President Christina Paxson and the Undergraduate Council of Students gave each other feedback on their respective past and future projects at the council’s last general body meeting of the semester Wednesday.
The Student Labor Alliance’s call for the University to end its contract with Adidas emerged as a hot topic of discussion. UCS President Anthony White ’13 said the Adidas campaign raises the issue of making available avenues other than protests for students to voice their complaints.
Paxson and other administrators are working to establish a committee that “will hear issues related to workers’ rights,” Paxson said. The committee will ideally include Richard Locke, incoming director of the Watson Institute for International Studies, who has been “supportive” of the campaign against Adidas, in addition to SLA members, Paxson said.
The Corporation’s decision on whether to support the Divest Coal campaign, which is expected to be discussed at its meeting in May, emerged as another major topic of discussion between the president and council members.
Paxson said she did not think the Corporation would be ready by May to vote on whether the University should divest from the companies Brown Divest Coal has been protesting, echoing sentiments she voiced at the Brown University Community Council meeting Tuesday.
“The Corporation hasn’t been involved in the discussion that’s been going on on campus,” Paxson said. “After half an hour or an hour of conversation in May, that may not be enough.”
Paxson said she was interested in hearing council members’ opinions on Divest Coal, given the council’s formal endorsement of the Divest Coal campaign’s resolution earlier this year.
The council’s decision to endorse Divest Coal’s resolution was not quick or unanimous, said Holly Hunt ’13, UCS general body member. Many council members worried divestment was not an effective strategy because “it wouldn’t mean much financially,” Hunt said, citing the fact that the University’s investments in coal represent less than 0.1 percent of its endowment.
If the Corporation votes not to divest from coal because it shares council members’ concern that divestment is not an effective approach, Paxson said, administrators should still work with the Divest Coal campaign to accomplish its goal through a different strategy other than divestment.
Committee chairs also presented their committees’ recent accomplishments to Paxson and solicited suggestions from her on projects they can tackle next year.
Paxson suggested the Academic and Administrative Services Committee focus on improving wireless devices’ connections to Brown wi-fi and said the Campus Life committee could provide input next year on the renovation of Andrews Dining Hall into an eatery.
The Academic and Administrative Affairs Committee has spearheaded initiatives like building the Swearer Engaged Scholars program, improving the advising handbook and implementing a means for students to give feedback on their advisors, said Maahika Srinivasan ’15, UCS Corporation liaison, who will serve as chair of the Academic and Administrative Affairs Committee next year.
“Students may be concerned about being honest in their appraisal” of their advisors if they think advisors can trace their responses back to them, Paxson said.
In his president’s report, White said 2,600 students have voted so far in the ongoing run-off election between Afia Kwakwa ’14 and Todd Harris ’14.5, neither of whom received a majority of votes to be the next UCS president. The run-off election closes today at noon.
The council also heard from Alan Harlam, director of the Swearer Center for Public Service, about the University’s recent initiatives to integrate academics and community service.
Harlam highlighted TRI-Lab, Swearer Engaged Scholars and the SEED Conference as key projects the center has spearheaded this year.
ADVERTISEMENT
