ESA Meeting Minutes 9-15

Meeting Minutes – 9/15

Present: Danny, Maggie, Christie, Sarah, Sophie, Becky, Erin, Jenny, Kaitlin, Esther, Daniel, Elissa, Catherine

  1. Introductions and committee reports
  • Placement committee met and brainstormed. Among other things, they want to scan informally-circulated material to the ESA website.
  • Conference committee – met to finalize CFP, finalized date and locations with Nancy Silverman, brainstormed keynotes, and began to secure funding. Conference date set for March 31st and the Seagall Theatre requested. They will have musical performances!
  • Recruitment committee – were not represented at meeting, but let us know via email that they did meet to discuss the recruitment event later this semester. Are making a new flyer, brainstormed speakers for event.
  • Library committee – plans to meet
  1. Tidying up the Lounge – We tidied up the lounge at 6 pm on the 15th 
  • Discussed buying some plastic bins to facilitate organizing.
  • Discussed asking if we could move the many dissertations on the bookshelves along the wall.
  • Catherine proposed a motion to change the by-laws so that they specify how elections should run so that no one can accept more than two nominations.
  • The motion was tabled for now; we will do a trial of this process for this coming election.
  • Discussed what we should put up on the new ESA corkboard in the lounge (behind the door)
  • Possibilities include: flyers for student events, a print out of the by-laws, ESA committees members’ names and pics, meeting agendas and meeting minutes, roles of committees, union info.

Suggestions brought up at the meeting:

  • Calendar with list of ESA events
  • Space to advertise for ride/hotel shares for conferences
  • Advertisement for the website (print out pages from the website itself to give it more visibility)
  • Possibility of reappropriating the decorated corkboard space was also discussed.
  • Could possibly use big board for permanent information and small board for temporary information.
  • If we decide to use the board for short-term information, who will be responsible for removing flyers when they are out of date?
  1. Review of budgetary matters. How much money do we want to spend on revels? Do we want to continue to spend a large portion of the budget on this? How could or would the money otherwise be spent?
  • Added concern: Can no longer use DSC money for alcohol, so how to do Revels? This may also mean that we would spend much less money on Revels, or do it very differently.
  • Other suggestions of uses for budget:
  • More money for conference travel grants to go to individuals – this seemed to be a favorite
    • Jenny offered to see if the Alumni and fundraising committee could raise funds again to be earmarked for travel grants; whatever leftover money from the ESA fall budget could then conceivably be added to this fund.
  • Making Revels nicer (restaurant, rather than lounge)
  • Coffee maker – difficulty of who might keep it clean
  • Stipends/honorariums for speakers
  1. Several people also brought up the idea that the ESA could serve students by creating a more communal environment. This might involve leading or helping to organize student-run events such as writing group meetings to discuss or run through conference papers, and/or social events.
  • Daniel Hengel offered to run the first ESA happy hour (apparently a reinstatement of an old tradition).
  • I suggested that this could be a rotating thing for as long as people are interested (i.e. someone could offer to host in their own borough or in a centrally-located location).