[ASA-Official] Mandatory group registration, space policy discussion session

[Rachel Meyer]

Dear Student Group Officers,

Please take note of these announcements:

1.  Mandatory Student Group Registration and Anti-Hazing Acknowledgement 
due 10/7
2.  Space Allocation Policy Discussion Meeting – Thursday 10/13 at 5pm
3.  Opening for ASA Treasurer
4.  Update on new ASA Database
5.  Announcement about change to Campus Police detail pricing from SAO
6.  Financial Training Sessions

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1.  Mandatory Student Group Registration and Anti-Hazing Acknowledgement 
due 10/7

All recognized groups, except dorms and FSILGs, are required to do this 
registration process.  It includes a few different important items:
- Acknowledgment of compliance with Massachusetts anti-hazing law
- Acknowledgment of compliance with MIT Non-Discrimination Policy
- Providing membership information
- Membership confirmation

Please read the full descriptions and instructions for these items on the 
form at:
https://asa.mit.edu:444/forms/membership/update/
A list of groups that have already submitted is posted at:
https://asa.mit.edu:444/forms/membership/submitted/

This form is due by Friday October 7th at 11:59PM. This is very important 
for confirming that your group is active, so groups that don't submit this 
form by that date will be fined $50. Groups that still haven't submitted 
this by Friday October 21st will be fined an additional $50 and will be 
suspended. Finally, groups that haven't submitted this by November 4th 
will be derecognized.

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2.  Space Allocation Policy Discussion Meeting – Thursday 10/13 at 5pm

The ASA Board has proposed an amended version of the space allocation 
policy from what is in the ASA Operating Guidelines.  Based on the vote of 
the general body at last week's meeting, these amendments will take effect 
after ASA holds a feedback session for individuals to provide further 
feedback.  This session will take place on Thursday 10/13 at 5pm in 
W20-491.  If you cannot attend the session and have feedback, you can 
email it to asa-exec at mit.edu.

The proposed text is posted at: 
http://mit.edu/asa/docs/amended-space-policy.pdf
The original text is in Operating Guidelines posted at: 
http://mit.edu/asa/rules/asa-guidelines.html

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3.  Opening for ASA Treasurer

If you are interested in serving as the ASA Treasurer, please email 
asa-elect at mit.edu stating which groups you are involved in, why you are 
interested, and why you think you would be successful in the role.  In 
addition to the regular ASA responsibilities of participating in Board 
meetings and various projects, the Treasurer is the Chair of the 
LEF/ARCADE Funding Board and serves on both the GSC Funding Board and UA 
Finance Board.

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4.  Update on new ASA Database

As mentioned at the GBM last Wednesday, we've been working over the past 
summer on a replacement for the current ASA Database.  A demonstration is 
now available at https://asa.mit.edu/db2.0/. Groups are encouraged to 
explore it and send comments, questions, or feedback to asa-db at mit.edu. 
Changes that may be particularly notable:
- Greatly different signatory management UI
- Much more information is public --- if you have concerns with the MIT 
community being able to see your officer list, 
president/treasurer/signatories, account number, constitution, size, or 
various other pieces of information, please contact us and let us know why
- Tighter integration with various forms --- currently, FYSM, 
start-of-year membership/anti-hazing registration

We hope to deploy this later this term.  Part of the transition will be 
manual, as a way to ensure all our data is up-to-date. You'll have about 
two weeks to provide up-to-date information between when the new database 
goes live and when SAO and others start using it for information such as 
signatories.

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5.  Announcement about change to Campus Police detail pricing from SAO

The current hourly rate student organizations are being charged for police 
details was part of a comprehensive pricing review.  The current hourly 
billing rate of $32.00 will be increased to $39.00 per hour effective on 
October 3, 2011.

When looking at the need to increase the detail rate the following points 
were reviewed:
- Recognized student organizations are charged a reduced detail rate.  In 
addition, the reduced rate is exempt from Institute employee benefit 
charges.  The difference in charges incurred is subsidized by the MIT 
Police Department.
- As a result of union contracts, wages have increased.
- Student Activities and  the MIT Police department staff will review 
student billing  rates on a fiscal year basis and determine the need to 
increase the hourly rate.
- The current policies and rules regarding police details will remain 
unchanged.

As always, the dedication given to your student organization is greatly 
appreciated.  Please contact the Student Activities Office for any 
assistance needed for your planned event on campus.

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6.  Financial Training Sessions

Financial training sessions are currently scheduled for these dates:
10/4/2011 - 7-8pm - 4-159
10/12/2011 - 7-8pm - 4-149
10/20/2011 - 6:30-7:30pm - 4-149

All group presidents, treasurers, and financial signatories that have not 
previously attended a training are encouraged to attend one of these 
sessions, particularly if your group applies to the GSC Funding Board, UA 
Finance Board, or LEF/ARCADE.   You can email the Student Activities 
Office with questions at funds at mit.edu.

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Please feel free to email asa-exec at mit.edu with any requests, questions, 
or other inquiries.


Sincerely,
The ASA Executive Board
http://web.mit.edu/asa/about/board-members.html