<t do you think of making registration for classes more “green”? On Monday, February 18th at the weekly Senate meeting at Sayles 251, President Caitlin Fleming, together with Vice President Pablo Kenney and Treasurer Sam Ritter, led the senators in a discussion on the possible elimination of the paper course catalogues that surface around campus whenever registration for the following term rolls around. We had a high number of guests present who contributed to a lively discussion. Most of us agreed that the paper catalogues weren’t sustainable, and while some preferred having a tangible hard copy to flip through to give them a broad overview of all the courses available, most of us thought the amount of catalogues printed could be reduced and gradually eliminated. Roger Lasley, our Registrar, has been informed of the suggestions and comments that were generated and will work on them.
The second issue we discussed that would probably be of interest to students was the meal plans for the next academic year. The 20, 12 and 5 meal plans will remain; with about a 4% increase in prices to keep up with inflation, but the Block 130 will be retired due to declining interest. Dan Bergeson, director of Auxiliary Services, said that the number of students enrolled in the Block 130 has steadily decreased over the years from around one thousand to only a little more than a hundred. The lack in its popularity, together with the high cost of administration, has led to this decision by the Dining Board. Bergeson also wishes to reassure students that even with the substantial increase in the number of students back on board after the Memorial and Cassat Halls are completed, the Dining Board has already come up with many ideas that it plans to implement to continue to maintain the dining experience for students.
President Fleming also welcomed in our new officers and senators who will be joining us for the next term. There was a turnout of 1,037 voters, which is the highest turnout in the past four years.
Last but not least, in last week’s viewpoint column in the Carletonian, there was a controversial submission titled “An Unapologetic Endorsement of Jinai Bharucha” by another Carleton student. Robert Stephens, the other vice-presidential candidate, was shot down badly in the editorial, which possibly affected his campaign. Marquita Davis, ‘09 and other students, together with Stephens, voiced out their disagreements and concerns to the Senate about the content and the publication of the article. Davis stated her case: 1) The inflammatory remarks made against Stephens in the article were not based on concrete truths that could be verified; 2) Even though the editorial was under “viewpoint”, the Carletonian is a publication which is widely read by faculty and students and as a publication in a position of power; whatever is published is easily regarded as fact. Such incendiary comments against a student jeopardize his/her position in the school.
Issues which need to be addressed by the Senate include engaging in discussion with the Carletonian about what is appropriate to print, and its responsibility in ensuring ethical campaigning during elections. President Fleming thus recommended that a task force be formed to address the process of elections on campus. The task force could include members of the Carletonian, students, and senators. This recommendation was approved unanimously. The viewpoint submission has been removed from the online version of the Carletonian.
-Weiqi Tan is a second-year student and CSA Senator.