reporter and how to sensitively and appropriately respond to a survivor in crisis; this information should also be included in any materials created by the College.
In the long-term (during the next five years and starting immediately) the ASPC Senate calls on Pomona College to collaborate with the other Claremont colleges to create both a task force and a sexual assault support center. The 5-C or 7-C task force would develop a consistent sexual assault response plan and resources, identify systemic patterns of sexual violence on campus, and standardize policies on sexual assault and substance use. This entails the creation of uniform reporting and confidentiality policies (including uniform definitions of consent and substance use amnesty in sexual assault policy), as well as security and safety notification procedures, followed by uniform policies on judicial actions. The ASPC Senate recognizes that given the social environment at the Claremont Colleges, sexual violence may be inter-campus and therefore the best possible response from Pomona College would be to work with the other institutions toward a universal sexual assault policy. We also recommend that the college prioritize choosing or creating a space for a sexual assault support and resource center, so that survivors and others seeking guidance or counseling about sexual violence would have a safe and neutral space to seek help. We, as elected representatives of the student body, recommend that the Pomona College administration prioritize these initiatives set forth by the audit. Only with the full support and efforts of the administration can the college become a safer environment. We believe that all students are responsible for creating and maintaining a safer environment and should be integrally involved in implementing changes. Finally, we believe that immediate actions are necessary to demonstrate its commitment to working toward a college community free of sexual violence.
Note: The resolution's use of substance use amnesty refers to a situation in which complainants would be able to report an incident of sexual assault to their institution without fear of repercussions regarding their drug or alcohol use at the time of the incident; full amnesty means neither punitive nor educational measures would be taken.
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The new KSPC streaming app (commercial free, as KSPC intended) is available in the iTunes store as of this afternoon!!! Download it, rate it, tell all your friends about it! http://ow.ly/kAsRh
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Thank you to everyone who wrote course reviews over the last four days! This year's students single-handedly grew the size of the reviews database by 50%, which means one in three of all the reviews ever are from the last four days.
Since I'm a science student, I have to show you a graph. The spike you see is entirely from the last four days.
Also, congratulations to our lucky winner, Clara Shelton '14!
But really, when you contribute to a shared resource like this, everyone wins! (If you're not satisfied by these platitudes, we're thinking about raffling off noise-canceling headphones next year. Stay tuned.)
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Write course reviews, win a projector!
To enter this raffle, all you have to do is write reviews for your courses. Reviews between the middle of the term (we're calling that March 18th) and the first day of pre-registration (April 23rd) count as tickets for the raffle. What's more, each review counts separately, so reviewing all four of your courses for the semester improves your chances by a factor of four!
Submit your reviews by 11:59 p.m. on April 22nd and we will announce the winner via Student Information email on the 23rd.
Where do I write my review?
http://aspc.pomona.edu/course-reviews/ (Tell your friends.)
If we took a course in a previous semester, can we still review it?
Yes! We're trying to fill in the gaps in course reviews, so any course that you never got around to reviewing is fair game.
If we never took a course, can we still review it?
No! Should irregularities in the winner's review history be detected, they may be asked to present an unofficial transcript to an ASPC representative for verification.
What kind of projector is it?
We settled on an Epson VS220 (a $360 value!). It's great for movies, games, presentations, or anything you want to project. If your computer has a VGA or HDMI output, it will be able to connect directly to the projector. If not (which is the case for many recent laptops, including MacBooks), you'll need a reasonably priced adapter. (We're not including a screen. However, many fine walls are included in the price of your Pomona education.)
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Did you know that ASPC maintains a database of all the rooms on campus?
What's more, it has info on square footage, accommodation styles, and ratings and reviews from previous occupants. However, we need your help! We need you to review your current room so that future students have the benefit of your wisdom.
Review Your Room Here!
Not sold yet? Here are some highlights from previous reviewers:
"Feels like a castle." — Mudd-Blaisdell 312
"NICE WALL COLOR AND CARPET. NICE DOORS AS WELL AS THE PAINT ON THEM. ITS ALSO PRETTY QUIET." — Clark I 201B
"You do not control your AC/heating system. The control belongs to the person in 232, so make sure you're best friends with whoever lives there. As long as they're not a sociopath, you'll be perfectly fine" — Oldenborg 234
May the odds be ever in your favor!
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Congratulations to all our new Senators! And thank you to everyone who ran for a position and who voted in this year’s election!
Student Leadership Positions
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President: Darrell Jones III
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Vice President for Finance: Eric Martinez
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Vice President for Campus Events: Giselle Fierro
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Commissioner of Academic Affairs: Julia Austenfeld
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Commissioner of Clubs and Sports: Sumi Maristany
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Commissioner of Communications: Sarah Hardimon
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Commissioner of Community Relations: Elena Cardenas
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Commissioner of Environmental Affairs: Emma Fullem
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Commissioner of Off-Campus Relations: Kimberley Africa
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Senior Class President: Emma Wolfarth
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Junior Class President: Don Swan
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At-Large Rep on the Student Affairs Committee of the Trustees: Gabriela Guerra
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At-Large Rep on the Academic Affairs Committee of the Trustees: Bryan Phan
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At-Large Rep on the Finance Committee of the Trustees: Kai Orans
Resolutions
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Divestment Resolution: Yes - 78%
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Green Revolving Fund Resolution: Yes - 93%
ASPC Constitution Changes
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ASPC Senator Name Change: Approved - 95%
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Change in Description for Vice President for Finance: Approved - 98%
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Change in Description for Commissioner of Communications: Approved - 97%
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Vote here!
Voting closed!Voting opens at 9 p.m. on April 8th and lasts until 9 p.m. on April 9th. All current students including seniors graduating this May are eligible to vote.
ASPC uses instant runoff voting, which means you vote by ranking your choices for the position. A rank of 1 means you think this person is the best fit for the job, 2 means they are your second choice, etc. You do not have to provide a rank for every candidate. You may only have one first choice (and likewise for subsequent choices).
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2:30-2:45 Updates (Elections Commissioner, Plan B Vending Machine, Clubs Pilot Position, Senator Stipends, Publishing The Budget, DiSC Training) (All Senate)
2:45-2:50 Speakers Fund Requests (Trevor)
2:50-2:55 Website Mini-Training (Trevor)
2:55-3:00 Donuts for Comments (All Senate)
3:00-4:00 Divestment (All Senate)
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2:30-2:50 Updates (Spring elections, Plan B, Clubs Pilot Position, T-Shirts, José Antonio Vargas, Publishing The Budget, Donuts for Comments Cards, Surveys, News About Bylaw Changes? Anything Else?)
2:50-2:52 DiSC training?
2:52-3:00 Prepping New Senators
3:00-4:00 Divestment Discussion and Possible Vote
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Interested in Relay For Life?? Teams can be made at our website www.relayforlife.org/ClaremontCollegesCA. If you have questions/concerns, comment on this post or email pr@aspc.pomona.edu for more info!
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Have you got mad cooking skills?? Do you watch too much foodnetwork?! Participate in Iron Frank and Frary, which takes place next week! Sign-up your team of 4 to northcampus@aspc.pomona.edu to participate. FMI check it: https://www.facebook.com/events/153501668141974/
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Hey Students!
ASPC wants to know what we can do to better communicate with the Student Body! Fill out this survey to help us out:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BZ22ZZN
If you have any questions, contact senate@aspc.pomona.edu
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2:30-2:45 Updates: Plan B Dispenser Machines, Senator Stipends, Upcoming Committee Updates, Commissioner of Clubs and Student Life Pilot Position, Publishing The Budget, Senate T-Shirts/Tanks (All Senate)
2:45-3:10 Presentation from Meagan Tokunaga on Divestment
3:10-3:30 Divestment Discussion (All Senate)
3:30-3:45 Proposed Constitution Changes (All Senate)
3:45-4:00 NY Times Subscription (All Senate)
Extra Time: Initial Discussion: What does “being a representative” mean?
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2:30-3:00: Updates (All Senate): --Plan B Vending Machines --SPIF --Relay for Life --Ustream --Senator Stipends --Tracy’s Ipdate --Upcoming Committee Updates --VP Candidate Search --Possibly A Website Update
3:00-3:30 Published Budget Logistics (All Senate)
3:30-4:00 Commissioner of Clubs and Student Life Pilot Position (All Senate)
Extra Time: Initial Discussion: What does “being a representative” mean?
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SENATE THIS WEEK WILL BE IN DOMS LOUNGE
2:30-2:40 Check-in about last meeting (Sarah)
2:40-3:00 Updates: Ustream, Commissioner of Clubs and Student Life pilot position, Senator Stipends, NY Times (poll to students?), T-Shirts (All Senate)
3:00-3:10 Selecting Reps for Committee (Lena)
3:10-3:25 “Plan B Vending Machine” (Alex)
3:25-4:00 Publishing the Budget (All Senate)
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2:30-2:33 Consensus Review (Quinn)
2:33-2:35 Donuts for Comments (All Senate)
2:35-2:38 Pilot Position: Commissioner of Clubs and Student Life? (Sarah)
2:38-2:43 UStream (Darrell)
2:43-2:50 Questions/Comments for Duncan Meaney (re: ASPC investment), info about RIOC (Faye)
2:50-2:55 New York Times- Print or Digital Subscription? (Darrell)
2:55-3:00 “Plan B Vending Machine” (Alex)
3:00-3:05 Changing Doms Lounge (Immediate: TV and Cable, Later: More Lounge/Bar-like Accommodations?) (Emma)
3:05-3:15 Student Feedback at Board of Trustee Feb. Meeting (All Senate)
3:15-3:20 Senator Stipends (Sarah)
3:20-3:40 Publishing Our Budget? (All Senate)
3:40-3:50 What Does “Being A Representative” Mean? Initial Discussion (All Senate)
3:50-4:00 New Business (All Senate)
4:00-4:20 Course Review Site, Editing/Adding onto the ASPC Website (Joseph Long)
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Senate Agenda 1/25/13
4:30-4:35 Consensus modeling (Quinn)
4:35-4:40 Committee appointments (Trevor)
4:40-4:45 Ustream (Darrell)
4:45-4:50 Planning an ASPC Ice Cream Comment social (Emma)
4:50-5:00 Changing Doms Lounge (immediate: TV and cable, later: more lounge bar-like accommodations?) (Emma)
5:00-5:20 Senate engagement with clubs (possible Commissioner of Clubs position?) (Emma)
5:20-5:35 Getting student feedback and talking about divestment at the BOT March meeting (Sarah and Lena)
5:35-5:50 Infographics (Sarah and Joseph)
5:50-6:05 Senator Stipends (Sarah)
6:05-6:10 Senate Walker Wall activity? (Tracy)
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2:30-2:45 Check-in, updates
2:45-3:00 Planning our Spring Retreat
3:00-3:30 Setting the agenda and preparing for next semester
3:35-4:00 Guest: Workers For Justice worker and student representatives
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2:30-2:45 Check in question, updates (T-shirts, meeting time for next semester, remaining Senator updates), minutes approval
2:45pm Guest: Tiombe Preston, review of Title IX and the College’s sexual assault policy
3:15-3:20 Funding request by Lena Connor
3:20-3:25 VP of Campus Activities name change?
3:25-3:35 Setting the agenda for next week’s one-hour meeting
3:35-3:45 Discussing Senate Spring semester retreat
3:45-3:55 New business
[meeting will be closed to visitors at this time]
3:55-4:00 KSPC nominations Trevor
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2:30-2:45 Senator Updates — all remaining
Joseph, Darrell, Alex (RHC), Emily, Tommy, others?
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2:45-3:00 Updates about Green Fee, Eco-Reps, and a Take Back the Tap Campaign
Lena
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3:00-3:30 Guest: Conchita Serri, Campus Ombudsperson
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3:30-3:35 Approving past meeting minutes, discussion of online approval for quicker posting
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3:35 Leave for Senate Outing!
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After an application process to fill the position, the Senate has selected a new Commissioner of Communications. Congratulations to Trevor Smith on being appointed as the new Commissioner of Communications! We look forward to welcoming them to the Senate.
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Because of waning student interest and increasing loss of money, the ASPC Senate has decided to end ASPC funding for the yearbook, Metate, in order to put your student fees to better use. If you have any ideas for a yearbook stand-in that you'd be interested in working on, please let the Senate know! We appreciate your feedback.
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Attention fellow coop fountain fans! Some changes are in the works: while hours of operation will remain the same, the grill will open at 10am Mon-Fri and 1pm on Sat/Sun. Happy eating!
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At the Senate meeting on October 12, 2012, Senators discussed the following resolution. Although there was some internal disagreement, the resolution passed. It reads as follows:
The Associated Students of Pomona College (ASPC) Senate supports the decision of the College to rehire fired workers to their former positions if vacant and to give priority to fired workers if they apply to a different open position. We encourage the administrators of the College to ensure a fair and transparent rehiring process, to the greatest extent possible. The ASPC Senate also supports what was called for in the Faculty Resolution passed on December 7, 2011, specifically on the issue of back-pay for rehired employees (for up to two years) and fully funding all reasonable legal and documentation-related expenses. We appreciate the steps that the College has taken and we hope that the College will continue to work towards healing our community and addressing the ongoing impact of the worker firings – especially in light of the changing policies surrounding work authorization and immigration status at the level of the federal government.
Passed October 12, 2012
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The Dean of Students office and Associated Students of Pomona College have partnered with a non-partisan organization that makes absentee voting as easy as mailing back a Netflix DVD. Sign up with TurboVote to get a pre-filled absentee ballot request form and a postage-paid envelope addressed to the right place for your home voting district. TurboVote will remind you of upcoming dates and deadlines via text message, and make sure you don't miss any!
Register for ballot forms and reminders
Make sure your friends vote in the national election!
Share the link: pomona.turbovote.org -
Fall elections have concluded, and ASPC has new representatives!
North Campus Representative: Tracy Zhao
South Campus Representative: Alex Samuels
Sophomore Class President: Reina Buenconsejo
First-Year Class President: Nico Kass
You can read more about their positions and duties here
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Voting begins Monday at 9pm and ends on Tuesday at 9pm here at aspc.pomona.edu/vote. You can read the candidates' statements here: Candidate Statements. There is a candidate forum Sunday at 6pm at Frank dining hall. Below are the candidates:
North Campus Representative:
Warren Szewczyk
Tracy Zhao (write-in)
South Campus Representative:
Peter Ianelli
Jennifer Jia
Johnny Le
Harrison Manin
Conner Roberts
Alex Samuels
Rishi Sangani
First Year Class President
Lazaros Chalkias
Maximilian Hoffman
Nico Kass
Min Joo Kim
Andrew Palmer
Jun Park
Philipp Schmuecker
Leyth Swidan
Gage Taylor
Jason Bichen Xu
Pranay Yeturu
Sachit TanejaSophomore Class President:
Hannah Brown
Reina Buenconsejo
Elicia Epstein
Ted Gkoo
Michael Someck
Don Swan
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The following is a report on the major actions of the 2011-12 ASPC. It is meant as a reference and guide for future Senators and anyone who is interested.
The 2011-12 year at Pomona was very eventful, both for the Associated Students of Pomona College and for the community at large. Here are a few of the ASPC initiatives, projects, and accomplishments from the past year that I would like to highlight.
The biggest campus-wide issue of the year was certainly the document check and subsequent terminations of 17 employees of the college, nearly all of them dining hall workers. It would be impossible to effectively and succinctly summarize the issue in this space, so please check issues of The Student Life for extensive coverage and background on the events if you are unfamiliar. Unfortunately, there was a limited amount of effective action that ASPC could take as a body at the time of the firings. Furthermore, Senators were divided on the best course of action and on the tone with which to engage the administration and the Board of Trustees – the group that had initiated the document check and firings. However, around the time of the terminations, ASPC set up a forum between students and President Oxtoby, which over 100 students attended. We also released a couple of resolutions. One of which – a general statement of support for the workers – mirrored a similar resolution that the faculty had passed. The second was a statement that called on the Board of Trustees to release their internal report on the events leading up to the firings as soon as it was finished, a request with which the Trustees complied – releasing the report a day after Commencement.
The more important work that ASPC did on this issue happened during the second semester. Many students, including Senators and organized groups like Concerned Pomona Students, were disappointed and frustrated by the existing channels of communication with the Board of Trustees, problems and limitations that had become quite clear as the terminations were taking place. A trustee-student task force was set up to suggest improvements to the relationship between students and trustees. Some of the proposed changes that were accepted by the full Board included more students sitting on Trustee committees, better feedback mechanisms for students to comment on Trustee decisions, and more opportunities for formal and informal interaction between Trustees and students. The reactions of students on the committee to the conversations and adopted changes were mixed. Some students on the committee felt disappointed that the changes did not go far enough, and much of the final product of the task force felt like a compromise. ASPC’s role in improving the relationship of students and trustees will certainly be a continuing project, and several of the adopted changes will definitely help this project.
Internally, ASPC completely updated our online presence. We revamped the website; changing its design, making it more secure, and adding or reviving services that are very beneficial to students like Housing Reviews and Sagebooks. We put much more information about the Senate and its week-to-week operations online, as well as information about on-campus dining options and businesses in the village.
We made a couple big changes and improvements to the Coop Store, including a major renovation and expansion as well as a new website. The website (at coopstore.pomona.edu) will enable us to better sell merchandise to prospective students, alumni, parents, etc… and will hopefully increase ASPC revenues. The renovation and expansion will increase the offerings of the Coop Store, adding certain groceries and a wider variety of products. The 2010-11 Senate had voted on the renovation, but was too late to get the project moving during the summer of 2011. This year’s Senate organized the expansion of that proposed renovation, and it is on schedule to be completed before the Fall 2012 semester begins.
We also finalized the negotiations of a loan agreement between ASPC and the college. The project had been initiated by the 2010-11 Senate as a sort of good-will partnership, but the details had not been finalized. We loaned the college $75,000 at a 5% rate over 5 years to replace the lighting system in Big Bridges with state of the art LED lights. This loan helped to diversify ASPC’s investments, and it allowed us to give back to the Pomona community while increasing the size of our reserves. Once the loan is paid back to ASPC, hopefully future Senates will continue this program of loaning money to the college for sustainability projects.
The Student Affairs Committee of the Faculty, with representation from certain Senators, made changes to the sexual misconduct policy and bicycle policy on campus. The ‘standard of evidence’ in sexual misconduct cases was changed from ‘clear and convincing’ to ‘preponderance of evidence’ due to a directive by the federal government. While the change was relatively straightforward, it prompted other conversations about Pomona’s sexual misconduct policy and judicial board procedures. These conversations, and expected changes to the student code, were not completed this year and will be taken up again at the beginning of the 2012-13 year. The SAC also enacted a somewhat stricter (or more vigorously enforced) bike parking policy, although this was coupled with the placement of additional bike racks around campus and a subsidized u-lock program.
Of course there were many other smaller projects that ASPC managed this year, and there were several other very important and active functions of the 2011-12 ASPC, for example Pomona Events Committee, club budgeting, and committees chaired by individual Senators. We also altered some internal policies. We changed the language of our constitution and bylaws to be gender-neutral, and we changed the elections code to make campaigns ‘paperless.’ This document summarizes most of the ASPC actions and projects that were unique to the 2011-12 year. For more detailed information, you can search through the official ASPC minutes of every meeting or TSL issues from this year.
Nate Brown
ASPC President, 2011-2012 -
Pomona juniors and seniors: please vote here in the Pomona College Wig Awards! Vote for your favorite professors and write nice comments about them! Voting closes April 24th.
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Elections have concluded, and ASPC has a new Senate for 2012-2013!
President: Sarah Appelbaum
VP Finance: Faye Wang
VP Campus Activities: Joseph Reynolds
Commissioner of Academic Affairs: Quinn Lester
Commissioner of Clubs and Sports: Emma Wolfarth
Commissioner of Communications: Jesse Pollak
Commissioner of Community Relations: Darrell Jones III
Commissioner of Environmental Affairs: Lena Connor
Commissioner of Off Campus Relations: Ryan Dodson
Senior Class President: Emily Ujifusa
Junior Class President: Tommy Conkling
Additionally, Emi Young was elected as the At-Large Student on the Trustee Student Affairs Committee, Diane Northern was elected as the At-Large Student on the Trustee Academic Affairs Committee, and Ian Gallogly was elected as the At-Large Student on the Trustee Finance Committee.
The First Year Class President, Sophomore Class President, and North and South Campus Representatives will be elected in the fall.
You can read more about the positions and duties of ASPC Senators here.
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Vote Here!
Between Monday (4/2) at 9pm and Tuesday (4/3) at 9pm, you can cast your ballot at the elections site. There will also be a candidates forum at Frank Dining Hall at 6pm on Monday and a Presidential Debate at 7:30pm in Rose Hills Theatre.
Preferential Voting
Please note that the ASPC elections use a preferential voting system. To vote, simply rank the candidates for each position according to your preferences (#1 for your first choice, #2 for your second choice, and so on). You are not required to rank all candidates.
If no candidate initially receives a majority of the vote, candidates will be eliminated based on the fewest number of first-preference votes, and their votes will be redistributed to the next highest preference listed on each ballot (i.e. #2 becomes #1, #3 becomes #2, etc.) until one candidate has received a majority of the vote.
Ranking candidates after your first-preference candidate does not hurt the chances of your first-preference candidate; it instead allows your second-preference candidate to receive your vote in the event your first-preference candidate is eliminated, and so on.
Candidates
Candidate statements can be found here!
President
Candidates - Sarah Appelbaum and Rishi Sangani
Vice President for Finance
Candidates - Gaby Baum, Andrew Cha, and Faye Wang
Vice President for Campus Activities
Candidates - Joseph Reynolds and Carter Ruff
Commissioner of Academic Affairs
Candidates - Chris Bergeron and Quinn Lester
Commissioner of Clubs and Sports
Candidates - Courtney Hamilton and Emma Wolfarth
Commissioner of Communications
Candidates - Jesse Pollak and Tracy Zhao
Commissioner of Community Relations
Candidates - Julia Austenfeld, Darrell Jones III, and Eric Martinez
Commissioner of Environmental Affairs
Candidates - Lena Connor and Wesley Quevedo
Commissioner of Off-Campus Relations
Candidates - Ryan Dodson and Trevor Smith
Senior Class President
Candidates - Drew DiPalma, Blessing Havana, and Emily Ujifusa
Junior Class President
Candidates - Tommy Conkling
At-Large Rep on the Student Affairs Committee of the Trustees
Candidates - Emi Young
At-Large Rep on the Academic Affairs Committee of the Trustees
Candidates - Diane Northern
At-Large Rep on the Finance Committee of the Trustees
Candidates - Ian Gallogly and Jerry Jiang
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Dear Students,
This year’s Annual Budget Hearings are almost here! Budget Hearings is a way for clubs and organizations to apply to the 5C student governments for funding for the 2012-2013 fiscal year. If you are involved in a club or organization, talk to your club president and treasurer about filling out the appropriate forms.
Budget Hearings for the 2012-2013 fiscal year will be April 13-15. The afternoon of Friday, April 13 will be for Pomona only clubs and all 5C clubs will take place during the days of April 14 and April 15.
To apply for funding you must do the following:
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Be an approved and registered organization on CollegiateLink. (See instructions below on how to log into CollegiateLink)
- If you don't have a profile on CollegiateLink, but you are already a registered organization with the ASPC Office, you can easily create a profile by clicking here.
- Please note: Becoming an approved and registered organization on CollegiateLink can take up to 2 business days. Do not delay doing this.
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Fill out the annual Budget Hearing form located on CollegiateLink by 11:59pm on Friday, April 6th. There will be a link on the main CollegiateLink home page.
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Sign up for a time to present your request at Budget Hearing in the ASPC Office (SCC 244) between Monday, April 9 – Thursday, April 12. Presentations will consist of a 5 minute presentation and 5 minutes for questions.
If you have any questions in the coming weeks, please feel free to email me. I strongly encourage you to not leave these requests until the last moment. Requests cannot be submitted after 11:59pm on Friday, April 6th.
Best,
Leslie -
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Resolution of the Senate of the Associated Students of Pomona College
March 5, 2012
WHEREAS a complaint to the Chair of the Board of Trustees prompted an investigation into the work authorization papers of all college employees that led to the termination of seventeen employees; and
WHEREAS the process by which the Board of Trustees leadership dealt with the complaint and subsequent investigation is still unclear to students; and
WHEREAS the Board of Trustees is currently writing a report on the details of how the Board of Trustees leadership dealt with the complaint; and
WHEREAS students respect the need for whistleblower complaints to be kept anonymous;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Associated Students of Pomona College, on behalf of the student body, calls on the Board of Trustees to release to the college community the internal report on the events surrounding the worker terminations as soon as it is completed. We call on the Board of Trustees to release the report in full, with the exception of details that identify the person who made the complaint.
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Hey everyone,
Here is some important news about elections, new positions on Board of Trustees Committees, information sessions, and Board of Trustees actions.
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Elections to be a 2012-2013 ASPC Senator are coming soon! Signups will run from March 21 to March 28th. Voting will take place on the ASPC website from 9pm on April 2 to 9pm on April 3. More information about signups and the open positions will be sent out soon.
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As you saw from Dean Feldblum's email, there will be three new positions on the ballot this spring, and they will all be at-large student representatives on committees of the Board of the Trustees. You will have the opportunity to run for a position on the Academic Affairs Committee, the Finance Committee, or the Student Affairs Committee (not the same as the SAC of the faculty). The students on the Academic Affairs Committee and the Finance Committee would also be expected to attend and participate in the Student Affairs Committee; therefore those positions will entail slightly more work. These three positions will NOT be ASPC Senators -- students interested in both being a Senator and serving on these committees should consider running for Vice President for Finance (also sits on the BoT Finance Committee and Student Affairs Committee), the Academic Affairs Commissioner (also sits on the BoT Academic Affairs Committee and Student Affairs Committee), or President or Commissioner of Environmental Affairs (both sit on the BoT Student Affairs Committee). Because these three positions are new, their responsibilities are not yet set in stone, but they will most likely include: attending Board of Trustees committee meetings and giving student perspectives, helping organize and decide on the topics for the fall student-trustee retreat, and helping organize dinners between students and trustees.
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This Tuesday (tomorrow) at 7pm in SCC 208 I will be holding an open question and answer session about the new positions and the trustee-student task force on campus communication. I know a lot of the information in #2 is new and possibly confusing, so please come if you have any questions. The week after spring break, ASPC will be holding an information session about elections.
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Later this week, a list of action items that the BoT took at last week's meeting will be put up on the Dean of Students Sakai site and at http://www.pomona.edu/about/leadership/board-of-trustees.aspx
Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or comments!
All my best, Nate
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The ASPC Digital Media Group and The Coop Store are pleased to announce the launch of the totally revamped Coop Store website! In the works since last October, the new Coop Store website marks the transition from a hand-coded website to a fully dynamic online store.
The new online store is powered behind the scenes by Shopify and sports an original ASPC design with a mobile-optimized version of the site for smartphone users. Customers can now search for products, get instant feedback when their payment is authorized or order is shipped, and get accurate hours of operation for the Coop Store during holidays and breaks.
The changes reach all the way to the back-end system used by Coopsters to process orders. The Coop Store staff can now more efficiently update prices on products, track the fulfillment of online orders, and keep tabs on the over 107 products and 448 SKUs that comprise the Coop Store's online offerings. The new store also includes improved data security and fraud detection, which improve our ability to process credit card transactions.
Have a look around and let us know what you think!
Joseph Long
Lead Developer, ASPC Digital Media Group -
In response to the documentation checks currently occurring at Pomona, the Associated Students of Pomona College approved the following statement at our meeting on November 21, 2011:
The Associated Students of Pomona College would like to express our support for all employees of Pomona College as valued and appreciated members of our community, regardless of immigration status. We would like to echo the unanimously passed faculty resolution on November 16, 2011, in stating our "concern about the recent actions taken by the College with regard to the immigration status of dozens of faculty, staff, and students. We are concerned about the message this review of immigration status sends, particularly its effects on the College climate and our educational mission. This issue affects all of us. We call on the Board of Trustees to assert its commitment to an inclusive environment that welcomes people regardless of their race, color, creed, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, disability, medical condition, veteran's status, or immigration status."
Additional sources and reading:
Pomona Reviews Employee Documents; WFJ Protests in The Student Life
Faculty Resolve to Support Workers; Students, Staff Protest Document Checks in The Student Life
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It's that time of year again! The registrar has released the course schedule for the Spring 2012 semester, and we've imported all the course data into the our pomona schedule builder tool. It's also been moved to the ASPC server, which will be its permanent home.
Let us know if you spot any inconsistencies or problems by emailing webmaster@aspc.pomona.edu!
(Also, don't forget to write reviews for your courses to help each other choose professors for next semester.)
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Fall elections have concluded, and ASPC has new representatives!
Rishi Sangani is the First Year Class President, Frances Kyl is the Sophomore Class President, Nick Lawson is the South Campus Representative, and Anna Gibson is the North Campus Representative.
You can read more about their positions and duties here.
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Vote Here!
Between Monday (9/19) at 9pm and Tuesday (9/20) at 9pm, you can cast your ballot at the elections site. There will also be a candidates forum at Frank Dining Hall at 5:45pm on Sunday.
Constitution Change
In addition to the student government positions, the entire student body will vote on a change to the ASPC Constitution. The proposed change replaces gendered language in the Constitution with gender-neutral language. Currently, anyone mentioned in the Constitution is referred to as "s/he." However, this term only accommodates the gender binary, with which many students at Pomona do not identify. Therefore, if the change passes, any instance of the old language is replaced with the position title, for example, "the commissioner." The ASPC Senate has fully endorsed this change.
Preferential Voting
Please note that the ASPC elections use a preferential voting system. To vote, simply rank the candidates for each position according to your preferences (#1 for your first choice, #2 for your second choice, and so on). You are not required to rank all candidates.
If no candidate initially receives a majority of the vote, candidates will be eliminated based on the fewest number of first-preference votes, and their votes will be redistributed to the next highest preference listed on each ballot (i.e. #2 becomes #1, #3 becomes #2, etc.) until one candidate has received a majority of the vote.
Ranking candidates after your first-preference candidate does not hurt the chances of your first-preference candidate; it instead allows your second-preference candidate to receive your vote in the event your first-preference candidate is eliminated, and so on.
Candidates
Here are all the candidate statements
North Campus Representative
Candidates - Anna Gibson, Jeff Levere, and Jonny Wang
South Campus Representative
Candidates - Robert Chew, Nick Lawson, Michael Maltese, Joseph Reynolds, and Sidney Rupe
Sophomore Class President
Candidates - Dustin Godevais and Frances Kyl
First Year Class President
Candidates - Tina Bencik, Emily Glass, Rob Knickerbocker Stephanie Micham, and Rishi Sangani
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Welcome to the new website of the Associated Students of Pomona College! As the President of the ASPC, I’m excited to share with you some of the ASPC Senate’s ambitious agenda for the 2011-2012 year. In fact, we’ve already accomplished several of our goals, such as ending the ‘Gotcha’ program and voting to implement a sustainability project in Big Bridges Auditorium. What follows is a list, by no means exhaustive, of some of the important projects and developments on the Senate’s agenda.
One of my biggest goals is updating ASPC's web presence, and this new website is one giant leap for our web operations. Not every page of the website is finished, and the design isn’t finalized, but we decided to put up this semi-finished version in time for fall elections because it is such an improvement over the last version. This new website will include many more useful services by the end of the year.
On September 5th, the Senate unanimously voted to loan the college $75,000 to replace the lighting system in Big Bridges with state of the art LED lights. This loan will diversify ASPC’s investments, and it gives us the opportunity to give back to the Pomona community while eventually increasing the size of our reserves. We hope for future Senates to continue this program of loaning money to the college for sustainability projects.
I’m also pleased to report that Dean of Campus Life Ric Townes has confirmed that the ‘Gotcha’ program will not continue this year. The Office of Campus Life (OCL) will be considering other security awareness programs in the near future, and the Dean Townes has guaranteed that ASPC’s Residence Hall Committee will be involved in deciding on a program that is both effective and respectful of student privacy.
One issue that has just risen to the top of my agenda is Resident Advisor compensation at Pomona. RA salaries have suffered large cuts in the past few years, and the compensation package for Pomona RAs is currently the lowest of the Claremont Colleges. Given the difficulties of the job and the fact that through the first weeks of classes OCL has struggled to fill RA positions for the 2011-2012 year, I believe that cutting RA compensation is exactly the wrong thing to do during this time.
ASPC is moving ahead with the renovation of the Coop Store, to take place over winter break. The ASPC fully owns and operates the Coop Store and Coop Fountain, and we recognize that the Coop Store is in desperate need of a renovation. Last year’s Senate voted to allocate money to the renovation, and now this year’s Senate will be in charge of implementation. Student input in the design will be essential, and I’ll be sure to keep the student body involved in the process.
ASPC is also representing students on many administration-led initiatives. The college is currently looking for an outside consultancy to conduct a complete security review of the campus. ASPC’s Vice President of Finance Leslie Appleton and I are participating in these meetings and providing the student viewpoint on security measures. I want to reiterate my promise to fight against any invasive security camera presence on campus, as well as any restrictions on student mobility within the residence halls.
The college is currently undergoing a reexamination and revamping of the Career Development Office. The trustees have endorsed the creation of a structured “Four Year Plan for Personal and Career Development,” and ASPC will be providing input for the implementation of this plan. There is a push to make certain elements of the plan mandatory, such as creating a resume and a list of possible post-college jobs/positions. Because of a survey given last year, I know that the student body is divided on any compulsory plan; so, in my discussions with administrators I will try to help them strike a balance between a more structured and a more flexible plan.
Now you know what ASPC’s current priorities are for the year. If you have any questions, problems, or comments, or if you want to add to the list of priorities, please do not hesitate to email me at president@aspc.pomona.edu. I’m always eager to hear from students and to represent their concerns both within Senate and to the administration.