Minutes
University Assembly
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
4:30–6:00 p.m.
401 Physical Science Building

I. Call to Order

J. Cai called the meeting to order at 4:32 p.m. and welcomed two new faculty members, Ellis Loew and R Booker.

Attendance:

Present: K. Albert, J. Blair, R. Booker, J. Cai, A. Gitlin, R. Kay, N. La Celle, J. Il Lee, E. Loew, E. McNelis, G. Mezey, E. Newbury, M. Paine, P. Scelfo, B. Schaffner, R. Wayne

Absent: J. Burns, T. Grove

Others Present: A. Bores, J. Paige (Office of Fraternity, Sororities and Independent Living), A. Epstein, A. O’Donnell

II. Approval of the Minutes

J. Blair amended the minutes from the January 29, 2013 meeting. The minutes were subsequently approved.

III. Reports from Assemblies

Executive Board

E. Newbury reported the board worked to target specific issues. These include public safety, childcare, elder care, MOOCs, green initiatives, and graduate student living. She encouraged members to write resolutions regarding these issues.

Student Assembly

A. Gitlin said he was excited to learn of President Skorton’s support of the green revolving fund. He also reported the SA passed a resolution calling for the university to divest in the fossil fuel industry. Additionally, the SA discussed the implementation of a follow up procedure for crisis management and passed a related resolution. Currently, there is no formalized process. He reported the SA has also been gathering information to discuss the idea of a social justice requirement for undergraduate students.

GPSA

M. Paine reported the addition of seats on the GPSA for representatives of the Geneva campus and Cornell Tech campus. Since the last meeting, he also met with graduate students at the Tech campus in NYC. He also reported at their last meeting, the GPSA discussed two sections of the Graduate Community Initiative, “career resources” and “family resources.”

Employee Assembly

B. Schaffner reported the EA has held two open forums to follow up on the Employee Survey as planned. Attendance was somewhat sparse, but led to good conversation nonetheless. She announced there would be one more forum this month. She also reported on elections. Because all candidates were unopposed, the EA chose not to hold formal elections. The EA is still looking to fill four seats. B. Schaffner stated the “Workday” program has been met with some resistance due to staff members’ reluctance to release their photos publicly. G. Mezey added there is a resolution being considered that calls for more concrete follow up steps from deans, directors and department heads regarding the employee survey results.

Faculty Senate

R. Kay reported the FS received a report on the Ho Plaza confrontations. He stated the Codes and Judicial Committee will be tasked with some portion of this issue, noting the Code of Conduct is unclear on several key points.

IV. Reports from Committees

CJC

G. Mezey stated February 19, 2013 would be the first CJC meeting of the semester. The meetings will be held every other Tuesday, opposite weeks of UA meetings.

Infrastructure

B. Schaffner reported the news of the President’s support of the green revolving fund. She also noted some of the issues identified by the Executive Board as Infrastructure issues did not seem to match the Committee’s mission. She suggested they might be better directed toward the Campus Planning Committee or the Campus Welfare Committee.

V. Business of the Day

Resolution 4 Need for Affordable, Quality Off-Campus Housing

E. Newbury introduced the resolution to the UA.

M. Paine added the resolution recognizes the housing situation in Ithaca is a complicated market. No one body has the ability to change housing prices. He suggested Cornell could use its Community Relations department to communicate with the community about these issues. Additionally, he identified the issues that arise from undergraduates renting for the first time and suggested more information be made available to mitigate these issues.

G. Mezey stated this was an important issue to discuss. He asked [Julie] what reasons landlords gave for the rents they charge. She responded the landlords cite increasing assessments and other costs. She also noted staff must be considered. E. Newbury responded staff and many other community members are identified as stakeholders in the resolution.

A. Gitlin stated he liked the resolution and noted housing conditions in Collegetown do not appropriately match prices. He also noted the landlords’ counterargument to this is often that tenants treat the properties poorly. He stated both arguments have merit, additionally affirming students do sometimes get unfairly pressured into signing leases.

B. Schaffner agreed regarding the merits of the resolution, specifically it calls for more assistance for the off campus housing office. She suggested the introduction of a list of preferred landlords. She noted there is no current plan to rebuild the Maplewood housing and it would gradually be removed from the housing stock in the near future. This is an issue that needs to be addressed by the UA. M. Paine responded that although there may be no official, public plan for Maplewood, there may be some alternatives being considered. He also noted the GCI contains a statement about this housing issue.

R. Booker spoke about the many causes of the housing problems. He stated part of the reason homes are overvalued in assessments is the great demand for rental property. These high assessments then reinforce the landlords’ ability to charge high rents. To combat this, he suggested the university work to keep more students on campus longer. He also spoke of the connection between these issues and the lifestyle of staff members. When students live in nearby housing, they dramatically reduce supply and increase costs for others, forcing many staff members to seek housing considerably farther from campus. Finally, he stated students should consider their place in the greater community and how the decisions they make affect others.

A. Gitlin responded the SA created the Collegetown Student Council for the purpose of raining awareness regarding these issues.

R. Booker added that as fuel costs increase, the housing problems will become more severe.

A. Bores asked J. Paige what her office can do about the problem of students being rushed into finding housing and signing leases. J. Paige responded a large issue is students do not get the opportunity to build a relationship with their landlords. This is because the landlords demand leases be signed so far in advance. She stated the office tries to educate landlords about the importance of waiting to put their property on the market so tenants will respect them. She also noted the office sends a letter to parents and residence hall staff asking them to urge their students to take advantage of information available to them. Finally, she stated she hopes students will come to realize the power they wield in the housing market and learn to leave poor quality housing unrented.

J. Blair stated although the resolution is not objectionable, it also does not contain enough specific information for directing action after its passage. He suggested designating a lead organization. Then, the UA could ask the organization for their plan by a specified time and, ultimately, a system could be implemented that requires the organization to update the UA on any progress.

M. Paine agreed to an amendment to the effect of J. Blair’s statements. M. Paine then asked J. Paige what resources she would have a use for, should they become available. J. Paige responded another staff member and resources for producing publications would be of interest.

M. Paine made another amendment to reflect J. Paige’s comments.

R. Wayne agreed with R. Booker’s position on the issues. He underscored the fact the income of parents of Cornell students tends to considerably exceed that of most Cornell staff members. This, he reasoned, was one of the several pressures responsible for the housing problems.

R. Booker warned these housing problems would only continue to get worse with time. With this in mind, he stated it was necessary to force the university to act.

G. Mezey reminded the UA it is important to consider the idea of affordability in a holistic manner. For instance, off campus housing prices may be inflated, but it is equally true that on campus housing can be even more expensive, especially when considered on a price per square foot basis and the requirement of a costly meal plan. He expressed hope for effective solutions but also stated more information should be gathered before any official action is taken.

K. Albert agreed the resolution is vague. He suggested the UA consider the thoughts of the people in charge of related departments, including someone from the Ithaca planning department. E. Newbury responded to comments about the vague nature of the resolution. She clarified it is meant only as a short-term action with the major purposes of identifying the issues at hand and initiating a discussion with the right offices.

R. Booker suggested the formation of an ad hoc committee to work on these issues.

E. Newbury reminded the UA that the resolution does not pertain solely to Collegetown, a fact that is partly responsible for the wide-ranging nature of the document.

E. Newbury motioned to commit the resolution to the Infrastructure Committee. M. Paine seconded. The motion was met with 11 votes in favor.

VI. Adjournment

J. Cai adjourned the meeting at 6:02 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Noah Wegener
Assemblies Clerk