Meeting of the Seventh Meeting of the Pomfret School Senate

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Call to Order
Vice President called the meeting to order. In attendance from the third form were
Mariella Catalano, T Dinh, and Wesley Yang. In attendance from the fourth form were
Olivia Kremer and Charles Shehan. In attendance from the fifth form were Aidan
McGannon and Caelan Meggs. In attendance from the sixth form was Chris Jackson. In
attendance from the faculty was Kathi Yokum. Also present were President Rachel
Godfrey, Head of Student Activities Shawn OLoughlin, and Head Deans Assistant Tory
Read (all voting members). Tad Chase of the faculty, Sofie Melian-Morse of the fifth
form, and Caroline Shehan of the sixth form arrived late. Absent were Strother Cech,
Bobby Fisher, and Abby Horst. Also in attendance were Pat Boyd, Dolph Clinton, Gaby
Araya, Sophia Clarke, Tim Offei-Addo, and Thomas Wheatley.
Birthday Announcement
Meggs moved that the Senate sing happy birthday to Vice President Fulchino who turned
17. Seconded by Godfrey. Passed with one against (Jackson). Those in the room sang
happy birthday.
School Meeting Raps
President Godfrey spoke on behalf of Vice President Fulchino and herself in inquiring as
to why the raps at school meeting were cancelled, expressing the positive effect they
could have in cheering up the school. She questioned whether the alleged profanity of
the raps warranted their removal. Wheatley agreed that the raps were fun, but understood
their need to be cancelled. He concluded that the issue did not merit significant
discussion. Vice President Fulchino suggested that a Dean or other member of the
Administration proofread the raps. Araya disagreed, saying the option was not feasible
given how raps may be written last minute. Clinton also disagreed, saying he didnt
believe in censorship. He further expressed his belief that the raps were rooted in humor
and that humor was often rooted in being at the expense of someone else. Therefore, he
argued, could the raps ever be done well? Yokum argued that there was a way to set
parameters, that perhaps the people named in the rap could clear the rap ahead of time.
Discussions continued about the feasibility of such a procedure, and about whether or not
by creating such parameters the raps were still worth it. Meggs said the raps should
continue without censorship. Ultimately, Clinton informed the Senate that the decision to
end the raps was done unilaterally by Mr. Richards and any change would need to be
brought through him and his office.
School Culture and Empathy
Clinton sought the advice of the Senate on an upcoming faculty meeting he would lead
centered around faculty members having empathy for students and vice versa. He
inquired as to which issues kids felt a lack of empathy from adults on. McGannon argued
that the number one issue he saw was a lack of understanding when students are late.
Often a student who arrives to class a minute or two late gets points whereas no
repercussion exists for a teacher who arrives five minutes late, he argued. Vice President

Fulchino agreed. Meggs then argued that an issue he felt a lack of understanding on was
the issue of free time. He expressed his belief that the teachers and the Administration
are unwilling to trust Pomfret students to handle their own time. Yokum contributed to
the conversation from a faculty perspective, agreeing that faculty had to hold themselves
to a higher standard. Kremer tackled the issue from the opposite expressive, saying she
was appalled by the lack of respect towards faculty (especially new faculty) from
students this year. Vice President Fulchino agreed. Boyd asked the Senate whether this
was more than previous years. Offei-Addo and others said it was. Catalano, too, said she
was uncomfortable with how some students treated faculty, and said it was particularly
centered on new faculty members. Clinton made the point that any lack of empathy
stems from a lack of human connection arguing that having a personal relationship with
members of the faculty allows students to trust faculty more and respect them more (and
vice versa). Caroline Shehan said there was definitely a need for greater understanding,
but that some students just didnt care enough about building the relationships. President
Godfrey argued that a lack of consistency from the faculty on various issues and penalties
contributed to any lack of empathy. Yokum argued that such was life, saying that one
needed to know how to censor him or herself and that while saying what one believes is
important, he or she must know how and when to be appropriate. Clinton then moved the
conversation towards the different contexts in which someone speaks and how code
changing (the act of adjusting your diction and mannerisms depending on who your
with) is an important facet of learning how to interact with others. He argued that
students were not able to know when to be appropriate. Kremer agreed, highlighting the
point that many people take things differently. Vice President Fulchino said that students
and faculty had to be held to the same standards. Yokum disagreed, arguing that faculty
needed to be held to a much higher standard. Conversation continued about the
relationship between students and faculty. Meggs again mentioned the need for
consistency while Catalano suggested that the void existed with the students, and that,
ultimately, the students needed to empathize more. Clinton again made the point that the
school needed to work on relationship building. Wheatley disagreed, saying that one
cannot force a relationship upon students, and that doing so was counter-productive.
Many agreed, including Boyd who argued that forcing a relationship could become
adversarial. Clarke further agreed saying that many students may fall through the cracks
because they dont know how to ask for help. Araya and Clarke argued that the
Administration seems stricter than in past years. Vice President Fulchino argued students
could handle issues like like dress code infractions and cell phone use in Chapel or school
meeting. Melian-Morse and Clinton disagreed, saying that dress code was an issue that
student leaders should not be put in the position of having to correct. Boyd argued that it
related to tone: how does one say something? All were in agreement, but Yokum
expressed a desire for clarification. She said the faculty had little training about what was
the right tone, and wondered if some issues particularly dress code infractions were
fights worth having. Offei-Addo thought a good way to build relationships, as Clinton
suggested earlier, would be to include dorm affiliates in dorm activities. Wheatley again
argued that forcing relationships and dorm activities as a whole defeated the purpose of
the event. Araya agreed, arguing that students had lots of work and sometimes the
prefects have a better sense of when a dorm activity is a good idea and when it is not.

Yokum argued that one of the most important values of Pomfret was learning how to
manage time.
Adjournment
With discussion winding down, Caroline Shehan moved to adjourn.
OLoughlin. Passed unanimously.

Seconded by