Perennially criticized for infighting and obsessing over parliamentary procedure, the Undergraduate Council of Students looked to turn things around at last night's meeting. At its general body meeting, the council passed an agenda of roughly 40 goals for the 2007-2008 academic year, many focused on internal operations, communicating student goals to administrators and faculty and, listed first, energy efficiency.
Dorm renovations, improvements to Banner, development of community work-based classes, environmental concerns and increased communication with Brown's Corporation were all featured on the list.
The agenda stressed taking in "student opinion as much as possible," UCS Vice President Lauren Kolodny '08 said. "I'm excited about the agenda. I think we really stressed creating a realistic set of goals."
UCS President Michael Glassman '09 said the agenda keeps council members focused and is intended to demonstrate UCS's work to the rest of the student body. "I think it will just be helpful in terms of keeping us focused," he said.
University administrators will all receive a copy of the finalized agenda so they can see what UCS's priorities are, he said. UCS will also distribute the agenda to the study body, though it does not yet know how this will be accomplished.
The agenda is a good way to show the student body what UCS plans to do and has done, said UCS at-large representative Clay Wertheimer '10 who spearheaded the formatting and organization of the agenda.
"I got involved with it because I think it was important to get it out right away to show the student body that we have really concrete goals and that we thought through these goals," Wertheimer said.
Glassman said UCS is supposed to present an agenda every year, but he does not remember it ever happening. "It's something that UCS is really supposed to do, but I don't remember it being done, at least not as formally in the past," he said.
The agenda was introduced at last week's general body meeting and UCS members gave feedback to Wertheimer throughout the week who then made a draft of the formatting and presented it to the executive board. "It was really a concerted effort," Wertheimer said. "We were pushing for working in committees to make the general body (meeting) go smoother."
Goals and projects will most likely be added to the agenda throughout the year, Glassman said. "I think that handful of projects is pretty set, but I wouldn't be surprised if some other pretty big things gets thrown in that we haven't talked about yet," he said.
UCS has already made headway into completing some of the agenda items, including passing a resolution to push the University to adhere to the recommendations of the Energy and Environmental Advisory Council, increasing involvement with the Corporation and working with the Swearer Center for Public Service to encourage service learning classes.
In other UCS news, the council elected Ellen DaSilva '10 to the executive board position of alumni liaison after class representative Michael Miller '10 resigned from that position last week. DaSilva is on The Herald's business staff.
The UCS Assessment Task Force, an ad hoc committee which will evaluate UCS over the year and deliver suggestions in the spring semester, was approved last night.
UCS also approved "A Resolution Calling for Brown University To Provide Aid Lost to Students Because of the Higher Education Act Elimination Policy," which states UCS's support for students who lost federal financial aid due to the HEA Elimination Policy.
UCS confirmed the appointment of Christopher Hardy '10 to the EEAC.
