Lawrence Committee October 2023 Meeting Minutes

At 5:30 PM on October 9, the Lawrence Committee held a monthly Town Hall meeting over Zoom. The following are the minutes of that meeting.

• The Lawrence Committee election will be held later this month.
  • An election committee has been formed and the committee sent out an email with more election information.
• Residents raised concerns about the removal of the fence around the park behind building 12. Residents see this space as useful for both pet safety as well as community building.
  • The Housing Office distributed an email a few weeks ago explaining that the fenced in area was never meant to be a dog park and, currently, dog parks are not permitted. The University follows the municipality’s guidelines and policies concerning dog parks and dogs having to be on leash at all times.
  • Michelle explained that the Risk Management Office says that the current location can’t meet the needs of a dog park and is a liability for the University.
  • Michelle encouraged residents to work with the Lawrence Committee and GSG to put together a proposal for the creation of a dog park. She explained that any proposal would need majority approval (at least 51%) of residents in order to be reviewed.
    • Such a proposal would not only need to include a proposed area for a fenced park, but also relevant policies and procedures about pet ownership. The Housing Office currently finds it difficult to get residents to follow policies related to pets.
      • Facilities is concerned about cleaning up after dogs, so this issue also needs to be included in a proposal.
    • The proposal should align with the rules and regulations for dog parks in surrounding areas like Hamilton and West Windsor.
    • Once a proposal is developed and receives approval from the majority of Lawrence residents, it can be shared with the Housing Office and the Graduate School for a first round of review. If Housing and the Graduate School approve it, they would share it with other relevant campus partners for approval.
    • Michelle recommends that residents connect with other housing committees and GSG to coordinate efforts.
    • Residents could also look into developing a survey to collect more information on pets.
  • The Lawrence Committee explained that they do not have power over these types of decisions, which is why the proposal would need to be submitted to University administration and would need approval from a majority of residents.
  • Ultimately, this is a University-wide policy that would have to change, not just a Housing policy.
• A resident noted that New Lawrence has no dog stations or trash cans. Michelle let Housing Operations know about this issue.
• A resident explained how Lawrence has a population of non-grad students (i.e. undergrad transfer students, etc.) that feel disconnected from the community.
  • They suggested adding a new committee position for undergrads.
  • The Housing Office is talking with Kevin Flemming to figure out how undergrads might be included in a new listserv.
  • While this issue is being worked on, all non-grad student residents are encouraged to join the Lawrence spouse and family listserv. Instructions in how to sign up can be found here.
• Residents also raised concerns about unsupervised children around Lawrence. They noted that kids leave food and toys outside that could be a risk to dogs.
  • They suggested putting up signage around Lawrence to remind parents to clean up after their children.
  • A committee member responded that most if not all of the children that play unsupervised at Lawrence are from the Karin Court Apartments.
• The Lawrence Committee discussed the mess that exists the in building 14 common room. The Committee is currently brainstorming ways to maintain the common room, including signs and potential clean up events.
• A resident raised concerns about norms for the communal laundry rooms.
  • As a reminder to all Lawrence residents, everyone is responsible for maintaining the laundry rooms. This includes picking up your laundry in a timely manner and cleaning up after yourself. If you leave your laundry for more than 10 minutes after a cycle is complete, other residents may neatly remove your items from the machine.
  • The Lawrence Committee will be putting up more formal signs in the laundry rooms outlining resident responsibilities and norms.
• The Lawrence Committee voted on the proposed amendment for impeachment.
  • The amendment passed and will be added to the Committee constitution.
• Committee members in attendance: Hassan, Hannah, Kimmie, Harry, Liz, Amber, Michelle, Kristin