Present: James Reed (Chair), Greg Anderson (Policy Chair), Mark Fuller (Program House Chair), Ben Lowell (Lottery Chair), Jillian Robbins (Secretary), Al Carter, Jerry Cedrone, EJ Chung, Paige Hicks, Mannan Jalan, Chaz Kelsh, Adam Lewin, Mike Sokolovsky, Christine Sunu, Jane Zhang

Absent: Sophie Asher (excused)

Guests: Dean Tom Forsberg

Overview for today:

1. Committee chairs - giving overviews of their plans for the semester
2. Review of planned dorm renovations for next summer by Dean Forsberg
3. Review of SAO proposal
4. Off - campus housing and the relationship between members of the Brown community living off campus and those living on campus (if we have time)

Committee Chair Overviews:

Policy:

1. regional card access improvement
2. new dorms - what would people want in them
3. preliminary results of the new CD and faculty fellow programs
4. off campus housing requirements
5. program house review
6. meetings Mondays at 3

Program:

1. program house review
2. meeting times have yet to be set

Lottery:

1. look at a calendar to consider dates for the lottery
2. publicize the lottery in a more effective way - especially to freshmen
1. info sessions
2. updating web resources
3. first pick competition
4. meetings Wednesday at 6

Renovations for this upcoming summer:

1. Minden
1. we will be putting in a new elevator
2. have to comply to ADA rules (fit a stretcher in it)
3. depth of new elevator will be same as existing elevator - it will be wider
4. this will cause the room next to the elevator to change size/shape on a few floors (the 05 line of rooms are effected most dramatically)

2. Caswell
1. painted and put in new flooring this past summer
2. will put in new kitchen operations / utilities system in the basement - connect a larger part of the basement of Caswell as one big lounge space
3. will loose the 3 kitchens on the second floor - those will be turned back into doubles - hopefully, this will prevent us from having to convert two Keeney lounges into sophomore housing
4. upgrade all bathrooms - make them nicer, put it more adequate ventilation, make window bigger as the windows are the access to the fire escapes
5. will also upgrade the two private bathrooms (in rooms 102 and 111)

3. Slater
1. right now - no bathroom on floors 1 and 4, and only small bathrooms on 2, 3, and the basement
2. whole dorm was repainted a year ago
3. putting in 2 single use bathrooms on the first floor and on the fourth floor - this will make Slater gender neutral - losing a custodian closet
4. the 56 bed count within the building remains the same
5. on floors 2 and 3, expansion of the existing bathrooms - slightly pushing out the walls of the existing bathrooms so that reconfiguration within the bathroom can occur

After this: next anticipated project is an entire renovation of Miller and Metcalf - heating, an entirely new electrical system - each expected to be $6 million dollars

Where else should ResLife be looking? What should projects be down the road?

• furniture replacements: right now, furniture costs $1500 per head
• Is it necessary for ResLife to supply pillows to all students?

Proposal from SAO: Program and Greek House Lounge Use

• is it our responsibility to hold program and Greek houses responsible for SAO rules?
• should events be registered if they involve alcohol and any number of people who do not live in the program or Greek house?
• do the people living in the houses have the right to use the lounges for any type of social event?
• right now, the 100 number minimum for event registration is arbitrary - but what if a program or Greek house has more than 100 members?
• lounges are 700 square feet - what is the maximum occupancy of the lounges?
• why have registered events? for university to know what is going on, for fire safety
• do we need to more clearly define an 'event'?
• there is a distinction between a frat having a few brothers and their friends over and a frat sponsoring an event, or an event that requires planning
• should all events that will serve alcohol, regardless of expected attendance, have to be registered?
• how does promotion relate to/factor into event registration
• strippers in dorms? is that akin to bringing strippers into your home? will this make many other people who use the lounge uncomfortable? an infringement of rights? or, if everyone in the program house agrees to it, is it ok to bring strippers into lounges?

End of Meeting

Submitted by Jillian Robbins, Residential Council Secretary 2008-2009