A Response From the Thelmo E-Board

The Thelomathesian Society Executive Board is committed to improving the lives of all St. Lawrence University Students. Through a policy of transparency, the Executive Board would like to use this opportunity, this newspaper article, to portray how the Executive Board has conducted their work so far this semester and address concerns that have been brought forward to the St. Lawrence University community. 

Numbers do not lie. This semester, 14 contingencies have been approved to go to the Senate. Of the 14 contingencies, three were athletics related and 11 were non-athletics related. Of the three contingencies that were athletics related, only one was related to a varsity team. The 11 non-athletics-related contingencies varied from BLI, to the I-House, to Ducks Unlimited, to the Campus Kitchens Project, to name a few. Two of the sports-related contingencies that were approved to go to the Senate were from club sports: Women’s Club Rugby and Club Ultimate Frisbee. Women’s Club Rugby and Club Ultimate Frisbee are extremely active clubs with large memberships. Based on these numbers, we believe it is unfair to imply that the Thelmo Executive Board (E-Board) is biased in favor of athletic teams or athletics as a whole. 

Furthermore, the E-Board of 2023 has had to increase their strictness due to the continual decrease of funds in the SLU Student Activities Fund (SLUSAF) since COVID-19. The E-Board has taken bolder stances that align with their responsibility of making decisions that are founded in the values of diversity, equity, and sustainability. The SLUSAF Contingency Fund is designed as a reserve account to help fund unforeseen expenses for students on campus and is designed as a last resort when all other fundraising attempts have been exhausted. 

Due to the stringent quality requirements of the E-Board, we have been able to save substantial amounts of funds from the Contingency Fund. For example, A Nine Coalition contingency request was initially submitted for a total amount of $631, but after conversations and funding from Lindsay Cohen, the Title Nine Coordinator, the same event was resubmitted at $47. Also, a member of the student body who wished to go on a personal trip to develop their academic goals was redirected to the English department to receive funds for a $982.50 contingency request and was then able to submit another request for $382.50, which was passed by the Executive Board as a micro-contingency. 

We have returned several proposals back to the corresponding groups due to a lack of clear information or because we believe other sources could potentially offer funding prior to accessing the contingency fund. One of the groups that we asked for more information before presenting was Women’s Club Rugby, so they were given an extra week to amend the concerns. We want to make it clear that when the E-Board requests more information or other sources of funding, that does not mean the contingency has been denied. This process is designed to make the event and requested materials more coherent, organized, and ready for the Senate to address it with minimal gaps in planning. Secondly, due to the redirecting of clubs, organizations, or individuals to other entities, the financial burden on the contingency fund has significantly decreased. 

The E-Board cannot be called biased towards athletics. Many of our E-Board members are extremely active students on campus and were already members of many other organizations before joining the E-Board. Events that come from the organizations that E-Board members are affiliated with do not come personally from them, but from their organization as a whole. Dexter Seeley ’25 (Vice President of Senate Affairs) and Marteas Johnson ’23 (Treasurer) have always made sure that all requests go through the proper process. We always require that members of an organization abstain from voting during the E-Board meetings when deciding to send a contingency to the Senate. For example, both Brooker ’25 (President) and Levy ’23 (Delegate to the Board of Trustees) abstained when discussing the Varsity Squash contingency.  

In reference to President Brooker presenting a contingency: the Thelomathesian Constitution grants all students the right to present in front of the Senate, including senators and members of the Executive Board. This is also not a precedent, as former presidents have presented contingencies before the Senate during their time. President Brooker and his co-presenter were both required to leave the room when the Senate voted, in order to allow no pressure to be exerted onto the Senators when voting. 

There were ultimately three reasons the E-Board did not send the Titus contingency to the Senate. Firstly, the OC requested $35,000, which is nearly half of the contingency fund for the entire semester. The SLUSAF fund is allocated for the full semester and is paid for by all current students, so, we must allocate this fund as equally among the student body as possible, while also accounting for overall benefit to the St. Lawrence community as a whole. How would it be equitable for nearly half the SLUSAF contingency fund to be used up by one club in one day? Secondly, the event did not embrace the values of diversity and inclusion. Further, the request showed that there was no advertisement for the event or interest survey toward marginalized groups, who have historically been excluded from the Titus Mountain conversation, planning, and experience. The E-Board and Student Life Faculty addressed these concerns to the OC prior to their contingency submission. Thirdly, after careful review from Thelmo and the administration, it appeared that the contingency did not address any precautionary measures in regard to intoxicated students. There were no measures to mitigate any altercations that may ensue from intoxicated students within the local and public vicinity, or on the buses to and from the mountain. There have been numerous incident reports, dating back to 2015, of incidents after or during the Titus Mountain event. Such incidents are not only affiliated with the OC, but with Thelmo and the university as a whole. 

In reference to The Hill News’(THN) contingency regarding continuing the printing of their newspaper on paper, the E-Board felt that the student body should have the opportunity to weigh in on the matter. The E-Board kindly asked the Hill News to do a survey on how the student body would like to receive their news, via paper or through more digital means. The student body as the target audience should decide which format would be optimal and most sensible, not the E-Board. The E-Board values student opinions. Therefore, the survey was a great opportunity to receive valuable student input. We never said the Hill News could not present their contingency, but instead encouraged them to get data and feedback from their peers before presenting.  

To sum up, the article published in THN did not paint a factual picture of Thelmo and the Executive Board, which enabled incorrect beliefs to be perpetuated about Thelmo as a whole. As a whole, the Executive Board and Thelmo wish to promote a better St. Lawrence community. We recognize the role of the Hill News is to hold us accountable and we look forward to working alongside them to make sure this happens. We welcome and encourage any students moving forward with concerns to set up a time to meet with the Executive Board or to come to one of the Thelmo meetings on Wednesday evenings at 7 pm in the Hannon Room. The Executive Board strives to embody the ideals of our organization and will continue to work with the Senate to ensure that even higher expectations are met.