Author: Daniel Sweet

Copy editor & WCSA reporter

Second Senate talks holiday breaks

A guest speaker addressed the Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs (WCSA) second full senate meeting Monday, Feb. 9. Her topic of discussion: proposed changes to the academic calendar.

Paula White, professor of education and chair of the academic policy committee (APC), introduced proposed amendments to the Ohio Wesleyan semester schedule. These changes range from extending spring break an extra week, reducing Thanksgiving break to three days and leaving the schedule as is. White noted that any changes would not take effect until at least the 2016-2017 calendar year.

White also explained that the APC “won’t generate an absolute schedule until [it] can get everyone’s thoughts.”

The next faculty meeting, on Feb. 19, marks the deadline for any changes to the calendar. With that date approaching, several WCSA senators suggested that a table be set up in the Hamilton-Williams Campus Center to inform students of the proposed amendments and to receive their feedback.

Sophomore Graham Littlehale, treasurer of WCSA, presented the budget requests for the women’s rugby club and Tauheed. Both were approved.

A frequent topic of discussion at the meeting was the Board of Trustees dinner, an annual gathering of select OWU students and board members set to take place Feb. 7. Junior Emma Drongowski, vice president of WCSA, explained that the dinner is “an unique opportunity for students to interact with professionals.”

The senate also voted to suspend indefinitely a resolution on gender-inclusive housing. Despite support for the resolution by most members of WCSA, the policy requires prior university approval to be advanced further. Junior Jerry Lherisson, president of WCSA, said he “does not want to bring [the resolution] forward without [university] officer support behind it.”

Finally, the senate voted on the appointment of a new at-large senator. As a result, sophomore Diana Muzina was unanimously selected to join WCSA representatives at the table.

Fresh faces bring fresh ambitions to WCSA

WCSA crest. Photo courtesy of the owu website.
WCSA crest. Photo courtesy of the owu website.

The Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs (WCSA) kicked off the year with more new members than last semester and with new goals for the future.

First on the Feb. 2 meeting’s agenda was the appointment of several senators, a title that reflects the recent name-change of WCSA Full Body to WCSA Full Senate.

“This year’s Senate has a lot less juniors on it then we have typically had in past years,” President Jerry Lherison said.

That swing from the norm has led to the majority of WCSA members serving their first-ever term. There are still at least 10 members who have previous WCSA experience, and with the blend of veteran members coupled with renewed enthusiasm, there should be a lot of positive energy and things to come, Lherison said. That energy will be focused, among other things, on two goals: a bottle-free initiative and gender-inclusive housing.

“We are starting the discussions of trying to eliminate bottled water on campus and being completely renewable in that regard,” junior and senator Scout Trogstad-Isaacson said. A resolution that supports efforts by the Spectrum Resource Center to introduce gender inclusive housing to Ohio Wesleyan University was read as well, and will be introduced next week.

Resolutions and bills must go through a several week-long process of readings at full Senate meetings, followed by time to debate the issue at hand and make amendments. Once they successfully complete this process, the Senate can pass legislation.

Resolutions were not the only thing introduced. The executive committee welcomed new personnel to their side of the table. Graham Littlehale was approved as the Senate’s treasurer.  Sophomore Andy Lowenbaum was welcomed as a senator, filling the vacancy left by junior Matt McCord’s resignation.

“I realized that the current administration and I had a fundamental difference of opinion regarding the way forward for WCSA’s structure, and so I decided to refocus my energies to better serve the organization and its constituents,” McCord said.

“Matt is still involved with what we do, it just won’t be on a week to week basis,” Lherison said. That involvement will center around work on the WCSA website. According to Lherison, the site is very outdated and is a project that the executive committee has wanted to prioritize.

According to Lherison, this first meeting was a positive start to the term and serves a great indicator of the potential that this year’s student government will show.