Members in attendance: Jieun Han, David Zehr, Erin Bergen, Tiantian Chen, Ben Shelly, Laura Miller, Jill Steinmetz, Hannah Yoder, Jenae Longenecker, Crystopher Echavarria, Launa Rohrer

Others present: Peter Meyer Reimer, Peter Wise

SMRT Forum - Sexual Misconduct Response Team is responsible to address complaints of sexual misconduct on the GC campus. To communicate about the process and the policy against incidents of misconduct, members of SMRT are holding a forum in the Church-Chapel this Monday, March 16 at 10:00 a.m. Convo credit will be available for those in attendance. Student Senate is sponsoring the event.

Co-ed Floor - Student Senate voted unanimously to pick up the co-ed dorm floor initiative from where last year’s Senate left it, essentially recognizing that the proposal was passed by the 2013-2014 Senate and that it will now move into the hands of ResLife and go from there to the President’s Council. Ben Shelly is the point person for this initiative, and with support from Launa Rohrer, will continue to bring the proposal to the appropriate administrative bodies, where it will be revised and potentially implemented.

Violation Policy - Ben Shelly met with Katie and Neal of ResLife to discuss GC’s violations policy. One conclusion of said meeting was the realization that GC policy is largely misunderstood and misrepresented, and a committee—made up of Senate members Crys, Hannah and Erin—was formed in the interest of increasing transparency.

Cabinet Elections 2015-2016 - Elections for the Student Senate Cabinet members of 2015-2016 will be held from April 17-20. Applications for Cabinet seats will soon be available in the Student Life office and on the Senate webpage. Applications must be submitted by Wednesday, April 15.

MCUSA Resolution - In response to the persistent call on campus for revision of the hiring policy (which would eliminate discrimination towards applicants who identify as LGBTQ), Student Senate voted unanimously to affirm the Just Church Re-Solution, a document that has been submitted for consideration at the Mennonite Church USA Convention 2015. Individuals interested in showing support should visit www.justchurchresolution.wordpress.com/

Open Floor - Peter Meyer Reimer brought it to attendees’ attention that the GC Administration has never defined a “man” or “woman,” specifically in the context of a “men’s/women’s floor.” A request for this clarification will be pursued by Senate members Jenae and Jieun.

Open Floor - In the context of ongoing conversation but also in light of recent resignations and retirements of GC staff and faculty, Erin Bergen asked Senate members to listen for the support needs of all students, and in particular students of color. Erin will be writing a statement to be affirmed by Senate, asking GC administrators and department leaders to take into serious consideration the diversity of its students and the college’s commitment to diverse perspectives, especially as new hiring opportunities arise.

 

Find more complete minutes from our meeting at www. goshen.edu/senate/home/minutes/

Next Student Senate meeting time: March 17 at 9 p.m. in AD 21

All of our meetings are open to students and community members. Please join us!