34 The Fenway, Boston 02215
Created: Fall 2006
Last Updated August 2008
Article 1.0: Mission and Purpose Statement
The mission of Fenway house is to provide a welcoming, interesting, and productive living atmosphere for MIT undergraduate and graduate students. The house recognizes both that it is primarily an undergraduate group and that graduate, visiting, and international students can be beneficial to the Fenway community as they bring a wealth of diverse experiences and knowledge. One of the goals of Fenway House is to provide residents with the opportunity to live in and lead in a co-ed, self-managed, self-sufficient house under principles of consensus, mutual respect and cooperation, and moderated anarchy, as the house views the experience of participating in such a residence as engendering valuable life skills. The house also has a tradition of and a commitment to promoting, in particular, art and artistic communities at MIT, as well as of supporting LGBT students and awareness. Furthermore, the house is dedicated to providing residents with the opportunity to express and promote their interests, as a venue, a student group, and a community. Finally, Fenway House strives to enhance the lives of residents, of MIT students, and of the larger community. The House offers a large group of interesting people who are interested in you, a lot of company and a lot of privacy, the right to ignore us all for a couple weeks and the promise that you'll be welcomed back.
Article 2.0: DEFINITION OF THE FENWAY LIVING GROUP
Section 2.0 PUTTING ASIDE THE CONSTITUTION
(a) At any time, the house may choose to vote to temporarily ignore the constitution on a particular matter.
(b) Setting aside the constitution on a particular matter requires a consensus vote. Following matters will be dealt with as the constitution provides unless otherwise specified.
Section 2.1 NAME
The name of our group shall be the Fenway House, hereinafter referred to as Fenway or the House. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology shall hereinafter be referred to as MIT.
Section 2.2 AUTHORITY
By adopting this constitution, the members of Fenway organize themselves as a self-governing body based upon the principles of majority rule and consensus. Fenway shall be governed by house meetings.
Section 2.3 LANGUAGE
Section 2.4 Quorum
Section 2.5 CONSTITUTIONAL ADMENDMENTS
(a) The Constitution may be amended at any time during the academic year by Constitutional Convention.
(b) A Constitutional Convention may be called by any resident.
(c) A draft of the amendment must be made available to house members by e-mail at least two weeks prior to the constitutional convention.
(d) All residents must be present either in person, electronically, or by proxy.
(e) The Convention takes the same general form as the house meeting.
(f) The amendment may be passed by consensus of all residents in attendance (or their proxies).
(g) Once an amendment is passed it immediately becomes part of this Constitution, unless otherwise specified
(h) It is encouraged to hold a Constitutional Ball after each successful Constitutional Convention.
(i) a 2/3 quorum must be present to pass an amendment
Section 2.5.1 Second-round supermajority
(a) If an amendment is not passed at any meeting, and if it is brought up at a meeting not less than a week but not more than two months afterwards, then it may be passed with a ¾ supermajority with a 2/3 quorum present upon due consideration by all members.
Section 2.6: HOUSE MEETING SCHEDULE
(a) House Meetings are to be held at least once a month, preferably once every two weeks at a regularly scheduled time.
(b) House Meetings will be moderated by the MinEx as described in Section 6.07.i.j
Article 3.0: RESIDENT ADVISOR
Section 3.1 R.A. Qualifications
(a) The Resident Advisor (RA) is a person who lives in the house as a resident and who bears responsibility both to the house and to MIT for maintaining the well-being of all residents, but particularly of undergraduate House residents, as dictated by the Resident Advisor Contract between MIT and the RA.
(b) The RA is not an undergraduate student, and is preferably either a graduate student at or affiliate of MIT and/or a person who has in the past been an MIT student or affiliate.
(c) The RA has indicated a willingness to enter into the cooperative spirit of the House
(d) Fenway will provide all basic utilities that are provided to house members to the RA.
Section 3.2 R.A. Responsibilities
(a)The RA is responsible for knowing and fulfilling all MIT requirements of an RA.
(b)The RA is not responsible for paying his/her house bill for the summer and the term. This will be provided by MIT.
(c)The RA has all the rights and responsibilities of residential house members, unless specifically stated otherwise.
(d) The RA has the option to vote at approval meetings if he/she so desires.
(e) The RA position will be re-evaluated on a yearly basis. The house may vote to grant an extension for another year by consensus.
(f) The RA will work specifically to help assimilate interested freshman and new members into the House.
(g) The RA is responsible for checking in on members of the house whom she/he does not see on a regular basis.
(h) The RA will be expected to do house jobs. If she/he fails to complete the assigned job, the person will be subject to general House policy.
(i) The RA will participate in Work Weeks.
Section 3.3 R.A. Approval
(a)The R.A. must be approved by consensus at a house meeting
(b)The R.A. must be re-approved on a yearly basis at the final house meeting of the spring semester.
(c) an R.A. must inform the house 4 months prior to their withdrawal, during which time the house should search for a new R.A.
Article 4: QUALIFICATIONS AND RIGHTS OF A MEMBER
Section 4.1 DEFFINITION OF A HOUSE MEMBER
(a) A resident of Fenway is a person living in the house.
(b) all persons living in the house are also ‘members’
(c) Spouses and spousal equivalents of residents are eligible to live in the house.
(d)A non-residential member is someone who has accepted a bid from the House and has expressed intention to move into the House by the next academic year.
(e)A person joining Fenway must be a registered student at MIT who has indicated a willingness to enter into the cooperative spirit of the House.
(f)MIT students who have agreed to move in to the house at the beginning of the next available term are considered full residents.
(g)A graduate student at MIT may become a member if: there are vacancies in the House, the graduate to undergraduate ratio is not exceeded, and the person is approved by the House approval process
(h)A transfer student, upperclassman, visiting student, or CME student may rush Fenway at any time.
Section 4.2 EXPULSION PROCEDURES-LOSS of MEMBER ELIGIBILITY
(a) A member may be expelled by the following procedure:
-A motion to expel the member must be made to the R.A.
-The R.A. will bring the motion to a house meeting
-at this point the person is issued a two week warning
-If the problem is not corrected an expulsion house meeting must be called
-the vote itself shall be by secret ballot.
-The member in question will be allowed to present their case and then must leave the room present during discussion.
-A vote of two-thirds majority of the people living in the house (including the member in question) is required for an expulsion.
-If the expulsion motion passes, the person will then be given a set amount of time in which they must vacate the premises.
(b) A member loses the right to reside in the House at the end of a current term if he/she:
-leaves the House to take up residency elsewhere
- is no longer a registered student at MIT;
-Has not paid his/her house bill for the semester AND has not made satisfactory arrangements for payment with the Accountant and House Manager
-Is a person subject to re-approval who is not re-approved.
Section 4.3 RESPONSIBILITIES AND RIGHTS OF MEMBERS
(a) A member of Fenway who enters as an undergraduate is guaranteed housing at Fenway from the time he/she moves into the House through the end of a 9-term undergraduate career unless expelled by the house.
(b)Residents must sign a Sublease provided by the House Manager each academic semester and each summer they live in the House, except where otherwise specified.
(c)Residents have the right to vote in all elections, on all Constitutional amendments, and all other decisions pertaining to The House unless otherwise specified in this constitution.
(d)Residents have he right to run for House offices.
(e)Residents have the right to address officers with complaints about their performance.
(f)Freshmen members who are required by MIT to live on-campus will have all rights of a residential member.
(g)House members may not spend unbudgeted house funds over $30 without the express consent of the appropriate house officer.
Section 4.4 HOUSE BILL
(a) All residents living in the house during the semester are required to pay a house bill to cover house expenses
(b) This bill shall be set by the accountant of the previous term to the best of his/her knowledge to cover all house expenses based on the number of people expected in the house
(c) The spring house bill shall be set at least two weeks before the expiry of the previous fall semester’s lease.
The summer house bill shall be set at least a month before the expiry of the spring semester’s lease.
(d)The fall house bill shall be set jointly by the summer and spring Accountants and shall be set at least six weeks before the expiry of the summer lease.
(e) All residents are required to pay each semester’s house bill by the due date set by the Accountant, or to sign a Payment Plan with the Accountant and the House Manager.
(f) A Payment Plan is a schedule for payment of the house bill which is mutually acceptable to the resident, the Accountant, and the House Manager and which is signed by all three and kept as an addendum to the Sublease.
(g) Failure to adhere to the payment due date or the Payment Plan is subject to the penalties enumerated in the Sublease, including possible eviction.
Article 5.0: MEMBER APPROVAL AND RE-APPROVAL PROCESS
Section 5.1 OPEN BID POLICY
(a) Freshmen, sophomores and undergraduate transfer students to MIT are given an open-bid as long as space is available in the House.
(b) Living bids may only be given to persons considering living in the house for at least one full term. We are not a boarding house for short 1, 2, 3 month residence. This includes IAP but is not in force during the summer.
(c) Freshman who accept an open bid as enumerated below will be considered full house members immediately
(d)In cases of limited house space bids will be considered in
1. Order of declaration
2. in order of:
-Freshmen/Sophomores,
-Transfer Students and Upperclassmen,
-CME,
- Graduate Students, Visiting/special students
(e) To take advantage of an open bid any person with an open bid must declare an interest in living in the house. Such interest may be declared to a current house member verbally or by e-mail to a current house member whom the interested person has met.
(f)In order to accept an open bid, the interested person must:
1. Receive a full house tour
2. Meet at least 6 house members
3. Declare their interest to live in the house with an e-mail sent to all current house
Members.
(g) A bid may remain open for only 1 year. After that time a person who had previously received an open or standard bid must reapply for approval if they decide they want to move into the house.
Section 5.2 RE-APPROVAL
(a)All members up for re-approval and interested in living in the house the following term must be voted on at least three weeks before the last day of finals of the current semester.
(b) A house meeting for re-approval may occur as part of any house meeting, but must occur at least 3 weeks prior to the last day of finals of the semester. This house meeting may be called by any member.
(c) The meeting will consist of all MIT undergraduates currently living in the house or approved to live in the house for the following semester. The RA may be in attendance but is non-voting.
(d) All re-approvals require a 2/3 supermajority of those eligible to vote in the meeting.
(e) Any resident who is not a full-time undergraduate at MIT must be re-approved for each academic semester.
(f) MIT undergraduate students require re-approval after their 9th academic semester at MIT
(g) The house may not reapprove more than 1 graduate student for every 2 undergraduate students (not including CME students or visiting students). This is as per FSILG office.
Section 5.3 CONSENSUS
(a) Consensus is the state of agreement by 100% of the members voting
(b) Proxies may count towards consensus
(c) The following are done by consensus vote:
-RA approval
-Key list approval
-approval of new residents who are not eligible for open bid, that is, any person who is not an MIT freshman, sophomore, or transfer student
-approval to paint over a mural or to paint a mural
-approval for guests staying 10 days or more
-amending the constitution, except where by second-round supermajority
-temporarily setting aside the constitution
(d) The following do not require a consensus vote
-deciding on dates for anything.
- electing officers
-removing a house officer
-house Purchases
-house member expulsion
-calling the conflict resolution process into force
-conflict resolution-the vote to award a room during the rooming meeting
-member reapprovals
Section 5.4 APPROVALS
(a)Approval may only be granted for the upcoming semester, or for the beginning of the next academic year. Approval expires after that time.
(b) all approvals require a consensus vote
(c) Only current MIT undergraduates may be approved to move in after the second week of any term. A decision to suspend this policy for a particular case must be made by consensus at a house meeting.
(d) Historically, it is common to receive a large amount of graduate student interest over the summer. For this reason, graduate student interest is collected until August 1st, and replies must be given on or before August 15th.
(e) For visiting and special students, or for requests by undergraduate students to move in, a house meeting must be held and a decision given to the interested person within two weeks of the person declaring interest.
(f) If a house meeting fails to occur or is not possible (because people are away, e.g.), the rush king should seek to collect consensus to the best of their ability and then make a decision. (i. e. stop at a “no”)
Section 5.5 GUEST POLICY
(a) Any animate Guest, including persons or pets, staying longer than 10 days must be approved by a full consensus vote of the house.
(b) Leash your guest. Courtesy indicates that guests should be accompanied and supervised, et c. Note that house members are usually more skeptical of guests who do not appear to be student-age.
(c) An e-mail must be sent to the house informing them if a unknown guest will be staying in the house without the supervision of the member or is staying for more than 3 nights or is staying in either the guest room or one of the common areas. If a guest has come over several times and been introduced to at least half the house members, no emails need be sent.
(d) So far as possible, the house manager or his/her delegate should watch contractors doing work on the house.
ARTICLE 6.0: OFFICERS
Section 6.01 TIMES OF ELECTIONS
(a) House officers shall be elected by the house members at a house meeting.
(b) The date of the Elections meeting must be scheduled during the first house meeting of the term
(c) The elections meeting must be held before the end of the term.
Section 6.02 NOMINATIONS
(a) A member may be nominated by himself or herself or by another house member
(b) A nominated member may accept or reject the nomination
(c) All nominations must be seconded by another member of the house.
(d) A person must be present at the meeting either in person, electronically, or by proxy, to accept or decline a nomination
Section 6.03 ELECTION PROCEDURES
(a) The officers shall be elected one at a time in the order specified below. The following procedure shall be used in each election:
-The outgoing officer, if available, shall explain the duties of the officer to be elected, and open the floor for new nominations. If the outgoing officer is not available, the Minister of External Relations shall explain the position.
-Candidates shall each make a statement and respond to questions.
-All candidates will then leave the room and a short discussion of the candidates shall take place.
-voting shall be done by a show of hands.
- In case of a tie, a runoff shall be held.
-The RA is responsible for tallying the votes.
-The RA shall announce the result of the election.
Section 6.04 TERMS OF LENGTH OF OFFICE
(a) An officer's term shall extend from the day he/she is elected until the day a new officer is elected, or the officer resigns or moves out, after which the new officer shall succeed. See exceptions below or officer descriptions for any differing term lengths and definitions. .
(b) Both fall and summer officers are elected at the end of the spring term. The fall officer’s term begins on registration day.
(c) The summer housing czar(ina) is elected at the end of the fall semester.
Section 6.05 REPLACEMENT OF OFFICERS
(a) If, at any time during her/his term of office an officer resigns, the House shall elect a successor. A special house meeting may be called for the purpose.
Section 6.06 REMOVAL OF OFFICERS
(a). An officer may be removed from office by a two-thirds majority of all votes cast at a house meeting. If the removal of an officer is voted, nomination for his/her replacement shall take place at the same meeting, and election of his/her replacement shall take place at the same.
Section 6.07 EXECUTIVE HOUSE OFFICERS
(a)The house officer positions of Minister of External Relations, rush chair, House Manager, and Risk Manager must be filled by undergraduate residents.
(b) a person may only hold one executive office at a time.
(c) All officers that must be filled by undergrads need not be filled by undergraduates over the summer, but should be filled by qualified year-round residents rather than summer boarders.
i) MINISTER OF EXTERNAL RELATIONS "MinEx" (undergrad)
(a) The Minister is the Poster Child or Meeting Body for the house
(b)To represent the House to the Alumni Corporation, to MIT, and to the outside community in general.
(c)To coordinate and hold bimonthly meetings with the house officers and FSILG office
Representative
(d) To keep residents informed concerning house business
(e)To attend any FSILG leadership training courses.
(f) To act as the liaison between the living group and nearby residents, or the neighborhood association.
(g) To make sure amendments to the constitution are added to the wiki and the website.
(h) To attend all Alumni Corps meetings.
(i) To attend (or delegate someone to attend) LGC meetings
(j) To moderate house meetings:
(2) To add follow-up items from previous house meetings to the agenda.
(3) To communicate house meeting decisions to the Corporation and
residents not present at the meeting.
ii) ACCOUNTANT- Chancellor of the Exchequer
(a)To perform or oversee all financial transactions made by the House in a timely manner.
(b)To charge house bills each MIT semester to individual residents, to provide monthly account updates, and to grant variances in house bills, and to establish payment plans in individual cases.
(c)To take any action he/she sees fit to collect debts owed to the House.
(d)To report formally to the corporation as often as it may require, giving full details of the House's financial status.
(e)To attend any FSILG Treasurer training courses.
(f)To provide for the orderly maintenance of House finances.
(g)To pay all the bills and other expenses the house incurs out of the house account. These often include but are not limited to utilities, rent to the Alumni corporation, payment to vendors of food and other necessary goods, inspection fees, fines, regular and occasional contractors, including those routed through FCI.
(h)To deposit monetary instruments delivered to the house.
(i)To keep a record of payments and incomes during the semester to ensure the house operates within its budget
(j)To make a financial status report to house meetings and fake officer meetings or to any resident or Alumni Corps Officer upon reasonable request.
(k)Attend corps officer meetings upon request or once a semester
(l) the accountant must present a preliminary draft of the house budget by the end of the first day of classes.
(m) the final draft of the house budget must be present at a house meeting and voted upon by the house by the end of the second week of classes.
(n) present the house bill and high-level budget at the first house meeting of the term
(o) the accountant does not need to do a house chore
iii) RISK MANAGER (undergrad)
(a)Ensure that all open events are conducted in a safe manner and according to MIT and the city of Boston legal requirements.
(b)To attend any FSILG Risk Manager training courses.
(c) Must give or appropriately delegate giving a nitty gritty house tour to all new members within two weeks of their moving in. Such a house tour explains the requirements of attending house meetings, doing house jobs, attending work week; teaches people how to use the appliances such as stove, sink disposal, dumpster key and oven, where the tool room and paint in the pit are, where the boiler room is, a tour of all house rooms and all house rule.
(d) update numbers
(e) put emergency information by all the public phones
(f) collect emergency contact information for all residents
(g) Give new residents a copy of the Way of the Fen
iv) HOUSE MANAGER (undergrad)
(a)To assign and supervise house chores, providing for the public humiliation or other reprimand of shirkers.
(b)To watch over and ensure the cleanliness and orderly appearance of the House.
(c)By ongoing attention to ensure that the physical house receives proper maintenance, so that it shall remain a place of safety and comfort.
(d)To maintain the sprinkler, alarm, and emergency lighting systems, to arrange for the periodic inspection of these systems, and to keep records of these inspections.
(e)To maintain all smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and alarms and ensure that all exits are kept clear of safety hazards.
(f)To provide household supplies, for house upkeep and not obtained regularly by steward.
(g)To have a set of all extant keys and to provide house keys to all residents and other approved persons.
(h)To attend any FSILG House Manager training courses.
(i)To distribute, co-sign, and collect Alumni-Corporation-Approved subleases for all residents, while keeping a roster of all residents
(j)The House manager must hand over the Fenway Pink Kitty Crop of Reprimand to the Work Week Manager at the beginning of work week.
(k) to respond to facilities related emergencies (e.g. fire alarms, flooding)
(l) To promptly repair any house maintenance problems, and not to leave them to be done until work week.
(m) the house manager is not required to do a house chore.
v) STEWARD
(a)To plan for and obtain house foods in such a way as to be responsive within reason to the desires of the house residents (Megscretion)
(b) to oversee the ordering of food for the House.
(c) to take inventory of house consumables on a weekly basis.
(d)To plan for and obtain household consumables such as cleaning supplies, light bulbs, and paper products.
(e)To determine which foods shall be available for general consumption.
(f)The steward is granted a budget by the Accountant at the beginning of the semester, and purchases outside that budget must not be made without the knowledge and approval of the Accountant.
(g) the steward is not required to do a house chore
vi) RUSH KING
(0) is in charge of the overarching rush approach for the coming year
(a) To prepare a rush schedule.
(b) To prepare information for any rush publications.
(c)To advertise rush events.
(d)To train new members regarding rush procedures.
(e)To ensure that all house members participate in rush
(f)To act as a liaison for interested persons, including poking the house about the approval process.
(g) To attend all LGC Rush meetings.
(h)To attend all FSILG Rush Chair training courses.
(i)To publicize the existence and culture of all things Fenway House to the outside world. The primary focus of the rush chair is undergraduates
(j) The Rush King serves for a term of 1 year beginning in February
(k) The rush king is exempt from a house job
vii) Rush Prince
(a) To assist the rush king in general.
(b) To be the rush king back-up.
(c) The Rush Prince serves for a term of 1 semester.
(d) The rush prince is NOT exempt from a house job
Section 6.08 NON-EXECUTIVE HOUSE OFFICERS
(a) any member of the house may be selected to the following officer positions
(b) a person may hold any number of non-executive offices
i) WORK WEEK AGONIZER
(a). The work week agonizer (aka work week manager) shall be picked the term before each work week.
(b). The work week manager will plan the dates for work week two months in advance.
(c). will write up a prioritized list of all the materials and projects needed to be done for work week discussing them with the house manager, accountant and alumni corp.
(d) the work week manager must be present for 40 hours of work week and appoint a substitute manager to oversee for the remaining hours as necessary.
(e) the work week agonizer should present a rough work week task list to the house at the last house meeting of the term for feedback.
ii) SOCIAL CHAIR
(a)to organize set up, occurrences, and clean up of regular social events such as parties, dinners, formals, faculty dinners, etc.
(b)to arrange a budget with the accountant
(c)to obtain any and all necessary permissions from MIT and the city of Boston for parties and events
iii) SUMMER HOUSING CZAR(INA):
(a)To advertise the rooms available for the summer through the LGC and other campus and off-campus venues.
(b)To interview prospective boarders and inform them of all House responsibilities, e.g. house chores, rent payment schedule, co-op atmosphere, and general cleanliness.
(c)To insure summer rent is received upon move in date for non-MIT students.
(d)To assign rooms to all summer residents, with full enlightened despotic power, taking into consideration resident preferences so far as feasible.
iv) NETWORK MANGLER
(a)To work with MIT Information Services and the House Managers to maintain the House network and the network connections in individual rooms.
(b)To work with the House Manager to maintain the phone lines to the house, the house magic phone box and the connections in individual rooms.
(c)To maintain House email lists
(d)To assist residents with communication technology problems.
v) WEBMASTER
(a) To maintain the house web page
(b) To update the house Wiki with stuff as appropriate
(c) To work with the Rush Chair to post schedules of rush events
(d) To poke people to put things on various websites.
Article 7.0: WORK WEEK
(a) Length of the work week will be 5 days and each resident required to do work week must do 40 hours.
(b) held before the beginning of Fall term and over IAP where members of the house come together to work on larger projects needed for the maintenance and update of the house as a whole.
(c) At lunch on the fourth day of work week, all house members must determine, by consensus, a list of critical tasks which must be finished before work week is over.
(d) If the critical tasks are not finished before the end of work week, then members without other daytime commitments must continue to work until the critical tasks are complete.
(e) Members who have other commitments after workweek must make up hours equivalent to the extra put in by their fellow housemembers.
(f) Work Week manager meets with the alumni corp and house manager to prioritize a list of repairs and a budget
(g) If a member can not complete his or her hours during the designated work week then they are to make a contract with the house manager to make up and complete these hours by the end of the term.
(h)If a person misses work week and does not help in the process they can be fined at the discretion of a house meeting.
(i) Absence during work week is very strongly discouraged. In the case of a necessary absence work week hours are strongly encouraged to be made up before work week begins.
(j) All persons planning on living in the house for the coming term must participate in work week
(k) Work week dates and required hours must be set by the work week manager by the second house meeting of the term.
(l) If a new resident is unable to do work week during the allotted time due to extenuating circumstances, it will be decided during the first house meeting of the term whether and how many make-up hours are to be assigned.
(m) Any person living in the house during work week is required to participate fully for as long as they are residents, regardless of eligibility.
(n) If a resident is excused from completing work week hours during work week, they should not be present in the house during the work hours, even if the excused activity could theoretically be performed in one’s room or in the house. (E.g. preparing for a job interview, class or schoolwork, et c. should be done on campus or elsewhere) In general there are plenty of quiet study spaces and vacant classrooms on campus when work weeks are held.
Article 8.0: HOUSE CHORES
(a)Each resident is expected to devote approximately one hour per week towards house chores, in addition to cleaning up after themselves.
(b)House chores are assigned by the house manager by the end of the first week of the semester.
(c) House Manager, Accountant, Rush King, and Steward are exempt from house chores.
(d) If a person is not performing in their house chore they are to be
i) First warned by the house manager that their area is being neglected
ii) Then if the area is still not cleaned the house manager can send a fine to the person.
-The person may appeal a fine to the house if they believe it has been made unfairly and the house may vote whither the fine should be upheld.
iii) If a person repeatedly (more than 5 weeks in a term) does not do their house chore the house can hold a meeting and vote on the removal of the person from the house.
(e) house manager must inform accountant of any fines assigned and is responsible for collecting said fines by the end of the term.
Article 9.0: ROOMING POLICIES
Section 9.1 Rooming Meeting
(a)A rooming meeting must be held at least one week prior to the first day of classes to determine the rooming for the Fall Semester.
(b)Summer residents will be required to move out three days prior to the beginning of the fall work week. House members may begin to move into their rooms at this time.
(c)Rooming meetings will be run according to the policy listed below in section 8.2.
(d) Only persons with current roommates may squat a room, and they may only squat a room as a group
(e) During the first house meeting of each term a date must be set for the following rooming meeting.
Section 9.2 Consensus with limits
(a) The rooming meeting happens consists of an open-ended discussion. When an unsolvable conflict is encountered the house will take a consensus vote on whether or not to invoke conflict resolution (see section 9.3)
(b) After a conflict resolution takes place the rooming meeting will continue as an open ended discussion.
(c) An extension vote is held at 2 hours and every half hour thereafter. If the extension vote passes by a simple majority, the meeting continues unchanged. If it fails, all remaining conflicts are sent to conflict resolution.
Section 9.3 Conflict Resolution
(a) In the case that a conflict resolution is called the house will then take a vote which requires a simple majority to pass on whether or not to invoke conflict resolution due to an irreconcilable conflict.
(b) The conflict resolution segment for any given conflict is limited to 15 min.
(c) At the beginning of the conflict resolution segment each party to the conflict presents his/her/their case based on moral suasions. Suggested arguments include performance as an officer or on house chores, prior rooming arrangements, general helpfulness.
(d) Conflict resolution is decided by simple majority, possibly including runoffs.
(e) If a majority is not possible (ie there is a tie) then defer to a random event, e.g. flip a coin
Article 10.0: FENMINDS
(a) A Fenmind must be granted for House members decide that the house needs an item that is under $30 dollars, where a fenmind is defined as the agreement of three house members on the item to be purchased, one of whom is preferably the house manager or accountant.
(b) A Fenmind must also be granted for any decisions that affect the entire house such as lighting fires in the fireplaces, throwing away large items, etc.
Article 11.0 KEY LIST
(a) all non-members that want access to a house key, must present their case (or through a proxy) at a house meeting. The non-member must then leave the room while the house votes.
(b) For approval there must be a consensus vote
AMENDMENTS
and
WAY OF THE FEN
Article 1.0: HOLY TRUTHS AND COMMANDMENTS
(a) The banister is probably not as structural as you think, though it is more structural than it was.
(b) The sanitizer is now actually a dishwasher, but it is a crappy dishwasher so just pretend it’s not one.
(c) Thou shalt not put the housebook in the oven
(d) Thou shalt not divide by zero
(e) Thou shalt not lick the fuzzy wallpaper
Article 2.0: FENBEES
Section 2.1 Definition
(a)A Fenbee is a friend of the house but not someone who lives here.
(b)They have attended more than three events at the house and have expressed interest in ongoing participation in the house.
(c)They may be alumni of the house who wish to keep in contact, friends of people in the house, or undergrads who are interested in the house.
Section 2.2 Perks of being a Fenbee:
(a)Fenbees are welcome into the house and allowed to come over anytime and dine
(b)If there are special events specifically for the house they are invited.
(c)They may be invited to come along on a retreat if voted on by the house in a meeting
(d) If there are special tickets or arts events organized by the house they are given discounts (although not as low as full fenbeings).
Section 2.3 Fenbee Don’ts
(a)Fenbees do not get keys to the house unless decided by the house in a meeting.
(b)Fenbees are not given shirts unless they are undergrads who have pledged to move into the house, but they can buy the shirts for a discount price
(c)House members can vote if they wish to remove someone from the Fenbee list with a ¾ vote
FENWAY RISK MANAGEMENT POLICY
Updated IAP 2007
Article 1: House Security
In order to ensure the physical security of the house we will observe the following practices:
I. Doors Leading to the Outside
Section II. General Security
Section III. Parties, Alcohol, Health Awareness
Fenway is not an alcohol certified house and therefore we comply with the IFC policies for non-certified organizations. However we do encourage members to become tips trained, and legal liability trained.
Fenway does not condone underage and/or irresponsible drinking in any capacity and prohibits the use of any alcohol in common house areas.
We encourage our members to be educated in other forms of first aid such as CPR, disaster response, and EMT training. We also encourage members to train with the MIT med center student training program.
Section IV: General Safety
A. Fire Safety
All fire exits are clearly marked and kept unobstructed at all times.
Fire extinguishers are available on all floors and fire detectors are located in compliance with the city of Boston regulations fire drill are held periodically to test the smoke detectors
B. Hazing policy
Fenway does not condone any manner of hazing, as it violates MIT regulations and is prohibited by Massachusetts state law.
Members are encouraged to use safe ride after dark.
Fenway contact numbers and emergency numbers are posted by the house phones located on every floor and kept up to date by the risk manager.
Article 2: Emergencies-Policies and Procedures
It is always appropriate for Fenway members to call the campus police in any situation.
In the even of fire, burglary, personal injury, etc.:
In the case that a suspicious person gains entry to the house:
In the event of an alcohol related emergency that requires assistance, Call 911.
Appendix A –Emergency Numbers
MIT Medical 24 hour number (617) 253-1311
MIT Campus Police (617) 253-1212
Fire Department
Boston Police
Emergency 911
MGH
Dean of Student Life:
Name: Larry Benedict
Email: larryben@mit.edu
Phone: (617) 253-4052
Appendix B: Current and Past Trained members
Shannon Greer: adult CPR, disaster services, child CPR, first aid
Fenway Independent Living Group New Member Information
(To be handed to a new member when they pledge, along with a new Fen t-shirt)
This is an information sheet to accompany your pledge to be a Fenway house member. We are excited to welcome you into our community and our home!
This handout covers most of the information you should know about Fenway. It would also be a good idea to read the constitution and Way of The Fen posted on the house computer and on the Fenway Wikki.
Obligations of House members:
House meetings are held on average twice a month. These meetings are mandatory for all members. All residential and non-residential new members have full voting rights.
Rush and work week require the participation of all residential and non-residential members. Work week is the 5-7 days (40-48hours) and the end of the summer and at the end of IAP during which we maintain and improve out house. Rush includes events throughout the fall and spring terms. Full participation in Rush and Work Week is mandatory.
Each residential member is assigned a house job. These are done once a week and take about an hour. If too many jobs are missed the house member may be subject to a fine at the discretion of the house manager.
The residential house bill is around $2,000 per semester. It covers room, board, food, utilities and participation in all house activities, retreats and parties. The house bill is due around the Add date of each semester.
There is no smoking allowed anywhere in the house.
All pets require house approval prior to moving in.
The Safe Ride stops just down the block at the corner of the Fenway and Boylston. You can also get to campus using the number one bus.