On Sunday, October 25th, members of the Bryn Mawr student body had the opportunity to talk with different administrators in three rounds of facilitated group discussions. Following that, representatives summarized each group’s discussion for the rest of the students there.
Bernie Chung-Templeton was invited to talk about dinning and onecard services. The group discussed professional development for student employees – for instance how working in a dining hall can relate to future employment. Additionally, to clarify the take-out policy, you cannot go back to the dinning hall once you have received take-out. You may, however, speak to a manager about extraneous circumstances. Dining hall hours were also discussed, and it seems like dining services is open to the idea of extending hours for breakfast and dinner. Finally, they spoke about using one cards at places other than the dining halls, to be applicable to everyone on the residential meal plan.
Dean Balthazar spoke on the Alcohol Concerns Review Board, which she re-instated this year to address a rise in alcohol related incidents. The purpose of the board is to involve students in the process of addressing alcohol related problems, as well as to answer questions like what to do about small wet-parties. Answering these questions would be helpful to DLT members, who could then spread the message to students in the dorms. The board will also be revising who is on the board, and revisiting the party policy.
Contact sheyrich@bmc to get involved in the Alcohol Concerns Review Board, or if you have any questions.
Both the Director of Financial Aid, Ethel Desmarais, and Pelema Morrice, the Chief Enrollment Officer, were invited to the forum. They stipulated that the best way to talk to financial aid is to go talk in for a face to face meeting, because every situation is unique. They also want to improve communication about financial aid to 1st generation college students or those who are new to the process – there are initiatives in place to do this as part of the restructuring of the financial aid office. In order to raise awareness about the resources available in the office, they are working on utilizing dorm resources such as peer mentors and DLT. They are also looking at improving access to information on Bryn Mawr’s website. If you have suggestions for how the website can be improved or what information you would like to see on there, contact finaid@brynmawr.edu. They also clarified how outside scholarships affect financial aid from Bryn Mawr. Basically, Bryn Mawr won’t touch the first 500 of anything you get. However, outside scholarships decrease a student’s demonstrated need, which allows the college to allocate those financial resources to another student. In relation to the increasing applicant pool in need of financial aid, instead of rejecting students who need more aid, Kim Cassidy will go out and raise more money to create the resources needed.
Vanessa Cristman was here to discuss the Enid Cook Center and Black at Bryn Mawr. Many people were curious how Black at Bryn Mawr will continue – which it will through its tour and digital archive. The ECC continues to be a safe space for students who choose to live there. Some alums may see the ECC as segregation and Bryn Mawr wants to communicate that it is not, as well as find ways in which the community can talk about this issue further. They also discussed why students who don’t live at the ECC enter it to use the library or kitchen. Ask whether you are using those facilities for the resources, or do you actually want to interact with the community.
Tom King talked about Campus safety: Radnor Halloween will have a police presence on site, most likely a woman, whose main purpose is to ensure the safety of students. Should anything happen, someone will be able to get to the site very quickly, again stressing that it is for the safety of the people at the party. As such, do not be afraid of getting a citation – if something happens, call campus safety.
There will be salt and sand buckets that students can use in the winter, near buildings, to spread over icy patches of the sidewalks. Furthermore, from now on both Haverford and Bryn Mawr are stressing the safety of students as a whole rather than allowing professors to make attending class optional. In inclement weather, the only building that will be kept open are the student run buildings like the libraries. Additionally, the towers are not open to the public due to safety concerns. Tom King also discussed Campus Saftey’s relationship with the FBI, in relation to the recent threat on Bryn Mawr College. Be aware that social media tends to hype up threats that aren’t credible.
Peaches Valdes spoke about the admissions process. Namely, what parts have worked really well. They agreed that a lot of people liked the authenticity of the travel scholar’s program, because it lets prospective students really experience student life at Bryn Mawr. The Mosaic program was also a success.
In regards to the transgender admissions policy, the admissions office will not be specifically sending anything out. However, it is being brought up with prospective students face to face when they come for interviews or tours. Additionally, many news publications about the transgender admissions policies mention Bryn Mawr, which helps get the word out.
They discussed the great responses the admissions office has been getting from the new essay question about the SGA and Honor Code, which is in it’s second year.
The group also talked about how to make interviews less nerve racking, and making sure prospective students know what to do when they are applying. Alumnae are really important to the admissions process, like when the hold interviews.
The admissions office is launching a new video series about the BI-CO and TRI-CO on Bryn Mawr’s website. There will also be videos about traditions, straight from Bryn Mawr students, because that has been a confusing subject to prospective students. A professional videographer will produce both of these video series.
Stephanie Nixon spoke about title nine and sexual assault.
If a sexual assault happens off campus, Bryn Mawr students are still able to utilize the college’s sexual assault resources. Additionally, Stephanie Nixon is trying to create more options for people who don’t want to go through the hearing process regarding sexual assault. Furthermore, a survivor’s closed group is being developed. The group is meant to serve as a private, safe space for those who have survived sexual assault. It hopes to end sexual violence.
They also discussed how to raise awareness for what Title 9 actually is, because many students struggle to explain it.