End of Year Awards

Members of the Year: Neil Kandler '09, Yuki Kondo-Shah '07

Outstanding Service Award: Corey Chu '08

New Member of the Year: Nathan Bruschi '10

Committee Members of the Year:

Academic Affairs: Adam Halpern-Leistner '10

Alumni Affairs: Peter Matthews '10

Communications: Ashley Cartagena '10, Lawton Leung '10

Community Service: Sarah Peterson '10

Diversity and Community: Ali Necamp '09, Ray Rodriguez '09

Ivy Council: Victoria Boggiano '10

Membership and Internal Affairs: Tabetha Xavier '10

Student Life: Margaret Chen '10

Student Organizations: Michael Coburn '10

Student Services: Cory Cunningham '10

GA Minutes 29 May 07

Statement of Support for Current Initiatives by the Inter-Fraternity Council and Mentors Against Violence
Sponsored by Lena Martinez-Watts ’08 and the Diversity and Community Committee

WHEREAS sexual assault is an equally shared concern of the Inter-fraternity Council, Student Assembly, the Mentors Against Violence program and the student body at large,

WHEREAS similar initiatives were independently conceptualized by both the inter-fraternity council and the student assembly leadership regarding effective means of addressing issues of sexual assault,

WHEREAS an educational program has been designed that seeks to utilize a peer-to-peer system of education regarding effective methods of sexual assault prevention,

WHEREAS the program has been designed jointly by members of the inter-fraternity council and mentors against violence with student assembly acting as a facilitator for the two organizations,

WHEREAS the inter-fraternity council has unanimously voted in support of the program,

WHEREAS the inter-fraternity council has unanimously voted in favor of implementing the forementioned programming into the pledge process of all incoming pledges,

LET IT BE RESOLVED that the Student Assembly supports and acknowledges the proactive steps that the inter-fraternity council and Mentors Against Violence are taking in order to improve and ensure a healthy campus climate.

James Wright: ABC's "Person of the Week"

Dartmouth College Office of Public Affairs • Press Release

On Friday night, May 25, "ABC World News with Charles Gibson" featured Dartmouth President James Wright as its "Person of the Week" (click to watch) recognizing his leadership role in creating an educational counseling program for wounded U.S. veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan that is now being offered through the American Council on Education.

The New York Times carried a feature on the same subject earlier this week (Wednesday, May 23), headlined, "The Few, The Proud, the Dartmouth-Bound."(click to read)

Well done, President Wright. You've all made us proud to call ourselves sons and daughters of Dartmouth.

Treasurer and Secretary Elected

Nathan L. Bruschi '10, Treasurer


Jen Argote '10, Secretary

SA Banquet Postponed

The SA end-of-year banquet (originally scheduled for tomorrow) has been postponed until next week on Wednesday or Thursday. We'll keep you updated.

GA Minutes 22 May 07

Resolution to Fund and Support the Expansion of Da$h to further Vending Machines
Sponsored by: Neil Kandler ’09, Mike Coburn ’10 and the Student Organizations Committee

WHEREAS the expansion of Da$h to additional vending machines has consistently been one of Student Assembly’s goals for the past few years;

WHEREAS many dorms and building without Da$h have already been wired correctly;

WHEREAS the expansion of Da$h has been in high demand with students;

WHEREAS Student Assembly has been in contact with the procurement office about expanding the Da$h program to further vending machines;

LET IT BE RESOLVED that Student Assembly allocate a minimum of $5000 and any additional funds remaining at the end of the year for the expansion of Da$h to additional vending machines;

LET IT FURTHER BE RESOLVED that Student Assembly work with the procurement office and other interested parties to implement the expansion of Da$h in the most efficient and cost effective means possible;

LET IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED that Student Assembly seek additional sources of funding for the project;

LET IT BE FINALLY RESOLVED that Student Assembly seek to complete the project over the summer term.


Proposal to Renew Funding for the Course Guide Incentive Program
Sponsored by Corey Chu ’08 and the Academic Affairs Committee

WHEREAS the Academic Affairs Committee oversees the SA Professor/Course Guide in conjunction with the SA Web Team;

WHEREAS the Course Guide helps students choose courses by providing them with feedback and ratings from previous students;

WHEREAS the efficacy of the Course Guide is contingent on having a large number of reviews, which are submitted by students upon the completion of the term;

WHEREAS in the Fall 2007 term, the number of reviews submitted had recently declined;

WHEREAS the Course Guide contributions rely on students providing input for courses they’ll never take again while also competing with a faculty-administered course evaluation whose results are inaccessible to students;

WHEREAS in the first week of January 2007, over 2,000 students viewed the Course Guide, with an average of 40 courses viewed per user;

WHEREAS last term, the Academic Affairs Committee instituted an incentive program to raffle off a large quantity of small prizes to boost participation rates;

WHEREAS to obtain these incentives, the Academic Affairs Committee has arranged a deal with Everything But Anchovies to purchase 150 $15 gift certificates at a 50% discount;

WHEREAS course evaluation incentives raffled based on the number of reviews submitted would encourage students to fill out evaluations not only from this term, but for previous terms as well, thus improving the Course Guide’s reviews on a whole;

WHEREAS a fifth of the reviews submitted to the Guide were for courses from previous terms;

WHEREAS since the Fall 2001 term, the Course Guide would receive on average roughly half the number of reviews every Winter term as compared to the Fall term preceding it;

WHEREAS the Course Guide incentive program has stopped the recent decline in participation rates, receiving more reviews for Winter 2007 courses than courses for any previous term since Fall 2005;

WHEREAS with the current incentive program in place, those who would choose to contribute to the Guide contributed an average of 15% more reviews;

WHEREAS a quarter of the users who contributed to the Guide last term (a tenth of the reviews) received a gift certificate;

WHEREAS the Academic Affairs Committee can utilize the incentives themselves, as well as the statistics gathered, to promote the incentive program, thus further boosting future Course Guide participation rates;

WHEREAS on average, for a given Winter term, the Guide receives half as many reviews as it did the preceding Fall term;

WHEREAS the Course Guide received over 2.8 times more reviews following the Winter 2007 term than the preceding Fall Term;

WHEREAS continuing the Course Guide incentive program will allow the Assembly to assess the incentives’ potential for positive reinforcement as their novelty diminishes.

LET IT BE RESOLVED that the Student Assembly allocate $1130.25 for the Course Guide incentive program:
-- $1125 in order to purchase 150 $15 gift certificates, and
-- $5.25 to print out 150 3.5¢ black-and-white thank-you letters to the winners.

LET IT FURTHER BE RESOLVED that the Academic Affairs Committee coordinate the random and fair distribution of gift certificates to students who complete course evaluations.

Loyal Opposition in Student Assembly

Travis and I were talking the other day, and we started to explore this idea. He had me type up some notes and I came up with this.

<><>
A Brief on Legislative Opposition in Student Assembly
For Travis Green, President
By Nathan L. Bruschi

Current State:
In the current legislative process, a standing committee passes a bill before it is placed on the docket by the executive committee and presented to the General Assembly. At GA, the bill is shown on the main screen, read aloud by one of its sponsor, and further crystallized before opened to questions. Once all questions are answered, the bill passes into debate, starting with amendment or opposition. Oftentimes, members are intimidated to speak against a particular measure on ideological grounds – the proper role of SA, oftentimes – for fear of chastisement from their friends. This is particularly true regarding bills that address the sensitive issues of race, gender, sexual assault, non-binding statements of support, and large allocations of money.

The result is a system where nearly every bill presented before the General Assembly is passed regardless of merit. The funding bills for co-sponsorship or SA events, that are presented to and passed by GA, tax the treasury and may prevent SA from taking on major student service and student life initiatives. Because committees are liberal in their endorsement of bills and because a failed bill can be presented again to a different committee, the committee approval process presently provides an insufficient filter.

The U.S. congress lacks this problem because the legislation approval process consists of many steps which each have the power to shoot down the bill. The two party system, and the parliamentary system in Great Britain, ensures that there will be at least some organized opposition to any bill and that all legislation with be scrutinized by a critical eye.

First proposed solution:
The creation of a ‘”loyal opposition,” “devil’s advocate,” or “skeptical respondent” would help fix this problem. In the proposed system, the committee would first present its legislation to GA and explain why they believe it should be passed. The opposition would then make a presentation on areas of rational concern within the bill: the amount or breakdown of funding within the bill, the way the bill plays into the desired role of SA, the details of the event or function, etc. The opposition does not need to explain why the bill should not be passed, but just explain the weaknesses of the bill and present a skeptical viewpoint for GA to consider. This would be followed by a factual questions period and finally debate.

The opposition could consist of one of three things. First, it could be another committee and its Vice President presenting on flaws within the bill. GA is more scrutinizing of bills when executives make critical statements, and the position of the VP on the executive committee would enable him or her to have a fuller perspective to draw upon. Second, an appointed or elected “skeptic” would have the job of finding flaws with all bills presented before GA. Members of the parliamentary debate society are expected to mount entire cases against imaginary propositions without any prior knowledge of the issue or the argument at hand. This solution is problematic just because the person who fills the position would likely garner the wrath of his or her colleagues and may not be able to effectively present against all kinds of bills. Third, a committee of skeptics could be formed and various members would be assigned to lead the opposition for various bills. If one committee member felt that they could not for personal reasons present an effective opposition, another member would take on the task. The committee would ease the burden of the job, help dilute potential rebuke from members in GA, and could increase the quality of oppositions as members specialize in different areas.

Second proposed solution:
As there would be two VP’s for every committee, one of them would serve as the skeptic for any bill while it is in the committee approval process or in GA. This would encourage committees to question their actions and foster debate among the members. It would also make the infighting less public, but deny GA the benefit of seeing the reasons for the ultimate actions. At the very least it would free up more time in GA as less bills make it to the floor, and require less opposition once they do.

Third Proposed solution:
Before a bill may pass into debate, the President would call upon one member of the executive committee who would have to give at least one reason why the bill should not be passed or otherwise take a stance against it. The fact that a VP is chosen to do it would help start debate and encourage critical review by the General Assembly, following the VP’s lead. Unlike in the first solution, this opposition does not need to be organized and instead could just be a few remarks made by a randomly chosen person. No matter how good a bill is, there has to be some flaws, and no matter how much a VP wants to see a bill through, he or she should be able to say something.

Scope:
It is particularly important that skepticism be drawn towards spending bills. I would strongly advise that a system be build in which the treasurer or a committee chaired by the treasurer must sign off on the spending breakdowns of funding bills before they may be presented to GA. It is problematic when GA attempts to adjust the budgets of spending projects as it is a complicated, difficult, approximate, and often messy task. If all spending bills were researched and approved by the treasurer, the bills could be considered on their face value and a simpler judgment could be made by GA whether to fund it in full, in half, or not at all.

The organization of an opposition preserves and enhances the ideal in the current SA procedure that calls upon opposition or amendment before debate can take place. For bills that have broad support and no general problems, the opposition could merely point out ideological/logical flaws or negative ways the bill could be perceived by the press or campus at large. It is important for SA to examine how it will look by passing certain bills and what kinds of messages it would be sending to campus. Failure to consider popular sentiment may result in loss of faith in SA by the student body.
<><>

comments?

From Blitz:

**********************
STUDENT-FACULTY BRUNCH

When: Sunday, 11 AM - 2 PM

Where: 1st Floor Rocky · Silsby Front Lawn

Why: A perfect opportunity to unwind after Green Key Weekend and interact with professors in an informal setting.

FREE CATERED BRUNCH will be provided!

Sponsored by the Dean of Faculty's Office and Student Assembly

***************************

Stephen F. Smith '88 Elected Trustee

"The Dartmouth College Board of Trustees has elected Stephen F. Smith as a trustee following a nomination vote by Dartmouth's alumni from a slate of four candidates.

Smith, a 1988 graduate of Dartmouth, will join the board on June 10, following commencement ceremonies in Hanover. He succeeds Nancy Kepes Jeton '76, who will step down in June after ten years of service on the board."

continue reading the press release.

Student Assembly Banquet on May 24

from blitz:

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Join us at the..

*End-of-the-Year Student Assembly Banquet*
Thursday, May 24 @ 6pm
McLane/Fahey Basement Common Room

+Celebrate our achievements over the past year!
+Celebrate yourselves for your hard work!
+EAT AMAZING FOOD!

**Awards will be given out**

>>>>>>>>>>>>>Catered by Murphy's<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~
please RSVP to Raymond Rodriguez

If you would like to nominate someone for an award, blitz Ray by tomorrow (Friday).

New SA Elects MIAC Membership

The following people were elected to the Membership and Internal Affairs Committee in the new Assembly.

Jaromy Siporen '08


Neil Kandler '09


Cory Cunningham '10



David Imamura '10

GA Minutes 15 May 07

Proposal to Fund the 2007 Student-Faculty Brunch
Sponsored by: Franklin Obi ’09, Ian Rorick ’10, and the Academic Affairs Committee

WHEREAS the Student Assembly feels that it is of the utmost importance to foster good relationships between faculty and students;

WHEREAS good student-faculty relationships enhance learning in the classroom and strengthen the Dartmouth community;

WHEREAS last year the Assembly organized a three-hour Student-Faculty Brunch in which 500 people attended it;

WHEREAS this year’s Brunch will take place on Sunday, May 20th during Green Key Weekend, and is expected to have roughly 450 people attend it;

WHEREAS this year’s Brunch’s total cost will be around $4186.40, costing roughly as much as it did last year;

WHEREAS the budgetary breakdown of the Brunch is the following:

Food--------------------------- $3118.00 ($5.50/person + tax & gratuity)
Location Set-up/Cleanup--- $670.00
Ad in The D------------------ $72.00
Entertainment---------------- $50.00
Invitations-------------------- $276.40
Total Estimated Cost (max)- $4186.40

WHEREAS Dean of the Faculty Carol Folt is in full support of the event and has pledged to allocate a significant amount of funding for its implementation.


LET IT BE RESOLVED that the Student Assembly allocate $750 towards this year’s Student Faculty Brunch. The brunch in its entirety will cost $4186.40.


Statement for Support for Current Initiatives for the Community Action Network
Sponsored by Lena Martinez-Watts ‘08 and the Diversity and Community Committee

WHEREAS student assembly resolved to support the creation of the community action network on (DATE) in response to the numerous acts of discrimination which negatively affected the overall climate of the institution,

WHEREAS Student Assembly further resolved to continue to initiate programs and offer its support to students who have been confronted by acts of intolerance,

WHEREAS the Student Assembly has met with the Campus Climate Committee to discuss proactive steps to achieve such goals,

WHEREAS the Student Assembly supports and acknowledges the proactive steps that the administration is taking in order to improve and ensure a healthy campus climate,

WHEREAS the community action network is a joint initiative requiring both administrative and student body support,

WHEREAS the Dean Sateia provided funding for chap-sticks labeled with appropriate contact information for students who have been affected by a biased incident,

LET IT BE RESOLVED that members of Student Assembly fulfill their portion of this commitment through the allocation of up to $2000 to purchase first aid kits labeled with contact information for the community action network,

LET IT FURTHER BE RESOLVED that the first aid kits be distributed to the incoming class of 2011 during orientation week.


Proposal to Fund the Profiles in Excellence Award
Sponsored by Corey Chu’08 and the Academic Affairs Committee

WHEREAS sustaining a rich culture of undergraduate teaching is important both to Dartmouth College and to the Student Assembly;

WHEREAS the Profiles in Excellence Award reflects the Student Assembly commitment to developing the relationship between students and faculty, and has been awarded each term since the fall of 2001;

WHEREAS the award recognizes outstanding teaching by professors;

WHEREAS the winner of the award is chosen by the Academic Affairs Committee from student nominations;

WHEREAS the Student Assembly holds award dinners each term for the winner of the Profiles in Excellence Award;

WHEREAS the Academic Affairs Committee will soon be choosing a professor as this term’s recipient of the award;

LET IT BE RESOLVED that the Student Assembly allocate up to $600 for the Profiles in Excellence Award plaque and dinner.

Resolution to Allocate $3,000 for the Diversity of Thought Picnic
Sponsored by: Lia Cheek ’09, Lena Martinez Watts ’08 and the Diversity and Community Committee

WHEREAS the research done on minority faculty retention suggests that many minority faculty members do not feel as if they are a part of the Dartmouth community,

WHEREAS the inclusion of faculty as part of the larger Dartmouth community is beneficial to both students and faculty,

WHEREAS the recommendations of the Minority Faculty Recruitment and Retention report recommended that outreach from student communities would help to strengthen the Dartmouth community overall through increased minority faculty retention,

WHEREAS intellectualism is a commonality shared by both the minority faculty and the student community,

WHEREAS networking with minority faculty allows minority students to interact with successful individuals with similar background to their own,

WHEREAS research suggests that faculty are largely unaware of events and sentiments on campus which affect their students,

WHEREAS there is currently no forum in which minority faculty members can interact with the student community as individuals outside of their role as faculty,

LET IT BE RESOLVED that Student assembly support the Diversity of Thought picnic, and allocate up to 3,000 dollars to implement this event.


Resolution to Fund the End-of-the-Year Student Assembly Banquet
Sponsored by Raymond Rodriguez ’09 and the Executive Committee

WHEREAS the SA banquet serves to bring together all Student Assembly members and recognize their hard work and achievements throughout the past year

WHEREAS the SA banquet happens every year at the end of the Spring term

WHEREAS this year’s end of the year banquet will happen on Thursday May 24 at 6pm in the McLane-Fahey Common Room

WHEREAS the event will be catered and outstanding members of the Assembly will be recognized

LET IT BE RESOLVED that Student Assembly allocate up to $1500 for the end of the year SA Banquet.

Travis Green Elected Student Body President

The results are in...


Travis Green, President


Ian Tapu, Vice President



I guess the iGreen ticket worked. Is this the start of a new election dynamic?


More info:
Green elected student president (The Dartmouth)

New SA Class Representatives Elected

Class of 2008:
Jacqueline B. Loeb
Jeffrey K. Coleman
Corey B. Chu
Jaromy R. Siporen
Ephraim Froehlich
Erin A. Johnson
David N. Glovsky
Kyle A. Jazwa
Haley R. Morris
Travis Mushett

Class of 2009:
Molly Bode
Ruslan Tovbulatov
Raymond E. Rodriguez
David Nachman
Harshil Shah
Neil Kandler
Kathryn N. Whisenhunt
Christian Kiely
Ayla Glass
Jacob Kahane

Class of 2010:
David Imamura
Cory Cunningham
Landon Brown
Nathan Bruschi
Robert Hoffman
Lawton Leung
Taylor Stevenson
Jennifer Argote
Janill Espaillat
Sara Hudner

GA Minutes 08 May 07

Proposal to Fund the Student Legal Rights Dinner Discussion
Sponsored by: Neil Kandler ‘09 and the Student Organizations Committee

WHEREAS many student are unaware that the New Hampshire State Constitution has been interpreted in a manner in that it provides more legal rights than the United States Constitution;

WHEREAS over 120 students are arrested every year for drug and alcohol-related offenses and other crimes according to the “Annual Security Report” published by Safety and Security in 2006;

WHEREAS many of these arrests could be prevented if students fully knew their rights;

WHEREAS Kacavas, Ramsdell & Howard, P.L.L.C. (the “Firm”) has an extensive track record of representing Dartmouth students and has extensive knowledge of the laws and students’ rights in New Hampshire;

WHEREAS the Firm has agreed to charge the Student Assembly a fee of $250 for services rendered;

LET IT BE RESOLVED that the 2006-2007 Student Assembly allocate $350 towards the Student Legal Rights Dinner Discussion: $250 for services and $100 for food;

LET IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED that this event be held with the objective of educating students about their legal rights and preventing unnecessary student arrests;

LET IT BE FINALLY RESOLVED that the Student Assembly hold this program on May 14th, tentatively scheduled to be held at Tri-Kap at 7pm.


Proposal to Renew Funding for the Course Guide Incentive Program
Sponsored by Corey Chu ’08 and the Academic Affairs Committee

WHEREAS the Academic Affairs Committee oversees the SA Professor/Course Guide in conjunction with the SA Web Team;

WHEREAS the Course Guide helps students choose courses by providing them with feedback and ratings from previous students;

WHEREAS the efficacy of the Course Guide is contingent on having a large number of reviews, which are submitted by students upon the completion of the term;

WHEREAS the number of reviews submitted has recently declined;

WHEREAS the Course Guide contributions rely on students providing input for courses they’ll never take again while also competing with a faculty-administered course evaluation whose results are inaccessible to students;

WHEREAS in the first week of January 2007, over 2,000 students viewed the Course Guide, with an average of 40 courses viewed per user;

WHEREAS last term, the Academic Affairs Committee instituted an incentive program to raffle off a large quantity of small prizes to boost participation rates;

WHEREAS to obtain these incentives, the Academic Affairs Committee has arranged a deal with Everything But Anchovies to purchase 150 $15 gift certificates at a 50% discount;

WHEREAS course evaluation incentives raffled based on the number of reviews submitted would encourage students to fill out evaluations not only from this term, but for previous terms as well, thus improving the Course Guide’s reviews on a whole;

WHEREAS a fifth of the reviews submitted to the Guide were for courses from previous terms;

WHEREAS since the Fall 2001 term, the Course Guide would receive on average roughly half the number of reviews every Winter term as compared to the Fall term preceding it;

WHEREAS the Course Guide incentive program has stopped the recent decline in participation rates, receiving more reviews for Winter 2007 courses than courses for any previous term since Fall 2005;

WHEREAS with the current incentive program in place, those who would choose to contribute to the Guide contributed an average of 15% more reviews;

WHEREAS a quarter of the users who contributed to the Guide last term (a tenth of the reviews) received a gift certificate;

WHEREAS the Academic Affairs Committee can utilize the incentives themselves, as well as the statistics gathered, to promote the incentive program, thus further boosting future Course Guide participation rates;

WHEREAS on average, for a given Winter term, the Guide receives half as many reviews as it did the preceding Fall term;

WHEREAS the Course Guide received over 2.8 times more reviews following the Winter 2007 term than the preceding Fall Term;

WHEREAS continuing the Course Guide incentive program will allow the Assembly to assess the incentives’ potential for positive reinforcement as their novelty diminishes.

LET IT BE RESOLVED that the Student Assembly allocate $1130.25 for the Course Guide incentive program:

1) $1125 in order to purchase 150 $15 gift certificates, and

2) $5.25 to print out 150 3.5¢ black-and-white thank-you letters to the winners.

LET IT BE FINALLY RESOLVED that the Academic Affairs Committee coordinate the random and fair distribution of gift certificates to students who complete course evaluations.



Statement in Support of Alternative Options for Cable Television Systems in ORL Residence Halls
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 as of present, Computing Services has not modified its plans to charge students approximately $300 to purchase a cable box that is required to watch television on anything but DarTV;

WHEREAS many of Dartmouth’s peer academic institutions, including Brown, Cornell, Amherst, Boston College, Villanova, Lehigh, and UNH, include free cable television access in their residence halls at no additional cost to students without the need for a cable box;

WHEREAS the current policy would place a significant financial burden on a large number of Dartmouth students, 51% of whom receive some sort of financial aid, by requiring them to pay $300 for the cable boxes;

WHEREAS Computing Services is still planning on partnering with Evolving Vox, an organization unaffiliated with the College, for the future distribution of the cable boxes no longer needed by graduating seniors;

LET IT BE RESOLVED that the Student Assembly issue the following statement of concern regarding the Department of Computing Services’ plans for charging for cable boxes:

Dartmouth College frequently prides itself on its ability to offer all of its resources, both academic and otherwise, to all of its students regardless of financial need. Furthermore, Dartmouth often holds itself to a standard greater than that of its peer institutions with regards to maintaining a particularly high quality of life for its students.

By allowing its peer institutions to continue to offer cable television at no charge while charging Dartmouth students $300 for the privilege of having television in their rooms, Dartmouth places its students at a serious disadvantage in comparison to other colleges and universities.

The Student Assembly urges the Department of Computing Services should take the policies of other colleges’ cable television policies into consideration before implementing their intended program of cable box purchase, ideally creating a solution that costs students no out-of-pocket funds.

LET IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED that this resolution and concerns be shared with Dean Stuart Lord and President Wright to encourage them to dissolve the issue of class that could potentially occur as a result of this initiative;

LET IT BE FINALLY RESOLVED THAT the Student Services Committee and the Student Assembly at large share its concerns with Computing Services and the Office of Residential Life to encourage them to provide free cable television access, a standard set by many of their fellow institutions.


Proposal to Present Alternative Options for Cable Box Distribution and Pricing to the Department of Computing Services
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 as of present, Computing Services has not modified its plans to charge students approximately $300 to purchase a cable box that is required to watch television on anything but DarTV;

WHEREAS the Student Services Committee has repeatedly met with representatives from Computing Services and has evaluated a variety of options for the distribution and pricing of the cable boxes;

LET IT BE RESOLVED the Student Services Committee on behalf of Student Assembly makes the following recommendations to the Office of Residential Life and Department of Computing Services, listed in order of preference;

1) Cable boxes would be loaned to students with the contractual understanding that if the units are damaged in any form when returned, students’ college bill will be charged for the full value of the unit.

2) Cable boxes would be loaned to students upon the payment of a refundable $100 security deposit, in which students would not have their deposit refunded if the unit is damaged at the end of the academic year.

3) Cable boxes would be sold outright at a cost of approximately $300 to students, at which point the students would completely own the unit.

4) Cable boxes would be sold by Computing Services to Evolving Vox, a College-independent, for-profit organization, which would subsequently handle the sale and/or rental of units to students.

LET IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED that the Student Services Committee, on behalf of the Student Assembly, forward the aforementioned suggestions to the Department of Computing Services and the results from the attached student blitz survey in an effort to encourage a change in plans for the coming academic year.


Proposal to Fund the Lwala Benefit Concert
Sponsored by Lena Martinez Watts ’08, Jamal Brown ’08, Raymond Rodriguez ’09 and the Diversity and Community Committee

WHEREAS In 1977, Dartmouth College established the first gay student group, the Gay Students Support Group to provide an environment that was accepting towards homosexuality. Due to the College’s inclusive efforts, the 2006 Advocate College Guide for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBTQA) named Dartmouth one of the top 100 gay–friendly universities in the country,

WHEREAS PRIDE week serves as an opportunity to celebrate and educate the Dartmouth community of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) history and culture at Dartmouth College, through a week long of events filled with various speakers, lecturers, educational campaigns, programs, performances/entertainment, a festival, and a dinner gala. The ultimate goal of PRIDE is to address and eradicate homophobia, prejudice and bigotry, in order to promote a more inclusive and pluralistic Dartmouth,

WHEREAS PRIDE will occur the week of May 7 – 11, 2007. Beginning on Monday and ending Friday night, PRIDE will involve numerous activities throughout the week,

WHEREAS The 2006-2007 Student Assembly has made it a priority to advocate and support all communities of Dartmouth College,

WHEREAS On Wednesday, May 9, 2007 in Collis Common Ground a three–hour benefit concert will take place. The benefit concert will feature Visionary-In-Residence Stacey Ann Chin, world-renowned drag artist Kevin Aviance, student group performances by Sheba, Dog Day Players, UJIMA, Rockapellas, among others, and exhibitions that illustrate the impact of HIV/AIDS in Africa and LGBT communities, and stories from individuals suffering from the epidemic. Proceeds of this event will go to help benefit Dartmouth alums Fred Ochieng’ '05 and Milton Ochieng’ '04’s Lwala project. The Lwala Project is a charity that strives to provide primary health care, clean water and HIV/AIDS education for a poor village in Kenya.

WHEREAS The Lwala Project has attracted great attention from the greater Dartmouth community and the nation. All proceeds from the benefit concert will go towards the Lwala Project.

WHEREAS participating in an event of this kind follows the SA guidelines for co-sponsorship;

LET IT BE RESOLVED that the Diversity and Community Committee and Community Service Committee coordinate volunteers from Student Assembly and participants from the larger student body.

LET IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED that Student Assembly allocate $3000 to support the Lwala Benefit Concert.

GA Minutes 01 May 07

Resolution to Allow Computing Services to Take Over the Blitz Terminals
Sponsored Kapil Kale ’07 and the Executive Committee

WHEREAS Student Assembly has been maintaining and replacing the blitz terminals which are located all around campus for many years;

WHEREAS the service is extremely popular;

WHEREAS SA often has difficulty maintaining the blitz terminals due to lack of manpower and expertise;

WHEREAS Computing Services has offered to take over full maintenance of the terminals due to their specialization in campus electronic networks and technology;

WHEREAS Computing Services would provide a far more professional service than student-run operation of the blitz terminals, as exemplified by the exemplary quality of the computers located in the 1st floor Berry corridor;

WHEREAS Student Assembly faces difficulty in replacing the terminals on a regular basis due to leadership turnover and annual budgetary fluctuations;

WHEREAS Computing Services would ensure that the blitz terminals would be replaced every three years;

WHEREAS the Office of the Provost has indefinitely allocated $18,000 per annum towards paying Computing Services to maintain and replace blitz terminals;

WHEREAS this program would have no cost whatsoever to Student Assembly and allow it to focus on new and different student services;

LET IT BE RESOLVED that Student Assembly, starting in Fall ’07, give Computing Services maintenance and replacement responsibilities for the blitz terminal program;

LET IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED that for the first three years upon replacing a blitz terminal, Computing Services return the expired terminal to Student Assembly to either auction, give away, or scrap;

LET IT BE FURTHER PROPOSED that Computing Services continue to allow blitz terminal advertisements and Student Services update the campus about any changes in how to advertise;

LET IT BE FURTHER PROPOSED that Student Assembly’s Student Services committee be in contact with Computing Services regarding requests for new terminals and changes to the program;

LET IT BE FINALLY PROPOSED that Student Assembly congratulate the college administration, especially the Office of the Provost, on recognizing an important student need and dedicating a substantial sum of money on securing that service professionally.

SA Presidential Debate

There will be a debate among the 5 Student Body Presidential Candidates will be held tonight at 7:00 during the General Assembly meeting in Carson L01. It will be be moderated by Kevin Hudak ’07, Chair of EPAC and will feature:

TRAVIS GREEN ’08


RAJ KOGANTI ’08


CARLOS MEJIA ’08


NOVA ROBINSON ’08


JAROMY SIPOREN ’08


Molly Bode '09 has dropped out of the race.