Student Assembly

MINUTES
Cornell University Student Assembly
September 30, 2010
4:45pm — 6:30pm
Willard Straight Hall, Memorial Room

I. Call to Order

V. Andrews called the meeting to order at 4:46pm.

II. Roll Call

Voting members present: A. Savion, V. Andrews, A. Bajaj, G. Block, A. Brokman, M. Danzer, R. Desai, C. Feng, M. Finn, A. Gitlin, M.Gulrajani, C. Jenkins, J. Kay, D. Kuhr, T. Lenardo, R. Mensag, A. Nicoletti, S. Pendleton, A. Pruce, N. Raps, U. Smith, A. Yozwiak

Voting members excused absent: J. Rau

III. Approval of Minutes

There was a motion to approve. Call for acclamation. The minutes from September 16, 2010 and September 23, 2010 were approved.

IV. Open Microphone�Ray Mensah

No one came forward.

V. Announcements/Reports

1. AAP and Residential Life Committee Update — Ulysses Smith

U. Smith announced a meeting to discuss mental health and advising within AAP. There is no specific program within his college now due to budgeting, but there is a plan for advising that will be released in a few weeks. They are also discussing the Brazilian Program in the summer that deals with race relations and is a part of the CRP program. Anyone interested should contact him. Sibley and Rand Halls will also be holding an open house soon.

The Residential Life Committee met yesterday briefly and discussed the feasibility of different initiatives. They talked about changes in the housing lottery system and how to disseminate this information so that juniors and seniors actually apply to the system. Read the blog for more information.

2. EARS, Minds Matter, and Big Red Bikes Reports — Adam Nicoletti

A. Nicoletti said that EARS provides a high quality counseling service for students who seek help. Minds Matter, the other large mental health committee funded by the SAFC, does more programming, rather than counseling. They are planning more preventative programs rather than just reacting to events. The appropriations committee approved them attending the Active Minds conference. Big Red Bikes was funded last year and they have made many strides this year and have received a lot of outside funding. They are looking to place their first bike rack and twenty bikes outside of Uris library by next spring. However, the SAFC is uncertain about their future funding commitments and how much money they will need, so it will be an interesting journey with them.

T. Lenardo asked what the Big Red Bikes program is.

A. Nicoletti explained how it is a free bike share program that aims at placing bike racks throughout campus for student use. Next week is also SAFC appeals.

3. Mental Health Ad Hoc Committee Announcement�Natalie Raps

N. Raps said she wants to form an ad hoc committee to bring all of the campus mental health groups together on the arts quad for an event once each semester. Last year, they held a successful event in which administrators and others spoke to students and there was free food, among other things. This is just a fun event to lift the stresses put on students. She is looking for someone to chair the committee. Contact her if you are interested in helping and drafting the resolution.

4. Ujamaa Dinner Announcement— C. Jenkins

C. Jenkins spoke about a recent Cornell Daily Sun article that described a decrease in black enrollment at Cornell in the class of 2014. To address this issue, there will be a dinner at Ujamaa- the first in a series of talks to discuss why there is a gap between being accepted and actually enrolling here as a black student.

5. Learning Strategies Center Presentation — Dr. Elise West (5:05pm)

E. West said that her center wants to help students achieve their academic dreams. Therefore, the LSC advocates that it is the responsibility of the scholar to stay in the loop of learning in order to maintain Cornell’s status as a research university. However, students often find that prior ways of learning may be challenged here at Cornell and that they need to add new strategies. Time management skills need to be enhanced and students need to seek out people who can help them adjust to collegiate life. The LSC offers free tutoring, supplemental instruction, workshops, a critical reading and thinking course, and individual consultations. Nearly 60 percent of students polled said they use LSC services and the consensus was that the services were very beneficial. Successful scholars ask for help when they need it.

U. Smith wondered if the LSC was interested in broadening its scope and getting more students involved in the program.

E. West said the LSC is mainly geared toward students who want to join medical and bio-scientific careers, but they are discussing expanding to offer support for other classes though. Any suggestions on how they can expand should be sent to her.

V. Andrews asked if the LSC has changed its take on students in the wake of recent mental health tragedies.

E. West said that they have worked on maintaining high-level instructors to support students so that they don’t feel overwhelmed. They offer support when students want it. They also offer office hours during spring and fall breaks to help students out. She asked for input on other ways the LSC can help students.

6. C.U. Office of Government Relations, Albany, New York — Zoe Nelson (5:20pm)

Z. Nelson said she is one of Cornell’s lobbyists for the state. She discussed the 12-credit, one semester internship program for Cornell students to work for the state government in Albany. It is a great way to get really involved in policy at the state level. It is a natural fit for students interested in government, but there is no major excluded from applying. Seeing how laws get passed provides great first-hand experience and allows students to develop new skills.

Her coworker Charlie Kruzansky said that this internship allows students to have hands-on experiences in the legislature. They have an agreement with the legislature, making sure that Cornell students get the best assignments in the best offices.

V. Andrews asked how the SA could use their office to address student concerns.

Z. Nelson said they lobby toward many things that benefit Cornell, but also for specific programs here and student financial aid. Therefore, student input would be highly beneficial to them.

M. Danzer said that he wanted to discuss with the lobbyists how he could better advocate for Cornell when he attends the SUNY state assembly convention.

C. Kruzansky said they work very close with SUNY and so he would welcome discussing programs with Danzer.

A. Bajaj said he had a few friends who are interested in the internship program. How should they contact the program heads to apply?

Z. Nelson said that they should email her and she can send them information.

VI. New Business

1. R. 15 — Possession of Pepper Spray on Campus— R. Mensah and community member Konstanin Drabkin ‘11

K. Drabkin discussed the problem of sexual offenses on college campuses. On our own campus, there were five reported forced sexual offences last year. We have one of the best school police forces, but waiting several minutes for a police officer to show up takes a while. Thus, pepper spray is a good solution to prevent attackers immediately. With pepper spray, an attacker can be disoriented for about two hours and the spray leaves a tracker that allows the attacker to be identified by police later. Pepper spray is a legal means of defense in Collegetown and in Ithaca, but students cannot have pepper spray in their possession on campus. Instead, the administration encourages females to carry a whistle or learn self-defense tactics. Therefore, this resolution proposes that we match the policy of Ithaca and New York state to recognize pepper spray possession.

C. Feng asked if they had any statistics about misuse of pepper spray. How often do unintended errors occur?

K. Drabkin said that the resolution would support punishment of those who use pepper spray maliciously. However, this is not a permanent defense tool, even if it is used on accident. There are no long-term side effects.

R. Mensah said many women now carry pepper spray in violation of school policy, but they have not heard of any examples of misuse.

U. Smith asked if they had spoken to anyone to see if anyone has ever had their pepper spray confiscated because of policy violation.

R. Mensah said he spoke with CUPD administrators who said that they have confiscated it in the past because it is against school policy. However, they would have no problem with changing this policy.

M. Danzer said that the school’s pepper spray policy isn’t written specifically in the university rules, but comes from a statement from a past JA in 1996 that considered pepper spray as a weapon. Therefore, do we just need an updated letter from the JA?

K. Drabkin said that this was the case.

S. Agard asked if other colleges allow pepper spray use on campus.

K. Drabkin said that several schools allow it, but most schools don’t have a specific rule against it, and we don’t either except for that letter.

R. Mensah said pepper spray was once illegal in New York state, but the law changed in the past ten years because it doesn’t cause permanent harm. If this is the state’s rationalization, why does Cornell criminalize a defensive act?

K. Drabkin said that current law protects the criminals rather than those who are trying to defend themselves.

N. Raps asked why pepper spray is banned at Cornell.

R. Mensah said he isn’t exactly sure what the JA’s rationale was at the time.

A. Nicoletti said that Cornell considers it a deadly or harmful weapon against our code of conduct because it may not be effective in our climate/with our weather and can be lethal to those with asthma, etc. However, he said he thinks that the benefits outweigh the costs. Still, there have been some deaths associated with pepper spray use throughout the United States. Who would bear the liability if a death should result?

K. Drabkin said police officers have more powerful canisters of pepper spray and these are what caused the instances of death

VII. Business of the Day

1. R. 16 — Creation of Student Assembly Judicial Board Ad-hoc Committee

R. Mensah said that the SA passes resolutions that affect all students, so they have significant power to get things done. However, there is no real check on this power to protect what has happened or could happen in the future. The E-Board has a judicial role here in terms of interpreting whether or not actions are violations of the charter. Yet, last year, some members of the E-Board let their personal feelings on a matter determine how the voted on a resolution. The E-Board would be unlikely to acknowledge that what they voted on is a violation of the charter. This is why many student assemblies across the country have judicial oversight. Therefore, this resolution seeks to create an ad-hoc committee that would oversee our own Student Assembly.

A. Nicoletti wondered if the number of members on the committee should be an odd number.

R. Mensah said that is a good point, and also made motion to amend the resolution to include the Executive Vice President of the SA as a voting member and the chairperson of this ad-hoc committee.

The amendment was called to question. Seconded. There was a call for acclamation. Seconded. No dissent. The amendment was adopted.

C. Jenkins asked how Mensah went about choosing who would be on this ad-hoc committee. Are other people welcome to join?

R. Mensah said they would welcome anyone and that it is not limited to five members. He wasn’t sure initially how many people would like to sign up for the committee.

M. Danzer asked why they don’t just expand the power of the elections committee, for instance, to see if the SA is doing its job. Why create another committee?

R. Mensah said he wanted to avoid conflicts of interest.

A. Brokman said he thinks that a separate judicial panel could serve a purpose and it is worth looking into. They wouldn’t be meeting regularly, so it might be best to merge this with a preexisting committee.

R. Mensah said that it is important to consider how this committee could be structured. However, they are not voting for creation of a board today, as this is just an ad-hoc body that could be defined later.

There was a call to question. Seconded. Dissent. Vote to vote on resolution. Motion failed; back to debate.

A. Gitlin wondered if SA oversight could be the job of the parliamentarian, who is a non-voting member of the SA.

R. Mensah said this is a possibility and this resolution will allow them to consider this as one of their options.

J. Kay asked how the committee would be independent if 4/5 of the members are on the SA.

R. Mensah said that the independence refers to forming a separate body to resolve problems.

N. Raps asked how this would help to streamline things rather than complicate them.

R. Mensah said that many of these concerns would be addressed if and when the resolution is passed. There is a lot that could be modified. The committee could do a lot of different things, outside of charter interpretations.

N. Raps was concerned that this resolution doesn’t have a set plan now. She recommended that Mensah comes back with more structure.

C. Feng said they already have a parliamentarian, executive board, and administration. What is the practicality of this committee, then?

R. Mensah mentioned issues with SA members who get to vote twice in byline funding years. This isn’t fair to groups. College government bodies that have judicial oversight don’t have these types of problems.

G. Block asked why it’s better for mostly SA members to be on this committee, rather than regular students.

R. Mensah said that SA members know a lot about how the SA operates and how to improve performance. However, other students are welcome to come and participate.

A. Pruce asked how the SA members on the committee would be chosen.

R. Mensah said that this decision would go to a staffing committee.

R. Desai said he was unsure if this committee is necessary, but this resolution would allow a chance to find more information out.

Call to question, seconded without dissent. Vote on resolution. By a vote of 14–7−0, the resolution passed.

VIII. Adjournment

V. Andrews adjourned the meeting at 6:13.

Respectfully submitted, Allison Bazinet