Update on the 2016’s class on 2/2

During this first class we set the agenda and expectations for the upcoming semester as well as integrated members of our class that were abroad by updating them on what we have been doing. First, we opened the class by having pizza and listening to some reminders from Dr. Arcaro. He informed us that the steering committee would be operating again and that we would need to elect two members of our class to be there. Christian and Erin Luther volunteered to attend the steering committee meetings. He said that this semester the steering committee will be different because it will have more specific goals, objectives and deliverables. Dr. Arcaro wants our class to assume the role of “seers” or mentors; essentially we will be giving more than we will be getting. Secondly, Dr. Arcaro said that he wants the Periclean program to transition towards a more transparent and collaborative mechanism for the distribution of funds. He wants to have an advisory committee that will be in charge of “asks” from each class and he wants the steering committee will work on developing this. There will be a veto power for the advisory committee, but the distribution of funds will essentially be more structured than it has been in the past.

 

After Dr. Arcaro’s talk we discussed changes to the syllabus for the spring semester. We explained that a new addition to this semester will be the creation of posters displaying our major work and research. This will serve as our “writing for a purpose” requirement and will be helpful for the younger classes. Secondly, we decided to only do a final written reflection and have the normal mid-term reflection be oral with our accountability partner. Lastly, we changed the structure of the KBG’s so that there is more sharing involved. Each group that attends an event will spend 5-10 minutes sharing what they learned in class. This way the KBG element of the class is more collaborative and we are able to benefit from other people’s learning.

 

Next, we had committee updates to update the people that were away last semester and over winter term. Each committee shared what they have done and what they hope to accomplish for this next semester. The People Planet Profit committee will be focusing on small logistics for the upcoming summit. Most of the larger issues have been handled. They want everyone to be sure they are available during the Summit as they will need all hands on deck. The LUPE committee wants to focus on the sustainability of their initiatives this semester. Specifically, they want to be sure there is a plan in place so that the ESL classes and curriculum they have created will last into the future. To do this, they are focusing on converting their curriculum to electronic form and contacting organizations on campus that may be willing to take it over. The book editing committee will be focusing on the final draft of the book, and everyone should plan to turn in the final draft of their chapter over the next few weeks. The fundraising committee will be focusing on Cookies-to-Go-Go during the Summit and outside of the Summit as well as any other fundraising ideas that come up. They want to encourage everyone to start brainstorming about this.

 

Finally, we gave announcements. There are several things that members of our class are working on that are very exciting and interesting. We got a $750 donation from the Office of Sustainability to go toward our Summit and they are considering having an eco-rep table at the conference. One problem we are having with the Summit is whether vendors are allowed to sell their products. Isabel has been following up with the woman in charge but is not having any luck. This is an ongoing initiative that we are working on because we think that this is an important part of the conference that we were looking forward to incorporating. Caroline is looking into the Two-dollar challenge, which is a challenge being sponsored by our key-note speaker, Sean Humphrey. She will create a survey so that we can gauge the class’ interest in participating. Morgan is also holding a photo exhibit contest with El Centro and is seeking help to plan this. Diana and Pablo from El Centro are helping with this.. The goal of this is to show another side of Honduras, rather than just the bad parts of the country that are typically displayed in the media.

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