GA Minutes 10 Apr 07

Proposal to Fund and Support “Collis-Up-All-Night”
Sponsored by: Lawton Leung ’10, Ashley Cartagena ’10 and the Communications Committee

WHEREAS the Dartmouth Student Assembly has, in the past, held successful “Collis-Up-All-Night” events

WHEREAS the event has provided a fun and safe alternative for social interaction;

WHEREAS the event will bring together a variety of organizations and representatives of the Student Body including performance groups and programming organizations, thus fostering cooperation and community;

WHEREAS there is a lack of alcohol-free events for the student body that last for the duration of a night;

WHEREAS “Collis-Up-All-Night” will be on the night of Friday, April 13th, 2007 during the hours of 7 PM to 2 AM;

WHEREAS an event such as “Collis-Up-All-Night” will be a positive addition to the successes sponsored by the Assembly;

WHEREAS the Communications Committee has found some alternate funding by working with Programming Board and Collis Governing Board and is implanting inexpensive activities to decrease costs;

LET IT BE RESOLVED that the Student Assembly allocate up to $3,000 for the execution of this event to be divided among the following expenses:

Food: $1000
Student Performance Groups (Including Final Cut, Rockapellas, Dodecs,
Decibelles etc.): $200
Advertising: $25
Activities and games: $1475

Poker Tournament: $100
Pong paddle painting: $750
Movies and popcorn: $25
Prizes (including iPods for poker and bingo): $600

Maintenance, building fees, discretionary funds: $300

LET IT FURTHER BE RESOLVED that student organizations including Face Aids, Habitat, and Grassroots Soccer, will have tables providing information and requesting optional donations throughout Collis during the event.

LET IT FINALLY BE RESOLVED that the Communications Committee will be accountable for the responsible use of allocated resources and the successful execution of the event.
Statement in Support of Syllabus Accessibility


Statement in Support of Syllabus Accessibility
Sponsored by Adam Halpern-Leistner ’10, Corey Chu ’08, and the Academic Affairs Committee

WHEREAS course syllabi provide accurate information about courses that can be beneficial to students during course selection;

WHEREAS copyright concerns prohibit the posting of syllabi on non-secure websites;

WHEREAS the Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning (DCAL) is working on limiting the Blackboard website so that syllabi posted there will only be available to the Dartmouth community, but with the expected release of a new version of Blackboard, this project will not be completed until after next fall;

WHEREAS using the Dartmouth Web Authentication system, academic departments can easily post course syllabi that will be viewable only by the Dartmouth community;

WHEREAS the Dean of Faculty’s office has called the process of uploading syllabi onto department websites a “trivial” task;

WHEREAS the Government Department has used this system to post past syllabi and has reported very positive feedback;

WHEREAS course syllabi provide a way to learn about a course that is more comprehensive than course listings and more objective than Course Guide reviews.

WHEREAS course syllabi provide information such as reading lists that can be useful to students not taking the class but interested in the subject;

WHEREAS the accessibility to course syllabi during course selection may decrease the adding and dropping of classes during the first two weeks of the term;

WHEREAS syllabus accessibility can assist professors in publicizing their courses;

LET IT BE STATED that the Student Assembly inform departments about the importance of making course syllabi accessible;

LET IT FURTHER BE STATED that the Student Assembly encourage departments to use the Dartmouth Web Authentication system to post syllabi online with professors’ consent.


Statement of Concern Regarding Computing Services Cable Box Distribution Plans
Sponsored by: Cory Cunningham ’10, Harshil Shah ’09, Corey Chu ’08, Neil Kandler ’08,
and the Student Services Committee

WHEREAS the Department of Computing Services at Dartmouth College administers the cable television network for students living in on-campus housing;

WHEREAS the current coaxial cable system that provides television free of charge will be deactivated at the end of the Spring 2007 term;

WHEREAS commencing with the Summer 2007 term, in order to receive cable television in on-campus housing, students must either use DarTV, which is only available on computers, or an STP cable box;

WHEREAS in order to watch television on a regular television set, students must use an STP cable box to convert cable from an Ethernet port to a coaxial cable;

WHEREAS Computing Services is currently intending on requiring that students purchase these STP cable boxes outright at a cost of approximately $300;

WHEREAS $300 is a significant sum for many Dartmouth students to be forced to pay if they wish to have television in their rooms on a traditional television set;

WHEREAS nearly all of Dartmouth’s peer academic institutions provide cable television service to students as part of their regular housing fees;

WHEREAS Computing Services intends on partnering with Evolving Vox, an organization not affiliated with the College, in order to allow students to rent cable boxes at a fee which is unnecessary;

WHEREAS given that Evolving Vox does not fall under the jurisdiction of the College, there is no guarantee that this will be a successful and fair program for ensuring the appropriate reuse of said boxes;

WHEREAS there are a variety of other methods that the Department of Computing Services can make said STP boxes available to students while still ensuring responsible use of the units;

LET IT BE STATED that the Student Assembly issue the following statement of concern regarding the Department of Computing Services plans for distributing STP cable boxes:

The Student Services Committee and Student Assembly at large are concerned that the Department of Computing Services is not considering Dartmouth students’ best interest given their current plans for the future cost and distribution methods of the STP cable boxes. There are a variety of different options available that would ensure that the units are properly handled, including, but not limited to, refundable security deposits and administrative fines, and none have been given fair consideration.

Given the significant student financial outlay necessary in order to purchase a STP box, and the inadequate current plans for the eventual reuse of the units, the Student Assembly, on behalf of the student body, request that the Department of Computing Services ascertain a superior method of distributing and controlling the usage of these units without such a high cost to students.

LET IT FURTHER BE RESOLVED that the Student Services Committee and the Student Assembly at large share its concerns with the Department of Computing Services in an effort to improve the plans for purchase and distribution of the STB boxes to develop a plan that is fair and equitable to both the students and administration.