Student Assembly

Minutes
Cornell University Student Assembly
September 1, 2011
4:45pm — 5:59pm
Willard Straight Hall, Memorial Room

I. Call to Order/Roll Call

N. Raps called the meeting to order at 4:45 pm.

J. Rau took attendance.

Voting members present: A. Gitlin, A. Nicoletti, A. Chopra, A. Pinkney, D. Goldberg, D. Kuhr, D. Brown, G. Hoffman, J. Kay, J. Mueller, J. Rau, M. Gulrajani, N. Raps, N. Treffeisen, R. Desai, S. Breedon, U. Smith,

Non-voting members present: A. Raveret, A. Santangelo

Voting members unexcused absent: A. Wolford

Voting members excused absent: E. Szulman, G. Block

II. Moment of Silence- In Memory of Nathaniel Rand ‘12

N. Raps asked for a moment of silence for Nathaniel Rand, who died in the gorges this summer.

The members of the Student Assembly then recited the oath of office.

III. Open Microphone

a. Phi Sigma Beta Announcement- Alex Cheolas

A. Cheolas said that Phi Sigma Sigma is the newest sorority at Cornell. She and Cat Kane both graduated in May and will be living on campus until next May. They are actively recruiting right now. Anyone interested should contact them. They will be in Ho Plaza for the next few weeks.

IV. Announcements/Reports

a. Student Trustee Update- Darrick Evenson & Alex Bores

D. Evenson explained that they are the two students who sit on the Board of Trustees. The Board handles broad policy issues for the universities, including changes to the strategic plan and to departments. This year, they are focusing on the gorge safety issue.

A. Bores said they are trying to tie those issues in with general safety issues. They would also like to increase communication between administration and students.

D. Evenson said they are working with the other three campus trustees to arrange a monthly public forum. Also, they are writing articles for the Cornell Sun and the Chronicle to explain their intiatives.

b. Staffing Update- John Rau

J. Rau said he is looking into staffing UA committees now because the other Assemblies are already mostly staffed. He handed out a sheet to assign SA members to different task forces as well.

c. SAFC Update- Adam Nicoletti & Roneal Desai

A. Nicoletti said R. Desai is the SA’s SAFC liaison for this year.

R. Desai said groups would be allocated this year using annual budgets, not semester budgets. The online budget was made available Sunday night, and budgets and applications are due next week. There will hopefully be a guide sent out to groups to help them with their budgets and understanding these changes. Groups should feel free to contact the SAFC for answers to their questions.

d. Outreach Update- Ulysses Smith

U. Smith asked that requests be sent to him well ahead of time in order to figure out location, budget issues, and public relations issues. He said there are three events coming up soon, including an LGBTQ-Greek event, an ice cream social, and a Black Students United block party.

A representative from BSU said there would be a block party on Saturday from 11:00–4:00 in Ho Plaza with performances and food.

U. Smith asked that SA members attend these events. Although members are only required to attend one activity, it is important to engage throughout the year.

U. Smith later added that Dean Alexander will be hosting an event on Monday to inform students about what the SA does.

e. Elections Update- Adam Raveret

A. Raveret said that election material is due September 6th. Seniors on SA should help him in counting signatures at that time. On September 15th, following the SA meeting, there will be a candidate forum with Dean Hubble. Voting will take place from September 19th to the 21st.

f. LGBTQ-Greek Event- Nathaniel Treffeisen

N. Treffeisen said the event would be an LGBTQ-Greek info session for insight on what it is like to be LGBTQ and Greek and to foster better feelings between both groups. The event will be held on Labor Day at 12:00 pm in the Physical Sciences Building. Free food and drinks will be provided.

g. Additional Announcements

N. Raps said that future announcements should be emailed ahead of time or stated at the end of the meeting’s announcements. The first Procrastinate at the Straight will also be held after this meeting. All SA members should attend.

G. Block announced that he is working with Slope Media to obtain support for the prospective NYC Tech campus.

V. Business of the Day

a. Byline Funding Reports- Slope Media, CAPSU & Coffee Hour

A. Nicoletti said every two years the SA coordinates byline funding. This semester, the SAFC will meet with every group on campus to decide how much their allocation will grow. Three new groups would like to apply for byline funding: Slope Media, CAPSU, and Coffee Hour. To determine eligibility, groups have to allow equal access to services and must benefit the campus at large. The SAFC also considers whether the group has received funding from SAFC in the past, if they have a concrete plan, and other criteria. At their last meeting, they decided that Slope Media should be funded. Their dues will be removed and all students will have an opportunity to join if they eventually receive byline funding.

There was a call to question. Seconded. No dissent. By vote of 17–0−0, the motion passed.

As for CAPSU, there has been an ongoing issue because they receive funding from ALANA. This calls the future of the funding system for the multicultural groups on campus into question. Still, the SAFC voted that CAPSU is eligible for funding.

There was a call to question. Seconded. There was a call for a hand vote. Seconded. By a vote of 16–0−0, the motion passed.

A. Nicoletti said that Coffee Hour was voted ineligible for funding. Although the SAFC felt this group had merit, their plans were not on a large enough scale, and members lacked leadership experience and a necessary track record. The group chose not to appeal.

There was a call to question. Seconded. The motion to not byline fund Coffee Hour passed by a vote of 16–0−0.

A. Nicoletti said future SA meetings would hear from groups themselves, so SA members should be prepared.

b. Resolution 1- Additional Responsibilities for the VP Internal Operations

J. Rau said everyone is busy over the summer, so this resolution delegates some important responsibilities to the VP of Internal Operations for things that should be accomplished over the summer.

Called to question. Call for acclamation. By a hand vote of 17–0−0, the resolution passed.

c. Resolution 2- Adding a Student Seat to the Education Policy Committee

N. Raps introduced the resolution.

Paul Sawyer Dean Fry and another faculty member introduced themselves as members of the EPC.

Dean Fry opened the floor for questions.

A. Nicoletti asked what the Educational Policy Committee does and why a student should be added to it.

Dean Fry said that the EPC has addressed the issue of median grades being posted on the web and recommended to the Senate that they be removed. The EPC deals with all kinds of educational issues. Three years ago, they suggested that Labor Day be a day without classes.

The faculty member said they do a lot of work with scheduling, student stress, exams, and assignments due during or after Spring Break.

Dean Fry said that they recommended that professors not load work on students before breaks.

P. Sawyer asked for thoughts on whether or not the representative would be chose from the members of the SA.

A. Gitlin said they would discuss these matters at a different time.

R. Desai said President Skorton has referenced the EPC as a way to alleviate student stress. He wondered how EPC members are planning to address this issue on campus. Are there specific initiatives in the works?

Dean Fry said that they are looking into the issue of putting median grades on transcripts.

D. Evensen asked what the history of the EPC has been with the student body. How have decisions been made in the past?

Dean Fry said he doesn’t know much of the history. They have requested student membership on the academic calendar committee. They appointed an ad hoc committee of faculty, staff, and students to investigate the academic calendar.

R. Desai called the resolution to question. Seconded, with no dissent. By acclamation, the resolution passed.

VI. New Business

a. Resolution 3- Re-Establishment of the Greek-LGBTQ Relations Ad-Hoc Committee

N. Trefeissen said that last year, the SA passed a resolution to create a Greek-LGBTQ ad hoc committee. Last semester, they worked on these issues by creating many new initiatives. They would like to bring these issues back to the table this year.

D. Kuhr asked what the committee’s goals are for this year.

N. Trefeissen said that, beginning with the information session, they are trying to de-stigmatize the relationship between these two groups. There are many LGBTQ members in the Greek community and there are several issues that arise from the interactions of these two groups.

U. Smith asked if all of their positions were staffed last year.

N. Trefeissen said yes, they were. He also added two community members this year and specified that Tri-Council Members would come from the Tri-Council e-board.

D. Kuhr asked if he had spoken to Tri-Council e-boards about this yet?

N. Trefeissen said he had not spoken to them yet, but he doesn’t anticipate any issues.

b. Resolution 4- Distribution of SAFC Funding Guide to Student Organizations

R. Desai said that over the summer, the e-board had conference calls on how to market SAFC funding changes to students. Approximately 30 percent of requests weren’t granted in the past, mostly because of missing documentation. They wanted to help guide groups through the funding application process, so he they together a Guide to the SAFC Budget Application. It is an official resource on the SAFC website now. The SAFC co-chairs support this. SA members should also use this document to acquaint themselves with the SAFC funding process.

A. Nicoletti said the SAFC has agreed to engage in public relations more effectively and be more personal. The top ten groups that receive the most funding will receive less this year, so most groups should receive more.

R. Desai motioned to move this resolution to business of the day. Seconded. By a vote of 15–0−1, the motion passed. Moved to Business of the Day.

A. Epstein said he has been discussing the logistics of this guide with Desai. He is concerned more with the resolution than the guide itself. The Office of Assemblies is not part of the Office of the Dean of Students. Also, the resolution seems to imply the Office of Assemblies can be ordered to send out information. He doesn’t think the resolution is necessary. He would like to make sure that the information put out is clear, so the errors should be fixed. He is also not comfortable with the fact that the application deadline is so close, but overall, he thinks the guide is a good idea.

The resolution was called to question. Seconded. There was a motion for a hand vote.

A. Nicoletti asked Epstein whether this resolution would have any effect on how quickly the guide would be distributed.

A. Epstein said it isn’t good to be ordered to do something when the Office of Assemblies is already doing it under stressful, last minute circumstances. The guide also needs more revision before it goes out.

N. Raps asked if Epstein wanted to make any amendments to the resolution.

A. Nicoletti said it is most beneficial if the guide is sent to students as soon as possible.

A. Epstein said that no administrators have reviewed the guide yet.

J. Rau motioned for an amendment.

D. Kuhr said that the resolution doesn’t need to be amended, as its meaning is already clear. Applications are due next week, so this is a stressful time for groups. Therefore, this information needs to be sent out as soon as possible.

A. Epstein recommended amending the language of several of the clauses.

There was a call to question on the amendment. By a vote of 16–1−1, the amendment passed.

There was a called to question. Seconded.

R. Desai emphasized the urgency of sending out the guide. Applications are due next week and groups are having problems and he has received many emails already.

By a vote of 18–0−0, the resolution passed.

N. Raps adjourned the meeting at 5:59 pm.

VII. Executive Session

Voting members continued to discuss various issues.

Respectfully submitted,

Allison Bazinet