Senate discusses planning proposal

Senators plan for future meeting with dean Cole-Newkirk

Student Senate discussed long-range planning, the drug policy and co-ed rooms at its meeting Sunday.

Senator seniors Matt Cole and Chapin Beninghoff attended a meeting with President Nancy Dye's private long-range planning consultant, Elaine Kuttner. The consultant has made a rough draft report of his recommendations for Dye.

Cole said that the rough draft contains a recommendation for the formation of a steering committee which will meet throughout next fall to discuss plans for Oberlin's future. These plans will involve "everything," said Senator senior Noah Bopp, including academics, student life and governance. The rough draft also states that members of this committee will include the president, deans, key faculty and other, according to Cole.

Senators want students to be included in the "other." Beninghoff said, "That's what we've got to pressure them to do," in reference to getting students to serve on the steering committee.

An open forum to discuss long-range planning is being organized by Senate. Senator sophomore Joshua Kaye announced the outcome of Matt Holford's case. Before Spring Break, Holford was evicted from South Hall because there were complaints to security about unlawful posession and use of drugs in his room. Holford's case was tried by Community Board. The verdict made was for Holford to live off-campus for the rest of this semester, be suspended the following semester and be placed on probation and living on-campus for the remainder of his attendance at Oberlin.

Kaye speculated that the people who chose Holford's punishment are trying to teach Holford the social skills that are involved in living in a community by making him later live on-campus. Kaye said, "Who is the college to say he needs those lessons?"

Since the Holford incident, Resident Coordinators (RCs) have been under pressure from administrators to enforce the drug policy, senators said. Said Beninghoff, "I've talked to RCs that were called to emergency meetings and told to stay home on weekend nights and patrol the halls."

Beninghoff added, "RC's are not some sort of uber-student breed. They're just like us, and making them the ground troops in [Dean of Student Life and Services Charlene Cole-Newkirk's] war on drugs is going to utterly rend the fabric of student life in the dorms."

Cole-Newkirk plans to attend next Sunday's Senate meeting. Senators discussed Cole-Newkirk's impending visit. Senator senior D.Joan Leib said, "We should be aware that Charlene Cole is rabidly anti-drug next week when we speak to her … we have to respect her position."

The senators listed issues that they want to talk to Cole-Newkirk about. This list included the drug policy, co-ed rooms, the judicial policy, the Regulations Book and orientation. Bopp said, "Let's keep her here for as long as it takes."

Bopp said that Oberlin is looking into making teaching certification part of its curriculum, which would be a joint project between Oberlin College and Lorain County Community College.

Senator sophomore and Student Life Committee (SLC) member Melissa Prager spoke about the outcome of last Friday's SLC meeting concerning co-ed group housing at Oberlin. Prager said, "We came to an agreement that is very non-bureaucratic." This agreement is a rule that will allow students of opposite sex to live together, if approved. This practice will not be part of anything that is officially approved by the General Faculty or Trustees, but instead the result of an administrative decision made after research on the part of the administration.

"[The administrator's] main concern is the reputation of Oberlin," Prager said.

Senate's response to SLC's decision was mixed. Members liked the idea of obtaining the co-ed room option, but distrusted the move on the part of President Nancy Dye and Cole-Newkirk to propose an unofficial rule. "I smell a big fat rat. Just because Nancy Dye goes to Drag Ball doesn't mean she's our best friend," said Bopp.

Bopp proposed that the Senate sends a task force to the administrators to lobby them some time during the next two weeks on behalf of co-ed rooms. Specific plans for this proposal will be discussed at a future senate meeting. Beninghoff was elected to one of the two open Student Life Committee seats and to a seat on Academics Standings Committee.