Good evening Residents of YMCA!

Your Senators: Aaron, Shane and Zachary continue to forge forward in making significant progress on the many priorities Senate determined at the beginning of the Fall Semester. The five Senate Ad Hoc Committees will be making formal End-of-Semester Reports to present to the entireity of Senate at the final Senate session for the Fall Semester on December 8th. Of the major priorities, the Ad Hoc Committee on Transportation (on which both Aaron and Zachary both sit on) would like to thank the residents of this quad who took the five minutes to fill out the survey on the airport shuttle initiative; the information that has come out of the survey will help us immensely and a follow-up email on how we are going to move forward on this will be announced before Thanksgiving Break, so please keep an eye out for an email.

The Admissions Office has begun a second ‘Real Wheaton’ movie ‘contest’ for this year. It is not exactly a ‘contest’ but the Office would like students to take video footage with either their cellphones or a video camera to pick up action around campus, with friends or at numerous other events. The first five who send in their videos before Thanksgiving Break will be given 25 Lyons Bucks as a prize! Contact Elena Wong for further information.

In the previous Senate update we mentioned the Sophomore Symposium. The event will take place on January 30th, 2009 (the first Saturday from when we return from Winter Break) and will be having several alumne/i speakers, workshops and giveaways (Class Fleece). However, if you want the fleece, you will need to register for the event. Registration (according to the event on Facebook) said it would start this week but it has been changed to begin after Thanksgiving Break. Stay tuned for further details but if you have any questions, inquire to Alex Schibanoff or Class President for 2012, Haley Gallant.

The Green Initiatives Committee is hosting a free Tire Inflation service this Friday, 11/20 from 1-3pm in Haas Parking Lot. We will check your tire pressure and if your tires are low, we will inflate them for you — for FREE! The GIC is also working on implementing and working towards completing several of the tangible actions required by the American Colleges and Universities President’s Climate Commitment (ACUPCC).  More details will be made known in the End-of-Semester Report.

The Blend is having their Fall Jam this Friday evening, 11/20, at 8pm in the Chapel and its Video Game Themed; while VUJ will be having their jam the following night at the same time but Vegas Themed; and while we’re on the subject of Vegas — The Programming Council is sponsoring a Vegas Night Event this Saturday evening from 9:30pm - 1am. There will be casino games all night long, a live performance by Magician David Hall at 10:00pm in the Atrium; notable Vegas Attractions, free food and 21+ bring ID. Contact Natalie Allen for any inquires concerning Vegas Night.

Tomorrow night, 11/18, at 7:30 in Balfour Atrium, the AAC shall be having a spoken word artist, Kelly Tsai. They encourage everyone to attend.

The Honor Code Commission shall be having another meeting this Friday at 11:30am to discuss how to improve the Honor Code Survey. Contact Stephanie Funt for further inquiries.

Attention members of the Class of 2013, your Class Officers are hard at work at planning your class dinner. More details will be made known in the near future.

We hope that everyone’s semesters are continuing to go well and may everyone have a wonderful Thanksgiving Break!

Your Senators,

Aaron, Shane and Zachary

Greetings YMCA Residents!

Your Senators: Aaron, Shane and Zachary continue to work hard. Senate experienced a very lively and respectful conversation this evening about Wheaton’s alcohol policy and off-campus related activities. Dean Williams was receptive to the dialogue and was quite accepting of several possible changes to the way we view the policy. This might include a community service component in lieu of a fine, safe rides and other viable options. The Executive Board and the Senate will continue to work on this campus-wide issue. If you want further information, please inquire anyone of the senators.

The Senate also passed two resolutions this evening: S.4 (Bias-Related Incidents) and S.5 (The Creation of a Senate Coordinator). Senate Resolution 4 is concerned with recognizing the need to address community climate and enact changes to the procedural response to bias incidents on or around Wheaton College. The Senate Coordinator resolution, which passed on a roll call vote, has allowed a selected member within the Senate body to foster further feeling of cohesion and efficacy in Senate. Per an amended version of the original resolution, the position will evaluated in March 2010 to see if it has generated the results it intends to accomplish.

While Senate was primarily occupied by the above three items, there are numerous events occurring in the near future: Kelly Tsai, a spoken word artist will be preforming in Balfour Atrium at 7:30pm on 11/18/09. The Faculty/Staff - Student Basketball Game will be occurring on 11/13/09 at 7:30; and attention all sophomores: registration for the Sophomore Symposium will begin the week of November 16th. It is not mandatory but it is strongly recommended.

The Ad Hoc Committee on Transportation would like to thank everyone who took five minutes to fill out the survey on airport shuttles. More details will be released next week. However, if you want to fill out the survey, you can complete it at the following link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=B_2bqIVsZDmGrLNIglfH0J9Q_3d_3d

Have a great week!

Your Senators,

Aaron, Shane and Zachary Agush

Greetings Residents of YMCA,

Your Senators: Aaron, Shane and Zachary have been hard at work getting our various priorities outlined and ready for implementation during the Spring Semester. We have an exciting series of updates for you this week:

This evening was an important meeting with a visit from President Crutcher himself. During this meeting, the President explained the NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges) evaluation visit by a team of administrators from across the region to evaluate Wheaton’s growth and progress over the past ten years since its last evaluation in 1999. Students are strongly encouraged to read Standard Six: Students; of Wheaton’s Self-Study. You can download it at the following link: http://www.box.net/shared/ais141omgz. Students should also read Standards 1, 2 and 4. In regards to the visit, there will be an Open Forum Discussion on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 4pm in the SGA Office, with no administrators in the room. Students are free to openly to state their opinions about the college to the evaluation team: concerning the positive and negative aspects; and how Wheaton should improve over the next ten years.

President Crutcher stated to the assembled body that the college continues to be good financial condition but an ad hoc committee of administrators has been created to develop a new financial model that can help Wheaton through these current economic times. The Ad Hoc committee’s goal is determining a new model that will be able to provide more revenue for the college while making investments in residential halls, the new science center, financial aid and faculty and staff salaries. Therefore, growth is the only alternative. For their committee’s next meeting, they will be gathering data to evaluate the costs and benefits of funding capital projects and obtain more information on how to renovate current residential halls and the construction of a new residence hall. If you want further information on President Crutcher’s visit to Senate, contact Aaron, Shane or Zachary.

The Senate this evening voted 24-1 in favor of the Gender-Neutral Housing Proposal which was recently approved by the Office of the Dean of Students and the Wheaton Administration. The proposal will go into effect Spring 2010 for upperclassman (Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors) and in Fall 2010 for Freshman and Transfer Students. You can read the proposal in its entirety by downloading it from the following link: http://www.box.net/shared/av5pcddey6

The Senate Finance Committee is preparing to evaluate the clubs selected to be audited this November. If your club is one that was selected by the committee, your audit report is due November 16th, 2009. Please check out the audits page for further information: http://sga.wheatonma.edu/www/treasurer/audits/

The Senate currently has a vacant Senate seat. If there any interested people, the application is available to download from the following link: http://www.box.net/shared/i3dssmk9r6. The applications will be due on Sunday at Noon. The Committee on Appointments will meet later that evening to make their decision.

For everyone who has yet to make a Spring Weekend Concert suggestion, time is running out. The deadline is November 21st, 2009. If you have a suggestion, please write it on the wall at the following link: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1241641276&ref=name#/event.php?eid=154936668757&index=1. More information about the Spring Weekend Committee will be made known in the near future. Contact Natalie Allen for further inquiries.

Tomorrow is the last day of SGA Week but the Executive Board and as many Senators as possible shall be hosting a Meet and Greet at the Loft tomorrow night from 10pm to 11pm to hear your opinions and grievances. There is a $250 Loft Tab so come on down and meet your Senator face-to-face.

The Educational Policy Committee, one of several within the larger Educational Council has updated Senate on its projects. So far the committee is proud to announce that there is now a new Pre-Journalism Minor consisting of one course in statistics, a course in ethics, a course in research methods, one course in written or visual production, an internship of at least six weeks, and an electronic portfolio of clips, photos, or film to be compiled and assessed with an advisor. Pre-Journalism Minors will also be required to take three courses in from an extensive list (not provided here). The Educational Policy Committee is also working on transforming the Environmental Science Major, analyzing data concerning the Natural Science Requirement and beginning the discussion on course caps. For more information, contact Jonathan Wolinsky, the Educational Council Chair.

At next week’s Senate meeting at 7pm, Dean Williams will be our guest speaker and will be focusing on the Alcohol Policy on campus and off-campus activities since there has been an increase in conversations about these topics, even as far as being the front-page article in this week’s Wire. Students who have opinions on the matter are encouraged to attend this meeting.

We hope everyone is doing well as the semester starts nearing its end. May everyone have a productive week and for those who have tickets to the Bash this Friday, have a good time!

Your Senators,

Aaron, Shane and Zachary

Greetings Residents of YMCA!

The Senate continues to work diligently on the many annual priorities we decided to undertake and the action plans for each one will be made available on the SGA Website in the near future but Your Senators: Aaron, Shane and Zachary have a great deal to share with all of you this week.

At this evening’s meeting, the Senate approved a resolution in support of the LGBTQ community after last Thursday’s bias related incident concerning the theft of the Pride Flag which was being hung from the Chapel. The Bias Related Reponse Team met the following morning to determine immediate action in response to the incident. The Intercultural Board also hosted a Flag Vigil back on Monday. The three of them voted affirmatively on the resolution. To view the resolution, please download it from this link: http://www.box.net/shared/nevk1czbuu.

The Greener Wheaton Competition begins on November 1st! A constituent from Young Hall e-mailed Aaron over the past weekend concerning what happened last year, including an analysis and conclusion from the previous compeition are provided. It is our obligation as a quad and overall, a community; to take part in the effort to conserve electricity. The winning residential unit will win a party at the Loft on the behalf of the SGA. More information can be found at this link: http://sga.wheatonma.edu/www/2009/10/23/ymca-and-the-greener-wheaton-competition/. The Green Initiatives Committee (GIC) urges you to take a minute to read this important information.

This upcoming weekend will see a series of Halloween events planned by the Programming Council (PC). On Thursday between 1opm and Midnight, the Lyons Den will be transformed into a Haunted House and there is a $200 open tab for all your favorite Den treats, so come early! Meanwhile on Friday, the Programming Council along with the many A Capella and dance groups will be doing a Thriller Carnival where people will be able to learn and ultimately perform the Thriller Dance. Food will be made available throughout the afternoon outside. To round out the weekend, the KGBW Quad and the PC will be hosting a Halloween Dance in Balfour Atrium. At this dance, there will be a photobooth, loft food, halloween treats and — a Costume Contest between 12-12:30am! For more information, contact PC Chair Natalie Allen (allen_natalie@wheatonma.edu) or Zachary Agush (agush_zachary@wheatonma.edu); or any other member of the Programming Council.

SHAC (Sexual Health Awareness Club) is hosting its 4th Annual Sex Toy Party tomorrow night in Hindle at 8:30pm. For one night only, join SHAC and Goddess Corrine to talk about safe sex and sex toys! This is a one of a kind fun and educational event. Unfortunately since ticket sales have ended, it will cost 3 dollars at the door.

Wellness Day is on November 6th, 2009 . Come celebrate wellness and tap into the information and resources you need to take good care of yourself. Climb the rock wall, visit the vendor fair, kayak in Peacock Pond or take a break in the Rejuvenation Oasis! If you want further information, contact Dean Craig Andrade (andrade_craig@wheatonma.edu).

The Senate Housing Action Committee has met over the past couple of weeks and has come up with two projects. It’s first project is to commence a form of Housing Review, specific to forced triples (in which our quad has the highest number of them). The committee’s other project is computing a database of all the quads on campus to help students determine where they should decide to live for the following year. Further information about these projects will be made known in the near future.

Educational Council Chair Jonathan Wolinsky announced that his council is beginning the process of going about purchasing more textbooks-on-reserve for the upcoming Spring Semester. This semester, the Educational Council spent close to $1,500 on 15 textbooks and plan on spending on a similar amount of money on the upcoming semester. Please stay tune for more information.

A notice to all club treasurers who might reside in the YMCA quad, you are mandated to attend the Treasurer’s Social this Thursday Night at 5:30pm in the Old Game Room inside Balfour-Hood. You will be meeting the various committees in SGA that deal with financial matters, the SGA Treasurer (Sasha Kim) and the Student Banker. Food and beverages will be provided. A warning: an absence from the Social will be considered during the Semi-Annual Audit Process. Concerning audits, those clubs which will be contacted in the near future will be mandated to turn in their Semi-Annual Audits on November 16th. The SGA Treasurer will contact all those selected to be evaluated in the very near future.

SGA Week begins this Sunday, November 1st. On Monday, the Summer Stipend Reports will be posted on the SGA Website so people can see what some people accomplished this past summer using the first round of SGA Stipend monies that were allocated last April. On Tuesday, November 3rd, President Crutcher is attending Senate to discuss the present state of the College and how we move forward from here. Your Senators seriously urge you to attend this important Senate meeting! Meanwhile, the Executive Board and many SGA Senators will be at the Loft on Wednesday Night to meet and greet with the various members of the Student Body. Further details can be seen in this week’s Wheaton Wire. Quad specific events will be made known as soon as possible and will be posted on this blog and e-mailed to your Wheaton e-mail accounts.

The final update we want to announce is that suggestion boxes will be placed in the main lounges of each building in the quad tomorrow evening. Please put all your concerns, complaints and constructive criticisms in these boxes and the comments will be collected at the end of each week.

May we all continue to work hard in the coming days and weeks,

Your Senators,

Aaron, Shane and Zachary

Good afternoon Residents of YMCA,

Aaron has sent me an email from one of his constituents concerning the YMCA results for February 2009’s Greener Wheaton Competition and I believe that the residents of our quad deserve a proper response and explanation. YMCA did consume 10% more electricity last February than it did back in February 2008. It is also true, after re-reading the post-competition analysis and conclusions, that February 2009 was in fact 10% colder than the previous year.  Below are the formal results from last year’s competition according to electricity usage that increased or decreased as a percentage:

• Elms: -50%
• 11 Howard: -49%
• Lindens: -38%
• 9 Taunton: -19%
• Bittersweet: -13%
• 22 Howard: -11%
• 5 Pine: -7%
• 7 Pine: -7%
• Meadows Quad: +3%
• Beard Hall: +5%
• 44 Howard: +6%
• Keefe, Gebbie, Stanton, Cragin, Everett: +8%
• Larcom, Emerson, Chapin: +9%
• YMCA Quad: +10%
• Kilham and Metcalf: +273% (Note: These residence halls were attached to Park Hall)

We did not have meter readings for Guesthouse, 26/28 Taunton or Whitehouse.

After reading the percentage breakdowns, the eight residential units which cut electricity usage during February 2009 saved the college $415. The seven units which saw an increase in usage cost the college an additional $5,869, according to the utilities bill presented to last year’s President, Austin Simko, from the Physical Plant. But because it was colder between 2008 and 2009; the college could have expected to have spent an additional $17,770 in electricity. With these two pieces of information in mind, although electricity usage between February 2009 and February 2008 was not cut by the largest residential units, the amount of electricity use increased was  lowered significantly. Instead of spending an additional $17,770 in electricity due to the colder weather, Wheaton only spent an additional $5,869. Therefore, the contest resulted in a $11,829 savings. By adding the amount of dollars saved by the electricity cuts ($415) and the dollars saved by reductions in the projected rate of increase ($11,829); the competition overall saved Wheaton College $12,244.

The Green Initiatives Committee, after completing all the mathematics, made the following conclusions: 1) smaller communities are able to mobilize participation and have been successful in conservation efforts when compared to larger communities; 2) if smaller communities were able to cut electricity use during colder weather, so can larger residential communities; and 3) there is much room for monetary and environmental savings if the larger communities can rally around conservation efforts.

Given the analysis and the conclusions made, YMCA is in a unique period in time to make fundamental change to energy and electricity use habits. If we can change our daily routines to add an additional second to turn off our lights in our rooms when we are not using them, unplug the appliances and cellphone chargers when we are not using them and even going so far as to keeping our computers on sleep mode are all ways of us conserving electricity. The Greener Wheaton Competition will be done during the course of the month of November (November 1st-30th). We as a community, as a quad, need to take responsibility for our own energy usage and only through our common obligation to turn off the light switch in our own rooms, can we see positive conservation of electricity. Should anyone have any further questions, feel free to e-mail me and I will be more than happy to answer your inquiries.

Sincerely,

Zachary Agush