SGA President Ilana Gratch ’16 opened the Nov. 9 senate meeting with an announce- ment that The Cellar (originally named The Coat Rack) is a student-run bar in Cross- roads Cafe that is still looking for bartenders. Students do not have to be 21 and can gain certification online through Vermont’s DLC server training. The training costs $25, but is covered by SGA/MCAB.
In response to the update that Larson Lovdal was denied a $35,000 grant from the Fund for Innovation for the construction of the Burgin Memorial Lodge, senators de- bated and voted to give Lovdal until Feb. 9, the first day of the spring semester, to obtain the remaining $35,000 of his $100,000 bud- get. If Lovdal does not meet this deadline, the $40,000 allocated to the project by the SGA will be repurposed.
Senators voted to remove the SGA Coffee Hour from the bylaws and replace it with 10 o’clock Ross.
Vice President for Student Affairs Katy Smith Abbott, Vice President for Academic Affairs Andrea Lloyd and Chief Diversity Of- ficer Miguel Fernandez developed a three- step for improving student mental health and will present their work in an SGA-hosted forum on Wednesday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m.
Community Council Co-Chair Tiff Chang ’17.5 and Sophomore Senator Jin Sohn ’18 led a discussion on the petition written by Barba- ra Ofosu-Somuah ’13 to increase wheelchair accessibility in the Ridgeline housing complex. Currently, only four of the sixteen units and three of the 16 suites in the residence hall will be wheelchair accessible. Chang’s main focus was to raise awareness within the SGA of this issue and debate whether it is the SGA’s place to take action.
The senate then discussed the rebrand- ing of 51 Main. Cook Senator Georgia Grace Edwards ’18 observed that many students with whom she spoke were not aware that 51 Main is a space affiliated with the College. Senators such as Jigar surveyed constituents, and found that most students did not want the space to be converted to a sports bar, but instead, a restaurant for international food, or a burger joint. Other senators suggested converting the space to a student bar, or a second student center with printers, such as McCullough. Senators also considered the possible uses of the building’s basement, which is currently vacant. Junior Senator Divesh Rizal ’17 also created an ad hoc com- mittee to facilitate the development of the rebranding.
Edwards then discussed the development of an SGA-hosted speed-dating event, and noted that she will meet with Queers and Al- lies, a student group, to ensure that the event will be inclusive of students who identify as LGBTQ.
Senior Senator Reshma Gogineni ’16 asked for ideas on how to improve course descriptions, possibly on MiddCourses to include more input from professors, such as the structure of the class or the format of assignments.
Gogineni also announced that Public Safety expressed frustration with the high number of students who frequently do not carry their student ID cards, perhaps due to no convenient way to carry them on weekend nights. In September, all first-year students were given stickers to hold cards that can attach to smartphones. Gogineni suggested that the SGA should work to make similar storage devices available for all students.
Senior Senator Madeleine Raber ’16 an- nounced that she met with several presidents of Middlebury’s clubs for students of color to brainstorm ideas to encourage more stu- dents of color to apply to SGA positions.
First-Year Senator Charles Rainey ’19 updated the group that he attended a Com- munity Council meeting to discuss particular stresses experienced by minority students, such as microaggressions. He added that the SGA should also be thinking about these dif- ferent types of stresses as further action is taken to address mental health on campus.
