2005-02-27

February 27, 2005 - SCCS Media Lounge
NOTE: This is simply a record of the meeting. For a paragraph version, please see the long-term plan.

Attendance: Nelson Pavlosky '06, Luke Smith '06, Andrew Lacey '05, Ben Blonder '08, David German '08, Nathan La Porte '08, Lisa Benson '08

Ben Blonder facilitated the discussion.

Strengths

 * strong underclassman base
 * good relationships with other organizations on campus
 * generation of press both local and national, name recognition
 * contacts with interesting people in our movement (Lessig, Moglen, etc.)

Weaknesses

 * poor follow-through
 * poor delegation of responsibility
 * we struggle to attract non-geek membership
 * lack of enthusiasm for prop
 * our vision is unclear both among ourselves and to the world at large
 * poor turnout for dinner meetings

Opportunities

 * next year's crop of freshmen (Ride the Tide, Activities Fair)
 * national conference next spring
 * increase our visibility on campus via parties (LAN party)
 * high-profile activities that might entail legal trouble

Threats

 * Nelson and Luke's graduation will leave us needing new local leaders
 * possible collapse of national movement
 * number of chapters has shrunk from 14 to 9, only 5 definitely stable
 * we need to support it while keeping ourselves detached from it emotionally
 * I don't think that this is really a problem anymore... the national organization has become a lot healthier since this meeting, and I think that it has enough momentum now that it will continue independently of any one person. We've increased the "bus factor," i.e. how many people can get hit by a bus before the organization is in trouble. The number of stable chapters has definitely increased, and we have a boatload of new recruits launching groups.  The future looks good. -- Nelson 17:58, 11 Apr 2005 (EDT)
 * Nelson's graduation will distance us from national freeculture.org
 * we will need a national liaison
 * I think we're beginning to fix this, with getting people on the conference calls, but we will need a primary liason as well. -- Nelson 18:09, 11 Apr 2005 (EDT)
 * Ongoing lack of charter
 * Fixed. -- Nelson 18:01, 11 Apr 2005 (EDT)
 * ongoing name transition from SCDC to FCS

Goals

 * Attract a more diverse member base, move into a broader territory
 * media democracy, art
 * more active recruiting and activities


 * Clearly articulate what we're about, build a vocabulary for our issues, become comfortable with a spiel
 * Nelson and Luke will try to outline their original vision, for starters


 * Each semester should contain one speaker, one campaign, one substantive event, one social event
 * have a meeting at the end of each semester to outline the next


 * Engage in recruiting of freshmen every year, set a numerical target for core freshmen to harvest
 * have rush meeting, dinner meetings


 * Host the national conference next spring


 * Adhere to the published way to do prop


 * Delegate, establish accountability, and ensure follow-through
 * by task, minimize permanent assignment of positions
 * necessary permanent positions: local leader, national liaison, treasurer, secretary


 * Develop online repositories of information about ourselves
 * comprehensive contact list
 * commitment to blogging what we do


 * Get a charter


 * Have a plan for succession/transition


 * Tri-co solidarity and cooperation


 * Develop and maintain good relations with administration and faculty

Alex Benn will convert these bullet points into a document in paragraph form over spring break eventually. We will polish that document with input from Ed Kako and the membership at large, and formally adopt a final version by the end of the semester.