by Jared Perlo
Today’s Student Faculty Administration meeting included a full-group discussion and then two sub-commitee meetings regarding school policies.
The SFA kicked off its meeting with a brief, full-group discussion about the televisions in the cafeteria. A parent complaint concerning a beer commercial shown on one of the school’s televisions, which was tuned to ESPN, prompted members to briefly discuss the role of televisions in the school.
A consensus was not reached, and members decided to discuss the issue more next week. However, they did conclude that commonplace beer commercials, whether they appear on CNN or ESPN, do not reflect the view or opinions of the school in any way.
SFA members then broke into two committees to discuss different policies.
One group devoted their time to developing a plan for the student hangout spot, or student union, which would be located in the cafeteria nook close to the College and Career Center.
Some members, including senior Lucia Grigoli, expressed concerns that the union would not be a popular destination for upperclassmen when they could go to library instead.
English teacher and chief innovative officer Steve Chinosi suggested the committee brainstorm specific amenities for the student union. “This place should be transformed,” he said. “We should create a comfy atmosphere for the union, with comfy chairs and bookshelves.”
Several potential obstacles arose in the midst of the debate, including how students would be able to eat in the student union during lunches and where campus aides could monitor their canceled classes.
Meanwhile, the second committee discussed what could be done to improve students’ access to teachers and other resources during study halls and cancelled classes.
A focus of the committee was the deep student opposition to a school rule that forces students to remain in the cafeteria during canceled classes, even if they have permission to travel off campus.Sophomores Ned Martenis and Liran Bromberg argued that students should be allowed to leave the cafeteria during canceled classes if they have permission from the housemaster, teachers and the student.
However, several faculty members, including Special Education teacher Scott Heslin, questioned whether it was a good idea to let students roam free around the campus.