Sean Zimmermann reports from last night’s meeting

In one of the speediest (and most poorly attended) ESC meetings yet, council members celebrated Secretary Heidi Ahmed’s birthday, discussed PMSing (or post midterm snacking), and heard updates on the Diana. 

SGA liaison Jessica Lewis announced that there was “lots of Diana discussion” at the last SGA meeting.  SGA wondered how it might set up a system for students to reserve space in the new student center, and also announced that the Diana will have a ribbon cutting ceremony on February third.  Barnard has invited the New York Senators and Mayor Bloomberg to the ceremony, and anxiously awaits their responses.  Perhaps Barnard’s early invites don’t bode so well for Thompson’s chances. 

VP Policy Kelly Chen spoke about new attempts to make Carlton Lounge greener, such as using corn-based plastics, Tupperware containers for food, and bamboo-based sandwich wrappers. She is also working with the administration to come up with long term ways to improve the overall appearance of Mudd, such as making the lighting appear less institutional, and purchasing nicer furniture.

 Secretary Heidi Ahmed spoke about new SEAS t-shirt design proposals, including “red shirts with a lion on the front, reminiscent of Legends of the Hidden Temple.”

VP Intergroup Gunnar Aasen announced that the council is still short of a Directory of Technology. The DOT is responsible for maintaining the ESC website (which has been down due to server issues), as well as running CU Assassins. General experience with server maintenance/web programming is strongly recommended (Apache, Ruby on Rails, and PHP).

The council also discussed ways for the administration and the council to reach the student body. Besides proposing “flyering parties,” to reward people who flyer with pizza, Mailing Wu, a 2012 representative, suggested that the administration could use the emergency test message system.  Wu’s idea fell flat as another council member declared, “I would kill myself” before issuing urgent orders to storm Hamilton. Varun Gulati transitioned from the hyperreal to the very real when he proposed streaking. Believing it to be an effective way send a message to students, he encouraged another council member to “use [his] body.” Finally, another member of the council, who wished to remain anonymous, proposed flyering in the bathroom stalls.  That’s one way to unify the student body.