Senate Minutes: December 2, 2020

Millsaps College Student Body 

Senate Meeting: WebEx

Wednesday December 02, 2020

  1. Call to Order 
    1. Vice President Malik calls meeting to order at 7:31 PM.
  2. Roll Call
    1. 13 Senators Present
  3. President Brenna Report 
    1. Finish up the conduct council stuff. Send suggestions to Dean Brown and John Fenner by December 15th. Anything needed should be directed to Brenna.
    1. We should have more stuff about mental and sexual assault awareness for next semester. 
    1. There will be $20,000 left in our funds and because PAC will be combined with SBA, there will be even more.  Let’s think of spending this money wisely on possible events, concerts, and food. 
    1. Senate will be held from 11:40 to 12:40 on Tuesdays next semester. 
      1. Let Brenna know if this is an issue as soon as possible, but it will most likely not be changed. Important speakers will only be used in the 11:40-12:40 as regular meeting time, the speaker will come on Thursday of that week because these are the two protected periods that we have now. 
    1. Another round of faculty and department major cuts are coming. 
      1. Every single faculty member’s job is on the line, even if they have tenure or have been working for 10+ years. This was Dean Dunn and President Pearigen’s idea and will be presenting idea to the board by February. Our Millsaps faculty will be looking ways to change this, but every department has been asked to look at their department minus one member in preparation for this decision. 
      1. Specific topics and questions
        1. Senator Spencer Wallace: Are there other places we could make cuts in?
          1. Brenna: the strategy should be telling the donors that we need help and asking for money; if we continue the cutting process, it will be worse off in the long run; they’re not cutting the “fun” stuff like that give President P’s name recognition which makes them look good and not the students
        1. Senator Sarah Hayek: Where is this coming from? And do they not want everybody to know this information yet? 
          1. Brenna: This is coming from the faculty council. They told faculty and are maybe waiting to see who they will cut before they say that they will cut people.
        1. Questions about making a sub-committee that would tackle this issue
          1. Senator Sarah Hayek: There were efforts to do something similar when there were faculty and department cuts last time by making note cards, but this was denied by Dean Brown.
            1. Senator Sarah Hayek: Possibly working with admissions because they have access to statistics that can help prepare a proposal more efficiently. 
            1. Senators Molli Perry, Parth Patel, and Sarah H
              1. New admissions director could be a helpful resource in this proposal plan
            1. Senator Spencer Wallace: Susan Barret oversees admissions and reaching out to her for outreach can be helpful.
          1. Brenna: I think a committee is a good idea; different groups could see how to budget wisely and effectively to help overcome this. 
          1. Senator Sarah Springer: is there anything that we could up as an opposing argument or proposal?
            1. Brenna: yes, if we work together with faculty, maybe something could be done
          1. Senator Brady King: The business school had created a financial model for Millsaps, which was denied. They have looked at this problem before, so if you are affiliated with the Else School, ask them about this issue and see if you can come up with something.
        1. Senator Parth Patel: the reason for budget cuts is to keep things stable for long-term. The only way for Millsaps to be stable financially is for faculty cuts to happen. 
        1. Making this plan more known comments 
          1. Brenna: make sure your friends are aware of this happening soon and let me know about any ideas on how to move forward; by making a committee or proposal.
          1. Brenna: It is important of making alumni and donors aware of the situation so that they would more likely be able to donate to the general fund. 
  4. Committee Reports: 
    1. Campus Improvement
      1. Senator Worth: Reached out to eco-grounds about lights
    1. Rules Committee
      1. Senator Spencer W: Met with John Fenner about conduct council that went well and certain things in the conduct council will not be implanted until next year. This should be done by December 18th.
    1. Finance Committee
      1. Treasurer Dhruv: 
        1. Disk golf club request of $200 from Brady King
          1. Senator Brady King: We need 60 pounds for the basket and the padlocks; all for security of baskets.
        1. We have spent about $10,000 so far, which gives us roughly about $20,000 for next semester. Last year we spent about $30,000 out of $50,000 budget. We should look at ways that we can save and host more events that can engage the community. 
    1. Dining Committee
    1. Student Life/Events Committee
    1. External Relations Committee
      1. Senator Parth Patel: We will be focusing if we can contact alumni through Dean Brown and looking into the specifics. 
  5. Closing: 
    1. Vice President Malik: Everyone has done an awesome job this semester!
    1. President Brenna: Second Malik, everyone has done amazing. We will be revoting on committee heads. 
  6. Motion to adjourn at 8:07PM and a second. 
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