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Post date: Jan 3, 2018 2:37:47 PM
Agenda 01.03.18.
Approval of Minutes
Reports
Student Life Visit Travel Money Allocation
Notes and New Business
Council Minutes 12.20.17.
“Your big opportunity may be right where you are now. ” -Napolean Hill
1. Approval of Minutes
2. Reports
Mod: A lot of abstentions recently. Wanted to make sure that they are not being used to get “microphone” to have the last say in a motion. Used if voting member cannot make a decision or missed important information in a meeting.
A-Mod: Mr. Campbell is supposed to be at meeting. If not, explaining veto on the Cell-phone Motion will be presented next week where written wording for vetoing will be written. Will discuss about having public meeting solely about Cell-phone Motion being vetoed. After, Council can vote to override or not.
Treasurer: Council fund = $7096.28. Allocation coming next week so may go down. Co-curricular fund = $4700.
DSB: Athletic director hiring committee is starting to search for new athletic director. Hoping to get candidate for this winter to bring to the board. Mr. Lepene, the principal of RMS, is doing observation about teachers and online content to look at consistency on platforms such as Schoology. Mr. Lepene is also looking at solar energy for the middle school. Want to integrate more sustainability to the school. Proposal for year-long new trails at Oak Hill that the community can use as well for a long term project.
PR: Strawpolls before debate may help target discussion so that comments are not repetitive.
Secretary: Freshman alternate can vote.
Admin: Went to talk to Mr. Campbell about MLK day. Have speakers for MLK day.
OEC: Talked about moving Common Grounds for Council members.
SAC: Talked about community service for Winter Carnival. Having trouble coming up with ideas for Common Grounds so asking everyone send emails or talk to SAC with ideas. There is a possibility that SAC may have to change schedule to eliminate community service if there are not enough ideas.
SL: Hoping to go to meeting in March on student voice. Targeting schedule changes. Talked about redundancies in discussion during Council.
CPP: Talked about Program of Studies. Approved two new courses: accelerated German course held second semester (German I), Russian literature and culture.
3. Cell-phone Motion Veto Explanation
Need to allow staff to preemptively confiscate phones in some situations: students who have misused phones in the past, phones in bags that remain a distraction, particular settings where ringing is problematic. Need to be allowed to confiscate phones for exam security: have had instances of students using devices to take pictures or otherwise break exam security. Some students are not honest when they say phone is in bag. Possibly should soften language “Staff has no authority to…” to allow for such exceptions. Mr. Campbell is in favor of the spirit of the motion and supports staff working together with students to avoid preemptive confiscation.
Exec will plan public meeting separate from Council in auditorium probably first week of second semester to talk with larger student body at large.
I move to add under Article VII: Committees, point E. Organizational Engineering Committee (OEC), subsection 2 (specific duties)
i. To facilitate the process of moving Council members to Common Grounds without Council members, following the guidelines passed by Council. This process will take place after the election of new Council in the spring semester.
Passed striking words belly button from motion. Discussing motion at whole excluding belly button.
By striking belly button, inappropriate attire could possibly pass dress code. For example, a student would be able to come to school with back exposed. Unclear whether students should how revealing of clothing students should be allowed to wear.
Dress code only applies during school hours on school grounds.
Not worth discussing backs after striking belly button because similar discussion: back is just a part of body like the belly button that is not sexual. Students will dress appropriately despite lenient dress code. Will not show up in clothing that just covers genitals. Students have to wear pants and short so there is not much concern.
I move to amend the “Enforcement” section to strike the phrase “the Dean of Students” after the word “rules” and add “a staff member” and to add wording in a new paragraph “If a student disagrees with the enforcement of the dress code by a staff member, they can discuss their dress with the Dean of Students” and keep “If a non-student member of the…”
Doesn’t make sense to have burden all on Dean of Students. Teachers should feel comfortable enforcing dress code, and if they are not, that is an issue.
Unclear what consequences are for breaking dress code at different levels (ex. Teacher vs. Dean of Students)
Unknown how comfortable teachers are with calling out students for breaking dress code.
Part of teacher’s responsibility to deal with behavior infractions, so does need to be responsibility on part of teachers to deal with it. If teacher isn’t comfortable enough to address student, the attire may not be distracting enough to class to have discussion about.
Way to address dress code violation. If male teacher is uncomfortable to address violation, can talk to female colleague to ask them to have discussion with student about inappropriate attire. Easily enforceable at the teacher level when teachers work together.
Striking belly buttons has made easier to enforce on teacher level. Student would have to dress extremely inappropriately to violate dress code. Consequences depends on what student is wearing.
Maybe situation is more associated with guidance department rather than Dean of Students. Referring student to talk to guidance counselor about what is appropriate to wear may be better.
If all cases of dress code violations go to Dean of Students, consequences will be more consistent and fair, particularly for more serious dress code violations.
Female teachers take on additional legal and relationship burden when asked by male teachers to approach students about dress code violation. Some students view being called out for inappropriate dress attire by teachers is shaming, which necessitates a cultural shift that adults are not aware of.
Unclear is teacher will remain anonymous if they report dress code violation to Dean of Students.
May want suggestion phrase or sentence for teacher to present to student in dress code violation to make it clear that there is no shaming.
Making interaction as impersonal as possible will decrease perceiving effect of shaming.
Having the Dean of Students required to dress code does not make conversation any less comfortable. Not a comfortable situation regardless of who is involved.
Motion Passes
Dress code does not have information about wearing underwear. Difficult to define what a shirt exactly is from dress code. Is possible to wear a revealing outfit that follows dress code that makes other students uncomfortable.
Do not need to talk account for extreme dress code violations that follow dress code but clearly are not appropriate.
Unclear what “protected class” means under “Students Cannot Wear”
I move to amend the “Enforcement” section to add after “a staff member” to read “tell the student, ‘I feel that your attire is prohibited by our dress code’ and” and strike the phrase under “Students Cannot Wear” “on any protected class.”
Difficult to define what is “hostile”: can be different for each person what feels hostile.
6. Meeting Adjourns
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