council meeting

Council Structure and Key Roles

  • Executive Board
    • President: unnamed in transcript
    • Vice President: Dee
    • Secretary: Galila (she’s in the student’s year)
    • Treasurer: Zach Glover (sophomore)
    • Communications Chair: Ben (junior)
  • Formal year planning
    • Mid-year, the council elects one or two Formal Committee Chairs
    • This committee is temporary to plan for Formal, which is the biggest event of the year aside from the retreat
  • Freshman year responsibilities
    • One of the biggest year-long duties: organize review sessions for the cohort
    • Freshman year typically has many students in similar classes, so group review sessions are very helpful
    • Sophomores will provide more details on review sessions; past experiences note larger scale sessions are less common now due to students’ majors

Cohort Communication and Coordination

  • Primary role as liaisons
    • You are the main communicators to your cohort for council events and activities
  • Group communication tools and practices
    • WhatsApp group exists for the cohort; check if everyone is included
    • Suggested steps if not everyone is included:
    • Create a group meeting for announcements only
    • Use an announcements page (reference to a past example: “m 35 announcements page”) where only council members can post
    • If the WhatsApp group is lacking members, use a separate method to contact those not in the group (e.g., a group email list or a different messaging platform)
  • Ensuring full cohort inclusion
    • Identify who is in the WhatsApp and who is not; list attendee gaps (e.g., individuals not in WhatsApp: Walter, Sarai, Miranda, Xavier; others may be missing) and find ways to reach them
    • Consider a group meeting with everyone to ensure announcements reach all
  • Staff communication and formal updates
    • Staff will eventually set up a Gmail group for the cohort
    • Emailing this group reaches staff as well, so use it for formal updates only when necessary
  • One2Meet and other planning tools
    • One2Meet is the preferred tool for scheduling cohort-wide meetings and planning

Meetings and Scheduling

  • Executive and general body meeting cadence
    • Exec Board meetings: typically weekly with staff
    • General body meetings: mandatory every other week (even weeks)
    • Odd weeks: online meeting with Dee and another organizer(s) present; attendance is optional but encouraged for questions or concerns
    • If an event is being planned, there may be a required meeting for main participants to iron out details
  • Committee meeting expectations
    • In addition to council meetings, each member is part of two committees and should meet weekly
    • Typical committee meeting length: about 3030 minutes
    • Frequency varies by committee and time of year: events committee usually meets weekly; yearbook tends to pick up in the spring due to form submissions
  • Flexibility and communication
    • The council is flexible with schedules as long as members communicate when they are stressed or busy
    • Problems arise when a member is absent without explanation; timely communication helps the team adjust
  • Typical flow on Sundays
    • Council meeting on Sundays; then committee meetings during the week

Roles of Executives and Committees

  • Common patterns from past years
    • The President typically oversees all committees but may delegate oversight to the VP
    • VP may oversee all committees or a specific one depending on preference and workload
    • Other exec positions commonly join a committee (e.g., past metrics include someone serving on multiple committees)
  • Examples shared
    • A former VP (not named here) oversaw events and yearbook while still participating in committees
    • A former Treasurer managed finances and fundraising, with staff support
  • Practical note on workload
    • It is feasible to serve on Exec and on committees simultaneously, but balance is key

Staff Liaison and Support

  • Role of staff as liaisons
    • Staff are generally accessible on campus and can be contacted for questions or to share enthusiasm
    • For day-to-day issues, the cohort should try to resolve matters internally; staff handle emergencies or inter-cohort conflicts
    • Direct escalation to staff is appropriate for significant problems or when the situation is beyond the cohort’s ability to manage
  • How to approach staff and DRI
    • DRI (the council advisors) are available as a resource for questions and guidance; they are approachable and supportive
  • Contact norms
    • You have their numbers and can text