RESIDENCE HALL STUDENT ASSOCIATION
Associate Council Meeting
November 2, 2015
DuBois Hall
CALL TO ORDER 9:02 PM
MYSTERY ACTIVITY 9:02 PM
1. What does NEACURH stand for?
- Christina Boland: North Eastern Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls.
- She got a snack.
2. What does NACURH stand for?
- Tim Natsch: National Association of College and University Residence Halls.
- He got a snack.
Anyone else who wanted a snack came up and got one.
ROLL CALL/HALL REPORTS 9:05 PM
Hall Name
Number
Present
RHSA
Shirt
Report
Bevier
3
2
discussed programs and went over dates with their RA
buddies
Bliss
3
3
discussed upcoming events
Bouton
4
3
discussed future programs and bonding
Capen
2
2
discussed future programs
Collango
2
1
discussed upcoming events
Crispell
5
4
had their Halloween party
Deyo
2
1
discussed upcoming events
DuBois
27
27
discussed Condom Casino and had a program
Esopus
4
3
discussed programs for November
Gage
2
0
discussed upcoming events
LeFevre
1
0
discussed future programs
Lenape
4
4
had a Hall Gov bonding, discussed programs, New Paltz
Unplugged, and the Danceathon
Ridgeview
3
3
had their Halloween program and discussed shirts
Scudder
2
1
started an inventory committee to look at what they
have in their office and reviewed Halloween in the Halls
NRHH 9:08 PM
It’s November which means NRHH applications are due this month! You can send them
to nrhh@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu. Applications are due November 16th at 11:59pm, and
the two letters of recommendation are due November 18th at 11:59pm. You will find out
on November 22nd if you’re accepted! You should apply because everyone in NRHH is
awesome.
Maria introduced Rachel who is part of the Danceathon committee.
They are happy to announce that they will be having a Danceathon later in the year! We
will be working with the Children’s Miracle Network Hospital, and we raise money for
our local hospital which is the Maria Ferrari hospital in Westchester. The actual event
will be happening later on in the year, but they will be having a kickoff/preview event on
November 15th, most likely from 1pm-3pm. Location is still to be determined, but they
will let us know when they have a set location. Start thinking about making a team and
fundraising. There will be snacks at the kickoff. If you have any questions see Rachel!
SENATE 9:09 PM
At their last meeting, they had a debate between 2 candidates who are running for town
supervisor. The election is coming up soon, and we all live here, so that’s something to
look out for.
Our VP of Finance voted to disband the non-SA account for clubs and organizations, and
they transferred all of that money into their account for SA sponsored clubs and
organizations. The account for non-SA clubs and organizations is now closed, and all
that money is in our new account. If you want to know which clubs are SA sponsored
and which ones are not SA sponsored, contact Raquelle because she would know. If
you’re part of a club that is SA recognized, the money in that account has more than
doubled. If your club is not SA recognized, they’re sorry.
Kate O’Connor is looking to reform mental health options on campus. She has a survey
that asks about experiences with PCC. There’s a link to that survey in their latest episode
of Senate Speaks. She did a lot of research on it, she has 6 pages of charts, so fill it out
because she worked hard on it.
On Thursday, November 5th, the SUNY Board of Trustees is having a hearing in New
York City. If you’re interested see the Vice President of Academic Affairs and
Governance Nicole Striffolino or Executive Vice President Kelsey Ryan.
OLD BUSINESS 9:12 PM
Motion to Open- Bouton
Second- DuBois
NCC
Regionals happened this weekend and it was literally amazing. Geneseo did such a great
job. Thanks to the amazing delegation who got us the Spirit Stick which we haven’t
gotten in such a long time. Shoutout to RD Sarah for being amazing, the RBD, and to
Geneseo’s amazing conference staff.
All the legislation that was proposed passed in NCC boardroom, which included stuff
about the Spirit Stick, duties of the RBD, legislation for Subs and all that fun stuff.
Colombia won Commitment to Diversity and Pace at Pleasantville won Program of the
Year for their program “Slut: The Play”. It was Tunnel of Oppression-esque so it was
really cool that they won.
They finally filled all the vacancies on the RBD! Tyler Sherman from Geneseo is now the
Associate Director for Programming Resources. He was also the conference chair for
NEACURH this year. Kaitlin Pfundstein is now the Coordinating Officer for Marketing
and Public Relations, and she was also on the conference staff. And lastly, our very own
Betsy Weiner is the Coordinating Officer for New England. This means we now have 2
members of the RBD living with us on campus which is AWESOME.
Do you remember all that money we raised for Penny Wars? It was around $1200. As it
turns out, that is over half the total amount raised by the Northeast. As a result, we won
first place for Philanthropy Focus Group! Thank you for raising all that money and
working so hard, you guys are so awesome. Mike almost cried when he found out we
won first. Because of this and our 2 RBD members, New Paltz is starting to making a
regional name for itself!
Mike is planning to bid to host Minis here in 2017! He also wants to bid for School of the
Year, which is the highest award you can win on a regional level. If you’re interested in
being on Mike’s conference committee, see him after the meeting, go to his and Maria’s
office hours, or email him.
Betsy (RBD): I just want to say that if you don’t know what conference is, it’s literally
the most amazing thing. As a senior, my one regret is that I didn’t go to more
conferences. Do yourself a favor and get to conference. It’s the most amazing thing.
Mike: …And if you want to help host one of those amazing things, come see me after the
meeting.
Ashley (RBD): I also wanna say something. Bidding to host conference is a huge huge
huge deal, and if you’re even remotely interested in helping out, do it. It’s the most
amazing thing.
Mike: We’re bidding for School of the Year this year because our NRHH chapter and all
of you guys are better than ever. We’re going to try to get support from administration
for Minis within this week, but you should all definitely think about conference staff in
the meantime.
PR
I only have 7 photos for the Hasbrouck case, and I need the rest. It doesn’t have to be
from Spirit Weekend; at this point I just need a group photo of your Hall Gov. The
Hasbrouck case hasn’t been updated since last semester, so I want to do that.
CCC
Our RHSA constitution is due on November 30th but we need your help! If there’s
anything in our constitution you want to change, you can write an amendment to change
it. Amendments will be due November 13th, which is next Friday. Just email us with
your amendment. If you’re confused, you can come to Angelique’s office hours from
4pm-6pm on Mondays. The constitution is online, and Angelique will post the
amendment proposal form online as well. On November 16th, we will present the
amendments to the AC, because you all have to vote on them.
Ariana: Just so y’all know, part of your job as a member of Hall Gov is to read our
constitution. I won’t hold it against you if you haven’t, but it you want to make a change
to it you have to read it. The constitution is actually pretty cool, it’s not the worst thing
in the world to read. Help us make ourselves better.
Motion to Close- Bevier
Second- Collango
NEW BUSINESS 9:19 PM
Motion to Open- Scudder
Second- Bouton
New Paltz Unplugged
There are new posters advertising the competition hanging up in the residence halls, so
check them out. One of them has a list of 10 ways to reduce energy use, and the others
each have one tip for reducing energy use.
Unfortunately, the electricity meters in Ridgeview still aren’t working, so Ridgeview will
not be able to participate this year.
They have one day of results, but it’s a weekend day so the results are skewed, because
energy use is always higher on the weekends. They’re report the latest standings on
Thursday on the white boards in Hasbrouck, the SUB, the library, and again at the next
RHSA meeting.
The Office of Campus Sustainability is providing free glow sticks and posters to halls that
want to organize a glow in the dark themed event to spread the word about New Paltz
Unplugged. So far, Scudder, Collango, Capen, Esopus, Ridgeview, and Lenape have all
signed up for glow in the dark events. Halls choose what type of event they want to hold.
Halls are throwing glow in the dark dance parties, scavenger hunts, and bowling nights.
There’s still time to sign up to hold an event if your hall isn’t doing it already!
If you have any questions, contact Molly at the email she gave us last week.
Facebook Update
Recently, Facebook got rid of our friend page, so now we’re just a regular boring page.
Just kidding, we’re still fun, but it is just a regular like page. We put in a reversal request
form, so hopefully they’ll accept that. Make sure you like the page or you won’t get
updates from us.
Also, all of our photos are untagged. Please go to our page and retag all of them. They’re
still there, they’re just untagged.
If you go to the arrow and put the page as a favorite, you will get notifications from us.
Condom Casino
It’s this Friday from 7pm-11pm in the MPR. Thank you to everyone who signed up to
volunteer, we really appreciate it. It’ll be a ton of fun, bring your friends, there will be
free pizza and prizes and lots of condoms so come.
We also have a winner of the t-shirt contest! It’s Nicole Santa Maria from Lenape. If
you’re a volunteer, you’ll get a shirt with her awesome design on it.
Lenape: On the schedule you sent us, what does it mean where it says float?
- If you’re at a game but it’s empty, and you see another game is more popular, move
over to the other table to help out.
Bouton: I couldn’t go to the volunteer meeting yesterday…how can I find out what I
have to do?
- Angelique sent an email to all the volunteers explaining the meeting and going over
directions and the schedule.
If you still want to volunteer for set up, come to the RHSA office at 5:45.
If you’re volunteering for another time, come sign in with us during the event and get
your shirt.
AC Retreat
The form is due today, so make sure you hand it to Sammi before you leave. It’s this
Sunday.
Bevier: Do you know when we’ll be getting back?
- The latest would be 2:30. Meet at HAB Circle at 5 minutes before 10, because we’re
leaving at 10:15.
BUZZ Karaoke
It’s next Friday, November 13th, and it’s Friday the 13th themed. It’ll be in SUB 62/63
from 7:30-9:30. It’ll be super spooky.
Palisades Mall Trip
We need a $5 deposit in our office, come with your money and your phone number
because we need both. Please come sign up.
Danceathon
As Rachel mentioned before, we will be having a Danceathon later in the year! It’ll be
really cool. We’re having a preview event November 15th, probably from 1pm-3pm. If
you want to help put Danceathon on, we’re starting a committee for it. If you help, you’ll
be part of starting a recurring program we hope to have for a really long time. If you’re
interested, see Alana after the meeting and she’ll email you all the details.
Spread this to your Hall Gov and anyone else you think would be interested!
Motion to Close- Crispell
Second- Esopus
UPCOMING EVENTS 9:28 PM
Condom Casino is November 6th in the SUB MPR from 7pm-11pm. There will be sex
toys and condoms and so much fun.
The AC Retreat is November 8th from 11am-2pm, meet in HAB circle at 10am. There
will be roller skating and rock climbing and pizza.
BUZZ Karaoke is November 13th from 7:30pm-9:30pm in SUB 62/63. It’ll be super
spooky.
The Palisades Mall Trip is November 21st from 9am-5pm. Please come to our office to
sign up for that.
HALL CONCERNS 9:29 PM
None.
STUDENT CONCERNS 9:29PM
Bevier: At Geneseo, their Oscars equivalent had a produce section with fresh fruit, and I
think that’s really nice. Since they’re a SUNY too, I thought maybe we could have that
too.
Bliss: There’s a residents only parking lot next to Ridgeview, but it’s not overnight and it
doesn’t make sense. Like you can park there during the day, but you can’t stay parked
there overnight.
Bouton: The door at Jazzman’s still slams
- It’s locked right now, but that’s not really doing anything. Ariana will bring it up
again.
Betsy (RBD): I still can’t use my debit card at vending machines in buildings.
- There was already an update about that. If that happens, go to your RA and tell them
to contact CAS to contact Coke who will come and fix it.
Betsy (RBD): I have very specific classes for my major, and they’re only offered at
certain times. Classes I need and electives are offered at the same time. Department
heads need to do a better job at scheduling their classes, because I don’t want to have to
choose between a senior seminar and electives. Also, a lot of times they only offer senior
seminars on Wednesdays which is when a lot of people do their internships. I’ve talked
to people and they always say there’s nothing they can do. The professor says it’s the
best time for them, but they’re only 1 person with a class of 30 students they need to
think about. Sociology and other departments need to get their acts together so seniors
aren’t conflicted.
- Brenna (Senate): There’s no specific Senate committee for this. We have a
curriculum committee, but that deals with the substance of classes, not scheduling.
We have academic governance and they’re doing something with the black studies
department, but that won’t help you in sociology.
Bliss: I know a lot of people would like to see more vegan options around campus. If
they have soup as Oscars, they need a vegan soup too and like vegan pasta.
- Betsy (RBD): There are options for you at Oscars, but you have to talk to the
manager to get them, which sucks but it works. They have gluten free pasta. If any of
the toppings are contaminated you can ask them to open a new one and they have to.
If any of the workers give you a hard time, go to someone in the button up shirts. You
deserve to have your dietary needs met. Just know that if you’re vegan or have a
dietary problem, there is an option for you. Hopefully more than one.
DuBois: I want the Roost to stop lying about having tofu turkey, because they don’t. It’s
just tofu and it’s kinda gross. The menu and the little slip you have to fill out say turkey
tofu, and I always ask them about it and they say they’ll get back to me and they haven’t
yet. Even if they could just change their menu and slips so it doesn’t seem like they have
it, that would be great.
Other DuBois: I would also like the Roost to stop forcibly adding extra cheese to my
sandwich and make me pay for it. It’s not a huge problem because I’m over in dining
dollars, but it might be more of a problem for other people. Like on the slip, there’s a
section for extra cheese and I never circle it, but they always give me extra cheese. It
happens when you don’t get meat on your sandwich, and if you don’t have meat they get
real sassy and make fun of you for it.
- Betsy (RBD): Lou Herman at the SUB is in charge. If there’s an item they say they
have and they don’t, talk to him. He’s their manager. He’s also in charge of ordering
and inventory.
Ashley (RBD): You know how in Oscars they have those slips for ordering pasta? I
think they need that at the Mexican station, because it’s the only place that doesn’t have
it and I think it’s the only place that actually needs it. Don’t tell me to go to Amy about it
because I did and nothing happened.
- Betsy (RBD): You have to go to Shariff.
Ashley (RBD): I also wanted to know if you found anything out about my tutoring
center issue from last week.
- Ariana: It’s on the agenda for PresCab this Friday, so we’ll find out and let you
know. I know some tutors who are also upset about this because they could be getting
more hours.
Ariana: For all your food problems and the tofu debacle: the Roost is supposed to have
4 tofu/vegan meat options. There are currently 0 and that’s a huge problem. I recently
joined the Food Service Committee for CAS. I’ll bring it all up to them, but if it keeps
happening please email me.
Crispell: On the cards in Oscars for pasta, they don’t have all the options that are
actually available, so I have to create my own box for what I want. It’s not a big deal and
making my own boxes is very doable, but it would be cool if you could do something
about it.
DuBois: I’ve noticed that if I want to print things on campus, I can’t print the same
sheet multiple times. Like I can’t print it more than 3 times in 10 minutes. For my
classes, I have to print like 20-30 of the same thing but I can’t and I don’t know any way
around that.
Ridgeview: Is it possible to get beef at the pasta in the SUB and rice at Oscars, because
if you want both you have to run around.
Sammi: For the printing problem, you can print 10 sheets at once, and then if you
change the name of the document you can print 10 more, and if you change it again you
can print 10 more.
Betsy (RBD): When you brought up the Food Service Committee, I got an idea. I know
somebody who has an allergy and they asked about the ingredient content, but the
worker didn’t know the answer and was sassy and rude about it. Sodexo recently had a
turnover with their employees, and I was hoping we could maybe have a SUNY New
Paltz sensitivity training because some of these workers don’t know how to talk to
people. I know they’re stressed and have lives outside of working, but we’re also
stressed. I just want them to have a little more interpersonal communication training.
Like if someone’s rude to me, I know I’ll yell back, but not everyone will.
- Bouton: Last year, I couldn’t eat certain things, and they just opened a new thing of
chicken so I asked for chicken from the top of that one, and they said no and gave me
chicken from the old container from the bottom and it was super greasy and gross, and
I’m not allowed to eat that. She was just very rude.
Betsy (RBD): We don’t have a New Paltz training. All they have to do is watch a 6 hour
video on it, it’s a generalized video. They have one for the Sodexo jails but they need one
specific to New Paltz.
Crispell: If they don’t have a certain food, could they just stick up a sign that says they
don’t have it? I went to get a wrap today at Oscars, and I asked for 3 different things and
they didn’t have any of them. It’s not a big deal, like I’m not mad about it, but if I knew
they didn’t have what I wanted I wouldn’t have bothered the lady working there.
Jarred (off campus): I also have an allergy problem, and I know it’s difficult to know
every ingredient in every single thing they have. But I think it would be nice if they had a
binder for each place on campus with a list of ingredients. If a worker doesn’t know
what’s in something they can just look it up.
Ridgeview: I know they’re required to have a binder somewhere, so maybe they could
make a big binder for each place and put it in an accessible location so we don’t have to
bother workers to look it up.
Ashley (RBD): If you have any kind of nut allergy, you can’t go to Hasbrouck at all.
They’re supposed to have personal cups of peanut butter, but that doesn’t solve anything.
If someone makes a smoothie with peanut butter in it, I can’t get anything from the
dessert station. If they have nuts on the chicken one day, I can’t get anything from there.
It’s very difficult to eat there when you have an airborne peanut allergy.
Bouton: This is also food related, and I’m so sorry. My friend wanted a peanut butter
and banana smoothie but they couldn’t do it because they can’t mix things, so maybe
they could have 2 separate blenders. Like one for allergens and one for non-allergens.
LeFevre: Ok so at Oscars, one of my suitemates got a taco, and there was a beetle in it,
and it’s not the first time this has ever happened. Like in the pasta section, they leave all
those ingredients open all the time, and I’ve seen flies on the broccoli and stuff. They
have a lot of stuff they just leave open, so maybe they could have something covering it.
OPEN FLOOR 9:45 PM
Bouton: Update from the mail room: we had a glitch about 2 weeks ago where we sent
out anywhere between 7-35 emails telling you you had a package. I’m sorry if you fell
victim to this. We are aware of this problem so please stop telling us.
Bouton: Another thing: I emailed all the Hall Gov presidents about donating art supplies
to my art supplies drive and no one emailed me back and I’m very sad.
- Angelique: RD Sarah recently cleaned out her apartment and has a bunch of stuff,
she tried giving it to me but I don’t want it.
- Bouton: Thank you I’m literally emailing her right now.
Lenape: In honor of New Paltz Unplugged, Lenape will be having a Glow in the Dark
party on Wednesday at 10pm. There will be glow sticks, fun, and dancing.
DuBois: On Wednesday, you should come right here to the DuBois main lounge to
make dog toys. If you have any old t-shirts you want to bring that would be cool, but you
don’t have to. Come make a dog’s day.
Bliss: Who likes food? On November 13th, the Jewish Student Union will be having our
annual Shabbat 200. It’s the biggest event we have and we want 200 people to come
celebrate with us. It’s at 5:30pm in the MPR. Please come.
Bliss: This Wednesday at 9pm in our main lounge we’ll be having a s’mores program to
celebrate us getting a new microwave.
Bouton: If you like Zumba, on Saturday, November 14th from 11:30am-1:30pm, we will
be having a Zumbathon. There’s a $3 donation that will go to the American Cancer
Society. It’s in the Elting Gym at 11:30. It’s in the morning, we wouldn’t have this event
at night.
Sammi: Happy birthday Alana!!!
- Alana: It’s not my birthday.
Mike: If you got an email from me and Maria about a positional meeting, it’s happening
tomorrow! Come to our office hours from 12:30pm-3:30pm and learn how to be a better
AC rep than you already are. We’ll also tell you some stuff about election procedure.
You don’t have to stay the whole time, just pop in for a few minutes and say hey.
Jarred (off campus): We’ve had it for a couple of weeks now, but we finally have a
coffee machine in Vandenberg! Now you don’t have to walk up the hill to get coffee.
Sammi: If you’re free this Wednesday from 9am-2pm, AMA is having their annual
business day conference. You can network with CEO’s of big corporations and learn
about business and maybe even get an internship.
Capen: Capen will be having an open mic/coffeehouse November 17th at 8pm. Bring
your talent. [Some people thought he said town, he did not; he said talent.]
Rui: I have 3 things for you today.
- 1. ENERGY.
- 2. We currently have 3 committees: the Community Service Committee, the
Commercial Committee, and the Danceathon Committee. If you have free time you
should definitely join at least one of them.
- 3. My department has astronomy nights every Thursday at 6pm, sometimes they’re
on Tuesdays. It would be really cool if you could go to them and support them.
This upcoming one is this Thursday at 6pm, and your very own erratic PR will be
presenting it. [We gave Rui a Standing O.]
Mike: To the AC Rep who just responded to the positional meeting email, you’re
awesome.
Sammi: I need retreat forms!!!
PASSING OF MOLLY THE MOOSE 9:53 PM
Bliss put a loincloth on her, and they’re passing her to Scudder.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK 9:54 PM
“Mooselove is love for your community.” - the Geneseo VP of Student Affairs
You all have a lot of moose love, so thank you for that. We can’t do the things that we do
without you.
Peace, Moose, Yas.
ADJOURNMENT 9:54 PM