Minutes 03/13/2024

Attending: Caroline, Serena, Jonas, Faith, Tricia N., Natalie Kushktel, Will, Anthony, Max Jahns (briefly)

Funding Request – JP Ask gift cards

• Natalie requesting an explanation on why Reps is leaning against funding the gift cards. JP ASK is struggling to recruit volunteers and they are coming to this as a last resort to recruit more people. 
  • Some concern that events are not accessible to everyone in the community. 
• Reps explanation: funds are meant to be community building, as opposed to rewarding volunteers. 
  • Caroline, Serena, and Faith pushed for consideration of doing other promotional events. 
  • Caroline also mentioned that our other student community volunteers are not compensated and once we grant that to JP Ask, we don’t have justification to deny it to all the other student community groups. 
  • Tricia suggested other kinds of rewards – like maybe some goods or items or merchandise.
• It seems the base concern is the diminishing signups for JP Ask. 
• Reps to support any events at the late spring to promote signing up for JP Ask, both at MIT and WHOI. 
• Tricia suggested the issue of having fewer mentors might mean harder to plan events, see what we can do to help with that side of things. Could consider including alumni. 

Open House/Open House Committee

• Debrief on Friday.
• Will: MIT presentations should all occur in Green Building at the same time (because of elevator type issues) – end the tour in Sloan. 
• Anthony: expedite check-in process at the hotel (Inn on the Square). Maybe get the forms from the Inn on the Square so people can fill them out on the bus. 
  • Faith: or go to Timber first and then when they check into the hotel, it’ll be more of a trickle in instead of them being all at once.
• Faith and Will: could also just order food to the Muddy and/or replace the Sunday dinner with takeout so it combines with the social/informal evening event.

ASA Meeting 

• Monday, April 1 5-7 – Caroline will attend this.

Annual Meeting on April 23

• 5-7pm. 
• Caroline sending out padlet and having office hours, and will send a draft to APO.
  • Padlet is anonymous way to post and add comments on different topics and issues.
• We should have it video-linked to MIT with catered food (Will would be there) – Tricia will book 54-823.
• Caroline, Anthony, and Serena to be more involved in this – all three to have office hours and be involved in debrief with APO. 
• We should consider for Annual Meeting how to address union-related issues.
  • Maybe try to not dive too deep into items that might be negotiated in the contract, since APO might not be able/want to get into that. 
• Some resources from previous years: WM23 Winter Meeting Agenda - 2022 2020 JP Winter Meeting 2021 JP Winter Meeting -- original

Set up new computers in Student Center

• Jonas to help with unboxing and setting these up.
• Room 603 in E25 is now set up as an office space, good for 8 people. 

Socials

• Faith to send out email with date for social events coming up!

Other Funding Requests

• Approving Max’s request for AcadeMIA screening and trivia/connect night.