MINUTES
Cornell University Student Assembly
October 15, 2009
4:45 — 6:30pm
Memorial Room, Willard Straight Hall

I. Call to Order

R. Salem called the meeting to order at 4:45pm.

II. Roll Call

Voting Members Present: I. Akinpelu, V. Andrews, C. DeLencquesaing, M. Danzer, M. DeLucia, R. Desai, A. Gitlin, Z. Glasser, N. Kumar, A. Latella, J. Min, A. Nicoletti, G. Phillips, N. Raps, J. Rau, A. Raveret, R. Salem, U. Smith, K.Welch

Voting Members Absent, Unexcused: O. Williams, H. Yang

Non-voting Members Present: P. Eliasinski, A. Flye

III. Open Microphone

No one came forth to speak.

IV. Announcements/Reports

Office Hours- Rammy Salem

R. Salem announced that he will hold office hours on Saturdays 12–2 pm.

SAFC Budget- Rammy Salem

R. Salem reported that the SAFC will re-use their T-shirts from last year to cut down on their budget. C. Basil pointed out that unlike legislation, once budget is spent, it cannot be reversed. So he’ll make the budget application longer to make sure budget is only allocated to where it is really needed.

President’s Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs- Rammy Salem

R. Salem reported that V. Andrews will fill the position on this council.

Into the Streets�Rammy Salem

R. Salem said he has the names of the volunteers and will get in touch with them.

K. Nikhil said the SA attendance will be on the SA website. Also, there will be a meeting for committee chairs.

A. Cowen announced there will be an unofficial committee for the SA charter revision.

V. Andrews encouraged SA members to sign up for the homecoming parade. People who attend should wear Cornell shirts.

V. Business of the Day

United Way Presentation�Deputy Provost David Harris

Tom LiVigne and James Brown from United Way started the presentation by explaining what United Way is. Times are hard and the easiest way to give back to the community is through United Way. This year they are trying to expand the base on people giving.

J. Brown said the number of people at the food pantry has increased dramatically. We are a somewhat insulated community, but we are being hit just like others.

Depute Provost David Harris added that students don’t have lots of disposal income, but there are some students who do. A dollar makes a difference. He wanted people to give because they understand the importance of giving. He read the mission statement of the Cancer Research Center at the Finger Lakes. T. LiVigne said that with Corporate Cornerstone, there are no administrative costs tied to the money donated.

V. Andrews suggested that United Way could work with campus organizations to raise funds. This way can reach more students than one entity alone. D. Harris agreed this is a great idea. We can tap into the existing social networks.

N. Raps suggested setting up tables and signs in the community centers to reach more students. D. Harris replied the organization just talked about setting up kiosks yesterday.

D. Harris said he wanted students to not only support United Way financially but also to e-mail him at deputyprovost@cornell.edu with any great ideas they have. He asked the SA members to advertise United Way by wearing the pins and stickers.

VI. Unfinished Business

R. 11- Voting Rights for Members of the Undergraduate Community “The Community Clause 2.0”�Rammy Salem ‘10, Ola Williams ‘10, and Roneal Desai ‘13

R. Salem explained what changes were made, namely that the community vote will be announced before the SA members vote. Implementation of this resolution will also be revisited at the end of the fall semester.

M. DeLucia commented on the resolution’s vagueness. He felt it still seems like every undergrad has 2 votes. He wanted to clarify things with the amendment that up to 2 additional votes will be allocated to the entire undergrad body present at the SA meeting.

R. Salem ound this friendly. The amendment was approved by a hand vote of 18–0−0.

A. Nicoletti said he was in full support of this resolution. It will create a bigger campus dialogue so more students can participate. This shows the value of listening to both sides of the argument and making changes.

A community member was here to speak in support of R.11. He said it was important to engage more students in the conversation. For example, it would have been great to have more students here to listen to the United Way presentation.

J. Min made a call to question. N. Raps seconded. There is dissent. By a popular vote the call to question failed.

A. Cowen asked what’s the point of having the parliamentarian count audience vote first? R. Desai explained it was so that the SA can take the community vote into account.

C. DeLencquesaing asked what about clerk, parliamentarian, and liaisons? R. Salem said the clerk and the parliamentarian do not count, but the liaisons do count for the voting.

N. Junewicz asked how would the votes be tallied? There should something specific detailing it in the by-laws. R. Salem said the parliamentarian would go around collecting the votes.

V. Andrews asked how do you buffer for the effect of a minority of students that may be really passionate about a particular issue? On top of their 2 votes, they could sway the votes from the SA members. R. Salem replied that the SA members should be responsible enough to represent their constituencies and not get swayed.

C. Basil asked what is the purpose behind the community clause? Do we believe we are imposing Cornell’s will on the students? No. He moved to amend resolution so the audience will vote after the SA members vote.

M. Danzer asked why can’t we do both simultaneously?

V. Andrews stressed that when there is a controversial issue, a very passionate minority may show up and sway the community vote and not represent the whole campus. R. Salem said that if people are more willing to be activists, they should be awarded. A community member replied to V. Andrews that the SA members shouldn’t be so easily swayed.

V. Andrews used the Chi Alpha case from last year as an example. Lots of Chi Alpha members showed up and wanted one thing done while the whole campus may want something else. So it would have biased the community vote. A. Gitlin agreed with V. Andrews that only a minority will be represented no matter what.

N. Raps disagreed with C. Basil because she believed the SA members wouldn’t get easily swayed by the community vote. She made a call to question. It was seconded, but there was dissent. By a popular vote the dissent was overruled. By a hand vote of 4–16–0 the amendment failed and the resolution remained that SA members would vote after the community members.

M. Danzer made an amendment that a hand count will be carried out by the parliamentarian for the community members due to logistic reasons. A. Cowen said he will be going around with a clipboard to count the vote. M. Danzer changed his amendment so the community members will each tell the parliamentarian their vote privately and called to question. It was seconded, but there was dissent. By a popular vote the dissent was overruled. By a vote of 2–12–0 the amendment failed.

N. Raps made an amendment to have the people who arrive during the first 15 minutes of the meeting sit at a designated space so a hand count can be possible and accurate. She made a call to question. It was seconded, but there was dissent.

R. Desai suggested the two can be combined. The parliamentarian can carry out a hand count first. If the number is more than the number of people at the beginning of the meeting, then a roll call vote will be carried out.

G. Phillips and A. Raveret both supported this amendment. Having a roll call vote is completely unrealistic. It would be inefficient and a waste of time and make the meeting even longer.

J. Min said it’s a waste of time to discuss the details now. Alex (the parliamentarian) can think of the specifics later. He made a call to question on the amendment. It was seconded. By a hand vote of 9–8−0 the amendment passed.

Z. Glasser suggested the community members can vote with iclickers. He will vote against this resolution if iclickers are not adopted.

G. Phillips agreed that more students should be represented. He asked if there could be a student referendum online. R. Salem replied that the administrative process is very time-consuming and each resolution would take too long to pass.

J. Rau said that this is basically the same resolution with the same principles as before, and it was already voted down previously. R. Salem replied that it is not the same because the resolution was adjusted to accommodate the dissenters’ opinions.

M. DeLucia did not like how the audience will be segregated. He also thought the voting would take too much time when there’s a big audience. This resolution doesn’t seem logistically possible. He made a call to question. It was seconded.

The resolution passed with a vote of 15–5−0. There was a challenge, and it now needed 2/3 majority to pass. As the acting chair, N. Kumar broke the tie by voting yes.

R. 12- In-House Lottery for Collegetown Residences�Nikhil Kumar ‘11

N. Kumar explained what all three resolutions are about. R. Desai said that people can still get the financial aid if they live off-campus. He made a call to question. It was seconded. M. Danzer made a call for acclamation. There was no dissent. The resolution passed.

R. 13- Housing Lottery Time Slots�Nikhil Kumar ‘11

R. Desai called to question. No dissent. By a hand vote of 19–0−0, this resolution passed. ns just for student concerns.

R. 14- Housing Lottery Results�Nikhil Kumar ‘11

M. Danzer made a call to question. No dissent. He made a call for acclamation. No dissent. The resolution was passed.

R. 15- Increased Student Representation in Residence Hall Director Selections�Jonathan Rau ‘12, Adam Nicoletti ‘12, Serene Li ‘12, Ray Mensah ‘11

J. Rau presented the resolution. A. Nicoletti went through the changes.

M. DeLucia made a clarifying amendment so it now read “one student must have lived in a program house and one student must have lived in a traditional residence hall.” The sponsors found this friendly.

R. Desai called to question. It was seconded, but there was dissent. By a popular vote the dissent was overruled.

By a vote of 19–0−0, the resolution passed.

VII. Adjournment

Seeing as there was nothing else on the agenda, R. Salem adjourned the meeting at 6:28.