Next Monday, Feb. 29, the Lawrence University Community Council (LUCC) Residence Life Committee’s proposed housing legislation is up for voting by members of the General Council. After two terms of work within the committee, incorporating suggestions from Steering Committee and General Council, LUCC fully endorses the proposed legislation, which includes the following:
- The ‘Group Living’ legislation eliminates distinctions between Formal Group Housing and Theme Housing. Moving forward, any group of people, regardless of their affiliation with an LUCC-recognized organization, can apply for group housing. There must still be a unifying mission statement, and groups must establish criteria for eligibility to live in a house. Groups will be responsible for ensuring that residents fulfill eligibility requirements.
- Every group that succeeds during the housing application process is eligible for a one-year compact. Groups that have spent two consecutive years in a house prior to application will be eligible for two-year compacts, although in any given year, at most 40 percent of the applicants can receive two-year compacts.
- At least one member of the group, in addition to the residence life manager (RLM), must have completed Safe Space Training prior to application.
- Applicant groups may contest the decisions of the group living selection board, only on grounds of racism, sexism or other bias toward a group or its members.
Only groups due for reapplication or new groups reapplying in the spring will be subject to this legislation. Existing houses will complete the full term of their compacts before reapplying under the new policies.
General Council has also approved the Cabinet slate for 2016-17. Along with President Max Loebl and Vice President Jo-Hanna Rifai, the following students will be serving on the LUCC Cabinet:
– General Secretary: Madi Gardner
– Parliamentarian: Kyle Labak
– Finance Secretary: Emma Liu
– Treasurer: Harry Broderick
– Public Relations Secretary: Hitkarsh Chanana
Abedin Rafique
Public Relations Secretary