The Undergraduate Council of Students appointed eight members to its Elections Board at its general body meeting Wednesday. Students running for next year's council leadership positions will officially declare their candidacy next Monday, according to the UCS website. The council also appointed students to University committees including the College Curriculum Council, the University Resources Committee and the Energy and Environmental Advisory Committee.
Two members of the Residential Council, Kaylyn Shibata '14 and Andrew Chang '13, attended the meeting and asked the council to reconsider extending the deadline for current Residential Council members to reapply to their positions. ResCouncil members must reapply in the spring to maintain their current positions, but many members of the current ResCouncil did not reapply to meet the deadline, said UCS President Ralanda Nelson '12.
"If you appoint a majority of members that aren't experienced, it would be a downfall to ResCouncil," Chang said. While he took responsibility for missing the deadline, he added that "the deadline wasn't as firmly articulated" as in previous years.
Prior to the meeting, the council's executive board chose not to extend the deadline as it would not be fair to those that had submitted their applications on time, Nelson said. As a result, those current members who failed to reapply on time were not eligible to be appointed. The council appointed applicants that had already applied by the deadline. Eight members were appointed to ResCouncil, including three returning or former members of ResCouncil who had submitted their applications on time.
Sam Gilman '15, chair of the UCS communications committee, said he conducted a Fireside Chat with President Ruth Simmons yesterday, which will be available for viewing in a few weeks. The council is also working on a Whiteboard Project to present to President-elect Christina Paxson that will feature students' favorite aspects of the University along with aspects of the University they think should be changed, he said.
David Rattner '13, vice president of the council, discussed his work with Richard Bova, senior associate dean of Residential Life and Dining Services, to implement LaundryView at Brown. LaundryView is a system employed at Tufts University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other schools that allows users to see what laundry machines are available and how much time is left on machines that are in use, Rattner said. Nelson said the University's work to consolidate the number of strips on student IDs is the first step in this process.
"We're optimistic it will be done soon," Rattner said.
The council submitted a statement to Margaret Klawunn, vice president for campus life and student services, and Steven King '91, senior vice president for University advancement, which outlines the importance of increasing the size of the Student Activities Endowment, Rattner said. He said he hopes the Corporation will approve the statement as one of the University's top academic priorities.
Mae Cadao '13, chair of the UCS student activities committee, presented five student groups that had either been tabled during the student activities approval process or had since appealed their categorization. The council approved categorizing or re-categorizing four of the groups, but decided to table re-categorizing Body and Soul, a dance group seeking Category III status. Nelson said the group's mission statement needed to be polished before the council would decide on its categorization.
