Voting In The Air

Hi Everyone,

The full Council is having a special second meeting Feb.19th, primarily to keep working on the by-laws. Time and place are: noon in the Maple Ballroom of the Davis Center. The agenda is available on the Council website or in a printable format here.

Otto von Bismarck is credited with comparing sausage-making to legislating (he considered both procedures too messy to watch). But this is still a meeting open to the whole UVM community, and I'll bet you're brave enough to come witness the creation of a new "recipe". Come take part in making a piece of UVM history!

Item #4 on this meeting's agenda will be a report from the "University Benefits Advisory Council". President Vogel announced his intention to create this group in his letter responding to the student hunger strike for UVM livable wages in May 2007. Hopefully we'll have time to learn more about their mission and purpose, and what's been done so far.

Our next Full Council meeting coincides with Town Meeting Day (3/4). (Are you registered to vote? These links at the VT Secretary of State's website tell you how and where to register, and find your polling place, and simply a host of other valuable information) At this writing, there's no plan to re-schedule the meeting because we should still have enough members present for a quorum; if that changes and the date gets moved, I'll let you know as soon as I'm informed.

On other topics, VP J Michael Gower's recently sent around an email listing upcoming presentations of UVM's Pandemic Plan. The first date has passed, but a second is scheduled for Mastering the Maze on March 13th. Please attend if you can; listen, and ask questions. If you can't go, or if you'd like to know more before attending, you'll find links to the Emergency Planning Team's website and presentation materials right here, in my December 7th post titled "Off and Running". (To find it, scroll all the way down and click on the link to "Older Posts")

Don't forget to read through your February Staffline; the Council News page has some very useful FAQs about discounts and services UVM members can access through the Council website. Links to the Spring Semester Campus Recreation listings are there too, along with the Spring 2008 Wellness Center Incentive Program information. If anyone had the chance to take the bus trip to the Montreal Casino this weekend, please feel free to drop us a note in the comments link here, and give us some of the highlights of the trip!

Well, that's enough for one posting. I'll try to give timely updates on our progress with the by-laws, and I have a few more items that didn't fit here today.

So, I hope everybody had a good President's Day! See you on Tuesday,

Joanne