"The program is strongly supported by the College Council, the president and the dean of students," said Swarthout.
After a brief period of discussion, the senate passed the motion and nominated senators to help organize the program, which is expected to begin soon.
According to Swarthout, 60 student leaders will form pairs or groups of three to ask a professor to join them for lunch in Valentine. The hope is that other students will join the table, seeing their friends sitting with professors. The goal is to make professors feel comfortable sitting in Valentine and to let them know that they are welcome there.
"Maybe next semester we can even turn this into a community lunch, to which you can ask your favorite librarian," said Swarthout.
Vice President Bob Razavi '03 brought forth a motion to limit the time allotted to speakers during all senate meetings.
"I think that this change would place a value on what people have to say," said Elan Ghazal '05. Those senators who were opposed argued that a minority viewpoint often needs to be expressed, and limiting time would severely restrict this.
Those in favor of the limitation argued that AAS meetings are already too long and that one minute is a sufficient period of time in which to state anything that must be said. A "minute of silence" was suggested in order to feel the length of one minute. This suggestion created even stronger opposition. "What kind of monkey circus are we running here?" asked Ghazal. In the end, the motion, which needed a two-thirds majority, was defeated by 11 opposing votes.
Ben Baum '03 recommended that an oath of office for the AAS be added to the bylaws "for the purposes of clarity and ethics," according to his written proposal. The administration of this oath would mark the "defining moment when you are a voting member of the AAS," said Baum. He said that the oath would increase accountability and provide a sense of continuity. After some argument, the proposal passed. "I'm all for ethics," said Stacey Kennard '03, a sentiment echoed by Julie Babayan '03.
Another issue that the senate discussed was the Distinguished Teaching Award, established during the 1999-2000 school year. Mike Flood '03 suggested that the award be given before the end of the semester for the 2001-2002 school year and that the award be presented regularly in the future. Flood is heading up a committee that will write a letter to be distributed to the sophomore, junior and senior classes asking for recommendations. The executive branch of the AAS will narrow down the choices of professors eligible for the award and the senate will decide from those nominees. The motion passed.
According to Treasurer Livia Angiolillo '04, the AAS budget, dependent on the enrollment of 1,625 students during the spring semester will be approximately $25,000 greater than it was during the fall semester. Based on Angiolillo's recommendation, the social council will not receive a $5,000 budget increase that it requested this semester.
The sophomore class council announced its intention to buy 10 sleds that can be checked out from Keefe Campus Center using a student identification card. It also plans to compile a sophomore class CD.