ASLC Senate Reconvenes After Spring Break at Meeting

The Associated Students of Lewis & Clark (ASLC) held its first meeting coming back from spring break on April 4 with advancing projects started before spring break, and continuing efforts the coming year such as securing student discounts at local businesses and promoting the success of student communication with ASLC.

An important topic discussed at the meeting was the hiring of a Gender-Based Violence Prevention Coordinator, Ariella Frishberg. After accepting a $297,889 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Violence against Women (OVW) in November, LC hired Frishberg as part of their plan of action to decrease gender-based violence.

The LC website states the goal of this plan is to “develop a coordinated community response team (CCRT) to improve coordination among campus and community partners, including the Portland Police Bureau and Call to Safety; … Plan and implement universal prevention strategies that include bystander intervention and other prevention efforts; Implement enhanced training for Campus Safety staff and members of the campus disciplinary process on how to effectively respond to gender-based violence; and expand our existing educational program as well as our victim response systems.”

With the help of the three-year federal grant, Frishberg hopes to work alongside administration from the law and grad school campuses, students, Title IX coordinators and the LC Health Promotion and Wellness department to help change how gender-based violence prevention is thought of and enacted on campus. Frishberg described her new role to ASLC.

“Basically what my role is is coming in and looking at what is already in place to support survivors of violence on this campus, our practices around Title IX processes, campus safety processes and to also implement comprehensive preventing program which includes a bystander intervention program component,” Frishberg said.

In this new role, Frishberg is looking to put together a campus coordinated response team (CCRT). Frishberg also noted that student representative applications for this committee are now open, with positions starting next fall.

Another important announcement made during ASLC was the removal of a $125 fee for the Self Defense for Women P.E. class. In response to budget concerns, LC had proposed placing fees on some gym classes which had previously been free and increasing the existing fee for other gym classes. Women’s Self Defense is one of the most sought after gym classes on campus, and ASLC feared a fee would bar entry for many.

An announcement about the opening of Tamarack was made by Jack Bishop ’21. After meeting with Assistant Director of Campus Living Joe-Barry Gardiner and Area Director JD Chancellor, it was decided to delay the opening of the space.

“In my meeting with Forest administrators, we have decided just since it is getting towards the end of the year, we’re going to postpone the grand opening of Tamarack until next year.” Bishop said.

Disabled Student Union (DSU) representative Nicole Lewis ‘21 also discussed the possible compiling of the results from the DSU survey.

“The DSU finished their survey and we’re compiling data and figuring out how to share that with the student body,” Lewis said. “Then we have a couple of events that we’re hammering out like a possible open mic night.”

Other announcements made during the ASLC meeting include the removal of the 60 credit rule after the vote proposed by the CAS Curriculum Committee and decided on by the CAS Faculty. The removal of this rule will hopefully help those in the math, computer science and language departments who could previously only apply 60 credits from their department towards their 128 required credits needed to graduate.

Other ASLC efforts currently being discussed are discounting textbooks for students through the bookstore. With hope from more student communication, ASLC is also hosting its Bon to Pick meetings where students can air grievances with the dining hall and propose improvements.