Michelle: Let’s go over the agenda for this meeting. I want to talk about Blogging. We recently passed the bylaw regarding standing committe blogging and we need to sort out how that’s going to be scheduled. I have to send out the monthly global email to the community updating them on what Senate has been doing. I’d also like to talk about the Parliamentarian by-law.
Aiden: Homecoming was last Friday and it went very well. We made a net profit of around $200. We haven’t yet gotten all the money in because we’re having the students who wanted Homecoming photos pay for the photos when they receive them, so we should be getting a little bit more money. The Pep-Rally was pretty well attended, especially considering the weather. The game was pretty packed and the dance had over one hundred and forty students in the Blue Room at one point. I think the event was very successful. I especially think it was good for getting the SSSF name out to the students.
Madison: Can we talk about the possibility of changing the time of Executive meetings next semester?
Kara: I think it’s worth discussing attendance at Homecoming. Not all Senators were present.
Michelle: Okay, we’re going to be talking about the Parliamentarian by-law again tomorrow. We were in the middle of a motion, so we’re going to start off with Aiden restating his motion. Neutrality has come up a lot in the conversation, and I think we ought to talk about that.
Kara: Neutrality should really be a conversation about both the Parliamentarian and the Vice Chair, possibly the rest of Exec as well. I’m not comfortable with incorporating neutrality into my position because it’s very fundamentally different from the position I ran for.
Michelle: I was also thinking about changing our seating. Rather than having you sit next to me, Kara, it might be more functional for us to sit in different parts of the room, which would really change the dynamics of the conversation. Also, this will better illustrate the use of point of order. One way to move process along and increase the democratization of the process is to have Kara and I not sit together, so she has to be recognized.
Hayleigh: The sheet summarizing Robert’s Rules of Order is very important. It explicity outlines when you can interrupt. Everyone should understand what you can and can’t do. Kara is not the only one with power.
Kara: I don’t want to centralize power in Exec. I think the seating change will help keep the chair accountable. However, sometimes saying things about your process is awkward.
Michelle: I understand. It’s difficult to deal with things that are directly about me.
Kara: Just because I point out that you’ve stated an opinion doesn’t necessarily mean you need to step down as chair. I do think it’s important for people to be conscious of when you do state your opinion, but I’m worried about interfering with the flow of conversation.
Madison: I agree. It’s difficult to call out Michelle because the moderator then needs to have a conversation about something other than the topic at hand.
Michelle: What if, at the end of the meeting, you pointed out all of the times I stated my opinion, going over when and where it happened and why it is a statement of opinion. If it doesn’t necessitate stepping down and interferes with conversation, maybe it can wait.
Madison: I think it’s important for Senate to hear it out loud. Kara can say “conflict of interest” when asking you to step down rather than “stating opinion.”
Kara: I think it’s best to call out the Chair in public just like regular Senators.
Michelle: I’d always thought that any statement of opinion required me to step down as Chair.
Kara: It’s important to think about opinion versus fact. I can just make a point of order, say that you’re stating your opinion, and we can move on.
Michelle: When we’re not under a specific agenda topic, I do sometimes state my opinion and it seems appropriate.
Kara: The chair has to remain neutral throughout the entire meeting.
Madison: You frame every discussion. That’s powerful. Having Kara point out when you’re stating your opinion raises awareness.
Hayleigh: You particularly need to be careful about how you “encourage” things.
Michelle: Yes, that is inappropriate. I’m just worried about being absent in the meetings if all I say is “yes” or “no.”
Madison: It’s possible to both be neutral and to move the meeting forward.
Kara: Why don’t we talk about seating. How do we want to spread out?
Michelle: I think that Madison should remain next to me because it’s helpful to have her watching the call-list.
Madison: It’s also helpful to be near Rebecca to report the numbers on votes.
Kara: Why don’t we have the Chair and the Vice-Chair next to one another and then the Treasurer, Parliamentarian, and SSSF Chair sitting together.
Michelle: I don’t want it to turn into a dialogue between Exec. Why don’t we have everyone move around for a couple of meetings and see what happens. I think this change will make a difference.
Aiden: I think I would feel more comfortable if I weren’t sitting in the “Executive Block.” I don’t really have any executive powers in general senate meetings and I think I’d feel more comfortable participating if my seating reflected that.
Hayleigh: On the point of the Parliamentarian’s neutrality: by second semster, everyone should be familiar enough with by law and process for the Parliamentarian to essentially disappear. Without a vote or a voice, the Parliamentarian would be rendered completely irrelevant by the second semester.
Kara: Also, if enforcing process is the Parliamentarian’s only role I’m worried no one else will be doing that work. While my position does entail knowing process and bylaws, I want to be sure that everyone understands that this knowledge isn’t exclusive.
Madison: If Kara and I were neutral, a new unequal dynamic would emerge. We’re both very outspoken people and I think this discussion is very specific and personal and not based on our positions
Michelle: I think the fact that you’re outspoken has brought these issues to the fore.
Michelle: The club recognition by-law is also on the agenda for tomorrow. I got another email from a club chair who isn’t able to make the meeting time.
Madison: The optional meeting is ideally great, but not very realistic.
Kara: I really don’t like the rhetoric that if you can’t commit to make time, you’re not committed to your club. I don’t think that’s fair.
Michelle: It turns clubs into a spectacle.
Kara: Generally, there are no questions and no engagement.
Michelle: I usually have to ask people to bring forward a motion.
Madison: I’m going to look over the minutes and find how many questions were asked of the last 20 clubs. I’m sure the number is small, but it would be helpful to have a concrete number to work with.
Michelle: Anyone who feels comfortable should say that. It’s important to keep in mind what we’re asking students to skip: work, class commitments. The choice between Exec and Senate is a lot more work and confusing for the club chairs. The form is enough.
Madison: It might be helpful to have the club forms available to senate.
Kara: What if we put the forms online and emailed out copies of the form?
Michelle: Clubs can be recognized just from the form. Recognition could take place in Senate or Exec, but no club representative is needed.
Kara: In the bylaws, students who are not recognized can receive funding, but no more than $1000 per year.
Madison: We haven’t been following that bylaw. Josh stated this and it just isn’t followed.
Michelle: That seems like a separate funding issue. It might be better to extend an optional invitation to the club chairs. What if we formed a sub committee for club recognition. It could meet once a month or every other week.
Kara: No one would do it. We have enough difficulty getting students to volunteer for other existing subcommittees.
Michelle: I had the idea that we might have club chair senate positions that sit on SAS. That way Club Chairs have more of a say in funding decisions.
Kara: Also, there are only six voting members of SAS. This is very small for the amount of power they weild.
Michelle: We have to come up with a blogging system. In the bylaw it says you have to blog within a week of the meeting or you have a tardy.
Kara: People seemed to be interested in having the committee members make the schedule amongst themselves.
Madison: I could remind them of their blogging commitments in the same email as attendance.
Michelle: What if we had a big calendar for sign ups?
Madison: People won’t sign up and will be absent. I don’t want this to be something we chase people around on. We could have it be part of roll-call. I’ve reformatted attendance in order of committee, so I can just ask during attendance who will be blogging for this week.
Michelle: The committees that need to blog are Student Work, Curriculum, Student Life, General, and Admissions.
Kara: Student Life has a secretary, but the minutes aren’t posted on Sadie Lou.
Madison: We can start this after Thanksgiving break, but we should talk about it at the meeting tomorrow.
Kara: Let’s talk about attendance at Homecoming.
Aiden: Not everyone attended two of the three events and not everyone did the specific tasks they signed up for.
Kara: The requirement was just to attend two of the three events, not to do two tasks.
Madison: Do we know who was at what?
Kara: Do we want to count these as unexcused absences?
Michelle: I’ll remind everyone that SSSF events are mandatory in my Chair’s report.
Kara: It is in the bylaws that they have to attend.
Michelle: I don’t think it was clear when to be where.
Madison: I don’t want to call people out at the meeting, but I would be all right with sending out an email. I don’t want to give unexcused absences for this because I don’t feel the documentation is sufficient. I wasn’t present enough to enforce this.
Michelle: I don’t feel the need to crack down on this.
Aiden: Homecoming is a lot more manageable than Auction or Mayfair. For those, I’ll need a lot more specific help from Senators in setting up and things like that. For Homecoming, people weren’t required to set up for the dance or help with the bake sale at the game, just to attend. I don’t think we need to police this.
Michelle: Auction is a lot more structured with more specific tasks. I’m tired of policing people, and I think people resent it. The more we try to enforce things the less senators will do their jobs. This applies to a lot of senators.
Kara: Being a senator is not an entitlement or a right; it’s a job.
Madison: I think this is an organizational factor, not a fundamental issue. This is not a police state, I’m happy to be flexible.
Michelle: I think that Senate has become a place where people challenge one another in a way that isn’t appropriate and should be taking place outside of Senate. I feel like there’s a lot of personal issues coming to light in that room.
Hayleigh: I think we do need to stress the importance of conducting oneself professionally.
Michelle: I’m going to introduce WAIT. It stands for Why Am I Talking? It’s a tool for consensus building. You can recognize if you’re talking to bring new information to light, to defend your position, etc.
Madison: Repeating information isn’t necessary; that’s why we have snaps.
Michelle: Why don’t we postpone the discussion about rescheduling Exec meetings until after eveyone knows their spring schedules?
Aiden: We still need to discuss the global email.
Michelle: I’m going to talk about the recent SSSF events and the election of new senators.
Kara: You should mention some of the bylaw changes that have happened. Also, we’re supposed to solicit agenda topics in the daily email.