At last night's Undergraduate Council of Students meeting, two members of the Corporation, Liz Chace '59 and Joan Sorenson '72, and Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Margaret Klawunn discussed issues that were raised by UCS and community members in attendance.
UCS President Brian Becker '09 began the meeting - the final general body meeting of the semester - by asking the Corporation members to address UCS's goals to institutionalize a young alum position on the Corporation and to endow the student activities fund, which would eliminate the student activities fee for future classes once it is created.
Sorenson, who serves on the Corporation committee that deals with trustee vacancies, said she did not even realize that the youngest Corporation member was Bobby Jindal '91.5 until recently. "At our last committee meeting we did discuss the fact that we need to get some young alums on the Corporation, so we are looking to do that," she said.
Chace, who is a Fellow on the Corporation and has served for eleven years, encouraged graduating seniors to submit nominations for an alumni trustee. "You need to make a real case for it when you put in a nomination," she said. "And the committee will take a closer look at that."
With regard to creating a permanent position on the Corporation that reserves a spot specifically for a young alum, Sorenson and Chace were not optimistic. "A designated position for somebody that graduated in the last five or ten years or so - I don't think that'll happen," Sorenson said. Chace said there were currently no categorical positions within the Corporation, which is one of the reasons that the Corporation is hesitant to create a new category for a young alum.
Sorenson, Chace and Klawunn discussed ways that students can have their opinions heard other than through a young alum on the Corporation. Students can join university committees or communicate specific concerns through UCS, because the council's president is present during meetings of the Corporation's committee on campus life. "We're not shutting you out," Chace said. "We are listening."
But Will Lambek '09.5, a member of Students for Democratic Society, disagreed. "You were in fact shutting us out on Oct. 18. You stationed armed cops at the building," he said, referring to the group's protest of the most recent Corporation meeting. Eight members of SDS are facing disciplinary charges for their involvement in the protest.
Chace spoke about the Corporation's two highest priorities for the coming years. "You're going to see new hires in the faculty, and you're going to see the Corporation really concerned about financial aid," she said.
Mael Vizcarra '09, another SDS member present at the meeting, said he wondered if the University was really doing enough for financial aid. But Sorenson said even balancing the budget is a challenge in the poor economic climate. "I don't think we can do more," she added.
Administrative and Academic Affairs Chair Tyler Rosenbaum '11, also a Herald opinions columnist, said that although the debate got a little out of hand, he was glad that SDS representatives, as members of the Brown community, were able to express their opinions. "I think that SDS could've been a little less mean about the way they did it," he said. "But the members of the Corporation took it well."
Later on during the meeting, Student Activities Chair Ryan Lester '11 asked the Corporation members if they had any suggestions for endowing the student activities fund. Sorenson said, "I'll be happy to work on the problem and see if we can find a solution."
After the Corporation members and Klawunn left the meeting, UCS committees gave updates to the general body. The Campus Life Committee reported that meal credit balances will be made available on Banner next semester.
Rosenbaum also said that the Graduate Student Council was drafting a resolution in support of a previous UCS resolution that calls for the discontinuation of the enforcement of prerequisites on Banner. The GSC resolution passed 19 to 14, according to author of the resolution and GSC member E.J. Kalafarski GS. Rosenbaum will present it to the Faculty Executive Committee at its next meeting along with the UCS resolution on the same matter.
Rosenbaum, Becker and UCS member Jerry Cedrone '11 said UCS should take a stance on this resolution and might even consider planning a demonstration on the Main Green if the FEC's response is not favorable. "Ruth Simmons told us, 'Students may not respect UCS because they don't feel like you're getting anything done, so instead of trying to advertise yourself, actually do something,' " Rosenbaum said.
"Petitioning and protesting in a mature manner is an option," Becker added.
