In response to the documentation checks currently occurring at Pomona, the Associated Students of Pomona College approved the following statement at our meeting on November 21, 2011:
The Associated Students of Pomona College would like to express our support for all employees of Pomona College as valued and appreciated members of our community, regardless of immigration status. We would like to echo the unanimously passed faculty resolution on November 16, 2011, in stating our "concern about the recent actions taken by the College with regard to the immigration status of dozens of faculty, staff, and students. We are concerned about the message this review of immigration status sends, particularly its effects on the College climate and our educational mission. This issue affects all of us. We call on the Board of Trustees to assert its commitment to an inclusive environment that welcomes people regardless of their race, color, creed, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, disability, medical condition, veteran's status, or immigration status."
Additional sources and reading:
Pomona Reviews Employee Documents; WFJ Protests in The Student Life
Faculty Resolve to Support Workers; Students, Staff Protest Document Checks in The Student Life
It's that time of year again! The registrar has released the course schedule for the Spring 2012 semester, and we've imported all the course data into the our pomona schedule builder tool. It's also been moved to the ASPC server, which will be its permanent home.
Let us know if you spot any inconsistencies or problems by emailing webmaster@aspc.pomona.edu!
(Also, don't forget to write reviews for your courses to help each other choose professors for next semester.)
Fall elections have concluded, and ASPC has new representatives!
Rishi Sangani is the First Year Class President, Frances Kyl is the Sophomore Class President, Nick Lawson is the South Campus Representative, and Anna Gibson is the North Campus Representative.
You can read more about their positions and duties here.
Between Monday (9/19) at 9pm and Tuesday (9/20) at 9pm, you can cast your ballot at the elections site. There will also be a candidates forum at Frank Dining Hall at 5:45pm on Sunday.
In addition to the student government positions, the entire student body will vote on a change to the ASPC Constitution. The proposed change replaces gendered language in the Constitution with gender-neutral language. Currently, anyone mentioned in the Constitution is referred to as "s/he." However, this term only accommodates the gender binary, with which many students at Pomona do not identify. Therefore, if the change passes, any instance of the old language is replaced with the position title, for example, "the commissioner." The ASPC Senate has fully endorsed this change.
Please note that the ASPC elections use a preferential voting system. To vote, simply rank the candidates for each position according to your preferences (#1 for your first choice, #2 for your second choice, and so on). You are not required to rank all candidates.
If no candidate initially receives a majority of the vote, candidates will be eliminated based on the fewest number of first-preference votes, and their votes will be redistributed to the next highest preference listed on each ballot (i.e. #2 becomes #1, #3 becomes #2, etc.) until one candidate has received a majority of the vote.
Ranking candidates after your first-preference candidate does not hurt the chances of your first-preference candidate; it instead allows your second-preference candidate to receive your vote in the event your first-preference candidate is eliminated, and so on.
Here are all the candidate statements
Candidates - Anna Gibson, Jeff Levere, and Jonny Wang
Candidates - Robert Chew, Nick Lawson, Michael Maltese, Joseph Reynolds, and Sidney Rupe
Candidates - Dustin Godevais and Frances Kyl
Candidates - Tina Bencik, Emily Glass, Rob Knickerbocker Stephanie Micham, and Rishi Sangani
Welcome to the new website of the Associated Students of Pomona College! As the President of the ASPC, I’m excited to share with you some of the ASPC Senate’s ambitious agenda for the 2011-2012 year. In fact, we’ve already accomplished several of our goals, such as ending the ‘Gotcha’ program and voting to implement a sustainability project in Big Bridges Auditorium. What follows is a list, by no means exhaustive, of some of the important projects and developments on the Senate’s agenda.
One of my biggest goals is updating ASPC's web presence, and this new website is one giant leap for our web operations. Not every page of the website is finished, and the design isn’t finalized, but we decided to put up this semi-finished version in time for fall elections because it is such an improvement over the last version. This new website will include many more useful services by the end of the year.
On September 5th, the Senate unanimously voted to loan the college $75,000 to replace the lighting system in Big Bridges with state of the art LED lights. This loan will diversify ASPC’s investments, and it gives us the opportunity to give back to the Pomona community while eventually increasing the size of our reserves. We hope for future Senates to continue this program of loaning money to the college for sustainability projects.
I’m also pleased to report that Dean of Campus Life Ric Townes has confirmed that the ‘Gotcha’ program will not continue this year. The Office of Campus Life (OCL) will be considering other security awareness programs in the near future, and the Dean Townes has guaranteed that ASPC’s Residence Hall Committee will be involved in deciding on a program that is both effective and respectful of student privacy.
One issue that has just risen to the top of my agenda is Resident Advisor compensation at Pomona. RA salaries have suffered large cuts in the past few years, and the compensation package for Pomona RAs is currently the lowest of the Claremont Colleges. Given the difficulties of the job and the fact that through the first weeks of classes OCL has struggled to fill RA positions for the 2011-2012 year, I believe that cutting RA compensation is exactly the wrong thing to do during this time.
ASPC is moving ahead with the renovation of the Coop Store, to take place over winter break. The ASPC fully owns and operates the Coop Store and Coop Fountain, and we recognize that the Coop Store is in desperate need of a renovation. Last year’s Senate voted to allocate money to the renovation, and now this year’s Senate will be in charge of implementation. Student input in the design will be essential, and I’ll be sure to keep the student body involved in the process.
ASPC is also representing students on many administration-led initiatives. The college is currently looking for an outside consultancy to conduct a complete security review of the campus. ASPC’s Vice President of Finance Leslie Appleton and I are participating in these meetings and providing the student viewpoint on security measures. I want to reiterate my promise to fight against any invasive security camera presence on campus, as well as any restrictions on student mobility within the residence halls.
The college is currently undergoing a reexamination and revamping of the Career Development Office. The trustees have endorsed the creation of a structured “Four Year Plan for Personal and Career Development,” and ASPC will be providing input for the implementation of this plan. There is a push to make certain elements of the plan mandatory, such as creating a resume and a list of possible post-college jobs/positions. Because of a survey given last year, I know that the student body is divided on any compulsory plan; so, in my discussions with administrators I will try to help them strike a balance between a more structured and a more flexible plan.
Now you know what ASPC’s current priorities are for the year. If you have any questions, problems, or comments, or if you want to add to the list of priorities, please do not hesitate to email me at president@aspc.pomona.edu. I’m always eager to hear from students and to represent their concerns both within Senate and to the administration.