Lexington (MA) High School Senate

END OF YEAR REPORT 2008

Student-Faculty Senate 2007-2008

Moderator Rachel Perlman, Assistant Moderator Michael Normile, Secretary Selena Lane

• At the beginning of the year, the Executive Committee requested that all committees compose a list of objectives to give their committee a direction for the year. (The formal request is below.)

Request for Committee Objectives

The Executive Committee requests that each Senate Committee draw up objectives and an agenda for the coming year. The objectives should be high-level goals the committee believes are appropriate for the year. The agenda should list specific actions and due dates for achieving each objective. The Executive Committee expects that the objectives and agendas will evolve throughout the year.

The Executive Committee requests that each committee, through its chairman, submit its objectives and agenda in writing not later than the September 26 Senate meeting. Progress toward each objective and agenda item should be part of each committee's weekly report to the Senate. Changes to the objectives and agenda should also be reported.

Committee objectives and agenda are not bills, and are not subject to a Senate vote of approval. The Executive Committee does intend to open each committee's objectives and agenda to informal Senate discussion.

• In late October, Senate passed the Poster Bill, which limits the number of posters that may be placed on campus and which better enforces firecode. Principal Jones approved the bill (text below).

Poster Bill

Students and faculty may place posters for school or club related events and meetings on interior walls and on the end sections of lockers throughout the LHS campus. Such notices are to be hung with masking tape only. Posters may not be placed on glass, in stairwells, or on, or within five feet of, any egress door (all classroom exits, doors to halls, stairwells and the outside). Posters must be approved and initialed by the activity's faculty advisor or a dean, who will ensure that not more than fifty posters will be hung. All posters must have a date of removal on them unless they refer to a specific event, and posterers are expected to remove posters immediately after the event or on the specified date. All possible efforts will be made to recycle the posters.

It is the Climate Committee's responsibility to identify and maintain an area or areas, approved by the Administration, including the current free postering area in Commons I, for posters not related to school activities. Posters may be placed in this area by students, faculty and staff, and need no faculty or dean's signature or removal date. It is expected that the community will show good judgment in selecting the quantity and size of posters placed in this area so that all messages can be accommodated.

In addition, the Climate Committee will promote good poster behavior throughout the school and communicate when possible with violators of this bill.

Rationale:

1. This bill modifies the 2004 Bill Billboard Bill in three ways.

a. It specifies a maximum number of posters allowed in the halls and commons areas. There are twelve main halls in the school and two commons areas. Three or four posters per hall and in each of the commons areas are sufficient to guarantee that all students will see a poster often. Within this limit students may choose to spread their allotment of posters in a non-uniform manner. Generally fewer posters will be sufficient.

b. It restricts placement of posters in conformance with fire code.

c. It directs the Climate Committee take leadership in maintaining the provisions of this bill throughout the school, not just in the free postering areas.

2. The 2004 Bill Billboard Bill was never inserted into the Student Handbook, although it was written by the Climate Committee in consultation with the principal and, in accordance with the Senate Constitution, approved by him as school policy. In spite of this oversight the current administration operates with the understanding that the Bill Billboard Bill is current school policy.

3. The 2004 Bill Billboard Bill and this improved bill include certain student rights which the former policy does not, and these rights should be made manifest each year. We update here the rationale of the 2004 bill:

"Postering is an important right of free speech which benefits the LHS community. This bill is intended to preserve that right to the greatest extent possible. It is expected that posters may be provocative and even offensive to some, but that no personal attacks or hate speech will be tolerated."

• This year marked the 20 th anniversary of the Senate's existence. We celebrated with a full Senate Day, and Communications Committee publicized the Senate's history.

• As a result of the Senate, and in particular due to the research and efforts of Senator Mark Chonofsky, the corporation Herff Jones - the vendor that supplies LHS with class rings - has endorsed Oxfam/EARTHWORK's "Golden Rules." Because Herff Jones had not endorsed these rules at the beginning of the year, the bill (below) was written as an incentive for Herff Jones to comply. Because of the Senate's success, the bill was not needed and the question was not called upon it.

Gold Bill

Any vendor that sells or promotes class rings at Lexington High School must endorse Oxfam/EARTHWORK's "Golden Rules."

Rationale:

In general, gold mining has been the cause of rampant environmental destruction. It is also the cause of worker mistreatment. Gold miners around the world have been accused of human rights violations, ranging from worker mistreatment to support of Islamic terrorist organizations [a more detailed explanation of these effects is on reverse.] Oxfam and EARTHWORKS have outlined ten rules that prohibit these practices:

Respect basic human rights outlined in international conventions and law
Obtain the free, prior, and informed consent of affected communities.
Respect workers' rights and labor standards, including safe working conditions
Ensure that operations are not located in areas of armed or militarized conflict
Ensure that projects do not force communities off their lands
Ensure that projects are not located in protected areas, fragile ecosystems, or other areas of high conservation or ecological value
Refrain from dumping mine wastes into the ocean, rivers, lakes, or streams
Ensure that projects do not contaminate water, soil, or air with sulfuric acid drainage or other toxic chemicals
Cover all costs of closing down and cleaning up mine sites

• Fully disclose information about social and environmental effects of projects

Allow independent verification of the above

In practice, clean gold may be difficult to obtain. What matters is that Herff Jones express its support for these principles that place people over profit.

Herff Jones's terse environmental statement doesn't come close to an endorsement of these principles. We cannot allow a company, which so halfheartedly opposes such devastating practices, to continue to do business with us.

• In May, the Senate informally passed a resolution (below) commending and thanking Herff Jones for endorsing OXFAM's ten "Golden Rules." In the Senate, a quorum was not present for the vote, but the resolution passed unanimously among the Senators present.

Herff Jones Resolution

WHEREAS, gold mining is one of the world's most destructive industries;

WHEREAS, abusive mining can be combatted by concerted public action;

WHEREAS, OXFAM's ten "Golden Rules" are a tool for businesses to join the cause;

WHEREAS, Herff Jones endorsed the rules without hesitation or delay;

RESOLVED, that the Lexington High School Student Faculty Senate thoroughly commends Herff Jones for its actions and responsiveness.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Lexington High School Student Faculty Senate affirms its commitment to responsible gold mining.

• In order to emphasize that the voice of students be heard throughout the selection process for a new principal, the Senate held an open forum for students to come and direct their questions and comments to the student representative who was chosen to reside on the Principal Search Committee.

• In April, the Senate passed the Library Passes Bill (text below), which was also approved by Principal Jones.

Library Passes Bill

Freshmen and sophomores who wish to attend the Library during a study hall will no longer need to obtain a signature from their study hall teachers. All students, therefore, may proceed directly to the library at the beginning of the block. At the end of the block students must bring their passes to their own Dean's secretary. In the extraordinary situation that a student is unable to do so the pass must be delivered no later than 3 pm.

Passes must be filled out legibly and completely, including the first and last names of students.

This bill will take effect at the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year. The Climate Committee will review the success of the bill after one quarter.

Rationale:

• Students now lose library study time because they have to first go to a study and then to the library. Also, while students may arrive on time to study, it is not uncommon for teachers who are traveling from different buildings to be five or ten minutes late. Because students must now go to study hall both at the beginning and the end of the block they often have as little as thirty minutes to work in the library.

• A study hall teacher's signature at the beginning of the block is unnecessary. Because timestamps on library passes show the time of entrance and exit, it is easy to see if students spent the time that they were not in the study hall in the library.

• This bill benefits students who truly wish to use the library while it gives no new advantage to students who find ways to bypass school rules.

• The Deans' secretaries prefer to process all library passes under the condition that they be legibly filled out and delivered in a timely fashion.

• An adhoc committee was created to come to a compromise regarding the administration's mandate limiting the number of dances and other events at LHS. Progress was made through discussions with administration members, like Assistant Principal Lasa. Several drafts of an Events Bill were created. The final draft entitled "Events Policy Revision Bill" (below) was passed by the Senate and approved by Principal Jones.

Events Policy Revision Bill

The Events Policy shall now read:

• All administratively chaperoned (AC) events will take place on campus. The Freshman Semi-Formal, Sophomore Cruise, Junior Prom and Senior Prom are excluded from this provision.

• If a club or organized school group wishes to sponsor an AC-event in order to raise money for a charitable cause, the club will either work jointly with a class council/advisor or present the request to the administration for approval. These direct requests should be sent to a Dean designated by the principal and be accompanied by the name of the designated recipient of the funds.

• Following all AC-events, the advisor and student leader(s) of the club/class council organizing the AC-event shall attend the next Climate Committee meeting to report on the successes and needed areas of improvement for the event.

• All AC-events must be pre-approved by the administration. The number of AC-events may be determined by the administration based on the number/nature of requests. Ultimately, the administration has final say on AC-events.

Rationale:

The administration, faculty and Senate are committed to running organized, safe and sufficiently chaperoned events at the high school. These events are an extension of the learning environment, promoting collaboration and class unity. They provide students with multiple opportunities to utilize and foster appropriate social skills in a fun environment. In addition, a sense of community is developed when students organize events that promote social and global awareness.

• Throughout the year, Oversight Committee oversaw a recycling campaign, which included acquiring new bins and barrels from the DPW and publicizing the importance of recycling around campus. The committee, led by Senator Sillari, worked to ensure that adequate recycling equipment is present in all classrooms and common areas on campus.

• In the spring, Climate Committee distributed a Faculty Survey Regarding the Use of X-Block to gather data regarding how X-Block is used and how Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) during X-Block would affect faculty members. This survey was preceded by a great amount of discussion within the Senate and with the Administration about having PLCs during X-Block, as this change would affect faculty, students, and the Senate. Currently, it appears that dialogue and alternative scheduling will prevent the interference of meetings with X-Block, a constitutionally protected time. The understanding is that PLCs will occur at a time other than X-block (possibly by scheduling faculty who teach the same course to have mutual free blocks).

• Oversight Committee followed through with the Honor Code Reporting and Awareness Bill, ensuring that the Honor Code was distributed to all students.

• In May, the Senate informally passed a resolution (below) in support of Lexpress, a valuable, local transportation program that might be threatened financially. In the Senate, a quorum was not present for the vote, but the resolution passed unanimously among the Senators present.

LEXPRESS Resolution

Whereas , students took approximately 41,000 LEXPRESS rides last year,

Whereas, public transportation, such as LEXPRESS, can help everyone reduce their CO 2 emissions, and thereby protect the environment,

Whereas, transportation costs are continually increasing,

Whereas, LEXPRESS will suffer enormously if its MBTA grant is removed,

Resolved, the Lexington High School Student-Faculty Senate strongly supports LEXPRESS's MBTA grant renewal.

• One open seat was filled this year by a student representing the GSA.

• Social Action Committee organized he first-ever Community Service Fair. The fair was held on campus in May and hosted representatives from local organizations which offer volunteering opportunities to students.

• Climate Committee organized the annual CRUD, which occurred in May. Organization of the distribution of ice cream could be improved to prevent chaotic mob-like behavior. More work could also be done to motivate students to spend more time cleaning the campus.

• Throughout the year, the Executive Committee met with Principal Jones every other week to discuss Senate matters and exchange information and ideas.

• In summary, the Senate had a successful, active year. All passed bills were approved by the Principal. Throughout the year, many constructive changes and improvements to the high school were put into effect. Additionally, the Senate took a role (without legislation) in larger issues to work toward improving the world beyond Lexington High doors.