At a meeting on Tuesday, College administrators gave preliminary responses to a list of student demands presented by Laura Betts '99, Sung Park '98, Chavvah Penner '97, Simon Ruchti '97, Amanda Sapir '99, and Miki Yamada '00. The administration group responding included President Joanne Creighton, dean of the College John Rapoport, provost Peter Berek, chief financial officer Mary Jo Maydew, ombudsperson Rochelle Calhoun, and interim dean of the chapel John Grayson. Below is a summary of student demands and administration responses.
Student demand #1: Keep need-blind admission for all students, including FPs and international students.
Administration response to #1: The College will continue to be need-blind for 90 to 95 percent of all admission decisions. The College has never been need-blind for FPs and international students. The College will continue to fully fund all admitted students' demonstrated financial need and continue for all students the aid policy under which they were admitted.
Student demand #2: Remove any mention of SATs or any other standardized test scores in the EPC document.
Administration response to #2: The EPC has decided to remove this language from the document.
Student demand #3: Allocate one house each for the Asian/Asian American and Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender communities by the end of the 1996-97 academic year.
Administration response to #3: There is an ongoing process addressing requests for cultural space, led by ombudsperson Rochelle Calhoun, who will facilitate campus discussions. In the fall, the results of these meetings will be combined with the recommendations of a group studying the larger issues of space use on campus. Decisions about cultural space will not be made prior to that time.
Student demand #4: Create an Asian American studies program and hire at least one tenure-track Asian/Asian American professor within this program.
Administration response to #4: Faculty and the dean are working to develop more course work in Asian American studies and a structure within which an Asian American studies program may evolve, perhaps using Five College as well as MHC resources. Two new faculty with an interest in Asian American studies began teaching at MHC in September 1996, and a tenure-track faculty position to enhance our attention to Asian American experiences will be actively discussed in next year's review of the curriculum and of faculty appointments.
Student demand #5: Maintain the assistant dean of students position as a liaison for ALANA students.
Administration response to #5: The assistant dean of students position will be maintained. The specific duties of that position are under discussion. Dean Rapoport has asked for a conversation with ALANA students about how to best meet their needs.
Student demand #6: Hire four permanent chaplains of varied backgrounds, in place by fall 1997, that are able to meet the needs of a spiritually diverse community and are selected by a search committee with at least 25 percent student members.
Administration response to #6: Interim dean of the chapel John Grayson has been appointed and has the responsibility to structure the chapel staff to meet student needs. It is expected that student representatives will be part of the search committee for a permanent dean of the chapel and will participate in planning religious and spiritual life at the College.
Student demand #7: No more financial cuts to Eliot House.
Administration response to #7: There are no plans for cuts in the Eliot House budget.
Student demand #8: Maintain the Frances Perkins office as it currently exists.
Administration response to #8: There were and are no plans to change the Frances Perkins office.
Student demand #9: Guarantee that a significant amount of the money raised in the upcoming capital campaign will go to the arts.
Administration response to #9: The arts have been identified as a priority in the Plan for Mount Holyoke 2003, and studies of facilities improvements for art and music are underway. Goals for the upcoming comprehensive fund-raising campaign have not yet been determined. They will be set by the trustees in fall 1997.
Student demand #10: No more financial or staffing cuts to the arts program.
Administration response to #10: No additional financial or staff cuts are intended for the arts program.
Student demand #11: Reinstate the credit card payment option for tuition and general bills.
Administration response to #11: Doing this would cost the College $100,000 annually in bank servicing fees, and the College is prohibited by law from charging transaction charges that might have helped it recoup the cost.
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