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DormCon GBM 12/05/2024

Date: 05 December 2024
Location: McCormick Game Room
Attendees:

note

If you find any issues with the meeting minutes, please email dormcon-secretary@mit.edu

TL;DR​

Full minutes​

Exec Updates​

  • dining chairs
    • email to eligible people about Bridge meal program
      • $30 per day
      • people should fill out the form!
      • should also contact if they think they should have gotten the email but didn’t
  • JudComm
    • elections!
    • EC has a budget request!
    • EC rep is not here (also EC proxy) :/
  • Housing
    • waiting for Temkin
  • Treasurer
    • REX funding will be processed by end of year
    • funding request
  • Underclassmen Rep
    • Stata meal swipe survey #2
    • lots of responses that are very interesting
    • will likely set up second meeting with Mark and Heather to discuss
  • Secretary
    • no updates
  • i3 chair
    • getting kicked out (almost-former i3 chair)
  • President
    • DSL Visiting Committee came
      • they got to talk to them
      • come to campus, talk to lots of people, will be a report (probably in January)
      • DSL is hosting a petting zoo on in Lobby 13
        • Ananda and Jordan just… asked them?
      • moral concerns? but there will be a petting zoo.
    • dormspam.
      • more things happening on dormspam
      • current word: DSL would Really Really like it if you Told Your Communities To Be Nice To Each Other (“please uwu”)
      • if your dorm approves emails - if you are in a position to approve an email - if you or whoever or your webchair didn’t approve anything that would cause “erosion of trust”
        • no details on what that means 😭
      • recommendation is that dormspam should only have current students, non-students can be on separate list (e.g., random-hall-dormspam vs. r-h-t)
      • no timeline, no current guidelines, just “tell your communities to be nice to each other”

EC Bad Ideas Weekend Budget Request​

​​BAD IDEAS 2025 Budget Proposal

  • people submit bad ideas
  • they get $ to make their bad ideas take place
  • book rooms, get resources to make things happen
  • asking for $2000 (max amount) to make it happen
  • people don’t have the funds to make their bad ideas take shape :/
  • favorite bad idea: 2n cookies!
  • in the past: budget has been $1.8-1.9
  • $1750 in fall 2023 (was the limit at the time)
  • actually requesting $1996.46 from DormCon
  • will be a per-person vote (can vote yes or no)
  • New Vassar - yes, MacGregor - yes, Simmons - yes, Maseeh - not present, McCormick - yes, Random - yes, EC - yes, New House - yes, Baker - yes, BC - yes, Next - yes

Elections!!!​

  • congrats and thank you to outgoing officers 🙂
  • “hello everyone. new and old. welcome to our fall dormcon election.”
  • holding elections for
    • underclassmen rep
    • cpw/rex
    • i3
  • how it works
    • will announce position to be elected, give brief description, # of people who can be elected
    • can be nominated by anyone in the room, “consent is good”, must accept nomination
    • will have a nomination period, each candidate will have 60 seconds to present themselves, why they want to be on dormcon, their platform
    • questions from previous position holders, dorm presidents, exec, general body. will be time-limited
    • you can ask follow-ups, but don’t ask a question that was answered in the form (responses were sent out)
    • will send candidates out of room, open to deliberations
    • vote, then will follow up with run-off, if more than two
    • presidents have votes equivalent to the max capacity of their dorm ( :( ) - give votes in percentages
    • if you are a dorm resident, you can vote independently of dorm president, but you get one singular resident’s vote
    • presidents can also put up motion to white-ballot candidates.
    • they’ll remind us about the rules as we go.
  • underclassmen rep
    • Anthony and Jamie
    • additional nominations? nope. sold. nominations closed
    • each get a minute to present themselves - both filled out form
    • Jamie (they/any pronouns)
      • most in the form
      • one of the student groups with the most impact on the entire student body
      • based on experiences in past semester, would like to contribute to student body
      • wants to focus on inclusivity and accessibility, whatever they can help with
    • Anthony (he/him)
      • raise your hand if you’re satisfied with dining and live in a dining dorm
        • a couple people are
      • was ranting about dining to Ananda “you can make a difference if you’re in DormCon!”
        • “have to act this year and I will act.”
        • “I am a very loud person.” “I will bug them [admin] nonstop until they do [listen]”
      • Eugenie - what will dining views
        • strongly in favor of meal swipes at Stata (what Eugenie has been working on)
        • used all dining dollars on Stata sushi in two weeks
        • other ideas, one step at a time, big change has to happen, dining tabs are expensive and food is bad
      • Jordan for Jamie - projects they might be interested in?
        • likes Stata food swipes, would be interested in working on that
        • also interested in CPW/REX?
        • specific interests for inclusivity? LGBTQ+ chair in MacGregor, holding events for queer community, also interested in inclusivity generally, student organizations tend to hold events on campus, disconnected and far from dorms
        • could you foresee yourself working with those groups?
          • yes - they have more resources, etc.
          • study break with SaveTFP?
            • they have a vision to have a field break…
            • if interested in planning events, that would be good
          • “you WILL be in charge of planning apple picking!”
        • specific ideas on how to effect dining hall change?
          • “food is disgusting and price is outrageous”
          • one step at a time - backing up Eugenie (meal swipes at Stata would be great first step)
          • work with admin as they transition meal providers to usher in some better food
          • “recommend you try some food at Harvard and then come back”
    • Jamie elected
  • i3 chair election?
    • Felicity will do it if no nominees
    • switching to CPW/REX chair election first (will come back)
  • CPW/REX chair
    • Gabriel and Maria filled out the form
    • Maria is not here?
    • Anthony nominated
    • Gabriel
      • “I don’t know if I have a full minute of content for y’all”
      • CPW/REX chair, RAC, and president in MacGregor!
      • very involved, looking to continue leadership on a broader scale for CPW/REX!
    • Anthony
      • “I’m, like, super passionate about food”
        • *audience applause*
        • “that’s my cpw/rex chair!!”
    • Temkin: how much do you care about graphic design?
      • this is an important question from HRS
      • Anthony: dude, I really like food though
      • if they had two color palettes and you had to choose, would you have an opinion?
        • “I like the color of meat.”
        • Gabriel would also have an opinion!
      • Gabriel - might be an OL, but depends - Jordan would recommend not
      • will they be on campus? yes
      • gets an early return to campus
      • Anthony: Can I still advocate for dining? Yes, kind of
      • programming - all REX data has to be distributed on an API - do you know how to use GitHub/code?
        • yes!
      • planning to be here on campus over the summer?
        • Anthony - yes if he can get a UROP
        • Gabriel - not sure
      • if you could run any event, what? can involve food, but ideally wouldn’t.
        • Anthony: unlimited Indian curry buffet
        • Gabriel: I don’t know how to follow that. seconded.
      • current quality of food during CPW/REX
        • EC had really good hamburgers
        • “this gives me an opportunity to complain about dining to admin”
    • Gabriel and Anthony elected :) ajzd@mit.edu
  • i3 chair
    • interactive introduction to the institute
      • I did not know that O.O
    • one per dorm - ways for dorms to showcase culture to first-years, prospective students, and anyone else
      • i3 chair not in charge of making videos, but interfacing with admin about regulations, communicating them to dorm i3 chairs, making things are done on time, etc.
      • no formal experience needed - just need to be able to write emails and respond to them in a timely manner
    • 1-2 hours per week at maximum (most weeks not that)
    • mostly bugging people
    • might be expanded somewhat? HRS wants to bring back booklets (?) - i3 branding - a “branding experience” - redesigning the guide to residence website every year, adding a splash to the videos
      • ideas on color palettes. on graphic things. not, like, building it yourself.
    • they used to be mailed on a CD?? website will look like the old posters
    • great way to be involved in DormCon
  • nomination accepted from Ivan
    • 2027 in EC
    • i3 is a common, unique thing that MIT has - different from other campuses
    • easy format to see each dorm’s characteristics
    • likes video design, could apply that skill
  • Jackson also accepts
    • freshman in Simmons
    • interested in getting more involved in DormCon - way to get involved in student gov that has tangible impact to many students
    • i3 has a huge reach, both them + parents watched i3 videos, Simmons one helped decide on Simmons
    • pretty good at sending emails to adults/getting people to respond, possible interfacing/etc. with admin something they’d be good at!
  • queries
    • how good are you at being annoying?
      • “especially in high school I was like really annoying” - Ivan
        • “bring that back” - Ananda
      • “in general I try not to be annoying but” can nag people on emails - Jackson
    • average response time on emails
      • “an embarrassing question for an MIT student”
      • 2 plus or minus 3 hours? - Ivan
        • that’s terrifying
      • if important - within an hour - if less important, a few hours - Jackson
        • that’s also respectfully terrifying?
    • willing to argue with admin about things that admin thinks are problematic but students think are normal?
      • for the dorm to judge, could argue on that - Ivan
      • in general - type of person who likes rules to make sense, so would push back - Jackson
    • how do you feel about the other direction (telling students they can’t do something)
      • like telling a kid Santa Claus isn’t real - Ivan
      • will be cases where HRS says something and I can’t do anything - i3 videos seen by a wide audience including parents, would be willing to communicate that to dorms - Jackson
  • Jackson elected

president updates​

  • simmons
    • Simmons is cool!
    • holding special elections - not all positions filled
  • New
    • holding a social, but pushing to next semester (reservation didn’t go through :( )
    • elections early next semester!
  • [psa from jordan to tell dormcon about new president!!]
    • we will miss you! but we’ll stop bothering you if that’s what you want
  • MacGregor
    • elections yesterday, new president now!
    • after MacRager, peaked
    • final goodbye from Tyler lol
  • EC
    • elections for exec, treasurer, and secretary
    • that’s why other person couldn’t come
    • not much else
  • Next
    • lots of updates
    • elections are ongoing - will probably be 2-3 unfilled positions to rerun positions - Leo will have a successor!!
    • gym equipment hasn’t been inspected in ages and is kind of a problem - a cable snapped when a resident was using it, thankfully no one hurt
    • AD is trying to push RealTalk@MIT
      • I’m convinced that zero people go to this
    • replacing upright piano (it costs more to repair than replace)
      • Baker will use it for piano drop 😭
      • McCormick may also have spare pianos while getting renovated…
        • But those are good pianos
    • dining promised acai bowls
      • But then the supply chain struck
    • "The right elevator is a little sus"
      • But hopefully nexties will hopefully not get trapped in the elevator again?
    • Struggling to get in contact with our house manager these days…
      • “waiting for godot but waiting for bosco”
      • The one thing he did do was send an email about “visual pollution”
        • But that is about heavy-duty tape ripping up the paint on the walls
    • doing a test run of free detergent in the laundry room
    • multi-house event at the start of the semester? perchance ?
  • BC
    • exact same as Next updates
    • also have a fucked piano (“maybe a baby grand? i don’t know”)
    • all positions will be filled - 20 positions running - postering going on - inside-out based campaign (?)
    • “stupid RealTalk whatever thing”
      • fewer people showed up than AD probably wanted
  • McCormick
    • wicked event - took people out to see wicked movie
    • having a karaoke and jam session event this saturday - music chairs throw it once a semester
    • met w HRS to discuss renovations - they’ll be! releasing more info about how women can get confirmed women-only housing, so people can have that info going into the spring
      • HRS used to phrase as holding space - something about reaching out to DormCon and other presidents
      • something for future exec to deal with
      • another three presidents
  • New Vassar
    • also currently running elections
    • likely have to fill in some positions
  • Random
    • running elections tomorrow
      • all three elections have one set of candidates
      • only doing triumvirate for now
    • successful Friendsgiving - new HoH are lovely, opened apartment to 60 people
    • laundry room is sad :(
      • :(
    • meeting w HRS on Monday to talk about cat policy… will hopefully have a new cat floor, current policy is non-existent/non-functional
      • we are putting it as “minimally updating the new policy”
      • will keep DormCon in the loop
  • Baker
    • AD also doing RealTalk
      • no one has signed up (except Camila?)
    • renovating gym over IAP
    • also doing elections - platforms released on Sunday, elections running next week
    • Camila likely stepping down, Baker president may become a 1 person position, tell them good job on becoming dictator?

yay!