Tuesday, Sept. 24, the Student Assembly Senate of the College of William and Mary met in the James Room of Sadler Center and confirmed Daniel Kalish’s ’25 nomination as a Honor System Advisory Committee student representative.
The chamber also heard updates from Aramark Resident District Manager Adam Poling. Afterwards, the Senate voted to pass two bills — The Going to the Grads Act of 332nd Student Assembly and The Swag Purchasing Act.
Special Business
HSAC Confirmation
The senate considered Kalish’s nomination to HSAC, made by College President Katherine Rowe.
According to the College’s Honor Code, HSAC is tasked with reviewing, recommending and approving changes to core provisions of the Code, among other related duties.
“Daniel is appointed by the President, we’re here for affirmation,” Director of Student Leadership Development Anne Arseneau ’89 MA.Ed ’92 said.
Kalish formerly served as a SA reporter for The Flat Hat. He introduced himself to the chamber.
“In my preparation for this hearing and the potential service on the council, I’ve spoken with current and former members of HSAC, as well as [Director of Community Values and Restorative Practices Dave Gilbert], about the role that HSAC plays in the broader student accountability and restorative practices system, and the potential changes that can be advocated for in the coming year,” Kalish said.
He shared with the senate that he had discussed the role with a current member of HSAC, citing their conversation regarding potential changes related to artificial intelligence policy. The lack of clarity on this, he was told, has led to complications in the honor system and the work of the Conduct and Honor Advisor Program.
Questions regarding how the committee would handle AI-use arose from law school senators Sens. Connor Cheadle J.D. ’25 and Connor O’Neill J.D. ’25, as well as Sen. Vedant Singh MBA ’25. Kalish responded by saying that while there isn’t an easy solution in determining whether an assignment was completed by AI, HSAC would play a role in providing more guidelines for professors.
The senate unanimously approved Kalish’s nomination by acclamation. He now serves in one of the three voting undergraduate seats of HSAC.
After Kalish’s nomination hearing, the senate heard updates from Poling, who heads Aramark’s food operations at the College.
W&M Dining Update
Going forward, Poling said, he would like to give a presentation to SA at least once a year, if not once a semester. He started by acknowledging that the College received a positive rating from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA.
Poling then gave a calendar of special events, which consisted mostly of holidays and days like “National Cookie Day,” “National Nachos Day” and “National Pasta Day.” He also said the department would be holding “Griffin Gourmet Games” some time in November with more details to follow.
He then shared sustainability highlights with the chamber, noting that W&M Dining partnered with the College to vet and reward 42 students with meal plan scholarships.
He also gave details on compost bins, specifying 14 locations around campus and that they are managed by the dining sustainability program. He said the College has diverted 290,125 pounds of food waste from landfills in 2023.
Poling also gave an update on the collaboration with the Williamsburg Farmers Market.
“Last year, dining dollars that were spent at the farmers market exceeded $10,000. We’re on track to beat that target by 30 or 40%,” Poling said.
For Health and Wellness highlights, Poling noted that all stations in both Commons Dining Hall and the Sadler Center offer a vegetarian option daily. In addition, all chicken served in the dining halls is from local farmers and Halal certified.
Moreover, he shared that 73% of students order food from the GrubHub app weekly, citing it as a successful partnership with the app.
Notably, he also shared that Student Exchange, the College-run convenience store in Sadler, is now a part of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
Poling also stated future plans for the dining halls. Firstly, Bento Sushi will relocate from the Marketplace in Campus Center to Student Exchange, allowing for an expanded menu. Moving to Marketplace in its place is Fran’s Kosher Daily, which will also feature an expanded menu.
Additionally, the Boehly Cafe in the Raymond A. Mason School of Business will become the Boehly Exhibition Kitchen starting in late October. The move will keep the cafe fully operational while adding student cooking classes and cooking demonstrations in the kitchen.
Lastly, he gave an overview of the Text Concierge program, where students can text W&M Dining directly at 855-611-2473 to ask questions. He said since Sept. 12, there were at least 21,000 messages sent and received. Additionally, the first response time averaged 2.8 minutes.
Chair of the Senate Sen. Hazel Vineet ’25 asked Poling why the College discontinued Griffin Deals, which allowed students with the All-Access meal plan to receive meal combinations made up of an entree, side and a drink. Vineet said this drove students away from Marketplace to go to the Sadler Center instead, dramatically increasing the latter’s traffic.
Poling said the decision to remove Griffin Deals was a request from the College, citing the rise in costs caused by expanded hours at the Commons Dining Hall and the unionization of dining employees. He said the decision was made in part to avoid increasing the cost of the All-Access meal plan.
He also touched on the challenge of the increased traffic at the Sadler Center.
“And when you talk to the students, randomly do that, ‘Will you stand in line for 15 minutes at Sadler — between standing in line to get in, standing in line to get food — or you walk five minutes to Commons and have no lines?’ I think we all know what the answer is and that’s so that’s something that we’ve been challenged with is: Why Sadler?” Poling added.
He also answered a question from O’Neill, stating that W&M Dining has worked with the Muslim Student Association to figure out logistics for meal times during Ramandan periods.
Additionally, answering a question from Class of 2026 President Zoe Wang ’25, M.P.P. ’26, Poling shared with the chamber that the College owns all dining infrastructure and has ordered new parts for the dish washing machine in the Sadler Center.
He said the dish washing machine not being operational is very frustrating, adding that he wants to move away from paper plates for sustainability reasons. He said the College did install a new dishwasher over the summer and spent a significant amount of funds to repair the carousel.
“Ideally, within the next week to 10 days, that carousel will be operational with the parts that we expect,” Poling said.
New Business
Sen. Mayer Tawfik ’27 and Sen. Ashlynn Parker ’26 introduced the The Fall Frenzy Campus Carving Event II Act. The bill would reintroduce the pumpkin carving event hosted by SA last fall. The event includes pumpkin carving as well as food and drinks, including hot apple cider, caramel popcorn and donuts.
The bill states that the pumpkin carving event provides an inclusive platform for students from diverse backgrounds to “come together and share in the joy of a common creative endeavor.”
Wang, Sen. Sophie Kennedy ’27 and Parker introduced The . Act Part V, which aims to provide access to provide free menstrual products to students across campus.
The bill would provide 1,000 tampons and 2,000 sanitary napkins to replenish currently operating dispensers as well as establish new ones.
The sponsoring senators are currently looking into options for sanitary napkins that would be biodegradable.
The bill cited the importance of providing access to menstrual products.
“Menstrual products are not luxury goods, but rather necessities for daily life and an integral aspect of student health,” the bill states.
Old Business
The senate passed The Going to the Grads Act of 332nd Student Assembly, which allocates $300 from SA Reserves for potential provisioning of light refreshments and other accommodations. The bill will support SA senate to relocate to graduate school locations for its meetings.
A friendly amendment from chair of the Finance Committee Sen. Matt Swenson ’26 to remove food funding from the bill was not accepted and was voted down by the senate. Swenson said he objected to the funding from the OBAP, or Organizational Budget Allocation Process, “viewpoint.”
The ‘No’ votes on the amendment came from Vineet, Parker, Sen. Tyson Liverman ’27, Tawfik, Sen. Cheryl Dao ’27, Cheadle, O’Neill, Singh, Sen. Seyda Celci MBA ’25 and Arts and Sciences graduate Sen. Morgan Brittain. Every other senator voted ‘Yes’ except Class President Nico Giro-Martin ’27 and Sen. Sydney Manlove ’24, MA.Ed. ’26 who were not in attendance.
The bill was sponsored by Cheadle, O’Neill, Brittain, Singh and Celci.
The bill passed with 15 ‘Yes’ votes, 0 ‘No’ votes and three abstentions. Class President Matthew Hwang ’25, Swenson and Class of 2026 Sen. Spencer Krivo ’25 abstained.
Afterwards, Parker withdrew her The Deep Breathing Stickers Act from consideration, which would have allocated $150 from the SA Reserves to fund 250 stickers and an unspecified amount of pamphlets. Parker said she would like to introduce the bill again at a later date.
The senate then unanimously passed Krivo’s The Swag Purchasing Act, which allocated $500 from SA Reserves to purchase 100 tote bags for $4.07 per bag to be sold for $8 each.
Executive Updates
SA President Terra Sloane ’25 said in addition to having her first meeting with Rowe, she would talk to College Provost Peggy Agouris about potentially extending the reading period, the time between the last day of classes and final exams.
Sloane also stated that she is working on continuing to bring in guest speakers to present at the weekly Senate meetings.
The SA president also met with Senior Vice President for Student Affairs and Public Safety Virginia Ambler ’88, Ph.D. ’06. One topic of discussion was the mandatory Title IX training all first-year students must complete after orientation.
Some students from the Class of 2028 expressed discomfort with the content presented in the online trainings, and Sloane encouraged senators to work with Ambler towards a potential solution.
She also announced that the SA Department of Health and Safety will be tabling in Sadler in the upcoming week to distribute drink covers. The department also aims to raise awareness about drink spiking and the “Red Zone,” which is the period of time between the beginning of the fall semester and Thanksgiving break when the majority of college sexual assaults take place.
Sloane also noted the opportunity for senators to help revive awareness of the Student Rights Initiative, as well as the recent changes made by the administration to policies related to the use of campus facilities and freedom of expression.
The Student Rights Initiative aims to inform students of their rights when confronted with police interaction.
SA Vice President Oscar Lazo ’25 met with Charles Fulcher ’99, who is the director of operations and events for the Wren Building, to discuss the upcoming construction of the building slated for this December.
The College received a grant from the National Park Service to renovate the steps leading to the portico of the building. This would mean that there will be scaffolding for part of the year.
Sloane said she is discussing with the Student Transition Engagement Program about finding ways to distribute graduation gear, such as caps and gowns, to seniors early to allow them to take graduation photos at the Wren building before scaffolding is installed.
Arseneau said she received an email from Clerk of the Board of Visitors Michael Fox HON’16 discussing inviting Associate Vice President for Business Affairs Sean Hughes or an official from the College’s Facilities Management department to attend a senate meeting to discuss construction updates in the future.
