Garden update
The season is almost over and has been a great success, with around forty gardeners! There will be a final cleanup after Halloween, and Mauricio plans to buy some extra supplies with the remaining funds (from participant fees).
Social events
Campfire and s’mores on Wed., 16 Oct: Because of the construction of the new playground in front of building 14, the campfire will take place in the old Lawrence lawn. We discussed safety precautions and planning for materials.
The second event of the term will most likely again be a holiday cookie decorating in December.
Trick or treating for kids: The committee will again put together a spreadsheet: residents will sign up to be at home with candy on Halloween eve for an hour, and families can check where to bring kids for candy!
Lawrence 14 Common Room
Kristin Isaacs reported on the work she and other parents have done to organize the space, develop guidelines for further use, and plan to keep the space tidy. We discussed how to make sure the space can be usable for families while also remaining open for everyone.
One specific question arose: Do any residents currently use the piano in building 14 regularly?
The question of whether the committee should have a permanent position devoted to “facilities,” including the building 14 common room, was raised. While the committee can vote to add such a position, the grad school has to approve giving another committee member housing priority. And if such a position would usually be a parent or family member with kids, then housing priority would be moot (families already have priority). Combining such a position with another committee member (e.g., GSG rep, who would become a “community and university liaison” or some such) was suggested. All options will be considered and a route forward will be proposed before the next meeting.
Physical plant / facilities / admin updates
Laundry: Housing is still working on updating the laundry facilities. Housing will make new signs to help in reporting broken machines.
Carts: The committee is aware of the ongoing issues with cards disappearing. We will add other signs to the carts, but don’t have many other options for tracking them. We ask residents to please return them to their home, which should be indicated already on each cart!
Housing and transport: Compost is coming very soon! Keep an eye out for emails from housing with details.
Elections
We will be holding elections for the 2020 Lawrence committee at our December meeting. More details to come. But please note that, in addition to being a resident, the only requirement is attending one meeting of the committee before the election. So if you are interested, the November meeting is the last chance to do so.
In attendance:
Michael H
Mauricio L
Amit H
Chris T
Richard A. G
Joshua B
Kathy I
Noam R
Kristin I