Student Assembly

AGENDA
Cornell University Student Assembly
October 1, 2009
4:45 — 6:30pm
Memorial Room, Willard Straight Hall

I. Call to Order

R. Salem called the meeting to order at 4:46 p.m.

II. Roll Call

Representatives Present

I. Akinpelu, V. Andrews, C. Basil, A. Cowen, M. Danzer, M. DeLucia, R. Desai, A. Gitlin, Z. Glasser, N. Kumar, J. Min, A. Nicoletti, G. Phillips, N. Raps, J. Rau, A. Raveret, R. Salem, U. Smith, , O. Williams, H. Yang

Representatives Excused Absent

N. Junewicz, A. Latella, K. Welch

Liaisons Present

P. Eliasinski, A. Flye

III. Open Microphone

IV. Approval of Minutes

V. Announcements/Reports

Office Hours- Rammy Salem

The office hours are 11:30–12:30 in Libe Caf�.

Health Care and Financial Aid- R. Desai

R. Desai said on Monday afternoon he spoke with the director of financial aid services. Options are reallocating money and that it should go into a separate fund. He is thinking about initiating a health fund, we are the only Ivy that doesn’t have one.

United Way Update- Max Aggrey

M. Aggrey said this past Wednesday we had a short meeting and that there is $28,600 dollars in the United Way campaign and there is a small debate on how to approach thank you notes. About two thousand donors are expected to receive these thank you notes. It was suggested he approach the student assembly. One of the ideas was “a dollar makes a difference.” Also there is agency assistance, which could help garner student involvement. An official document would be needed to show support from the Student Assembly. Penn State is also in talks with Cornell to do collaboration or a competition that would be useful for this philanthropic cause.

V. Andrews said at 12:15 p.m. in Libe Caf� there will be a meeting to discuss this proposal.

Accreditation Steering Committee Update- Dean Mathios, Dean Hubbell, Nikhil Kumar

Dean Mathios said we are able to access student funding and support from federal government. University wide accreditation occurs every 10 years. Distinguished people come here and spend days assuring the self-study is complete. They proceed to review the 14 standards and prepare a report and recommend reaccreditation. The visit will happen in 2011. The self-study report will be compiled in 200 pages. The Integrity Governance and Administration committee maintains governance, integrity, etc. It’s a broad representative group. Laura Brown is the new Vice Provost for education. David Grace leads the Assessment of Student Learning. It brings a great deal of institutional knowledge. Assessment is a very important component of this. The self-study was devised this past spring and the final draft is due in the Spring of 2010. The self-study design plan was completed this summer and outlines what we plan to attend. This will give the chance for the community to understand a larger portion of what we do.

N.Kumar states there are many other representatives from other groups.

Dean Hubbell says it will give people an opportunity to inflect on student changes and how well we do our jobs as faculty. He asks if there are any questions.

M. Danzer asked if there was a slide that said the report was made on campus. Mathios answers that there was a clear intention. Danzer said he would appreciate if an online company would be available. Mathios answers he supports that. Dean Hubbell says there is already a website and that it might be useful to take a visit. N.Kumar can answer more questions.

V. Andrews asked if the university has any big issues to guarantee accreditation. Dean Mathios says assessment is the “big thing.” Dean Hubell says representatives of every college have been sent.

Rammy Salem asks if there are any other positions for student involvement in the committee? Hubbell says Ulysses Smith asks if there is any way representatives can get information or a report from each college. Hubbell answers�..

UA update

Andrew Brockman says they are discussing a code about discrimination. The meeting yesterday was about sustainability. Also the CAP fund was approved. Clause 2.2 says if you are on the student assembly you are not allowed to vote or participate on any committee. A. Brockman thinks this is a good first step and we are really looking for a way to make the UA more relevant.

N.Kumar says we made a couple of changes in their committees because there is so much student interest. He asks if people could make sure our charters are in order.

Brockman J. Rau says we increased the size of committees this year so just be a little hesitant, particularly RESlife committee. Brockman responds we wouldn’t be increasing any committee sizes.

N. Kumar said there would be a Student Assembly retreat from 1–4 p.m. at Mcgraw 165 this Saturday. On the agenda for the meeting is an overview of campus government systems and parliamentary procedures as well as brainstorming to get their goals in mind for the upcoming year. He provides an update on staff and committee and says that everything is filled. Many community members are still interested in participation.

Communications Committee Update- Vincent Andrews

V.Andrews says he spoke with the head of marketing for Zimride and says we currently have a Carshare program with Zimride and if you would like to check it out go to zimride.com/_cornell. The website will also be able to be personalized. They are also working to get a new URL. They are also working on PR for this and are trying to get a golf cart to shuttle people across campus and this will in effect promote the Zimride system. They are in talks with administrators. They should be having a communication meeting next week. Contact V.Andrews if you have any other ideas or are interested. Kumar asked how the golf cart is funded.

V. Andrews says hopefully it will be a University funded golf cart.

N. Raps asked if you would be using the extra costs from student assembly next year.

V.Andrews replied he hasn’t looked at the costs for next yearhe has just been made an admin for� and he will be monitoring the costs. He will also be getting in contact with the transportation board.

Adam Nicolletti says congratulations.

R.Salem says he went to the Cornell Store today and�

There is an award for cooperative extension called the Robert Smith award and is meant to strengthen relationships in Tompkins community. The grants can range from ____ and the deadline is October 30th.

Climate Action Plan Presentation- Mike Walsh, Dan Roth, Shane Rothmael

M. Walsh is an elected trustee and is hear to talk about the climate action plan along with Dan Roth and Shane Rothmel (a senior majoring in biological engineering.) He explains this is two year effort funded by Cornell to develop an action plan to achieve carbon neutrality in the next couple of years. It is meant to stimulate outreach, etc. This agreement was signed by 650 colleges and the deadline was September 15th? He is here today to ask for the Assemblies endorsement. They will be going to faculty senate in a about a week and a half for the same goal.

The plan is focused on four areas and one is the financial economic crisis. The first goal is to improve the university finance. They should generate a net impact and positive impact on the University. New York state is part of the regional greenhouse gas commission�.. The overall return is about 15%. They came out with a net positive �.Cornell is a hotbed for study of sustainability. One of the ways the plan is going to help this be done is �..

Currently they have a couple of grants out now. They are seeking to broaden their education to undergraduates and graduates. They want to use the campus as a living and learning laboratory. They also want to enhance outreach. The CAP plan is about education outreach and improving�

D. Roth displays a PowerPoint on the emissions inventory. They proceeded to explain the climate action plan. He encourages people to go on the website for more detail in each of the areas outlined in the presentation. He wants to make sure our buildings perform as efficiently as possible. He also mentions a faculty member, Professor Ying Hua who has been actively involved in CAP. The website to see the entire Climate Action plan is www.sustainablecampus.cornell.edu/climate.

Phil Mcferron (Campus Life) and Andrew Byers (coordinator) V.Andrews asks how receptive is the administration. M.Walsh states that the board approved the Climate Action plan and the next meeting will be at the full board. There are many concerns right now but they are starting to think about creative ways to finance these projects with a quick payback. The UA passed a resolution for a revolving loan fund to start these projects. As of now, CAP is in the early stages. He states there is both a financial and environmental benefit.

M. Danzer thanks them for presenting a detailed plan. He asks if board of trustees approves the plan and if the university provides adequate plan he asks how ready is CAP? Steve says there is sometimes a two year process to get things in the ground but they have put in grant funding to help get things started in the next year. Things aren’t really changes but more of an evolution.

M. Danzer asks if CAP were to receive all the money what would be the timeline to start the entire plan?

M.Walsh states this is not a capital action plan and big ticket items will need comprehensive review so some things are going to take a couple of years to get off the ground. They are searching for a pilot grant.

Steve points out the targets of the plan and dramatic cuts in emissions. The plan is really for a timeline of twenty years.

U. Smith says this is a great educational opportunity and asks how will be this be a living and learning laboratory and will be the curriculum be modified and if this will be funded directly by Cornell University’s budget or grants, and if CAP has worked with other organizations in the community to see other initiatives to see how this can be more pedestrian friendly. He also asked if we will get progress reports.

M.Walsh said he promises you will be sent progress reports. There will be efforts to make sure everyone stays involved. He says they are taking this presentation on the road and are meeting with the Rotary club.

D. Roth says we are inviting municipal leaders and other non-profit organizations. They are taking a regional collaborative approach. In terms of student leadership, they are trying to help students identify what parts they want to take on. Students, faculty, and staff will be working together on these projects.

With regards to campus life, Phil Mcferron says he wants to gauge student learning and responsibility. As it relates to curriculum, changes will be coming from faculty. He gives an example of how twelve courses were piloted to help garner more interest and involvement.

A. Ravaret applauds them for all their work. He is the chairman of the environmental committee. He says he would like to be added as a co-sponsor to this resolution and wants to establish relations.

Appropriations Committee Allocations - Chris Basil, Eulia and Charlie

• MGLC
• SA budget

C.Basil says the budget was approved from 10–0. This is not how much money will be spent, but a budget for how much to potentially spend. The budget for administrative shirts was removed.

I. Akinpelu asks will ???

A. Gitlin asks what is the $4000 for.

C.Basil says Ari has developed an in house election process. Due to the administrative pullback, we are effectively using the surplus from Ari’s design to help support ourselves.

M. Danzer asks why we moved the t-shirts to special projects rather than byline funding. Basil says we are

Eulia asks why did you decide to retroactively cut shirts from the budget?

N. Raps said it is necessary to cut out unnecessary expenses. She says we don’t want to use student money. Any color shirt could be used to distinguish business casual.

M.Danzer asked could you explain why you need to spend $500 on shirts rather than buying nametags?

Eulia says she thinks the shirts are $10.00 each.

C.Basil says ���

Ari says about $500 dollars was appropriated for the budget.

Eulia asked if it is an issue with the shirts and if a revised budget is needed. The shirts are important because we wear them during hearings and it helps look professional and give unity. Also, groups can more easily identify commissioners in meetings.

Charlie says he doesn’t mind an evaluation of the budget but they were not consulted until before this meeting.

V. Andrews apologizes and says they should have been consulted, but $500 does seem like an exorbitant amount of money.

Eulia suggests downgrading from polos to regular t-shirts. It is important for colors to be the same.

Andrews suggests maybe reusing shirts. Maybe we should reanalyze this as an appropriations committee.

C. Basil recommends reinstating the $500 in the budget and making sure it is much lower. Ari says he is confident the budget did not exceed $300.

A. Gitlin suggests an idea as to why the committee would want to all wear the same shirts. Eulia says this is only for the duration of the hearings and it is difficult to find an appropriate alternative.

A. Nicoletti says he wants to motion to vote yes or no to

C. Basil says they were changing their request to appropriations committee. Akinpelu asks why they changed it?

C. Basil says one thing noted was that the $0.50 would be a better allocation than $0.75. Kumar calls acclamation. No dissent. $0.50 allocation approved.

By 18–0−1 the SA budget is approved

VI. Business of the Day

R. 9- Proposal to Submit a Survey to the Student Body�Kristen Welch ‘10, Samantha Pedreiro ‘12, Mark Collins ‘11 & Natalie Raps ‘12

Raps says the blue light service is not being utilized to its full potential. She wants to expand the service and add a global escort service to make the campus safer.

Collins says the survey came about�.

Welch says the overall mission is to increase security and that the blue light service is not being used to its full potential. Raps says this also came about after the cornell crime alert. Smith says it is extremely important to emphasize this and that safety is a big issue. HE says the blue light system is not prevalent enough in every area. Danzer says this is a great idea and asks would this include areas off campus like Collegetown?

Collins answers yes these services would reach off campus locations.

Raps says this service is in collegetown but it is not apparent. Cornell Police are not the only ones apart of this service. The service is willing to pay students to work for them. They just need more support. The goal is to

VP Andrews asks what is the goal?

Raps says submit the survey, then get survey results. She wants to start a PR campaign to raise awareness of this organization.

VP Basil says he is very pleased with the survey.

Call to question

Call to acclamate.

Resolution passed.

Kumar says there is also a walk.

R. 10- Expressing Support for the Cornell University Climate Action Plan�Dennis Miller, Shane Rothermel, Gary Stewart, Michael Jay Walsh, D. T. Nighthawk Evensen, Rammy Salem, Jason Seymour, Professor William Fry

VP Basil called to question, someone followed calledan acclamation(so there will be no vote.) Convocations Committee Kumar says his goal is to make sure all options are exhausted.

VII. New Business

R. 11- Voting Rights for Members of the Undergraduate Community

“The Community Clause 2.0”�Ola Williams ‘10 and Roneal Desai ‘13

Desai presents the community clause 2.0. It is basically a for the parliamentary to take votes Changes that have been made are��. As long as you are here for the first 15 minutes of the meeting, you can vote. Desai spoke with members of the community and said many are in favor with the resolution. Some concerns addressed are why do we vote for members of the student assembly? Is this bill a sign of trust..? Some people can’t attend meetings because of time constraints and resources. Desai believes people have earned this right to vote. Kumar asks how does this affect the clerk and the liasons who sit in on the meeting? Desai says the point is that not everyone can represent the student body so the goal is to increase participation.

Salem says clerks and liasons would be included.

R. Delucia says do you think two additional votes will be allocated?

Salem

R. Rau says there will never be only one undergraduate member in the audience.

VP. Andrews says he wants to see a version of this passed.

VP Basil asks what is the reasoning about the fifteen minutes after the meeting starts?

Do ID cards discriminate?

Desai asks for a recommendation to fix this procedure?

Gitlin says most people who come to meetings are going to vote on behalf of their own proposal. He says if only special interests are coming, its not a good representation. Williams says

Desai says the idea

Akinpelu asks are we going to reevaluat this at the end of the fall? Also, will they be voting first or after? Was there any thought in the application?

Salem says the appeal is that anyone can come.

R.Glasser asks what about having an expiration date on this matter?

Danzer asks how would publicizing this be done?

Desai says this is one of the biggest issues in the Daily Sun and it isn’t necessary to send an email to everyone.

Delacqueinsang asks would you do a survey?

Salem says for the petition he got about a hundred signatures.

Smith asks is it providing for the event that an overwhelming amount of students show up to the meeting?

Desai says

Basil says there will be me

VIII. Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 6:47 p.m.