3/8/12 Meeting at d'Autremont Hall

We will be meeting at d'Autremont Hall (the dining facility) at PSR on March 8, 2012.  We will gather around 5-5:30pm and talk while we enjoy dinner.  The purpose of the meeting is to further discuss what we want to do with the group and to prioritize our goals so we have a place to start.  Minutes will be posted below.  Please feel free to add your input if you were unable to make the meeting.  All GTU students are welcome.  Please email us if you have any questions: disabledinseminary@gmail.com

Dinner is $9 if you do not have a meal plan.  If you don't wish to eat, feel free to join us and just tell the cashier that you are attending a meeting but not eating.  Menu information for the dining hall is available here: http://www.psr.edu/weekly-menus


MEETING MINUTES
Attended: Katie Koumatos, Erin Levy, Chris Hockley, Kevin Dodson, Drew VanDyche, Phillip Euangelos Tanner

UPDATE FROM LAST MEETING
We began the discussion catching the members up on what was discussed in the previous meeting regarding our plans for the group.  This lead to a conversation about two specific directions we wanted to take the group:

POLITICAL OUTREACH EXTERNAL GOALS
In discussing the many changes and supports we want to lobby for, we realized that our first real task is to do outreach to the other seminary schools to bring in rest of the students with disabilities in the GTU.  A more diverse and bigger group membership will give us both the power of numbers and a better perspective on what other seminaries in the GTU are doing and perhaps bring some insight into the struggles we have.  Secondarily, we need to do some awareness outreach to ensure that students in the GTU who are eligible and in need of disability based supports know they have that option.

SELF-CARE INTERNAL GOALS
After discussing the way to build up a political base, the conversation turned to ways we can create a stronger support structure for one another.  Primarily focused on the needs of students with mental health disabilities, we discussed the creation of a formal support group (potentially with a trained facilitator) and the need for a support phone tree.  Mostly, this is to formalize the successful natural support systems that people with depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders often form with one another.  

CONFIRMED THE MEETING TIME

The group confirmed that the meeting time (5:30-7pm on Thursday nights) was a good one.

We met in the small dining room, but next week I will officially reserve the space so we can put up the Meeting in Progress notice.

NEXT MEETING: Thursday, March 15 @ 5:30pm in d'Autremont Hall