STUDENT POLICY COMMITTEE
2-November, 9:00 PM
Converse Red Room
President Paul Rieckhoff kicked off what was promised to be a "short, painless" meeting
with some brief remarks about the upcoming campus conversation with President Gerety
on the NESCAC/NCAA playoff issue. A formal proposal was first postponed until later in
the meeting, and then until the next meeting, because it could be better formulated after
hearing Gerety's and the student body's remarks.
Committee Reports:
Student Life-Frank Bria reported that pool hours have been extended, former CIA-director Anthony Lake has agreed to speak at Amherst, the ATM should be under
construction by Fri 7-Nov, and an international coffee night sponsored by the SoCo and
class of '99 is upcoming. Frank also spoke of his suspicions that the Lord Jeffrey Amherst
bookstore is overcharging Amherst students by some 10% on average, and that he and
Eric Budish are going to look into the matter and put out some sort of report and meet
with various people.
College Council- The code of conduct was presented to the faculty, and after much
academia-derived quibbling it was tabled until the next meeting, to be held 18-Nov. The
CC is optimistic that the faculty sees the revisions as more of a "mandatory updating" than
anything else.
Admissions and Financial Aid- Erica Greenbaum lamented that the college has no official
statement on diversity at Amherst, which would make for a nice pamphlet. Also, the
faculty are being lazy in putting together sheets describing each major, to be given out to
prospective applicants interested in Amherst's particular departments. Again, great
pamphlets.
Committee on Educational Policy- The TEACH proposal discussed and passed last
meeting (6-Oct) was forwarded to the Committee of Six. The CEP is also working on a
report on the first year committee, possibly with regards to revamping the advisory
system.
Committee on Phys Ed and Athletics- Carolina Patino spoke about her meeting with Pres.
Gerety, re NCAA/NESCAC. She also met with Katie Grentwell of the admissions
department, who is the head of athletic recruiting. There was a meeting of all the team
captains, who feel that the issue is one of respect for student-athletes' ability to make
mature decisions. Carolina ascertained that Gerety's main goal is the preservation of the
NESCAC, as well as its "principles." The Trustees are concerned about the diminishment
of the JV program and intramurals.
Trustee Advisory Committee on Student Life- They are concerned with moving
graduation (possibly facing Memorial Hill), teacher evaluations, even of tenured
professors, and getting a student rep on each trustee sub-committee. Also, there was
much love for the Trustee Pizza, which was a big hit.
Advisory Committee to the Committee on Trusteeship- Ross Cohen made a phone call.
First order of business was James Dubick's MASSPIRG report. 248 refunds were
requested by students, leaving 1350 odd supporters. They are working on a recycling
campaign which would mandate deposits on Snapple, bottled water, etc.. The deposits
work: a billion deposit-bottles are recycled each year, and in greater proportions than their
non-deposit brethren. MASSPIRG is also working on Campaign Finance Reform,
supporting legislation like that floating in Maine. Maine's proposed law encourages
candidates to accept voluntary spending limits in exchange for free TV time, good faith,
etc.. Maine might use a positive checkoff system on their income tax form to support
third party candidates as well.
Final order of business was Paul's shpiel on NCAA/NESCAC, which he abbreviated to
allow for changes in his stance stemming from the campus conversation next week. He
briefly remarked that Gerety perceives the NCAA to have a "corrupting influence" on the
NESCAC; in other words, it is not necessarily an issue of philosophy.
Tom Gray mentioned that most of the professors he's spoken with disagree with Professor
Dumm's opinions on faculty-Gerety relations as expressed in the Amherst Student. Paul
raised concerns that Gerety is "burning a lot of bridges" between faculty, students,
administration and trustees.
There is no tabled business for the next meeting, tentatively scheduled for 1-Dec.
Respectfully submitted,
Eric Budish
Recording Secretary, SGO.