Present: James Reed (Chair), Greg Anderson (Policy Chair), Mark Fuller (Program House Chair), Jillian Robbins (Secretary), Sophie Asher, Jerry Cedrone, EJ Chung, Chaz Kelsh, Adam Lewin, Jane Zhang

Absent: Ben Lowell (excused)

Guests: Dean Tom Forsberg, Natalie Basil, Jenna Sousa

Natalie Basil and Jenna Sousa came to speak to ResCouncil about 2009-2010 Special Interest Housing:

Special Interest Housing:

• For the upcoming academic year, 29 students applied
• half the number of students that applied for this academic year
• Natalie and Jenna looked for spaces that would fit the number of people who applied for certain types of housing with a few additional spots for transfer students who may want the same type of special interest housing
• 10 students (8 of whom were rising sophomores) requested substance free housing
• ResLife would like to place them in Plantation House, which houses 17 students
• this year, substance free housing was on the first floor of Miller, which did not have enough double rooms
• this would take Plantation House out of lottery but would allow for the potential creation of a substance free community
• 18 students requested to live on a quiet floor
• ResLife would like to make the second floor of Metcalf the quiet housing
• this would allow rising juniors and seniors, the majority of students who requested quiet housing, the opportunity to have singles
• The all male/all female floors will be the bottom floor of Andrews
• 1 upperclassman requested to live on an all-female floor
• the rest of the rooms on the floor will be available for transfers and other upperclassmen
• Students who requested special interest housing will be notified this week
• they then have the option to bow out until Super Deadline Day

Squatting:

• It seems that there is a large number of students interested in squatting this year!

Dean Forsberg's update:

• ResLife is moving forward with the renovations in Caswell and Slater to be done over the summer
• ResLife waited to post the floorplans of all of the dorms until they were positive that the renovations would occur (the current economy made a reevaluation of the project necessary)
• Floorplans should be posted very shortly
• Should ResLife put Ben & Jerry's vending machines in the dorms?
• they would be put in Grad Center, Keeney, Emery-Woolley, New Pembrooke, and Andrews
• we think that vending machines should be placed in these dorms, but should not be placed in study lounges (due to the humming sound and the heat that they generate)

ResCouncil's Discussion of the First Pick Competition:

• Voting is up and running for the videos - VOTE
• Why did we do a "First Pick Video Screening Competition"?
• initially, the videos were placed online, and students voted online
• last year, we made the first pick competition into an event to begin conversation about the housing lottery on campus
• however, it was hard to compare videos with live performance when judging the event
• this year, we combined the two ideas, making the central activity of the event the judging of the videos
• Maybe we should have included more information about the lottery
• maybe next year's lottery chair should make announcements (with important dates, general information about housing and the lottery, etc.) between videos

• How can we, in the future, encourage more program houses to come and set up tables?

We should make a mock floor plan with a key, explaining what the symbols on the floorplans mean, for next year

End of Meeting

Submitted by Jillian Robbins, Residential Council Secretary 2008-2009