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>

DATE: 5-4-05

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

override Recruiter Bill veto etc., Community Service Bill

Minutes from Meeting: 4-27-05

I. Call to Order

Meeting is called to order at 7:50 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. Thanks to Senator Miake-Lye for being secretary last week

V. Committee Reports

Policy 1. Discussed bill requiring that senators' votes be recorded

2. Discussed Community Service Bill

Communications1. Meeting next Tuesday

Elections 1. Elections are in full-swing and will be held on May 17th

VI. Open Comments

a. Senator Williams wishes to thank Dr. Jones for all his efforts

regarding the Weighted GPA Bill; as of now, it looks as

though the bill will pass

VII. Expiration of Weighted GPA BILL Extension

a. Why would we want to extend the expiration date if it looks

as though the bill will go through?; Dr. Jones needs a couple

more weeks because it is still not sure whether this will pass

Motion Motion by Senator Lees to extend expiration two weeks

Vote: Motion Passes

VIII. Discussion of Motion to override veto of Recruiter Bill

a. We now have more information about public reactions than we

did before; discussion should ensue again

b. Senate is praised for its intelligent discussions, however;

senate has not gotten enough input from school community

c. We should not override the veto

d. Having military recruiters on campus allows students to speak

with them without feeling stress or pressure

e. LHS does not see the military's positive effects on students

f. Senate should have made more efforts to solicit opinions

g. Excluding recruiters is not the solution to addressing this

discrimination; do not veto the override but re-open discussion

h. The military, contrary to Mustard Seeds, incorporates

discrimination into its admittance policy whereas Mustard

Seeds is based on cultural and religious discrimination

i. This bill did not come from GSA but from senate

j. Tim Kelly is praised for coming to senate and speaking

k. Senate's aim was to deal with the military's current policy and

not to trash the military itself

l. The bill's focus is making the military a less discriminatory

organization; do we want to support a policy which actively

discriminates against a portion of our school's population?

m. This is a message of support and if we don't follow through

with the override, we're saying that we support this active

discrimination; our actions are important, not our resolutions

n. It is faulty logic to say that just because we are in a

"so-called

war," we have to avoid taking an action that would confront

wrong in our military; avoiding taking this stand would just

allow the discrimination to continue

o. We would make our point just as clear by passing a resolution

p. Re-hashing the bill would only create more conflict in the

school community; this should not be just about representing

our conscience but representing the students

body's views

q. Allowing the military to come here is not an actual indication

that we support their policy against homosexuals

r. Senate discusses issues that are not always relevant to students

because democracy should always aim to protect minorities

s. We must ask ourselves what effects our actions will have upon

the people who are discriminated against

t. The student perspective from the greater school community

has been lost during discussion

u. We must be reasonable and centrists are vital; as citizens, we

must take individual actions to speak our conscience and not

force actions upon our kids

v. Senate must ask itself: will this action get us to a place where

gays are accepted in the military?

w. This is a moral act but it cannot be guaranteed that it will

make a real difference; it could just fuel our opposition's fire

x. Senators were elected to represent students and we must voice

our opinions; senate is urged to take action

y. Senate would be better off sending a resolution to the military

as a first step because resolutions are more diplomatic

z. Bill Clinton came up with this policy because America was

afraid of real political fire; discrimination is allowed to exist

because we avoid dealing with it

aa. We should organize forums to get this issue out to students

bb. The override is not the way to go; sometimes what we do and

say can coincide

List of Senators Absent from Senate meeting

*Denotes excused/notified absence.

Chung Enders Paulsen Gillmor Alspaugh Krensky Bogart

Lane Sullivan