11/20/2024 General Assembly Notes

COMMITTEE UPDATES

Ainsley [Facilities and Sustainability]: Met with sustainability to talk about initiatives they want to keep pushing forward, such as increased composting in more places (i.e. Ladd). Along with Andy have been working on a water map for campus and looking for volunteers to help. Please reach out to Ainsley if you would like to help to have a draft coming into finals.

 

Vincent [SOOC]: Approved two new clubs in the last two weeks and met with Sara to talk about goals and reconsider the role of SOOC on campus, as well as new initiative ideas. Will share more about that later on. Had a “how to start a club” tabling event today. 

  • Elliott: What clubs were approved?
  • Vincent: Folk Dance and ‘The Brotherhood’, a Black men affinity club

 

Sadie [Diversity and Inclusion]: The D&I committee did tabling last Friday which was a big success. Got a lot of responses and will look through those in the future. 

 

Nolan [Student Affairs]: Working on getting programming for winter sports events on campus: food trucks, hot chocolate, and hot apple cider. Trying to get something set up in Coe Quad for the Women’s basketball game as well. 

 

Elliott: Got 110 sign-ups from 116 slots for break transportation. Would be nice to have GA members present at some of the departures. Will send out departure times. Particularly need help with Friday, 1 PM 56-person charter bus.

 

[PROPOSAL: SAFC Guideline Changes]

Elliott: SAFC is in charge of giving funding for student groups (clubs). The BSG has to approve the guidelines of the SAFC. And every year the SAFC must review and make the appropriate changes to those guidelines. 

 

Max: Guidelines are a large document and may be difficult to understand. Mostly trying to change the wording to make it clearer. Will be referring to the proposal document to make this easy to follow. These are the modifications:

  • Changes table of contents.
  • Academic Career Services Guideline: The SAFC will not fund items or services that are already provided through any Bowdoin resource. 
  • Section 3: changing entertainment to events. Changing Production Costs to Performance Production Costs. New guideline SAFC may fund up to 500 dollars and if the event will have more than 100 Bowdoin student attendees may allocate additional funding which is all done under the SAFC’s discretion.  Supplies for club funding events to come out of club bonding.
  • Decorations: adding that it is decided at SAFC’s discretion for clarity. Decorations must have a connection to the event. 
  • Films: will only fund screening rights when the film is connected to the club’s mission.
  • Semester Meeting Snacks: clubs can ask how much is left of their snack budget (this also will apply to club bonding funding).
  • Meals: For trips, will supplement board transfers by $4.75/person/meal. Bringing down Breakfast funding and bringing up Lunch and Dinner such that: Breakfast: $7.35, Brunch/Lunch: $8.25, Dinner: $8.50. 
  • Banquets: Clubs have to discuss with Student Activities to figure out the most cost-efficient options. 
  • Kickoff Events: Clarifying what a kickoff event is, only non-competitive clubs with >175 members can ask for kickoff funding, which is what has been done previously. 

Blake: The sentence clarifying that ‘new clubs have two months to ask for kickoff funding’ may be redundant as it is unlikely that any club would gain greater than this number.

Max: You’re right. Won’t change it now as this would require presenting change to the SAFC. Will make a note of it to propose for next year’s modifications. 

  • Event Food: exceptions may be made for annual events, to be decided at the SAFC’s discretion. 
  • Removing club-only events: up to $30 (has not been used at all this year).
  • Travel funding: An exception to the one-month rule to request travel funding can be made for postseason play.
  • Club bonding: $500/semester for clubs <175 members. $600/semester for clubs >175 members (down from $800, almost no clubs have gotten even close to this amount, and incentivizes clubs to create events for the wider campus community). Must be reasonably priced requests, to be used for the benefit of the majority of the club. 
  • Non-Competitive Conferences: will pay for registration, lodging, and travel (not flights). Events must not only benefit students’ personal interests (i.e. networking). 
  • Competitive scrimmages: Will get $30 meal supplement funding.
  • Printing: Increasing printing funding. Must come into SAFC and justify why printing is necessary. 
  • SAFC will not fund Canva Pro as this cost would be too large and students have Adobe Suite.
  • Workshops:  Have to be related to the club’s mission.
  • Deliberations of SAFC are private as students are deciding on student-created events, to help make decisions without bias.
  • Items: Links to be included for online purchases when possible. 
  • SAFC will not fund auction items.
  • Co-sponsorships, if clubs co-sponsor an event can access both budgets, but both leaders must be present at SAFC hearings to ensure real collaboration. 
  • Personal residences: will not give funding to events held in personal residences.
  • Club categorizations: Charter B clubs, defined by SOOC, can only request funding for their snack budget, vans, and posters. 
  • If clubs have substantial amounts in their funds the SAFC will not consider funding requests to encourage clubs to use up their allocated funds. 

[Motion to Vote]

[Proposal Passes]