Student Assembly

MINUTES
Student Assembly Meeting
September 4, 2003
4:45–6:30 P.M.
Memorial Room, Willard Straight Hall

I. OATH OF OFFICE

The new members of the SA were sworn in.

II. CALL TO ORDER

The meeting was called to order at 5:20 p.m.

III. ROLL CALL

Present: Melissa Ariate, Steve Blake, Josh Bronstein, Jessica Feldstein, Erik Gilje, Michelle Fernandes, Jason Jendrewski, Ashley Higgins, Erica Kagan, Julia Levy, Toby Lewis, Timothy Lim, Nick Linder, Laura London, Lauren Martinez, Lisa Minich, Dena Ruebusch, David Skolnik, Orlando Soria, Stephanie Ramono

Excused:

Unexcused:

IV. OPEN MICROPHONE

D. Braun (‘04) of A&S stated that he is the editor-in-chief of the Cornell Political Forum, a nonpartisan political magazine. He would like to present each member of the SA with an issue to raise awareness for the magazine.

V. ANNOUNCEMENTS

N. Linder said that he is excited to be here and is looking forward to this year. He emphasized the importance of respectfulness for each other and open mindedness for this year.

E. Kagan said that she is working with representative Higgins on Take Back the Night and a fundraiser for the event. The women’s committee is taking part in it and it is a protest against violence against women. The fundraiser will be this Sunday.

L. Martinez said she has asked for tables to be set up at Appell Commons to promote the elections and is asking for volunteers to sit at the tables and answer any questions that freshmen may ask.

VI. BUSINESS OF THE DAY

R. 1, Resolution Welcoming President Lehman
N. Linder presented the resolution, which welcomes the new president of Cornell University, President Lehmann. He wants everybody to sign the resolution and then frame it and present it to President Lehmann at the inauguration. He is presenting this as R. 1 for symbolic reasons. They need to approve this before the inauguration on October 16. Trustee F. Maduka wants to add a resolve clause to urge students to attend the inauguration.

T. Lim asked if the President will be coming to an SA meeting soon?

N. Linder said probably not, because the President is very busy.

T. Nobles said that a meeting with the President will probably be after the inauguration.

A motion was made to table R. 1.

The motion passed by voice vote.

R. 2, Resolution Establishing 2003–2004 Standing Rules
S. Blake said they went over the rules at last week’s meeting.

N. Linder said the item is debateable.

A motion to previous question was made and 2nded.

The motion passed.

Melissa Ariate Y
Steve Blake Y
Josh Bronstein Y
Jessica Feldstein Y
Erik Gilje Y
Michelle Fernandes Y
Jason Jendrewski Y
Ashley Higgins Y
Erica Kagan Y
Julia Levy Y
Toby Lewis Y
Timothy Lim Y
Nick Linder -
Laura London Y
Lauren Martinez Y
Lisa Minich Y
Dena Ruebusch Y
David Skolnik Y
Orlando Soria Y
Stephanie Ramono -

R. 2 passed, 18Y — 0N.

R. 3, Resolution Regarding the Creation of Liaisons to Each Group Requesting Byline Funding
D. Ruebusch said this resolution creates a liaison position for groups receiving byline funding.

E. Kagan said to let her know if you have a problem with the group you are assigned to.

N. Linder said this is debateable.

E. Gilje asked what is the time commitment that the writers of this resolution envisioned?

D. Ruebush said not very much. More time is needed for new groups, and you just need to answer questions.

M. Ariate said it may be important for liaisons to know what each group is about.

E. Kagan said liaisons don’t have to fully support the group, you just need to keep them informed.

D. Skolnick asked if they could go over the abbreviations, for example, CCC.

D. Ruebusch said that stands for the Cornell Concert Commission.

A call to question was made.

Melissa Ariate Y
Steve Blake Y
Josh Bronstein Y
Jessica Feldstein Y
Erik Gilje Y
Michelle Fernandes Y
Jason Jendrewski Y
Ashley Higgins Y
Erica Kagan Y
Julia Levy Y
Toby Lewis Y
Timothy Lim Y
Nick Linder -
Laura London Y
Lauren Martinez Y
Lisa Minich Y
Dena Ruebusch Y
David Skolnik Y
Orlando Soria Y
Stephanie Ramono -

R. 3 passed, 18Y — 0N.

R. 4, Resolution Changing the Membership of the Election Committee
D. Ruebusch said this resolution changes the make up of the election committee to include graduating seniors.

J. Bronstein asked why does the committee include UA members?

D. Ruebusch said that the election committee overlooks UA elections also.

S. Blake said he thinks this is a good idea and he supports it.

E. Gilje said that there was a brief discussion of making Ari Epstein part of the election committee, has the writer of the resolution thought about it?

D. Ruebusch said no.

A call for acclamation was made.

R. 4 passed.

There was a motion to suspend standing rules and add discharging of Appropriations under Business of the Day.

E. Kagan said that we had a 2 year contract with the Registrar to pick up the tab for the online voting service. We need to have the Registrar re-sign the contract but they won’t sign unless we vote today to acquire _ of the tab.

T. Nobles said that the Registrar is looking for _ the contract cost, it doesn’t necessarily have to come from the SA’s pockets. The contract is $36,000 for 2 years, which breaks down to $18,000 a year, $9,000 a semester.

E. Kagan said that if we vote yes, we are not voting to appropriate, we are voting to commit to find other sources of money.

S. Blake asked why did we find this out so late?

T. Nobles said that it was talked about a little last year and David Yeh in Registrar had a meeting about it but nothing was concrete.

J. Bronstein said he was at that meeting last year and there was a “see what happens” attitude. He is disgusted that no leadership happened this year and it is not fair to us that we are finding out at the last minute.

T. Lewis asked what happens if we can’t find the money?

T. Nobles said she doesn’t know.

T. Lim asked is this a contingency plan, can we afford it, and what can the SA do?

T. Nobles said that the SA has $16,000 in their budget right now so hypothetically can pay for it completely but she doesn’t think that we need to fully fund it. We can look to the Trustees, Hope, and the GPSA.

E. Gilje asked what if we fail to commit? What kind of leverage do we have in negotiating?

E. Kagan said if we don’t vote yes today, then there will be no fall elections.

T. Nobles said the Registrar is at the point of signing and can front the money, they just want to know that they can get the money back eventually.

E. Kagan said that we need to sign the contract soon.

D. Ruebusch pleaded to the SA to vote yes, as the Director of Elections.

T. Lewis asked what are the other voting options?

T. Nobles said that votehere.com is one of the cheaper resources and is a secure organization. They have done entire countries’ elections, i.e. Sweden.

S. Blake said he is uncomfortable with committing $9,000 so soon and expresses disapproval at the Registrar for placing such a big burden so suddenly. Ari Epstein says it’s possible for us to build our own voting system.

T. Nobles said yes, it is a possibility for a computer science student.

S. Blake asked if the contract has to be 2 years?

T. Nobles said yes.

A. Higgins asked if there’s any way to displace the burden for finding funds?

T. Nobles said that the Office of Assemblies is brainstorming.

T. Lim said he has faith that the other offices will contribute/help.

E. Gilje asked do we have leverage on the UA/Trustee elections? Can we say that if they don’t help out, then we won’t help with their elections?

T. Nobles said you don’t want to put another group in the same situation you’re in right now.

A call to previous question was made and 2nded and objected.

T. Nobles said that they should figure out if they are voting for a 2 year contract or a 1 year contract. She said she will see if she can find out more information.

A motion was made to change to voting for a 1 year contract.

E. Gilje asked can we say the first priority will be a 1 year contract, and if not, then a 2 year contract?

A motion to previous question was made and 2nded.

The motion passed.

A motion was made to suspend standing rules to move R. 9 to New Business.

VII. NEW BUSINESS

R. 9, Resolution Regarding Use of Proportional Voting in the Freshman Election

D. Ruebusch said that this resolution would establish proportional voting instead of plurality. This will only be a test run and if it doesn’t work out, it will return to the original way the next year.

A motion to suspend standing rules and move to Business of the Day was made and 2nded.

O. Soria asked what are the benefits of switching?

D. Ruebusch said that logistically, online voting will be the same. However, this puts everybody on equal footing.

O. Soria said that he feels like this would feel like voting for one position/seat. The freshmen will be less represented if they only have 1 vote. Symbolically, it will change things.

D. Ruebusch said that is a legitimate concern and that’s why it is a test run.

S. Blake said that he is a fan of this and it is only a test run.

T. Nobles said that it is more representative of what the student population is.

T. Lim asked how will they analyze the results of the test run?

D. Ruebusch said that they will figure it out later.

A call to question was made and 2nded and objected.

L. Martinez said she feels like the freshmen need to vote for 3 people if 3 people are qualified.

D. Ruebusch said that’s why it’s a test run, so one group can’t dominate all the spots.

A call to question was made and 2nded and objected.

L. London said that if the goal is to make things fair, then we should focus on our own election, not the freshmen election. It’s not a proper test run because it’s not representative of an election.

D. Ruebusch said that last year’s freshman election had the existence of collusion, and that ticket won.

S. Blake said that if people run as a ticket, the top 3 will still win. It is more representative of everybody’s feelings for the top 3. We need to make things fair for individual candidates.

A motion to previous question was made and 2nded.

Melissa Ariate Y
Steve Blake Y
Josh Bronstein Y
Jessica Feldstein Y
Erik Gilje Y
Michelle Fernandes Y
Jason Jendrewski Y
Ashley Higgins Y
Erica Kagan Y
Julia Levy Y
Toby Lewis Y
Timothy Lim Y
Nick Linder -
Laura London Y
Lauren Martinez Y
Lisa Minich Y
Dena Ruebusch Y
David Skolnik Y
Orlando Soria Y
Stephanie Ramono -

R. 9 passed, 18 Y — 0 N.

R. 5,6,7,8
S. Blake said that there have been a lot of problems surrounding Slope Day. Lots of entities have been involved and responsibility has not clearly been delineated, lots of arguments have occurred. He is taking steps to change things so that there will be no more problems.

VIII. ADJOURNMENT

N. Linder adjourned the meeting at 6:30p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Tyng Tsuei
Student Clerk