Senate Hears About New Tutoring Center and North Quad Heat Survey, Nov. 13

On Monday night, Senate met to discuss a new tutoring center and heard a presentation from North Quad residents about the heat wave at the start of the school year. Technology, Innovation, and Student Affairs Committee Chair Ryan Chakmak ‘19 met with the administration to discuss plans for a new “quantitative center.” Admin hopes that this will centralize tutoring for math, economics, and the new data science sequence. The new center will be akin to the Center for Writing and Public Discourse. Chakmak was unsure if there will be a new space for the center or if it will be in a repurposed space. The administration hopes to open the center next fall to serve as a supplement to CMC classes.

Chair of Campus Improvements Committee Biniyam Asnake ‘20, along with Sarah Tocher ‘20 and Lincoln Bernard ‘21, presented a North Quad heat survey. The students began working on this survey in September after students living in North Quad raised concerns regarding a lack of sleeping options during the first two weeks of school. After meeting with Dean Devon MacIver, they sent the survey out in October. Of 278 students living in North Quad, 101 responded, and the survey results indicated that 25 percent of respondents slept outside of their room for over a week during the first two weeks of school. Asnake, Tocher, and Bernard hope to inspire discussion and action for more options for students living without air conditioning during heat waves.

Environmental Affairs Committee Chair Sam Becker ‘19 is working on inviting an Athenaeum speaker to speak on a topic pertaining to the environment. Asnake is working to secure outdoor furniture underneath the large tree in front of Beckett, similar to the setup in North Quad.

President Pro Tempore Thomas Schalke ‘18 discussed changes to the ASCMC Constitution. There were no substantive changes from proposals discussed last week. The ASCMC Executive Board decided to wait another week to vote, so Senate followed suit per the tradition of voting after Exec Board.