IHC Minutes: 5/23/06
Meeting called to order in Parson Gates.
Guests preset: Margo Marshak, Karen (General Counsel), Ken Libbrecht, Cathy Jurca, Tim Chang, Tom Mannion, Eddie Troung-Cao, Miriam Feldblum.
Committee members absent: Blacker and Fleming presidents.
- Mural policy:
- Significant change is that students must talk with Tim Chang before putting up murals (changed by Karen -- general counsel).
- There are three people (Cathy Jurca, Ken Libbrecht, and Tom Mannion) who make the final determination whether something is offensive or not.
- The Student Housing Committee wanted it to be only strongly encouraged, rather than required, that students talk with Tim Chang.
- The administration suggests we seek a compromise (on repainting the South Houses) between the current students, and alums who want to see the houses as they remembered them.
- If offensive materials keep showing up, then the trustees will just forbid murals.
- Margo is concerned with getting women here, and this year's class is another disappointment with regards to the ratio. Supposedly women and minorities are very easily turned off by the house culture.
- How we treat the South Houses in the next year will significantly affect the North House effort.
- Margo managed to talk the trustees out of mandating that murals could only be painted in specific places.
- Anything could be deemed offensive (by a judgement of Cathy, Ken, and Tom), not only things considered offensive by the letter of the harrasment policy.
- If housing has to paint over the murals, then it comes out of the house damage fund.
- If students get approval for their murals from housing, then housing will give them all of the painting supplies they need to put up the mural.
- Thumbprint scanners on doors:
- The system under consideration was originally developed by Ruddock undergraduates for use in O'Doms (Ruddock convinience store).
- Ricky will take care of contacting the old Ruddock alums and getting data on the system.
- Prefrosh weekend:
- Complaints have been heard from the prefrosh about food-throwing at dinner, prefrosh not feeling that they fit at Caltech, prefrosh feeling that they don't fit with the students.
- It's good that we have something that both works and doesn't work for different people. That means we're unique.
- In the future, prefrosh need to hear from students that it's ok to go to other houses if they're uncomfortable with something.
- No hot tubs allowed in the South Houses:
- There now exist very strict guidelines on hot tub installation (from the city).
- What if a hod tub were to show up in the courtyard of South Houses between now and opening, would that be grandfathered in? (Still needs to be looked into)
- South House Tech article:
- The administration is pleased with the recent article in the Tech about the South House project.