Student Services Meeting - Nov 30th

We had a productive Student Services Committee meeting on Friday morning. Here's a brief update of what's been taken care of and what's in flux.

The Swamp
Apparently the big mud puddle in the courtyard that we all squelched through this summer is a long term problem. KSG is built on an old rail yard, so just a few feet below the green grass is a cement cap. There is no place for the irrigation water to drain to. To add to the problem, KSG is below the local water table so run off tends to pool in our courtyard regardless. Facilities has worked on the issue for years but haven't figure out how to change the way water moves downhill. What we need here is the Physics department I think!

Facilities
The facilities staff has begun polling the students on their space issues. It's an important piece of input and you should take a few minutes to fill it out!

We had asked about unlocking classrooms for group meetings after 6:00 PM. In the past there were theft problems when the rooms were open late. Rooms have been opened for studying around finals (and the schedule well publicized) and they weren't much use. The small rooms in Littauer 3 remain unlocked most evenings still. We're negotiating about leaving Land Hall unlocked because it has two group spaces. We'll see if we can resolve the security issues to do this. Student groups can reserve classrooms through ROAR if they want to use them after 6:00.

Library Services
There was a request to open the library earlier. It is one of the earliest to open at Harvard, beyond those open 24 hours. Opening earlier would require significant staff shuffling. Staying open later is much easier with the student staffing available. The library will be open later during finals as it was last year. More publicity will come out about this. For studying earlier, we're working to update the "Where can I study" list to emphasize quiet places early in the morning. We may try to post it outside the library as well. I would personally recommend checking out the balcony overlooking Starr in Belfer.

Rachel Hicks and Doug Levine are following up with the library on how they decide how many course packets to have on reserve. They use a formula today that takes class size into account. We'd like to see cost included, but we need to look at circulation statistics first to see about patterns of usage.


Food Service
There is a student discount which is basically the tax on the meal. If you bring your own mug, coffee is only $.90.

There is a comment board on the main door, which are you are encouraged to use to your heart's content!

Two committee members are working through a series of issues. Sodexho has only a one year contract and many things, including revamping the cafe space, are on hold until a long term contract is settled. In the meantime, we're seeing what we can resolve.

As a side note, the special student menu that student groups order off of was put together at student request and offers less expensive options, to make the KSSG student club money stretch farther.


Other Services
Rachel Hicks interviewed the two final candidates for the Director of Professional Development role which will hopefully be filled very shortly. There's ongoing work with IT and a variety of miscellaneous issues in progress. More updates to come!