- Updates and Announcements
a. Executive Board
i. Health and Wellness: The committee is organizing all first aid supplies in all of the dorms. Health and Wellness will most likely have a count of supplies within the next week or two so that the committee can order more.
ii. Finance: The committee will send out an update to organizations reminding them about tax exemptions as organizations are spending too much on taxes. Some organizations are still waiting on P-cards. The Finance Committee did not review any applications because of October break but will review applications this week.
iii. Programming and Traditions: The committee is working on setting up for Halloweekend, which will occur this weekend. The Chair of Programming and Traditions held a meeting with Campus Activities, Grounds, the Bon Appétit director, administration and others to discuss how they will organize the event and Noyes tent logistics. The Chair will be making a schedule for Halloweekend that they will release in the next VSA email.
iv. Operations: The committee is going to take a victory lap on divestment and is planning on bringing back alums who worked towards divestment to talk about their activism experiences.
v. VSA President: Attended a Board of Trustees meeting on Friday, Oct. 15, and discussed VSA’s current projects. The meeting also included updates on faculty housing, admission strategy and the health committee.
b. Committee Chair Updates
i. Environmental Action: The chair held a meeting with the College’s committee on divestment; however, meetings regarding divestment will no longer be scheduled in the future because the College and the Board of Trustees recently approved a new investment strategy to combat climate change. The chair wants a fuller statement on the endowment, and to make sure students’ actions are more publicized.
ii. Environmental Action: Held a joint meeting with the operations committee to discuss divestment but will no longer have to continue organizing such meetings because of the Board of Trustees’ new investment strategy to combat climate change. The chair would like to thank Students for Equitable Environmental Decisions (SEED) and everyone involved in the struggle for divestment, which has lasted close to a decade. The committee wants to ensure that students’ actions to promote divestment are more publicized. In the future, the committee hopes for a fuller statement and more extensive conversations about how the Trustees’ new plan will impact the endowment. The committee is also meeting this week with the heads of dining to discuss sustainable dining.
c. Senator Updates
i. Class of 2025: Launched constituent concern form. Respondents so far have raised concerns related to 24-hour dining services and accessibility, particularly with elevators not being fully functional. The senators are also planning a fall festival for Class of ’25 and a Rocky Horror Picture Show.
ii. Class of 2024: Launched constituent concern form and still waiting for responses.
iii. Class of 2022: Safety and Security requested senators to write a recommendation statement to help improve relations between students and security. The senators recommended a statement from the VSA asking security to change their titles, possibly dropping “officer.”