AHEC Meeting Minutes

Monday, July 17, 2017, 8:30pm @ Crafts Lounge

Attendees: Adam Berinsky, Vishal Patil, Nicole Moody, Aditya (proxy for Xueying Zhao), Ricardo (proxy for Meicen Sun) and Eric Alt

**Presided by Nicole Moody, Minutes by Abbas Ghandi **

• Agenda
  • [Vote] - Approval of Meeting Minutes
  • [Update] – Operations Committee: Brunch funding, yoga mats
  • [Update] - Events Committee: GoT Recap, large purchase procedures
  • [Discussion] – 70 Amherst and undergrads in Ashdown 
  • Open Floor
• Approval of Meeting Minutes
  • Approved.
• Operations Committee:
  • Brunch funding: Confirmed funding the same amount as last year. 1700$ for summer brunches including the orientation.
  • Yoga mats: Some problems with the yoga mats in the gym. They are not as durable as the ones that could be checked out from the front desk. One recommendation is to prepare an etiquette sheet in the gym asking not to step on the Yoga mats. Also report any problems with the equipment in the gym. Also, two out of six Yoga mats from the front desk could be relocated to the gym.
  • Problem with lobby screen: Spoke to MIT IST, but not sure what the problem is. This is an MIT thing. It should be taken care of by the MIT IST. Will wait another week.
• Events Committee:
  • GoT Recap: Game of Throne event yesterday with some leftover fruit from brunch. Well received event with 30 participants. An issue with the fridge but it should be ok. Fridge is back up and running. Not sure what the protocol is about cleaning the fridge. But there is not too much food in there.
  • Large purchase procedures: July 4th BBQ and big order all the money was on one card. Suggestion is to use Atlas. Through Atlas it is possible to issue a check and hand over to the catering company.
• Discussion:
  • 70 Amherst and undergrads in Ashdown: Attended the GSA meeting last week. 70 Amherst single rooms will be available and couple of one bedrooms. New houses under construction, undergrads will be moving to grade houses for at least a year. Graduate dorm leadership have not been consulted. We have been working to address. A letter has been sent with regret of not informing graduates. Currently, offers have been made to 10 undergrads. They have been vetted in terms of 21 years old and expressed interest in going for higher degrees. They should be well fit in. Only one junior this year in Ashdown. Uncertain how long will it last. Hope it is just one year experiment. If juniors come, they are not guaranteed for the next year. Undergrads will be spread across dorms. We will also have a GRT since undergrads need more support structure. Not sure if there is any expectation for AHEC and officers for additional training. Not sure about the settings for undergrad dorms. The expectation is they adapt to graduate room culture. Idea about a 24/7 option called Lean Box. It is a refrigerator like a vending machine that is managed by a company. Since it is setup in other areas on campus, it should be easy to install in Ashdown as well. GSC pushes for establishing culture at 70 Amherst. Not sure what is the story with 70 Amherst. But one goal is to make cheaper housing options available. Make two lists one on issues/trainings and a second one on demands.
• Open Floor
  • Orientation dinner: first one Fri Sept 1. Then on the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th. 6:30 to 8 pm event. The 8th is graduate executive resident. It is for graduate residents’ leadership. Normally we have two AHEC members at the dinners. So need to double check. Sept 9 is also a conference style event. Current and former members of AHEC should choose among themselves on the dates. But only two AHEC members in each dinner. 250 people are coming in. Meeting adjourned.