MINUTES
Graduate & Professional Student Assembly
GPSA Discussion Meeting
Monday, October 31st, 2011
Bache Auditorium, Malott Hall
5:30–7:00 P.M.

I. Welcome & Introductions, 2 min.

E. Cortens called the meeting to order at 5:31 pm. Voting members present: Kyle Albert, Bryan Alkemeyer, Steven An, Nicole Baran, YJ Chen, Evan Cortens, Marquis Hawkins, Yevgeniy Izrayelit, James Keach, Alison Nash, Rebecca Robbins, Erik Smith, Mia Tootill Voting members late: Andrew Elliot, Michelle White, Crystal Wilson Voting members excused absent: Randa Adra, John Ciecholewski, Carl Ferkinhoff

II. Approval of the Minutes

1. October 17th, 2011, 1 min.

Voting members proposed two minor amendments to the minutes. The minutes were approved.

III. New Business

E. Cortens said the executive committee agreed there should be an additional meeting on Monday, November 21st. By a vote of 13–0, the resolution for an additional meeting passed.

1. Presentation of the Student Activity Fee Recommendation for 2012—2014 by the GPSA Appropriations Committee (C. Heckman et al.), 20 min.

C. Heckman said the Appropriations Committee has met with byline-funded groups. He began his presentation with a historical perspective on the student activity fee. The student activity fee has grown linearly since it was first implemented in 1986. The Appropriations Committee had 12 applicants (1 new applicant) along with the GPSAFC this year. There were 8 requested increases. 7 were granted and 5 were granted fully. The only group whose funding decreased was the GPSA. The final student activity fee increased to $81.00 per person. Heckman then presented a full breakdown for each byline-funded group.

CU Athletics provides access to Cornell athletic events for students and their families. Survey and committee findings suggested that this resource was being used at a level that was consistent with funding. The committee would like to see an increase in attendance and feels that other organizations should program events such as tailgates and grad nights in tandem with games. They were funded at $7.00, requested funding at $7.00, and Appropriations recommends maintaining this funding amount.

Big Red Barn provides a central location allowing social, cultural, and intellectual exchange among graduate and professional students. They are requesting an increase to offset a funding loss from the graduate school. This organization is specific to graduate and professional students, and its events have very high attendance. They are currently funded at $7.00, are requesting $8.00, and Appropriations recommends $8.00.

Cornell Cinema offers educational and popular programming centered around film and the cinematic arts. They are requesting an increase to offset grant losses. The GPSAFC and SAFC already subsidize their operations significantly. They have pursued alternate revenue sources with limited results. However, in order to increase their revenue, they could possibly increase their ticket prices rather than receive additional Appropriations funding. They are currently funded at $11.05, are requesting $11.50, and Appropriations is recommending $11.05. Cornell Cinema said the ticket price would increase to about $4.50 if they don’t receive additional funding.

Cornell Concert Commission selects, promotes, and produces free or subsidized concerts during the academic year. Their average show subsidy is about $5.00 per ticket. A survey indicted that only 13% of graduate/professional students attended a show last year. They are currently funded at $5.75, are requesting $5.75, and Appropriations recommends $5.75.

Cornell EMS provides basic emergency medical services and CPR/AED training to the Cornell community. Although they have recently experienced increased insurance premiums and increased vehicle maintenance costs, they have reduced their other budget items to minimize a potential increase in funding. They are currently funded at $1.77, are requesting $1.80, and Appropriations recommends $1.80.

CUPB sponsors performances and speakers. CUPB’s diverse lineup and numerous events suggest broad appeal to graduate and professional students through both their direct and co-sponsorships. Appropriations believes funding CUPB is an effective use of graduate and professional students’ money. They are currently funded at $3.55, are requesting $3.55, and Appropriations recommends $3.55.

GPSA is the representative student government for all graduate and professional students at Cornell. They are currently funded at $2.95, are requesting $1.84, and Appropriations recommends $1.84. The decreased request amount is due to the formation of the Graduate and Professional Student Programming Board (GPSPB) from the previous GPSA Events Committee.

GPSPB is a graduate student-run organization that promotes and hosts social and wellness programs, specifically for grad students. They are a newly formed byline funded organization, formerly organized as the GPSA Events Committee. They have planned and carried out a wide array of events so far. Their full funding is not yet recommended because a historical track record of success gained over the 2012–2014 cycle will ease concerns over risk of funding. They are requesting $2.50 and Appropriations recommends $2.00.

International Students Board promotes dialogue and awareness about world events, cultures, and issues. It serves as an umbrella group that funds programming efforts of international and ethnic associations at Cornell. They are requesting an increase in funding to accommodate increased demand for programming co-sponsorship funding requests. In the previous funding cycle, ISB was only able to fund 46.3% of programming funding requests received due to lack of funds. They are currently funded at $1.46, are requesting $1.55, and Appropriation’s recommendation is $1.55.

CU Graduate School Orientation provides orientation and social activities for all graduate and professional students who arrive at Cornell in August or January. They host resource fairs for students and family members, orientation peer panels on life at Cornell, ice cream socials, group outings, etc. They are requesting a funding increase mostly to provide food at Orientation events. They are currently funded at $0.70, are requesting $1.00, and Appropriations recommends $1.00.

CU Risk Management and Public Safety provides insurance coverage for SAO-registered graduate and professional student organizations. This allows clubs to function off-campus. Premiums for graduate and professional students are slightly higher than for undergraduates because they also have coverage for host liquor liability at events that follow guidelines for the responsible use of alcohol. They are currently funded at $5.10, are requesting $5.50, and Appropriations recommends $5.50.

Slope Day Programming Board is responsible for Slope Day, one of the largest and most well attended events on campus annually. About 25 percent of graduate and professional students attend. SDPB wants to maintain the executive seat for a GPSA appointee that has been in place since by-line funding began in 2010. However, GPSAF believes the nearly $3.00 funding increase they have requested out-paces the current relationship with SDPB and does not reflect the current value of Slope Day to graduate and professional students. The GPSAF felt an increase to $3.50 continues building a relationship with SDPB towards an event that is more inviting to graduate and professional students. They are currently funded at $3.05. They are requesting $6.00, and Appropriations recommends $3.50.

IV. Break Out Sessions, 32 min.

C. Heckman suggested breaking the group into small group discussions to provide feedback to committee and voting members to prepare for the November 14th vote to approve recommendations.

V. Reports of Officers and Committee Updates, 10 min.

1. Executive Committee (E. Cortens)

E. Cortens announced that several GPSA members would be going to Ivy Summit next week.

2. Communications (S. An)

S. An said people should send him their updates so he can send out an update next week to all graduate and professional students.

3. Finance Commission (M. Tootill)

M. Tootill said there would be a Finance Commission meeting on Tuesday, November 1. There are many applications for funding and only $30,000 remaining to be allocated.

4. Student Advocacy (R. Robbins)

R. Robbins said the main event for her group this semester is a discussion about mental health and wellness. She handed out an index card to meeting attendees for them to submit a question relating to mental health and well-being in the graduate and professional student community. She also asked that they answer a question about whether or not they have a membership at Cornell gyms.

5. Graduate & Professional Student Programming Board (Y. Chen)

Y. Chen said there would be a board meeting this week that everyone is invited to attend. Next Friday, November 11th, will be Ithaca’s first ever Nerd Nite. To stay in the loop with all of their events, ‘like’ the ‘Cornell Graduate & Professional Student Assembly’ page or ‘friend’ the GPSPB on Facebook.

New Business (continued)

1. Presentation of Break Out Session Topics and Question & Answer, 20 min

C. Heckman said most of the discussions in the break out session groups focused on Cornell Cinema and Slope Day. For Slope Day, there was a question about whether or not Slope Day would charge graduate and professional students if they vote to fund them below the amount requested by SDPB. He said that while SDPB could charge grad/prof students, undergraduates don’t have the recourse to kick them out altogether without consulting the administration. As for Cornell Cinema, most people think this organization is a great thing to have on campus. Most people would also agree to pay more for tickets in exchange for not increasing their funding allocation.

B. Alkemeyer asked if SDPB would ban graduate students altogether or if they would merely start ticketing graduate students if their funding requests were not met.

C. Heckman said they might just begin charging graduate and professional students. Y. Chen said, in this case, SDPB would likely reject the GPSA’s funding allocation altogether and charge graduate students what they charge alumni- about $25.00.

A community member asked what would happen if the GPSA decides not to fund Slope Day at all.

C. Heckman said Slope Day’s money would go to the GPSAFC to fund clubs.

M. Tootill said she feels that Slope Day occurs once a year and the amount of money spent on it could benefit so many other events that have similar aims to bring students together and entertain them. She feels this money could be better used elsewhere.

C. Heckman said there is a disconnect between what graduate and undergraduate students see Slope Day as and how each group wants to fund this event.

M. Walsh said Slope Day is the one opportunity to work together with undergraduates and it is actually a great event that brings the whole campus together for one day.

A community member suggested pooling Slope Day’s funding rather than providing it to SDPB and handing this out to students who actually want to attend Slope Day.

C. Heckman is hesitant to make this part of their offer to SDPB.

S. An asked how much money the administration put into Slope Day before they became byline funded.

M. Walsh said this amount varied over the past few years. Within the past two years, pretty much all direct administrative support has been cut out though.

E. Cortens announced he is working on a newsletter for all graduate and professional students that would benefit byline-funded groups to advertise their events.

VII. Open Forum, 5 min.

B. Alkemeyer announced he is interested in graduate students coming together to create an organization that would reward outstanding professors. His email address is bca8@cornell.edu

E. Cortens adjourned the meeting at 6:59pm.

Respectfully submitted, Allison Bazinet