Public Comment:

Chase is a returning student to Evergreen and came in and expressed his concerns for the mandatory workshops (Diversity Workshop and Drug and Alcohol Workshop) for the incoming freshman and transfer students each year. Chase expressed that he doesn’t believe that it should be mandatory because he believes that students should have the choice to attend these workshops.

Chase spoke about how he believes that one person was in charge of making the decision to make it mandatory and believes it’s unfair. The GSU discussed their opinions on the issue and most people believed that even though the decision didn’t include student opinion as much as it should have, it was the right decision to make and those workshops are extremely important and should be mandatory.  The GSU discussed with Chase different ways we could approach the issue from here.  Due to time, the discussion was tabled till next week.

Meeting Minutes:

Kent motioned to pass last weeks meeting minutes. Nate seconds. Kelsey abstained. Motion Passed.

ATM’s:

During the week Kent and the Office Manager both emailed John Hurley. Chelsea and Kelsey are going to email John to possibly set up a time to meet with him to elaborate more on the issue.

Special Initiative Proposals:

Kent reminded the GSU that now is the time to request a budget change from S&A Board. This could be for trips, special events the GSU sponsors or possibly having to ask for the stipend for new GSU members. Tom is going to look into the budget numbers and see where the GSU stands.

New GSU Applications:

There were a total of 19 applicants for the GSU. On Monday the polls will open for students to start voting and will stay open for 3 weeks.

Student Governance Committees:

There will be interviews on Friday, November 11^th in the CAB. Nate, Chelsea and Marylou are conducting the interviews.

Survey:

Chelsea sent an email out with the survey during the week asking if anyone wanted to make changes. The only change that was discussed being made was making “Do you feel safe on campus?” more specific. The GSU decided that it would be better to have the question be opened ended because you’re more likely to get a specific answer. Chelsea is going to finish the draft and let people read it one more time. Then they will go to John McLain and make any necessary changes. After that she will complete the last draft and sent it out.

Faculty Liaison:

Eli was not present at the meeting today and he was going to ask about having a Faculty Liaison. Chelsea is going to contact Eli to see if he found any information.

WSA Legislative Intern:

Andrew is going to contact Mahmoud Hammad to contact his faculty for more information.

Smoking On-campus:

Dylan from faculty agenda committee emailed the GSU and asked what their stance was on banning smoking on-campus. The GSU doesn’t feel that banning is a choice the GSU should make for every student. The GSU wants to have Dylan come to a meeting to explain more about banning smoking.

Tacoma Visit:

The GSU is planning to take 2 visits this year to Tacoma. The GSU is possibly to the 2^nd week of winter quarter.

Present: Chelsea Brous, Josh Sowers, Kelsy Melton, Andrew Nepstad, Nate Schuur, Kent Reister, Mary Lou Boles

Absent: Eli West, Wilbert Pina, Joseph Barresi