Lexington (MA) High School Senate

LEXINGTON HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT-FACULTY SENATE

2004-2005

Moderator Ben Skier, Assistant Moderator Jim Williams, Secretary Lexy Smith

<http://lhs.lexingtonma.org/senate>

2-16-05

Today's Agenda: Announcements, Committee Reports, Open Comments,

Recruitment

Bill, Discussion of Substitute Survey Results

Minutes from Meeting: 2-9-05

I. Call to Order

Meeting is called to order at 7:51 by Moderator Skier

II. Approval of Minutes

Motion Approved Motion by Chair to approve Minutes of last meeting

III. Approval of Agenda

Motion Approved Motion by Chair to approve Agenda

IV. Announcements

a. The tables do not have to be rearranged today after senate

V. Committee Reports

Oversight 1. Met today and discussed rescinding a bill requiring

students

to complete community service hours to graduate

2. Distributed Substitute Survey Results

Climate 1. Next Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at 2:30, there

will be

meetings to discuss drama component of diversity forum

Policy 1. Discussed finer points of Sophomore Limited Open Campus

VI. Open Comments

a. Senator Kim wonders why there are black dots on some

people's forehead; it is because of Ash Wednesday

b. Andrew Corr states that singing Valentine groups should sing

both to opposite sex and same sex students; this would include

gay and bisexual students more and would also raise more

money for the LHS Music Department

VII. Restrictions on Recruiting at LHS Bill

a. Some principals from other schools have said that we cannot

legally pass this bill; is there a law stating this?

b. No Child Left Behind Act states that schools have to provide

Recruitment information but may not have to invite recruiters

c. It is believed that we must expose our students to all

outside groups equally

d. Our school is the perfect place for activism

e. Whether or not we can legally pass this bill is still a present

concern and discussion should ensue

f. Since not many LHS students even sign up with the recruiters,

this bill is more of a symbolic act; this could start the

snow ball

rolling down the hill in getting the army to reconsider its

policy

g. This bill sends the wrong message to the military because it

seems like a move towards making them feel unwelcome

h. This bill would also hurt recruitment because significant

military visibility would be gone

i. If passed, the bill would make this community even more

intolerant for the students who hold more conservative views

j. Not allowing recruiters on camps is less a reflection of

activism and more one of the school community's values

k. There should be a military in which everyone is welcome to

serve; this bill is an attempt to secure this right for all

l. Direct actions, like this one, have been taken in the past to

maneuver government policies; such as the speed limit

m. Many have already determined that this bill is not anti-

military or anti-war; the senate wants to have a say

n. We could apply this bill to any outside group, which is why

it is not anti-military

o. It seems as though we could pass this bill and allow

administrators and school lawyers to determine its legality

p. A Michigan superintendent passed a bill similar to this one,

so a precedent has been set; research could be done to

discover the affects that bill had

q. If we want to uphold this kind of value, then we should

make it into a policy that addresses all areas that could

inspire discrimination, i.e. race, gender, religion, etc.

r. We are not shutting out the military, instead we are trying to

make military policy more acceptable to the LHS community

Motion Motion by Senator Lubershane to amend first paragraph to

read "Representatives of post-secondary schools, prospective

employers, and the United States armed forces"

s. We should focus less on the military and more on all

discriminatory groups

t. We do not gain anything by making our wording vague

u. Is there anyone besides college admission officers, employers,

and the military who come to recruit?

Friendly Amendment: change "a" of armed forces to "A"

and change "f" of forces to "F" (accepted as friendly)

Motion Motion by Sen. Enders to Call to Question on Amendment

Vote: Amendment Passes (23-16)

v. Are people with disabilities allowed to join the army?; one is

not allowed in combat if one has certain limitations

w. If policy had drafted this into a resolution, this would have

sailed through senate much more easily

x. This bill could also be viewed as "treasonous"; we must decide

if we can handle the bill's serious consequences

y. There will also be criticism from groups who support this

military policy; is this the right time to take this sort

of action?

List of Senators Absent from Senate meeting

*Denotes excused/notified absence

Bonnet Buttaro Kresser Counihan Gillmor Alspaugh Doran Atchinson

Kalsow-Ramos