Joint Board came back to life last Wednesday with a vote to fund the extermination of the living dead after two weeks of Spring Break. The student group Nerf-at-Noyce, represented by James Tiffany ’15 and Rogelio Calderon ’14, requested $1,180 for a five day all-campus game of Nerf, featuring groups of students (and potentially professors) struggling to survive an onslaught of zombies.
Senators and Cabinet unanimously agreed to begin preparations for the battle. Grinnell’s zombie apocalypse begins on April 18. SGA allocated most of the money for the purchase of Nerf guns and ammunition for the game, but VPSA Chris Dorman ’12 ensured that participants would be also be able use their own Nerf guns, if they already had a stockpile of weapons ready.
All survivors will be invited to celebrate the end of classes with Block Party, whose budget SGA also approved. Matt Rosenbaum ’12, who appeared before Joint Board as the Block Party representative, said that although the official celebration would begin on the morning of May 18, “you can start anytime you want to.”
Rosenbaum presented the $6,000 budget to Joint Board, which approved the large sum after Rosenbaum explained that he had ordered “a lot more food.”
“Also, I ordered a lot more alcohol,” Rosenbaum added.
A second beer truck was on the budget to ensure that students arriving after afternoon finals would be able to refresh themselves. In addition, Rosenbaum would also proposed booking a band for the event. In the past, several student bands played for free throughout the party, but this year, after Rosenbaum heard a band that he claims plays “light rock” and maybe some country, in a casino over spring break, he will attempt to contact and book them for the event.
With the help of Stegman Consultants, Grinnell is considering “serious recommendations” for changes to the residence halls. President Gabe Schechter ’12 reports that a new dorm on East Campus, referred to as “East E,” could replace the parking lot at the end of East Street. The new dorm would have a layout more conducive to hosting events on East campus. Schechter hopes that it would provide more character to that section of campus buildings.
Another addition to residence life is the possibility of new Project Townhouses, possibly as large as Cleveland Hall, which would add more space for students to live in unique communities, such as Eco House. Assistant Director of Security Russ Motta noted that renovations to all existing halls, especially to make the dorms more handicapped accessible, are still under consideration.
VPAA Wadzi Motsi ’12 briefed Joint Board to changes to Grinnell’s off-campus locations. The College is considering changes to the Grinnell-in-London program, decreasing the number of faculty who journey to London for the full semester, while adding faculty who go for a brief period. Motsi also updated Cabinet on the College’s continued efforts to “redesign interdisciplinary [studies] entirely at Grinnell.”
Finally, Administrative Coordinator Alex White ’12 stressed to senators that they must hold their hall councils as soon as possible, a solicitation that received some dissent and provoked a response from Chair Peter Aldrich ’15.
“I don’t like to be mean, but you have to talk to your constituents,” White said.
“Alex doesn’t like being mean, but I do,” Aldrich continued. He proceeded to ominously explain the rules of impeachment to Joint Board. By the end of the meeting, he was accusing senators of “naying” inappropriately, like donkeys. Aldrich apologized for those comments, because they were out of order.
