At its meeting on Nov. 6, Student Government Association (SGA) members discussed current College affairs and future initiatives with President William “Bro” Adams and Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students James Terhune. Members also passed motions regarding the automatic lights on campus and the purchase of a GPS for the jitney. Adams began with a discussion on residence hall vandalism, emphasizing the role of students—and particularly student leaders—in setting an example for others.

“To me, this issue comes down, really, to what kind of culture you have and want to have at Colby,” Adams said. “What I do worry about is the reluctance of students to call out their peers on this and also in some cases to share information about people who may be doing this. I understand the notion of student solidarity and all that, but when it comes to something this basic and something this disappointing and contrary to our values, I think it’s up to the student body, and [the administration], too, to say, ‘This is not OK. This is just not OK, and we’re not going to accept it.’”

Alfond Apartments President Claire Grady ’12 asked Adams and Terhune how they felt about installing security cameras in public residence hall areas. Both Adams and Terhune stated that this would be unlikely to occur due to student privacy concerns, though Terhune said that “there has been some talk about possibly, temporarily, putting cameras in public spaces, pointed at life-safety systems.” He noted that there have been an alarming number of vandalism incidents involving these systems, including exit signs and fire extinguishers.

“Hopefully, this won’t be necessary,” Terhune said. Adams reaffirmed his belief that a change in the campus culture surrounding the vandalism would prevent measures such as these from being needed. Adams also addressed upcoming improvements to the campus grounds. Among other things, this includes a new psychology building near the Colby Museum of Art. Administrative offices in Roberts would be moved to Grossman, allowing the top two floors of the Roberts building to be converted into student residences. Terhune estimates that this project will net enough space for 50 more beds.

SGA and Adams also discussed Adams’ idea to make the College free of tobacco products. Adams said that this idea came to him after attending a conference, and he has already presented it to the Healthcare Advisory Committee.

“As an employer paying for the healthcare of our employees, we have a deep interest in leading people toward the cessation of smoking,” Adams said. “If we can prompt healthier habits in the way the students live, that’s a good thing, too.”

Adams stressed that this would be a gradual change and that the College would have to look into resources that it could provide to both employees and students to make it a reality.

As of this meeting, the Healthcare Advisory Committee had discussed this matter, but it had not yet made a statement to Adams regarding its conclusions.

After these discussions with Adams and Terhune, SGA proceeded to debate three motions on its agenda.

East Quad Dorm President Monica Davis ’13 moved to have all automatic light timers on campus to turn on at 4 p.m. and turn off at 3 a.m., citing a recommendation from EnviroCo. According to Davis, many lights on campus are on automatic timers.

In considering the safety issues involved in shut-off times, Anthony-Mitchell-Schupf (AMS) Dorm President Peter Landsman ’12 moved to amend the wording to specify that the new policy would apply only to indoor lighting. Senior Class President Tracey Tomlinson moved to further amend the time range to between sunset and sunrise. This fully-amended motion passed and SGA will present it to the Physical Plant Department as a recommendation.

Davis further moved for all bleached paper products on campus to be replaced with recycled paper products. SGA voted to table this motion to further review the EcoRep data on the subject.

Piper Dorm President Ginger Brooker ’14 moved for SGA to purchase a GPS for the jitney in order to increase its efficiency, noting that drivers often have trouble locating uncommon destinations. This motion passed, and SGA Treasurer Lane McVey ’12 will bring this purchase idea to the Finance Committee.