Campus Center Room 204
Thursday, February 1, 2006 7:00pm
Members Present: Meg Ambrus, Jillian Flynn, Molly McCadden, Jan Arbaugh, Adrienne Lee,
Margaret MacRae, Ayesha Siddiqui, Michele Chapdelaine, Devin Burke, Rae-Anne Butera,
Mary Opler, Ali Woodruff, Aliza Leventhal, Shadavia Jones, Kamille King, McKay LeBlanc
I. Call to Order – Meg
A. Meg called the meeting to order at 7:00pm
II. Opening Activity – All
A. Who is your favorite professor so far and why…?
III. Minutes – Adrienne/All
A. Motion to pass minutes from 12-07-06 passes 12-0-1
IV. Special Guest – Tamra Bates
A. Questions about JMG lighting project
1. Grant Moss went to President Christ, who gave him $13,000 to punch holes in the
ceiling
2. To get cost to $65,000, will have to take out things that make the system studentfriendly, so they are looking for $17,000
3. Vagina Monologues, Pan Africa, ISO, etc. wouldn’t have to bring in hoists (VM asks
for ~$1200)
4. Lights will last a long time, and students will be trained to operate them through the
theatre department and Media Services
5. Physical Plant will have to maintain the lights and the system throughout the year
6. Met on 22 December, thought they might get it in over spring break (lot of electrical
work, but local company is constructing)
7. Tamra thinks it will be a great investment for the college; it’s the next best thing to
gutting and completely redoing JMG, which will not happen anytime soon
8. Lighting will be the same as that of Symphony Hall in Boston
9. It will save the acoustics in the hall and improve it visually
10. JMG is reserved a year in advance
11. 2 people go through and sort reservations, and open up the rest of the dates; more
student-friendly now
12. Sound will not be provided
13. Pushing to make “normal” as what any student group would need to do a
performance, and if they need more, they can pay more, and afterwards it will be
reset to normal
B. Any reservations?
1. Pitch in $6,000 at first, and they get $4,000 elsewhere, and if they can’t, we give the
rest
2. Reserve and operating budget are separate
3. Reserve used for: Sexuality and Gender Resource Center, original purchase of SGA
vans, when Sophian went into debt
4. Reserve from SAF leftovers that are rolled over at the end of the year
5. Jill: where are they going to get this $3,000 or $4,000 from?
a. From senior staff (already giving $38,195)?
6. Renovations for JMG are in the millions of dollars
7. Organizations are using JMG less because the cost is prohibitive, so they are using
Davis Ballroom, which does not have a stage
8. Theatre department spaces are impossible to get; controlled tightly because they
require technical expertise to use them
9. Fiscal responsibility is important, but student organizations are spending a lot of
money on lights every year
V. Discussion and Voting on JMG lighting project – All
1. Motion to fund $7,500 from the SGA Reserve to the JMG lighting project fails 6-5-2
2. Motion to fund $6,000 from the SGA Reserve to the JMG lighting project fails 5-7-1
3. Motion to fund $6,500 from the SGA Reserve to the JMG lighting project fails 6-5-2
4. Motion to fund $7,000 from the SGA Reserve to the JMG lighting project fails 5-6-2
5. Motion to fund $9,000 from the SGA Reserve to the JMG lighting project fails 6-6-1
6. Motion to fund $10,000 from the SGA Reserve into the JMG lighting project passes 93-1
7. Motion to take a break passes 11-2-0
VI. Special Guest – Nicole Martinez
A. Review of important upcoming election dates
1. SAF voting is 19-21 February
B. Any questions about appointments?
1. Curriculum Committee – Chair should be allowed to sit in on interviews
a. Decided against doing this because it was too close to letting committees
choose their own members, which defeats the purpose of EnA
b. Let committee chairs sit in on interviews and give a list of top (x number of)
people?
C. Any questions or suggestions about elections?
1. Ada class cabinet’s constitution needs to be amended; Senate will vote on it and Mary
will tell Jill of the outcome
VIII. Retreat Overview and Important Info – Meg/All
A. Finalized list of drivers – who will drive?
1. McKay, Meg, Molly
IX. Essential Committee Updates – All
A. Aliza
1. Inter-class activity
B. Devin
1. Voted for 5% increase ($20,000) in ORC portion of SAF
C. Ali
1. 9 February 10pm: 100 Day Party (open to everybody), $2 for alcohol, free mocktails,
and maybe door prizes; theme is James Bond
2. www.smithseniors.com
D. Kamille
1. Having weekly student take on the dialogues
E. McKay
1. Will be impeaching someone this week
2. Faculty teaching nominations open until Friday after Valentine’s Day
X. College Updates – Meg
A. Fireside Chat – 13 February
1. Changing name of “Fireside Chats” (“Conversations with Carol and Maureen”?)
2. “Looking out for #1: Balancing Friendships and Success”
B. Pub opens 23 February
1. Every Friday and Saturday night until spring break (9pm-midnight?); popcorn,
mocktails, pizza by the slice, beer, new furniture has been ordered, entertainment will
rotate (usually Friday – live band or comedy club), but if there is a big event on
Friday, it will be on Saturday
C. ACRA/ Strategic Planning Updates
1. Centers are going to be put into place for different studies (environment, international
studies, wellness)
2. Rankings keep coming up as something important; it is being taken very seriously
3. More awareness (more talking) than talked about before
4. Endowment spending rate: 4.1% increasing to 4.5%; so there will be money to pay for
Strategic Planning
XI. Closing Announcements
1. Who took a FYS?
XII. Motion to Adjourn
A. Meg motioned to adjourn at 8:54pm