UA News

Senate met on Monday, November 16. Additions to Summer/Fall 2009 Finance Board Appeals were passed, and 41 U.A.S. 6.3: Fresh Fund Allocations allocated money from the Fresh Fund to many newly-recognized student groups. The 2013, 2012, and 2011 Class Council budgets were also approved by Senate. 41 U.A.S. 6.4: Re-Charging the Enrollment Committee, a bill to re-charge the UA Committee on Enrollment in light of the likely increase in enrollment, was passed. Two bills regarding the procedure to nominate a student to a position on an Institute Committee, 41 U.A.S. 6.1: Applicability of Nominations Committee Process and 41 U.A.S. 6.2: Nomination Process for Ex Officio Members of Institute Committees, were presented, but both will be voted on at later meetings. Finally, summaries of the past three years of Senate prepared by the UA History Committee were approved.

The UA Committee on Dining and the Office of Campus Dining are working together to introduce breakfast service in dining halls next fall. The Committee surveyed residents in Baker, McCormick, Next, and Simmons over the weekend to determine their breakfast preferences. More than 700 residents responded, and the survey results will help shape the breakfast program. The data is available on the Committee’s website: ua.mit.edu/dining.

The September Student Holiday will fall on the same day as the Career Fair in 2011 and 2012 after being passed by a vote of the Faculty. In Fall 2011, the Career Fair and Student Holiday will fall on a Wednesday, and in 2012, they will fall on a Friday. Data will be collected so that a further recommendations can be made in Spring 2013 regarding the future of the Student Holiday.

—Elizabeth A. Denys,
UA Secretary General

Senate met on Monday, November 9. Kirk D. Kolenbrander, Vice President of Institute Affairs and Secretary of the Corporation, discussed the Corporation’s visiting committee structure. Kolenbrander described their purpose, reporting structure, and composition.

Many pieces of legislation were brought before Senate. 41 U.A.S. 4.2: Bill to Create a Record of Standing Practices, which creates institutional memory of the standing practices and procedures of the Senate each year, was passed. The passing of 41 U.A.S. 5.1: History Committee Budget Timing allowed for the committee’s alumni dinner to take place during IAP instead of the fall semester. $5,000 from the Senate Discretionary was allocated to help pay for the cost of a TV outside the Student Center to display information about Saferide with the passing of 41 U.A.S. 5.2. The Dining Proposal Committee was formally dissolved when 41 U.A.S. 5.3 was passed.

41 U.A.S 5.4: Including the ASA Bylaws in the UA Bylaws, which requires that ASA bylaws be enumerated within the Senate Bylaws, was presented to Senate and tabled until the next meeting.

One piece of legislation presented to Senate, 41 U.A.S. 4.1: Bill to Clarify “Final Authority” in the Constitution, failed to pass, but Senate’s discussion of this bill indicated they would like to clarify the constitutional notion of “final authority,” although not in the manner presented in this bill.

Elizabeth A. Denys, UA Secretary General

Senate met on Monday, November 2. Steve Baker 84, Association of Independent Living Groups (AILG) Board Member, discussed the current work of the AILG as a Senate guest before the regular proceedings. The AILG is currently working to improve their communications with current undergraduates and shift the focus of living groups from their houses to their chapters or organizations, their accreditation process, and their insurance program.

Senate passed 41 U.A.S. 4.3: Resolution for Student Engagement within the Student Life Visiting Committee. This piece of legislation asks for an open forum with the Student Life Visiting Committee for any interested undergraduate during their evaluation of the Division of Student Life next week.

As the end of term approaches, please check your syllabi to make sure your professors aren't assigning work inappropriately, such as holding tests after December 4th. The earlier you report the problem, the more likely the UA Student Committee on Educational Policy (SCEP) will be able to resolve it in an effective manner! Additional information regarding what constitutes an academic violation is available at http://violations.mit.edu. Any violations of academic regulations can be reported anonymously to the SCEP at http://violations.mit.edu, and questions should be sent to violations@mit.edu.

UA Student-Faculty Dinners are back! The longevity of these dinners has now been assured, thanks to the UA securing new funding directly from the Student Life Fee. Groups of three to five students can invite a professor to dinner and will be reimbursed up to $20 per person. More information and registration is available at http://ua.mit.edu/dinners.

—Elizabeth A. Denys, UA Secretary General

Senate met on Monday, October 26 and started with Barbara Baker, Senior Associate Dean for Students, as a special guest. Dean Baker was interested in ways to communicate better with students, discussed ways to improve Student Life online resources such as the Student Support Services website, and detailed the work of the Deans on Call program. The UA Senate passed 41 U.A.S. 2.1: Bill to Decrease the Minimum Meeting Requirement, which allows for flexibility in scheduling Senate meetings due to long weekends. Senate will be meeting again on Monday, November 2.

President Hockfield hosted several student lunches as a result of a conversation she had at Senate last fall, and the Undergraduate Association and the President’s office are proud to announce that the program is continuing this fall. These lunches are a great opportunity to discuss a variety of issues regarding the Institute and to get to know your school’s president. The lunches will run monthly throughout the fall term and will occur on different days of the week so that more students have the opportunity to attend. If you are interested in participating, sign up at http://ua.mit.edu/exec/lunches/.

Dorm Storm is next week! Members from both UA Exec and Senate will be visiting your living group or a living group near you. The will be food, and the UA encourages you to be ready to have conversations with your UA representatives about Institute issues on your mind. The full Dorm Storm schedule is:

Monday, November 2, 9–11 PM: Simmons Hall

Tuesday, November 3, 7–9 PM: Near Safe Ride

(Rain location: first floor of the Student Center)

Tuesday, November 3, 9–11 PM: Baker House

Wednesday, November 4, 7–9 PM: Next House

Thursday, November 5, 7–9 PM: East Campus

The UA looks forward to seeing you there!

—Elizabeth A. Denys, UA Secretary General

Senate met on Monday, October 19 to discuss three pieces of legislation. Senate passed 41 U.A.S. 2.2: Resolution to Continue Transparency and Representation throughout the Institute-wide Planning Process, which seeks to continue undergraduate involvement in the ongoing budget reduction process. On a larger scale, this is part of a push for an increase in undergraduate involvement in Institute decision-making processes.

The Bill to Authorize the Treasurer to Reallocate Money to Student Groups would allow the UA Treasurer to allocate unused funds from UA Executive Committee and operating accounts to the next term’s Finance Board allotment instead of the invested reserve. This piece of legislation was postponed so that voting on the bill would occur in light of further information regarding Senate finances, specifically the UA’s Invested Reserve.

Legislation to decrease the minimum period between Senate meetings from seven days to six days was introduced and will be brought up for voting at the next meeting.

The next Senate meeting will be on Monday, October 26 at 7:30 p.m.

The UA Committee on Sustainability has been conducting surveys about plastic bag recycling in dorms. The committee will be using the results of these surveys to pilot this program within dorms.

—Elizabeth A. Denys,
UA Secretary General

The Executive Committee prepared the Undergraduate Association’s “Response to the Institute-wide Planning Task Force Preliminary Report” based on undergraduate feedback from the UA website. This report was approved by the Senate on Tuesday, October 13, 2009. The Coordinating Team of the Planning Task Force; the Chancellor, Executive Vice President, Provost, Chairs of the Institute Committees, and Chairs of the Task Force Working Groups; received a copy of the final report this week, and the report is publicly available at http://web.mit.edu/ua/docs/updated_taskforce_response.pdf.

The UA Fall Semesterly Budget and Finance Board Appeals were approved at Senate last Tuesday. The Election Code was amended through a bill to ensure that elections results, including vote tallies, are publicly released by 10 p.m. on the day following the end of the election. Additionally, an ad hoc Committee on Alumni Relations was formed; students interested in joining this committee should e-mail ua-car-chairs@mit.edu.

—Elizabeth A. Denys, UA Secretary General

The fall semester’s introductory Senate meeting was held on Monday, October 5 at 7:30 p.m. in W20-400. Before the Special Budgetary Session, Chancellor Philip L. Clay PhD ’75, Dean for Student Life Chris Colombo, Dean for Undergraduate Education Daniel E. Hastings ’78, and Vice Chancellor and Dean for Graduate Education Steven R. Lerman ’72 discussed the Institute-wide Planning Task Force recommendations. The Chancellor and deans emphasized that they are looking for as much feedback on the recommendations as possible — especially implementation possibilities that would not involve completely cutting an entire service, but would still save money. They also noted that many of the recommendations which would save large amounts of money would take significant research and time to implement.

During the Special Budgetary Session, the Senate discussed the UA’s budget for the fall semester. The budget can be found at http://ua.mit.edu/finances/ and will be voted on at the next Senate meeting.

The next Senate meeting will be on held Tuesday, October 13 at 7:30 p.m. in W20-400. In addition to voting on the fall budget, Senate will be discussing a report written by the Executive Committee, detailing the overall undergraduate stance on the recommendations from the Institute-wide Planning Task Force. The Senate will also debate a bill to create an ad-hoc UA Committee on Alumni Relations.

The UA has been working on increasing transparency around the Student Life Fee. Information about where the $2.72 million raised through the Student Life Fee goes can be found at http://ua.mit.edu/slf/.

­—Elizabeth A. Denys, UA Secretary General

The last chance to vote in Senate and Class Council elections is today! Paper ballots are available today in Lobby 10 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The results of the elections will be posted tomorrow. If you have any questions, please contact ua-elect@mit.edu.

The introductory Senate meeting this year will be on Monday, October 5 at 7:30 p.m. in W20-400. All Senate meetings are open to the public. The meeting will begin with a discussion with Dean for Student Life Chris Colombo, Dean for Undergraduate Education Daniel E. Hastings ’78, and Vice Chancellor and Dean for Graduate Education Steven R. Lerman ’72 about the Institute-wide Planning Task Force recommendations. After the discussion, the Senate will hold its special budgetary session to discuss the UA’s budget for the fall term. Students are especially encouraged to attend the discussion with the Deans, even if they cannot stay for the remainder of the meeting.

Undergraduates are encouraged to provide feedback about Institute-wide Planning Task Force recommendations through http://ua.mit.edu/taskforce/. These pages highlight and detail the twenty-two recommendations which could have particularly large effects on undergraduates.

Every ten years, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges comes to MIT to perform an accreditation evaluation. One component of this process is a student-only session, and interested students should provide their perspectives to the evaluation team on Monday, October 5 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in 32-141. No MIT faculty or staff will be present at this session, and students may come and go as they please. More information about MIT’s accreditation can be found at http://web.mit.edu/accreditation/.

UA Exec meetings will be held every Wednesday this term from 7:00 to 8:00 pm in W20-401.

At this time, the UA’s goals for the upcoming year are as follows:

Publish a formal response to recommendations proposed by the Institute-wide Planning Task Force based on undergraduate students’ feedback

Gather student opinion and provide feedback to the Student Life Visiting Committee

Present motion to the faculty to make the September student holiday coincide with the Career Fair

Obtain and provide clear information regarding the allocation of the Student Life Fee

Improve communication with students, alumni, faculty, and the Corporation

Work with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges throughout the accreditation process

Publish a report on the current state of athletics at MIT

Hold a series of “Community Conversation” meetings between students and administrators in a casual setting

Hold office hours to encourage communication between the UA and undergraduates at large

Promote MIT athletic spirit through “Superfan” events

Work with the Department of Student Life on the future of the dining system implementation based on the Blue Ribbon Dining Committee and UA Dining Proposal Committee reports

Improve the process to report academic violations by creating an automated system

Gather student input about HASS curriculum changes and assist in their implementation

Work on improving the freshman academic packet by helping to set up and guide focus groups

Publish a report on the state of academic advising with recommendations

Publish a report analyzing the effects of increased enrollment on aspects of undergraduate life at MIT

Creating historical summaries to streamline minutes and legislation for easier browsing

Archiving UA documents electronically

Make sure new television service over the network reflects student interests

Work with new leadership at IS&T so they understand student technology needs, including telephone and email services

Improve network infrastructure in dorms and FSILGs

Make information about Institute Committees more readily available

Formalize a recruiting process for Nominations Committee

Assess mid-year Institute and Presidential Committee needs and assist chairs with filling vacancies in student representation

Publicize the work of Institute and Presidential Committees

Coordinate student-faculty dinners

Review the Financial Policy Review Committee’s report on UA’s finances and implement a set of best practices and guidelines for spending

Constitutional Revisions: review the Constitutional Committee’s report on UA governing documents and implement necessary changes

Work with facilities to improve bike facilities on campus

Work with CAC to improve use of W20 student space such as the Coffeehouse and the old game room

Evaluate the need for power cords on the 5th floor of the Student Center and, if necessary, implement a solution

Get a TV outside of the Student Center displaying Saferide statuses

Improve public awareness of recycling facilities on campus

Expand plastic bag recycling on campus

Expand the availability of reusable grocery bags in dorms

—Elizabeth A. Denys, UA Secretary General

The voting period for the UA Senate, 2013 Class Council, 2011 Class Council Treasurer Elections has changed. Electronic voting at vote.mit.edu now begins tomorrow at 12:01 a.m. and ends on Thursday, October 1 at 11:59 p.m. Paper ballots will still be available in Lobby 10 on Friday, October 2 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The results will be posted on Saturday, October 3. Any questions should be directed to ua-elect@mit.edu.

Applications for UA Committees are being accepted until today at 11:00 p.m., and interested students should apply at http://ua.mit.edu/join.

Undergraduates concerned about any of the proposed budget changes from the Institute-wide Planning Task Force should express their concerns by e-mailing ua@mit.edu.

—Elizabeth A. Denys, UA Secretary General

The first Undergraduate Association Executive Meeting for the 2009–2010 academic year was held on Wednesday, September 9. Key issues that the UA will be tackling this fall were outlined. These issues included the Institute-wide Planning Task Force recommendations; communication with students, faculty, administrators, and alumni; and possible dining changes. The Institute-wide Planning Task Force’s preliminary report can be found at http://ideabank.mit.edu, and the UA welcomes your feedback (e-mail ua@mit.edu). Full minutes are available at http://ua.mit.edu/exec.

UA Senate and 2013 Class Council Elections are approaching. Petitions to run for any of these positions are due today at 5:00 p.m., and the late petition deadline is Monday, September 21 at 5:00 p.m. Official campaigning begins Friday, September 18 at 11:59 p.m. Electronic voting will run from Friday, September 25 at 12:01 a.m. to Thursday, October 1 at 11:59 p.m., and paper ballots will be available in Lobby 10 on Friday, October 2 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Results will be posted on Saturday, October 3. Questions should be sent to ua-elect@mit.edu.

Additionally, the 2011 Class Council Treasurer has resigned. This position will be filled during a special election, and candidates for the 2011 Class Council Treasurer will be required to complete the Fall 2009 Class Council Election Packet found at http://ua.mit.edu/committees/elect. The process includes obtaining 105 signatures from members of the Class of 2011 by Tuesday, September 22 at 5:00 p.m. Voting will run concurrently with UA Senate and 2013 Class Council Elections. If there are any questions regarding this election, e-mail ua-elect@mit.edu or 2011council@mit.edu.

UA Committees focus on a specific topic — such as educational policy, athletics, and student life— and are looking for new members for the 2009–2010 academic year. Students interested in joining a UA Committee should apply at http://ua.mit.edu/join.

—Elizabeth Denys, UA Secretary General