Minutes — Student Assembly
September 19th, 2013
4:45pm — 6:30pm
Willard Straight Hall
I. Call to Order
U. Smith called the meeting to order at 4:45pm
- Members present
- S. Balik, J. Batista, G. Block, E. Bonatti, T. Drucker, R. Gademsky, I. Harris, M. Henderson, J. Hudson, T. Hittinger, L. Liu, Y. Ma, A. Murphy, U. Smith, M. Stefanko, T. Talbot, B. Thompson, N. Tulsky, N. Vasko, L. Wershaw
- Members tardy
- M. Lukasiewicz, C. Pritchett
II. Approval of September 12, 2013 Minutes
Minutes approved by unanimous consent
III. Open Microhpone
Zach — Cornell Connection Initiative
- The goal is to aim incoming students transition into college
- 200 people have signed up (new students and upperclassmen)
- New student responses will be given to the upperclassmen and each will pick a new student to pair with
- The only requirement is to meet a few times during the year to talk and provide advice, support, etc.
- Encourages the SA to participate and help promote the program
IV. Announcements and Reports
Elections Update — J. Muglia
Voting is closed. Congrats to J. Hudson, the LGBTQ representative. The other results will be released once challenges are resolved
Dining Committee Update — R. Gademsky
The major point of discussion was the Dining App
Community Life Committee Update — M. Stefanko
Attendance has been great for the first 2 meetings. Current discussing Student Court and composting
Appropriations Committee Update — G. Block
Byline funding applications were due Friday 9/13. MGLC did not meet the deadline so they are not eligible for the next two years. They are working out a solution to make sure MGLC will receive some sort of funding
United Student Body Update — C. Pritchett
They are in the process of meeting with all the byline funded organizations to discuss the USB initiative. 10/5 is set as the deadline for the submittal of plans. To be clear, it is a completely separate process from byline funding
Back to Africana Initiative Update — T. Talbot
Africana is the only library on North campus — working to keep it open later. They are currently in the process of data collection. Encourages the SA to stop by the library when they can and to support the initiative
Big Red Shuttle Update — J. Batista
They are accepting E-board applications
AIDS Week Update — J. Batista
Many groups are involved and they are looking to get producers to show some of their works as well. In the process of applying for more funds
Outreach Announcements — J. Batista
Asks that the SA members to be sure that they meet their outreach requirements
Office Hours Announcement — U. Smith
Held every week at 626 on Wednesday from 5–6. Designed for SA members to be present there for their constituents
V. OrgSync Presentation
- Melissa Lerosa (Cornell Campus Consultant) and Leanna Laskey (VP of Client Services)
- OrgSync was founded by student leaders and was created to help consolidate things happening on campus
- 45+ tools available for use
- T. Talbot: Regarding the approval process, if something is changed will all advisors and officers need to re-approve?
- Yes. No need to re-register, but any change will prompt a renewal process and notifications for approval will be sent out
- E. Bonatti: Is it possible to change that to avoid the redundancy of the process?
- It is possible — maybe an option could be coded in to do it
- U. Smith: As a company of about 45 employees working with 350 campuses, what do you expect the turnaround time to be for implementing changes?
- The time varies based on what kind of change, as any changes made to the system affect all 350 colleges
- N. Vasko: Would it be a good idea to put together some sort of task force to work as liaisons and experts on campus?
- U. Smith: That sounds like a great idea and there is likely something similar in the works alreay
- A. Murphy: OrgSync was implemented in the Hotel School a year ago and it was noticed that it took a bit of time to get it off the ground and to get students engaged. What recommendations would you have for helping with this?
- In many cases, the best tactic is to set an example — if the Administration and big organizations really engage with it, then others will follow
- C. Cheng: OrgSync seems to have a social networking feel. Is there a greater vision for this tool and will changes be pushed in a specific direction?
- The system is catered toward both administrative and student users so any changes made will usually benefit one or the other. A current initiative is mobile app development — hope to have an iOS app out in the Spring to be followed by an Android app
- G. Block: OrgSync is an expensive system so what is its advantage over free tools like Google or Facebook? Is it worth it to continue investing money for the implementation of advantageous changes?
- The reall benefit of OrgSync is that it’s a one-stop-shop. Everything can be found in one central place and can be easily managed and updated
- E. Bonatti: Is OrgSync implemented the same way across all campuses or is it customizable per campus?
- The platform is the same, and there are some things that are hard-coded, but the rest is certainly customizable; every school’s OrgSync looks different
VI. Business of the Day
R. 9: Elections Committee Confirmation — A. Muglia and M. Lukasiewicz
- In the past, the rule that the SA must formally approve the committee seems to have been overlooked, so it’s a good time to start observing it
- N. Vasko: According to the resolution (R.7) that was brought up last week, no member that has been challenged can sit on the committee and there is one person that fits that criterion
- U. Smith: R.7 was withdrawn, so there is no issue
- Call to question, seconded
- Resolution 9 passed by a vote of 20–0−1
Appropriations Committee Recommendation: Collegiate Readership Program — G. Block
- CRP started as a one year pilot in 2003 and it has been funded very year since — provides students access to NY Times and USA Today on campus as well as an online subscription to NY Times
- M. Stefanko: Was there any discussion about shifting away from USA Today to say, Wall Street Journal?
- It was discussed, but CRP only has access to NY Times, USA Today, and the Ithaca Journal
- Regarding Wall Street Journal, they shy away from undergraduates and cater more toward business schools
- T. Talbot: Are newspapers available online? If so, has there been a survey to gauge what students prefer?
- USA Today is free online and NY Times has a payroll. No huge survey ahs been taken, but it is known that the percentage of students that take each newspaper is about 50–50
- Motion to approve, seconded
- Motion for unanimous consent, seconded
- CRP approved unanimously
Appropriations Committee Recommendation: WSHSUB — G. Block
- WSHSUB is the organizations that manages programming in WSH and on Libe Slope. They requested a $0.15 increase for the Pub to help allocate money to organizations for programming in the Pub
- The Appropriations Committee did not feel that increasing the amount of money to hold more events was them sot beneficial, but they liked the idea of providing money for the Pub to give out as funding
- R. Gitlin: What is the turnout for the programming the Pub has done so far?
- There has been a wide range of attendance depending on the event
- Motion to approve, seconded, dissent expressed
- Vote to vote: 12–8−1 Discussion continues
- T. Talbot: Not sure the allocation should be increased as he doesn’t know how successful the Pub actually is
- Y. Ma: The Appropriations Committee has taken the time to look through the financials and the Pub provides some great opportunities so it’s logical that they be given more
- G. Block: Really the money goes into opportunities for programming and events held in the Pub which is something great for organizations
- N. Vasko: Beleve the increase would be better spent on North or West where peole live, for example, as the events in the Pub don’t seem to be well-attended
- G. Block: The purpose is to provide late-night programming across all of campus
- Motion to approve, seconded
- WSHSUB approved by a vote of 16–3−1
Appropriations Committee Recommendation: CUEMS — G. Block
- EMS provides a great service to campus and they are a very well-fun organization
- M. Henderson: For the past three years, EMS has had surpluses as they estimated their allocation request off of an unrealistic expectation of the number of undergraduates that they would receive money from. Why would they be funded the same amount given this information?
- There actually isn’t must of a surplus this past year and demand for EMS has only increased
- R. Gitlin: How does CUEMS fund its capital projects? Is it really bad for them to have a surplus?
- They have a separate vehicle account as they get a new vehicle about very 7 years
- All organizations are allowed to keep some surplus for emergency use — don’t believe the rollover for this group is a cause for concern
- Motion to approve, seconded, dissent expressed
- CUEMS approved by a vote of 17–1−2
U. Smith adjourned the meeting at 6:31pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Chelsea Cheng