Student Senate 2/17: Swing Set Scrapped, Provost Q&A, New Senate Opinions
(Grace Jurchak/The Gettysburgian)
By Brandon Fey, News Editor
Officer Reports
President Michael Woods ’25 began the meeting with the announcement that there are two available senator-at-large positions for students to apply.
Treasurer Jack Thompson ’27 stated that the senate budget is currently just below $30,000, which is considerably higher than last February’s figure of about $12,000.
Secretary Olivia Taylor ’25 shared that the Senate will need volunteers to help set up and clean up for the Senate Open, which will be Friday from 9 p.m. to Midnight in the Attic. Setup will begin at 7 p.m.
Inclusion Officer Oliver Eckloff ’27 announced that there will be two free diversity film viewings this week. “Coded Bias” will be shown on Feb. 20 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Majestic Theater, and “Gamut Theatre – Voices of the Eight III” will be on Feb. 21, from 6 to 11 p.m. at 300 N Washington Street.
Guest Speaker
Provost Jamila Bookwala was invited to the Senate meeting to answer questions from students.
Parliamentarian Carl DeMarco began the discussion by raising a concern he had heard from several students about the new class times this semester, as more classes are scheduled closer back-to-back. He also mentioned that professors are unhappy about larger class sizes, particularly with intro classes, making it difficult to connect with students.
Bookwala prefaced her response by saying that had she been given the questions in advance, she would have brought supporting data. Nevertheless, she said that in the face of current budget issues, she is trying to reduce reliance on visiting and part-time faculty while focusing on tenured professors.
She said that while the College has increased enrollment caps for 100-level classes from 25 to 35, few classes have gotten to 35, and the cap will be reduced to 30 for next semester. The cap for 200-level classes had been raised from 20 to 25, and that for 300-levels is between 16 and 20.
She also emphasized that departments have the option to request an exception to certain caps and that certain 100-level classes, like introductory language courses, are intentionally capped at 22 students to ensure a more dynamic immersion environment. The College is in the process of standardizing the process for enrollment cap exceptions and is trying to be as transparent as it can.
President Woods then asked about the new majors and what they mean for the College community.
Bookwala said that the College will hire temporary visiting faculty members to support the new public health policy and finance majors, though plans to pursue a search for tenure-track faculty in the future.
She said that these majors will increase the prestige of Gettysburg College among other regional liberal arts schools that do not offer them. Finance is in particularly high demand as one of the top six majors desired by incoming students, according to Bookwala.
The provost also mentioned that there is currently a proposal by the English and interdisciplinary studies departments to develop a new communications major in addition to some discussion of creating a major in data science, as there is already a data science minor.
Senator Alfredo Roman Jordan ’26 asked about concerns expressed by some professors about the new majors overshadowing existing programs and potentially representing a shift away from the humanities.
Bookwala responded that the new programs each passed by a large faculty vote, and acknowledged the importance of the humanities, particularly foreign language studies for supplementing all other disciplines. She also said that the goal of these programs is to attract more students to the College and that per Gettysburg’s liberal arts curriculum, students drawn to the new majors may also wish to pursue concurrent double majors or minors in other non-related disciplines.
One senator mentioned a Senate resolution passed last year about more uniform grading standards among faculty members, and asked if any progress has been made thus far.
Provost Bookwala recalled that some Senate representatives attended a faculty council meeting, and were to then attend a faculty meeting with data on the prevalence of arbitrary grading policies and the late posting of grade info by faculty members.
The senator responded that he had polled the Senate and did not remember being presented with any path forward regarding the issue as the Provost had just said.
Bookwala said that she would have to consult the minutes from that meeting, but emphasized that little can be done beyond encouraging the faculty to post grades in as timely a matter as possible.
Senator Roman Jordan expressed his appreciation for Bookwala’s work despite criticism, and asked what the Senate and student body can do to support her.
Bookwala responded that the best thing would be for students to promote Gettysburg College to others in their communities.
“Go back to your home communities and talk about the experience you are having here. Talk up the institution; higher education is facing a lot of headwinds right now. We want to bring students here in droves,” she said.
Committee Reports
The Budget Management Committee is working on a new meeting time to be decided at the end of the Senate meeting.
The College Life Advisory Committee meets on Thursdays at 11:30 a.m. in CUB 212 and is currently discussing upcoming proposals and contacting relevant parties.
The Inclusion Committee announced that it has completed its initiative to remove gendered language from certain parts of the library, and has provided notes about cameras at the College and student perspectives on them in the meeting minutes.
The Opinions Committee announced that it had not heard back from the swing set company since the last Senate meeting despite having followed up.
The Outreach Committee is planning to table the Bullet Hole.
The Wellness and Safety Committee announced that it is discussing several interests for the semester including a campus mural, food quality, a StairMaster machine for the Jaeger Center, fostering a better relationship with the Gettysburg Police Department and hosting cultural group projects.
Club Reports and Announcements
The Honor Commission announced that it will attend the Senate meeting next week to share two motions about the Honor Code.
President Woods announced that President Iuliano will hold office hours in the Bullet Hole on Thursday, Feb. 20 from noon to 1 p.m.
Student Concerns
President Woods commented on the progress that has been made on previous student concerns:
- The Speed Queen laundry app has been fixed in Musselman and Patrick Halls.
- The incompatible laundry machine numbers on the Speed Queen app in certain buildings have been fixed.
- Woods has contacted Dining Services about concerns over food-borne illness to which it responded that it has not had any reports of illness from campus food and shared the sanitary practices used in both the Bullet Hole and Servo including the constant disinfection of eating surfaces throughout the day, the use of commercial dishwasher that is monitored for chemical ratios and temperatures, staff trained take temps of food prior to serving, campus-wide inspection by the USDA, and office training and certification of dining staff through Food Safe.
- The printer in the West Building and 3D printers are in the process of restocking and repair.
The floor was then opened for students to voice new concerns:
- The heating in the restrooms of Hanson Hall is reportedly not working.
- A question was raised about large visiting groups of people in Servo, and the current policy for preventing them from disrupting student meals.
- The “Grab and Go” machine in the Bullet Hole was reported to have charged someone after hours, but the door failed to open, preventing access to the purchased food items inside.
- There is an issue on the third floor of ICE House H concerning an odor.
- The brick steps of the library appear to have been damaged by the frost and are falling apart.
- The button for the library’s automatic door button is not working.
- Washing machines in the ICE House Complex are not draining.
New Business
Opinions Committee Chair Alex Jurow ’27 proposed two opinions to the floor.
The first was to have a representative from Facilities Services speak before the floor about the laundry at the College including the pricing of laundry and the Speed Queen contract, which is set to expire soon.
The second was to emphasize the College’s responsibility to restock female product dispensers on campus.
Both motions were approved.
Senator Ashton Record ’25 motioned to rescind the previous funding of the $10,000 lockbox from the swing set proposal, on the condition that the Senate decide on a different project before adjournment. At 8 p.m., a 25-minute end time was set for discussion, if no solution was approved (and no additional time added) funding would remain for the swingset.
There was extensive discussion of a new StairMaster for the Jaeger Center.
A few senators raised concerns about adequate space for the new machine despite demonstrated interest.
Senator Colin Thibault ’25 defended the previous proposal, stating, “I want my swing.”
Eventually, a motion was made to authorize the Opinions Committee to initiate exploratory discussions with the Jaeger Center with the $10,000 Senate lockbox for the purchase of a new exercise machine while ensuring that proper space is prepared for it. The motion was approved, terminating the swingset project.
