February Meeting Minutes

Discussed Items

1. E-mail communications from the committee: The Lawrence committee has monthly meetings at 6pm in the common area of Lawrence Building 1 on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. As a reminder to residents going forward, an e-mail will be sent out to the community a full day before the meeting.

1. Tiger Transit Shuttles:
   1. Tiger transit is having a review of all of the transit lines. The transportation office is collecting the names of student representatives that will either attend a “to-be-announced” transit meeting, or be contacted by the individuals conducting the review of shuttle lines. The Lawrence committee is in touch with the representatives for this meeting.
   2. Sometimes, the Tiger Line shuttle comes to Lawrence slightly earlier than the designated “time points” and parks near the entrance to the Lawrence parking lot to wait. On days when the weather is cold, raining, or otherwise unpleasant, some Lawrence residents have expressed the desire to instead have the bus wait at the actual bus stop. This way, students waiting for the “time point” can take shelter on the warm bus while waiting. Olivia intends to ask Transportation whether this alternative is possible.
2. Smoke-free Housing Options:
   1. Currently, the Grad College, Lawrence Building 1, and Lakeside Apartments are non-smoking buildings. Non-smoking buildings are defined as buildings in which residents are not permitted to smoke inside of their apartments. In all buildings (smoke-free, and not), smoking is not permitted in the common areas, or within 25 feet of the outside of the building.
   2. Graduate students have expressed the concern that additional buildings in Lawrence should be made “smoke-free.” Students with various living conditions (single, married, with or without children) have all expressed this interest. But in particular, graduate students with young children may want to keep their apartments free of smoke, and these graduate students might want to have this option in the two bedroom apartments in Old Lawrence, which are cheaper than the ones in Lakeside will be. The Lawrence Committee took a vote, and unanimously agreed to support the idea of requesting that all or most of Old Lawrence (buildings 2-7) be designated as “smoke-free” apartments in the future.
   3. Selecting a “smoke-free” apartment is likely to be an option that can be chosen on future room draw housing applications.
   4. If you are bothered by a smoking neighbor: you are encouraged to take the approach of knocking on your neighbor’s door, and personally requesting that the neighbor smoke outside. This approach is suggested instead of sending out a mass e-mail, which is not likely to be as effective or well-received.
3. Building 14 Common Area:
   1. There has been a request made to have the piano tuned. Olivia made note of this request.
   2. Olivia is putting in a request in to have the TV in working order within the next couple of weeks.
4. Garbage and Recycling Disposal in Lawrence 1: A request was made to consider using the 3rd, unused bin within the trash shelter as an additional recycling bin. Before this request can be considered, Lawrence 1 residents must be reminded to put all trash that is in the trash shelter inside the appropriate bins, not outside of the bins. This situation can then be re-evaluated.
5. Snow Shovels:
   1. For now, since large quantities are not expected, the shovels are put away. They will be taken out again the next time snow is forecasted.
   2. The intention is to keep snow shovels in the trash shelters when they are not in use, so that others may find them. In order to clearly designate the shovels as “not trash,” Dima from the committee will be in touch with Dave Young from Facilities regarding creating hooks for hanging the shovels inside of the trash shelters.
6. Oscars (Film Awards) Social Event (Planned for Feb 22nd):
   1. Soon, the social chair will be sending out details to residents regarding an Oscars-viewing party. There will be an initial e-mail sent, followed by a reminder e-mail.
   2. At the event, there will be an Oscar’s ballot to guess the winners, accompanied by a “cheat sheet” reminding people of the movies and actors that are up for awards. The event will offer a prize to the individual who guesses the most correct winners. There will also be snacks at the event, including some Chinese snacks in honor of the Chinese New Year. Xiaoyu will help with the planning of the Chinese food snacks.
   3. We are considering making flyers for the event. Guests may be encouraged to RSVP for the Oscars party so we can get an approximate head count.
   4. Regarding reimbursement concerns for the party, the committee members who accrue expenses in preparation for the party will contact Lily Secoura regarding directly.

Attendance:
Lauren Anllo
Dmitriy Gorenshteyn
Allison Chaney
Olivia Martel
Xiaoyu Tang
Burcin Cakir
Joshua Wallace