Graduate & Professional Student Assembly Minutes March 27, 2000 Big Red Barn Graduate & Professional Student Center Greenhouse 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Attendance: 1999 - 2000 GPSA Members 4/26 9/27 10/25 11/22 1/24 2/28 3/27 4/24 Jean Ahn P P P P P P P Bill Bauerle P P P P P P P Dennis Carlson P P P P Pat Carr P P P P E P P Rong Fan P P A A P A A Stefan Hames E P P P P P P Wendy Harris P A A A A A A Chitkala Kalidas P P A A A P A Peter Kaskan P P E P P A E Krysta Levac P P Charles Marentette P P P P P Emily Meseck A P P P P E P Krista Mowry P P P A P P P John Schwarz P Uresh Sheth E P Daniel Simmons P P P A A P A Lakshmi (Vatsa) Srivatsa P A P P A P P Kevin Sherper-Walker P P P E P Others Present: Michael Cosh, Stephanie Tinsley and Bonnie Bailey

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by Pat Carr, Vice President of the 1999–2000 GPSA, at 5:10 p.m.

Open Forum

Jean Ahn, Sloan/Human Service Studies, reported that she asked the Student Health Insurance Advisory Committee about the possibility of distributing the Student Health Insurance binder of information to the GPSA.  The committee responded that they would prefer to make a presentation of the information to the GPSA as it is so detailed.  J.Ahn asked members whether they would prefer to have the presentation at the next GPSA meeting or at the next COR meeting.

P.Carr noted that another possibility would be to arrange an open forum on health insurance that would be held in a large lecture hall.

Members responded that they preferred to have the presentation at a regular meeting since it is already an established meeting time that people plan to attend.  However, some members thought it might be better to wait to hold the presentation until next fall for the new GPSA and COR members because this year is almost over.

Bonnie Bailey, Office of the Assemblies, reminded members that COR members for 2000–01 are supposed to be identified by March 28.  She requested that members help their field if they know that a new representative has yet to be found.  B.Bailey informed members that committee applications would be brought to the 6:00 COR meeting on April 10, but they are also available on the GPSA web page or through the Office of the Assemblies in 165 Day Hall.  Advertising for vacancies for the University Hearing and Review Boards has begun.  B.Bailey stated that it would be best to apply for these particular committee positions as soon as possible since interviews are required.  She requested that members inform her if they are interested in either the University Hearing or Review Boards.

Michael Cosh, Civil Engineering, announced that GPSAFC positions are also open.  He requested that members inform him if they are interested in joining the GPSAFC.

P.Carr stated he is considering proposing a GPSA charter amendment at the next GPSA meeting.  He explained that it currently takes a two-thirds vote of assembled members to elect officers.  However, problems could arise if a candidate receives a majority vote that is under the two-thirds requirement.  Therefore, he would like to make an amendment so that a simple majority can elect officers, especially since Robert’s Rules of Order does not have a two-thirds requirement.  He noted that the amendment would be voted on at the 5:00 p.m. GPSA meeting in April.  If passed, it would take effect immediately and be implemented at the 6:00 p.m. meeting since this amendment would not require approval from the President.

Minutes

The minutes of the February 28, 2000 meeting were approved as amended:
On page three, last paragraph, Ezra Cornell had the “VI” removed from his name.

Announcements and Reports A) Committee Reports

P.Carr reported that the West Campus Program Planning Committee finished what it was charged to do and has submitted its report.  The committee came up with several recommendations in regards to the proposed program.  P.Carr stated that the committee has dissolved itself and will be reconstituted in what is tentatively known as the West Campus Council.  Graduate students will have seats on this council since the proposed program calls for graduate RAs.  P.Carr said that he does not know when the West Campus Council will actually start.

S.Hames informed members that he is currently serving on the Student Fee Policy Review Committee.  He explained that last fall the SA requested that the administration provide a listing of fees and fines and a review of how that money is used because many students felt that they were being “nickeled and dimed”.  S.Hames stated that he, along with Michael Hanson, SA Vice President of Finance, and one other undergraduate, are on the committee as student representatives.  They are reviewing various fees, such as those for athletics.  In looking at these fees, the committee is asking two questions:

1) Is the fee reasonable (e.g. cost recovery)? 2) What are the funds actually used for? S.Hames stated that some members of the administration want to use focus groups in order to gauge the feelings of the student community on this subject. However, one problem with using focus groups is that they are not necessarily representative of the larger student population. S.Hames remarked that he prefers a survey format and he will make one for the GPSA’s constituents. He informed members that he would forward a survey about the topic to gpsa-l. He requested that members forward it on to their various fields.

Business of the Day A) Resolution and Petition Regarding the Funding of Graduate Student Health Insurance

Bill Bauerle, Floriculture, suggested that the GPSA formulate a resolution at this meeting to advise the Provost that Dean Cohen’s health insurance initiative should be accepted.  He distributed to assembled members a draft petition that he and Kevin Sherper-Walker, CRP, had drafted and said he would welcome feedback and help in formulating language for a resolution.

S.Hames suggested that the resolution should be voted on at the next meeting.

K.Sherper-Walker replied that he felt the GPSA should express its support for the initiative sooner, rather than later.

B.Bailey suggested that the GPSA wait to announce its support of Dean Cohen’s proposal until it receives clear details, such as seeing the proposal in writing.

S.Hames stated that he would also like to get the petition sent out to consult the graduate community before making the resolution.

M.Cosh suggested that a poll be used instead of a petition.  The petition could be condensed to a statement which people could then decide to either agree or disagree with.  M.Cosh stated that he believes a poll would be more compelling.

K.Sherper-Walker disagreed, saying that the petition would be more compelling.  After all, who would not want free health insurance?  He stated that the wording of the petition was carefully arranged to start people thinking about why health insurance should be provided free-of-charge to the graduate community.  He reiterated that he believes actual signatures, which can be checked, are more compelling than a poll.

M.Cosh disagreed, stating that the results of a poll sound better and so a poll is more convincing.  For example, one can either say that 1000 students out of all graduate students showed their support by signing the petition, or one could say that 75% of the sample polled supports the inclusion of health insurance in assistantship packages.

K.Sherper-Walker suggested that both a petition and poll could be done, if someone else would be willing to organize the poll.

J.Ahn noted that the petition makes mention of professional students.  She asked how professional students would be approached regarding signing the petition.  She also expressed concern that tuition would be raised in order to help pay for the “free” health insurance.

Emily Meseck, Vet Med, agreed, stating that Dean Cohen’s proposed plan is intended only for students on assistantships and fellowships and excludes professional students.  She noted that the petition states that health insurance should be provided for all graduate students.  She cautioned against unintentionally misleading people.

K.Sherper-Walker replied that the idea was to aim for the best alternative and compromise from there.  Ideally, free health insurance would be made available to everyone.  This is meant to be a statement of principle and not one of policy.  He felt that the petition is necessary in order for the GPSA to learn about their constituents’ viewpoints.

Various members noted that the reality is that the proposed plan is very specific in who will be covered.  Since only those receiving assistantships and fellowships are targeted, maybe professional students should not be asked to sign the petition.  Members recommended that some language of the petition should be changed.  Those areas are:

1) paragraph after the three numbered points, third line, add “on full-time assistantships and fellowships” after the phrase “graduate students”. 2) same paragraph, same line, change “demand” to a softer alternative.

K.Sherper-Walker explained that the word “contend” was chosen to be used in the opening statement because it is a word of intermediate strength.  For the paragraph under discussion, it was felt that a stronger alternative was needed and so the word “demand” was used.  However, it was sought to soften the word by putting it after a semicolon instead of at the beginning of the paragraph.

S.Hames interjected that the GPSA should eventually have a resolution to support the idea behind the petition.

P.Carr stated that he had drafted a very rough version of a resolution while discussion was underway.  He suggested using four “whereas” clauses.  The language for the first three clauses would be taken directly from the numbered points of the petition.  The last “whereas” clause would mention Dean Cohen’s proposed health insurance initiative and the resolution would conclude by stating the GPSA’s support for the proposed plan.  P.Carr remarked that this is a very rough draft and that the actual language of the resolution would be voted on during the next GPSA meeting.

B.Bailey asked about the status of the plan to have Dean Cohen present the plan at a GPSA or COR meeting?

P.Carr replied that it may be possible to have such a presentation at their next meeting.

Krysta Levac, Nutrition, strongly urged that the word “demand” be changed to something softer.  She expressed the view that graduate students were not in a position to demand anything.  She also felt the word sounded overly-harsh and threatening.

S.Hames suggested that the clause reading “this is only consistent with the proposal originally under consideration by the Administration this Spring Semester, 2000” be struck.

K.Sherper-Walker summarized that there appear to be three potential changes members would like to change in the petition and they all are within the paragraph after the numbered points.  He said that he would like to deal with each one separately.  K.Sherper-Walker began with the suggestion to add “on full-time assistantships and fellowships” after the phrase “graduate students” on the third line.  He asked members if they agreed to this change.

Members agreed to the proposed change.

K.Sherper-Walker continued that in the same paragraph and line, it was suggested that the word “demand” be changed to a softer alternative.  He suggested that the sentence begin, “We believe that health insurance should be provided…”, so the word “demand” could be eliminated.  He asked members if this wording was acceptable.

Members agreed to the proposed change.

K.Sherper-Walker concluded that it was suggested to strike the last clause of that paragraph.  He asked members if they would approve to striking the clause.

Members agreed to strike the clause.

K.Sherper-Walker stated that the language adjustments to the petition would be made before distribution to gpsa-l.

S.Hames established that he would like to see one more change.  In the same paragraph, the petition has a line which reads “the University’s leadership has known of the burden that this represents for graduate students, for at least six years.”  S.Hames suggested that the reference to six years be struck because the GPSA does not know this for certain.  He also suggested that “has known” be replaced by “knows” so that a time reference is not needed.

Members accepted these changes.

Uresh Sheth, JGSM, reiterated that the proposed health insurance initiative does not provide any benefits for professional students.  He informed members that he sees no reason why any of his constituents would sign the petition.

J.Ahn replied that she personally would be willing to sign the petition as she would not wish to begrudge those who could benefit from the plan.  However, the problem is that there are no guarantees that tuition would not be increased for all in order to help Cornell pay for the health insurance for those graduate students who would be covered.

P.Carr explained that the current proposal uses money that will come from grants and outside fellowships, not from raised tuition.  However, since the reference to the proposal has been struck, there is no guarantee for professional students that their signature on the petition would not be construed as support for tuition increases to fund health insurance.  He suggested that a new clause be added to the last sentence of the paragraph after the numbered points.  This clause would be placed after the phrase “by the academic year 2001–2” and would read “without transferring the cost to other students.”  By making this change, it becomes clear that the money to fund the health insurance initiative should not be gathered through increased tuition fees.

Members agreed to this proposed changed.

S.Hames noted that he would personally like to include professional students in this initiative.  However, the case is much stronger for graduate students since they have a dual role as both student and employee.

K.Sherper-Walker moved to approve the petition as amended.

B.Baurle seconded the motion.

The GPSA voted unanimously to approve the petition for health insurance as amended. The amended text reads as follows:

CORNELL UNIVERSITY GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL STUDENTS’ PETITION FOR HEALTH INSURANCE

We, the graduate and professional students of Cornell University, contend that the University should provide health insurance for the following reasons:

1. Most Ivy League schools either already include health insurance or are in the process of negotiating its provision;

2. Universities, as non-profit institutions of higher learning, are ostensibly based on values of leadership, stewardship, and innovative change; accordingly, they should set and be held to a higher social standard;

3. Graduate students provide crucial support to the research and teaching life of the University; in this work, we contribute significantly to the University’s international academic reputation. The University should recognize formally our contributions in the form of health insurance coverage.

We are well aware this is not a new proposal; the University’s leadership knows of the burden that this represents for graduate students. The situation is untenable. We believe that health insurance should be provided to graduate and professional students on full-time assistantships and fellowships by the academic year 2001–2, without cost transfer to other students.

In solidarity with this petition, we include the following supportive students’ signatures:

	(Space for signatures was included here.)

P.Carr stated that he would present the resolution at the next meeting.

K.Sherper-Walker stated that he would make the proposed changes and then send the petition out on gpsa-l.  He requested that members take an active role in obtaining signatures for the petition.  He also requested that the petition be returned before the April 10 COR meeting.

B) Discussion of the e-Cornell Initiative

P.Carr explained to members that he has yet to receive more information on e-Cornell and therefore, the discussion will be postponed.  He stated that he would report back to gpsa-l once he actually has the information.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned by S.Hames at 6:12 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted, Stephanie Tinsley, student clerk