Updates made to campus drug policy
Catherine Collins, director of health and education, and Don Leach, administrative chair of the Alcohol and Drug Hearing Board, reported to Senate on Monday about recent changes to the campus drug policy. The Alcohol and Drug Hearing Board meets each year to review its policies. This year the drug policy was reviewed; the alcohol policy will be reviewed next year. Changes made this year to the drug policy include additional educational sanctions for policy violators, a clarification on record keeping and the confidentiality of drug violation records, and the elimination of the student position on the standing committee that hears contestations to drug violations. Whenever a student is charged with violation of the alcohol or drug policy, the student must accept or contest the charge. If she accepts the charge, she receives disciplinary sanctions. If she contests the charge, she goes before a hearing panel. There have been no student contestations—and therefore no hearings—in over four years. Because of this, the Alcohol and Drug Advisory Board has decided to eliminate the position of the Student Organizations and Appointments Committee (SOAC) nominated student on the hearing panel. By doing this the board will avoid training and giving responsibilities to a student representative who will not have the opportunity to act on those responsibilities. In the case that an alcohol or drug violation is contested, an ad hoc committee will be formed with student representation from the House President’s Council liaison, the Director of On-Campus Affairs or another College Government member who does not have a conflict of interest with regards to the case being presented.
Representatives from the Student Council to the Board of Trustees present to Senate
Three students from the Student Council to the Board of Trustees (SCBT) presented to Senate to report about their positions as SOAC appointed student representatives on the Board of Trustees Admissions Committee, Finance Committee and Investment Committee. The student representative on the Admissions Committee works with trustees to discuss admissions policy, outreach and attracting certain populations of students to Wellesley. This year the committee discussed how to use the college’s newly formed collaboration with Babson and Olin as an outreach tool. The student representative on the Finance Committee works with trustees to review Wellesley’s operating budget and ensure the financial stability of the school. Due to the recent economic crisis Wellesley’s budget has decreased by 17 percent, a drop which is in line with the budget decreases of similar institutions. The student representative from the Investment Committee works with trustees to create an investment strategy for the college and to examine endowment spending.
Open discussion: the year in review
Senators split up into groups during the Senate meeting on Monday to discuss their perspectives on their time in Senate and to provide feedback to cabinet members on how to improve the operation of Senate for the coming year. Senators were satisfied with how efficiently Senate was run this year and that Senate meetings were relatively brief. Senators reported that their constituents enjoyed the resource of “Sixty Second Senate” to help inform students about what occurs in Senate each week. The new week of events titled “Fall Frenzy” was well-received by senators and students, though senators suggested that cabinet members involve senators more in its planning. Senators also reported enjoying the presentations by different student organizations throughout the year. Criticisms of the past year included the lack of enforcement of the absences policy for senators, the last minute execution of “Senators Projects” and the lack of information given to students about the $10,000 Student Initiative.
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