Salem State College
STUDENT LIFE COMMITTEE
Meeting Minutes
December 6, 2006
2:30 p.m., Heritage Room, Campus Center
In attendance:
Members: Lee Brossoit (Chair), Rachel Arthur, Fatima Barry, Chris Boucher, Nate Bryant, Sonja
Dejesus, Steve Dion, Ryan Fisher, Evelyn Flores, Emily Marte, Jocelyn Perez, Efrain Ponce,
Chris Sullivan
Guests: Mike Mitchell, Bruce Perry
Chairperson Brossoit called the meeting to order at 2:35 p.m.
I. Chair’s Report
A. Presidential Search Process
 Chairperson Brossoit passed out an email from Deb Malo that was sent to the college
community regarding the presidential search. The search firm, Witt/Kieffer, was on
campus in November to meet with students, faculty, administrators, and staff to get
their input on what they would like to see in the next president. They are here to take
a consensus on what people want and what is critical.
 Chairperson Brossoit said that the search firm will develop a “white paper” based on
their findings from the college community and will also be setting up a website
where people can communicate their concerns.
 Nate Bryant spoke to being a member of the search committee and what that entails.
He said that the search committee has not discussed the possibility of an interim
president as they hope to have someone in place when Dr. Harrington retires. The
Board of Trustees will make the ultimate decision; the search committee’s
responsibility is to make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees. Nate Bryant
stressed that the search committee will only put forward a candidate if they believe
he/she is the right person for the job.
 Chairperson Brossoit and Nate Bryant spoke about the process of appointing the
Board of Trustees. A few members’ terms are up soon, so the dynamic of the Board
of Trustees might change with governor elect Deval Patrick. Nate Bryant stressed the
importance of attending the search firm’s open meetings as the recommendations
made by the college community will be heard and valued.
B. Student Life Committee Meetings
 Chairperson Brossoit explained that a few other people were appointed to this
committee, but are unable to attend due to their class schedules. The meeting time
will be reevaluated next semester as there might be a more convenient time where all
committee members can attend.
C. Update on All Contractual Committees’ Meeting of November 13, 2006
 Chairperson Brossoit discussed the charge of this committee, which is to bring
forward items that affect the student body and should be discussed. He stressed that
in order to move anything forward, committee members must follow the proper
procedures. If items are to be added to the agenda, they must get a tracking number.
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If the committee moves forward with an item, the tracking number will be used when
the proposal is sent to the All College Committee.
II. Approval of Minutes
A. Student Life Committee November 8, 2006 minutes
 Evelyn Flores corrected the spelling of her name in the header of the 11/8 minutes.
 Motion: Chairperson Brossoit motioned to accept the minutes. The motion was 1st by
Rachel Arthur and 2nd by Ryan Fisher. The motion passed unanimously.
III.
Old Business
A. Status of Winter Grades Recommendation
 Chairperson Brossoit reported that the winter grades recommendation did not pass at
the Academic Policies Committee, but because this is an administrative function not
a policy, the recommendation will now go to the All College Committee and then to
President Harrington for her review.
B. Social Events Policy Update – Bruce Perry
 Bruce Perry joined the meeting as a guest to discuss the interim Student Social
Events Policy as well as the policy revisions that are being proposed.
 The interim Student Events Policy was signed by President Harrington on 11/16/06
and is in effect until the governance process for the revised policy is complete.
 The new draft of the Student Events Policy (December 2006) was passed out to the
committee. Bruce Perry noted that all proposed changes to the policy are highlighted
in red.
 Bruce Perry explained that the Student Events Policy was created 10 or 11 years ago
due to an incident that happened on campus. The policy was created and has been in
effect ever since. Last year, the Student Life Committee revisited the policy to review
it and this semester an incident occurred, requiring some immediate review of the
policy. Bruce Perry joined the meeting to start the governance process.
 Bruce Perry worked with Dean Stoll on the proposed changes and took the committee
through a few of them:
 An additional category of Dances/Parties will be made to the Campus Center
clearance form that is used by students or student groups who are holding an
event. The four categories will now read: Unrestricted events, open events,
guest events, and dances/parties.
 Security for each event will depend on the category and what it entails. Bruce
Perry stressed that each situation is different, so although the policy categorizes
things to a degree, each event will still be discussed with Campus Center staff
before being categorized.
 Steve Dion questioned #1 on the interim policy memo from Dean Stoll where it
discusses 40% of non-SSC students being allowed into dances compared with
#2 which states that each SSC student is able to sign in a maximum of two
guests for each event. Bruce Perry clarified that the 40% non-SSC student
entrance was a part of the former policy and it is now being replaced with the
stipulation that each student will now be able to sign in a maximum of two
non-SSC student guests per event. Bruce Perry stressed that this regulation
would hopefully encourage SSC students to only sign in those guests they trust,
as the SSC student will be held accountable for their guests’ actions and
behavior.
 Chris Boucher asked Bruce Perry what the term “off campus advertising”
really means. Where are school events marketed? Bruce Perry responded that
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SSC advertises in places such as radio, postcards to clubs and other schools,
internet, facebook, and the newspaper.
 Fatima Barry pointed out that checking people into a dance will be difficult
with the new policy of two guests per SSC student. Bruce Perry agreed that it
will be difficult and the Campus Center and SSC community will need to do a
few trials before they determine the best way to facilitate the checking in
portion of an event.
 Bruce Perry also explained that the two guest maximum for SSC events is for
full-time students only. Part-time students will not be eligible to bring guests to
events for a variety of reasons, one being that they do not pay the student
activities fees that full-time students pay. The part-time students will be able to
attend all events with their student ID, but they will not be allowed to bring
guests.
 Bruce Perry also highlighted another standing part of the policy which is not
part of the revisions, but might help those students who are concerned about
the two guest maximum. A student can provide a list of guests to the Campus
Center by 4 p.m. the day of the event and they will be added to the master list.
This is an exception to the two guest maximum. Most students do not currently
take advantage of this, but it is has always been an option.
 Sonja Dejesus pointed out that advertising off-campus for SSC events will be
difficult because if a person is not affiliated with anyone at SSC they will not
be able to enter the event. Bruce Perry acknowledged this dilemma, saying we
can still advertise off campus with a section on the bottom saying SSC students
are allowed two guests per event.
Chairperson Brossoit stated that because this is the first time the committee is seeing
the proposed revisions, the committee should take some time to go over the
highlighted sections and invite Bruce Perry back to the next meeting for further
discussion.
The proposed draft of the Student Events Policy needs a tracking number to go
through the governance process.
IV. New Business
A. Discussion items from Steve Dion
 Facility Improvement Issues – Steve Dion discussed the need for air conditioning in
the classrooms if we are to offer summer courses at the college. Currently, the rooms
are not conducive to learning.
 Communication between faculty, students, and staff – The committee discussed the
fact that SSC students do not all use their SSC email accounts. Because they do not
receive email blasts from the college with pertinent information, there is no reason
for them to check their school email.
 Efrain Ponce stated that he and other students have their SSC email forwarded
to their personal accounts, so they never need to check their school mail.
 The committee brainstormed about other ways to capture student email
accounts. Mike Mitchell stated that when students move into on-campus
housing at the beginning of the year they need to sign two forms. We could
capture their email addresses then. Incorporating email training into the
orientation of new students would also be helpful.
 This issue is an important one for the student body as they are missing out on
information and emergency notices that should be conveyed as quickly as
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possible. For example, when South Campus was closed due to the water main
problem, the student body was not effectively notified.
 Chairperson Brossoit suggested that he invite an IT representative to join us at
our next meeting to discuss the structure of the email system and why students
are not able to receive email blasts from the administration and other
faculty/staff on campus.
Parking Issues – Chairperson Brossoit spoke to this issue as he was the Chairperson
of the Parking Committee three years ago. This committee studied the problem on
campus and wrote a 100 page paper on the status of parking. Chairperson Brossoit
stated that it appears the committee’s recommendations are starting to take effect. We
have acquired the property behind McDonald’s for parking, which is helping students
with parking this academic year. Course schedules are also more spread out now, so
not all students are attempting to park on campus at the same time. Chairperson
Brossoit said the College used to receive hundreds of complaints and now they do not
hear of any.
 Chairperson Brossoit said that it is possible we have a “walking problem” as
opposed to a parking problem. Students want to park in a convenient spot in
relation to their classes. Spots are always available, but they might not be in the
most opportune location.
 The committee discussed the possibility of a parking garage, but that is cost
prohibitive and has already been looked into. Mike Mitchell pointed out that
even if one was to be built on campus, an entire parking lot would be out of
commission during its construction. This option does not seem feasible for our
problem.
Additional Housing – Chairperson Brossoit said that this process has to go through
the Massachusetts State College Building Authority. He, Jim Stoll, and Kathy Neville
are involved in this process. A feasibility study has been approved to determine
future housing options. Chairperson Brossoit said the college community might hear
an announcement about new housing next semester.
Financial Counseling for Students – Steve Dion stated that he would like financial
counseling opportunities available for students like the ones that are held for faculty
and staff. Rather than learning about retirement financial planning, students could
learn about budgeting and saving their money when faced with school bills and loans.
Efrain Ponce said he saw a similar workshop called Funny Money and he would look
into that more. Others suggested that Opening Day might be a good time for students
to attend a workshop of this sort, as right now Opening Day workshops are only open
to faculty and staff. The students on the committee agreed this would be a beneficial
seminar and they would attend.
V. Next Meeting – The next meeting is set for February 7, 2007 at 2:30 p.m. in the President Conference
Room, Campus Center.
VI. Adjournment – Chairperson Brossoit motioned to adjourn the meeting at 4:03 p.m. It was 1st by Chris
Boucher and 2nd by Steve Dion. The motion passed unanimously.
-Rachel E. Arthur, Staff Assistant, Alumni Affairs
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