MINUTES
Graduate & Professional Student Assembly
January 25th, 1999
Big Red Barn Graduate & Professional Student Center Greenhouse
5:00 P.M.

I. Attendance:

98–99 GPSA Members 4/27 9/28 10/26 11/23 1/25 2/22 3/29 4/26 Matt Abramovitz E P P P E Dennis Carlson P P P E P Amy Carroll P P P E P Michael Cosh P P P P P Deidra Suwanee Dees P P E P P Wendy Fleischman P P P P A Stefan Hames P P P P P Sergey Kiselev P P P P P David McCusker N/A P A P P Purnima Menon P P P P A Yogesh Potdar P P P P A Lauren Russell A P P P P John Schwarz P P P P P A. Ramon Thomas P P P A A Linda Yannone A E E A A

Others Present: Philip McPheron, Hilary Ford, Jianzhi Jenny Zhang, Patrick Carr, Jennifer Welsh, Jerauld Adams, Martha Frommelt, Bonnie Bailey, and Stephanie Tinsley

II. Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by John Schwarz, GPSA President, at 5:01 PM.

III. Open Forum

Deidra Dees, GPSA Secretary, stated she is Chair of the Communications Committee, which had hoped to put together a GPSA newsletter. D.Dees reported that requests for information were sent to each of the graduate and professional students appointed to the various committees. The response rate by members was low and D.Dees felt that a newsletter was not viable at this time due to a lack of sufficient material. D.Dees thanked all the committee members who did respond.

J.Schwarz stated that he will look into getting the needed information in other ways.

In response to members’ questions, D.Dees replied that the committee had several ideas for the newsletter. For example, the committee thought that doing “focus pieces” on people in the graduate community would be interesting. Photographs would have accompanied the articles in the newsletter, as added human interest.

Stefan Hames, GPSA Vice President, stated he has received several e-mails regarding transportation concerns, most which specifically addressed the issue of bus service to the mall. He asked that members let him know if there is still more interest in this topic because he intends to forward the e-mails soon.

IV. Minutes

The minutes of the November 23, 1998 GPSA meeting were approved as submitted.

V. Announcements and Reports

A) COR/GPSA Elections; Trustee Elections

J.Schwarz announced that information pertaining to the COR election/selection process and the GPSA election process for next year is currently being put together. He said that the 1999–2000 GPSA will be elected in April 1999 by the new COR members. J.Schwarz requested that members who know they will not return next year try to help recruit a replacement. He added that relevant information will be disseminated to departments and graduate students in the next few weeks. New COR members need to be identified by March 29, 1999.

Bonnie Bailey, Office of the Assemblies, added that graduate and professional students will be receiving postcards and e-mails to provide additional details regarding the election process. She also noted that posters will be hung in appropriate locations as part of the outreach effort.

J.Schwarz announced that elections for the Student-elected Trustee seat on the Cornell University Board of Trustees will occur in March. He asserted he would like to see a Student-elected Trustee seat specifically designated for the graduate community. He asked that members let the GPSA know if any constituents are interested in running for this position.

Patrick Carr, Geology, announced that he considering running for the position of Student-elected Trustee. He began the process by picking up a petition in the Office of the Assemblies today.

J.Schwarz invited P.Carr to briefly tell members about himself and why he is interested in the Student-elected Trustee position.

P.Carr stated he is currently a Ph.D. candidate in geological sciences and he will be at Cornell for at least two more years. He said he was also an undergraduate at Cornell and still participates in some activities that are considered to be chiefly undergraduate, such as the marching band. He noted he is currently serving on several committees. P.Carr remarked that his continued interaction with the undergraduate community may help in this particular case since it increases his base of support. P.Carr said he is interested in running for the Trustee position because he is interested in serving the community further and he would like to help ensure that graduate issues are brought to the Board of Trustees.

D.Dees remarked that she was interested in the Student-elected Trustee position when she first arrived at Cornell. She added that she did not run because she was concerned that the election would just be a popularity contest, which would be difficult for a new student.

P.Carr commented that one of the obstacles to getting a graduate or professional student elected for this position is that it is hard to get graduate and professional students to vote. Many view the elections as being an undergraduate event.

In response to members’ questions, B.Bailey said that polling locations were carefully selected and they are spread out over the campus in areas which get a lot of student traffic. The Big Red Barn was selected as a logical location for the graduate community since it is designated as the Graduate and Professional Student Center.

Amy Carroll, Microbiology, remarked that it may be a good idea to schedule an event in the Big Red Barn on the days of the elections in order to attract graduate and professional students to the polls.

B.Bailey stated that the election dates are March 2 and 3, 1999.

Members suggested that voting be made easier for graduate and professional by either having e-mail voting or allowing votes to be taken by absentee ballots.

B.Bailey replied that the Office of the Assemblies had looked into holding elections on-line, but preliminary inquiries indicate it is not currently feasible. The process is complex and, among other things, the programming required to make the process secure would be very expensive. She stated she would look into the concept of easier voting alternatives further.

David McCusker, Law, remarked that law students generally stay in the vicinity of the law school and convincing students to walk all the way over to the Big Red Barn to vote for only the Student-elected Trustee position may prove difficult. He felt it would be more effective for the graduate community to have the ballot sent to the students.

S.Hames agreed this option would be better but it is too late to do anything this year.

B.Bailey responded to concerns by saying she will look into these possibilities. She believed that one issue is that undergraduate students are very concerned about security, and if there are claims that something unfair was done the election may have to be run again, which is very expensive.

J.Schwarz stated that this discussion strengthens the point that graduate and professional students need their own process because their circumstances differ from the undergraduate community.

S.Hames established that it would be useful to implement one of these suggestions in the future.

J.Schwarz requested that members let the GPSA know if there are other constituents interested in running for the Student-elected Trustee position.

B) Student Health Insurance Advisory Committee

J.Schwarz stated there are currently two graduate/professional vacancies on the Student Health Insurance Advisory committee. This committee examines the student insurance plan that is provided at Cornell. He stated that a decision is to be made on a new contract soon and it is very important for the GPSA to have representation on the committee.

A.Carroll asked about the time commitment required by the committee.

B.Bailey replied that she contacted Allen Bova, Director of Risk Management, about the time commitment and he stated that until the contract decision is made at the end of March, they will meet for one to one and a half hours each week. She noted that A.Bova said that students should be interested in this topic and encouraged to participate because it is possible that premiums may be substantially increased.

S.Hames stated it is imperative for the GPSA to have representation on this committee. He noted that the GPSA had active representation the last time the new contract was negotiated, and consequently a decent deal was made. He stated that an active member from the graduate community may be able to help negotiate a better deal for students. S.Hames remarked that he would join the committee if he were not already committed to various other committees, but he simply has no time left. S.Hames encouraged members to join this important committee to represent the graduate community.

D.McCusker stated that he will ask law students if they are interested in joining the committee.

J.Schwarz requested that members inform him or B.Bailey if they know of any constituents who are interested in serving on this committee.

C) Administration-Assembly Relations

S.Hames reported that the executives of the constituent Assemblies believe that communication with the administration should be improved. He stated the Assembly executives would like the administration to route relevant information through the constituent Assemblies in a timely manner. In order to effectively request this, the Assemblies are considering passing similar resolutions at the same time requesting the administration and President Rawlings to let the Assemblies have advance information and to use the Assemblies as a conduit to transfer this information to their constituents. S.Hames stated that this topic will be addressed further at the next COR meeting.

D) Student Activity Fee

S.Hames said there was nothing new to report since the last GPSA meeting regarding the task force appointed by the Board of Trustees. He reminded members that this task force is charged with codifying the procedures concerning the allocation of funds to by-line funded groups. He noted that the suggestions made by the Board of Trustees seem very reasonable. S.Hames stated that the GPSA currently has de facto power over student activity fee money, and the GPSA Charter would be need to be modified to make this power formal.

VI. Business of the Day

A) GPSAFC Resolution

Michael Cosh, Civil Engineering, stated that the changes he is proposing to the GPSAFC Treasurer’s Handbook are clarifications made in response to several problems that have come up during the past year. He said he would go over each of the proposed changes with the assembled members. The first change states that membership data must be submitted by the organization at the time the budget is submitted. The second change was simply to correct a typo. The GPSAFC is selected by the GPSA, not by itself. The third change, on the second page, states that fund transfers cannot be made between GPSAFC to SAFC funded organizations. The fourth change was made to follow government rates regarding reimbursement for driving expenses. M.Cosh stated that he would like to include text which noted that the rates set here correspond with the government rates.

Hilary Ford, Assistant Dean of the Graduate School, stated she believes this information is obtained from the Cornell University Office of the Controller, who get their rates from the IRS.

S.Hames suggested adding a parenthetic clause after the “0.31/mile,” which would read, “or current rate as set by the IRS.”

M.Cosh stated he would prefer for the clause to say that the rates are established by the Cornell University Office of the Controller since that is the body which determines the information for Cornell. Members agreed to this.

M.Cosh continued by saying the next change to the GPSAFC handbook addresses the issue of how to access funds. He noted it was assumed that GPSAFC and SAFC funds could not be shared between organizations. However, some groups divided into an undergraduate organization and a graduate organization in order to get around the membership requirements and therefore receive more money. Because of this, the proposed wording is needed to clarify what co-sponsorship of an event actually means. M.Cosh noted he is currently in the process of developing the co-sponsorship form.

In response to members’ questions, M.Cosh stated that the word “Publications” was struck out in the area after travel expenses, because later in the same paragraph, it is specified that only newsletters will be funded. He noted that in the past, some organizations have tried to print items such as resume books instead of just newsletters.

A vote was taken to approve the resolution on changes to the Treasurer’s Handbook, as amended.

The resolution passed by a vote of 8–0.

The resolution reads as follows:

Resolution on Changes to the Treasurers’ Handbook

Whereas it has been resolved that changes should be made to the Treasurers’ Handbook by the GPSAFC to address policy discrepancies,

Be it therefore resolved that the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly approves the attached corrections and changes to the GPSAFC Treasurers’ Handbook.

Respectfully submitted,

Michael H. Cosh GPSAFC Chairperson

1/25/99

Excerpts have been taken from the GPSAFC Treasurer’s Handbook.

POLICIES (FINANCIAL REGULATIONS AND INFORMATION) FOR FUNDED STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS I. Rationale for University Funding of Student Activities

B. General Description

1. The Graduate & Professional Student Assembly Finance Commission (GPSAFC) is responsible for distributing funds to registered graduate student organizations that provide a service to the Cornell community. An organization must have at least 41% graduate membership at the time of organization registration or time of budget submittal (whichever is most appropriate) to be eligible for GPSAFC funds.

III. Procedures Regarding Funded Accounts

A. The Graduate & Professional Student Assembly Finance Commission (GPSAFC) is a board of approximately six students. This graduate body is selected by current GPSA members.

VI. Specific Guidelines for Graduate Student Organizations

A. The GPSAFC has set the following additional conditions for the funding of student organizations:

1. An organization must have at least 41% graduate membership to be eligible for funds.

2. If any members of a student organization are receiving academic credit for their activities within the organization, the GPSAFC cannot fund those activities.

3. No individual salaried by Cornell University within the last 6 months can receive payment for services with GPSAFC funds.

4. Secretarial services will not be funded.

5. Organizations are encouraged to use offset and stenciling, instead of more expensive publication methods.

6. No certificates or membership cards will be funded.

7. Some books and subscriptions will be funded if the groups are willing to leave the publication in University libraries without duplicating existing inventories.

8. “Speaker” allocations will pay only for travel, meals and lodging for the speaker. Reimbursement for speakers’ meals will be paid only if restaurant receipts are submitted indicating separate meals.

9. Funding for social events will not exceed 20% of an organization’s allocation except in exceptional cases.

10. Line item transfers will be considered on a case by case basis.

11. A breakdown of requested funds is a requirement; incomplete breakdowns will not be considered.

12. Fund transfers cannot be made to SAFC funded organizations.

B. The Commission has decided that it WILL NOT FUND the following: 1. Organization stationery. 2. Organization travel (group members to conferences, meetings, etc.) 3. Conference expenses. 4. Membership fees. 5. Phone. 6. Office space. 7. Postage. 8. Office supplies. 9. ANY event where admission or equivalent is charged.

HOW TO APPLY FOR FUNDING FOR YOUR GROUP

The Funding Process and Line Item Concept

• (listed under Line Items)

Speaker Expenses - The GPSAFC will only fund a speaker’s travel, lodging, and meal expenses. NO speaker honoraria will be funded.

1) Travel - You must inform the GPSAFC of your speaker’s proposed itinerary. Your speaker’s airfare can be funded, but the GPSAFC will not provide any pre-paid airline tickets, nor will we fund any private jets. The GPSAFC can also fund travel for those willing to drive to speak at Cornell. A feasible distance for driving is 300 miles. The reimbursement rate for your speaker driving to Cornell University is $0.31/mile(or current rate as set by the Cornell University Office of the Controller) for the round-trip.

Newsletter - When requesting funding for your newsletter, you MUST inform the GPSAFC of:

HOW TO ACCESS YOUR FUNDS

Co-Sponsorships - BEFORE you promise any money to another organization to share the expenses of a program, you must receive the permission of the Commission. Co-sponsorships also include programs where different elements of a single event are funded by different organizations or departments. The definition of a single event is left to the discretion of the GPSAFC. Here is how to apply:

1. Complete a Co-Sponsorship form. 2. Hand the form in to the GPSAFC office, and it will be given to the GPSAFC to review at their next meeting. If your organization is alleged to be in receipt of co-sponsorship funds without making a corresponding report to the GPSAFC and the allegations are proven correct, the GPSAFC has the full right to investigate and take one or all of the following actions:

• Sending a letter of instruction.
• Imposing a probationary period on your group.
• Withdrawing funds, partially or fully or confiscating funds for a specified period. Also, if your group receives co-sponsorship funds from a non-GPSAFC funded group, you must bring a photocopy of the journal voucher used to transfer the funds to the GPSAFC office before the event. This is to verify that the transfer has been completed.

As passed by the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly on January 25, 1999 by a vote of 8–0.

B) University Co-operative Nursery School Funding

M.Cosh reported that the GPSAFC finances various groups annually. He stated there is an appeal process for groups which have their request for funds denied, and that the appeal goes to the GPSA for a vote if the GPSAFC denies the first appeal. M.Cosh stated that the University Co-operative Nursery School was denied the requested funds because it does not meet the membership requirement which states that forty-one percent of its members be graduate students.

Martha Frommelt, University Co-operative Nursery School, stated that the nursery school was formed in 1970 by graduate students. The school program consists of two sessions, one morning and one afternoon, and parents can pick which session to send their children to. The school has been accredited to provide preschool instruction for the last seven years, but still remains a parent co-op. As a parent co-op, parents are required to help out at the school. She stated that for unknown reasons, the number of graduate students who have been using this service has decreased. She gave an opinion that one of the reasons for decreased enrollment may be related to the fact that the school location changed recently without much advance notice.

J.Schwarz requested to know the school’s funding situation.

M.Frommelt replied that the budget is $50,000 per year. She stated that approximately $7,000 goes toward program expenses, and the rest is used to pay for personnel. M.Frommelt stated that most of the money needed for the budget is made through the tuition the nursery school charges. She noted that tuition is determined on a sliding scale to help make it accessible to everyone. There are five different income categories and the tuition also depends on the number of days per week the child attends. Thus, tuition can vary quite a bit. For example, if parents want to send their child to school for two days a week, and they are in the lowest income category, it would cost approximately $250 a semester. Conversely, if the parents are in the highest income category and want to send their child for five days a week, it would cost approximately $1100 per semester.

S.Hames asked for the proportion of graduate students in the organization over the last ten years.

M.Frommelt replied that the school has usually met the membership requirement set by the GPSAFC, except for a couple of years.

S.Hames requested information about the amount of funding the organization has received from the GPSA.

M.Frommelt replied that the amount of funding from the GPSAFC has been from $600 to $1000 in recent years. She stated that part of the GPSAFC money has been used to fund parent education workshops, which cover topics ranging from food issues to sibling rivalry. In addition, the money has been used to pay for publicity about the school, and is also used to help maintain an extensive library which is open to all students.

In response to members’ questions, M.Frommelt replied that the school only allows children between the ages of three to five years old because there are age specific laws governing children in day care or nursery school settings. She said that based on these various legal restrictions it is not feasible to expand their services to other age groups at this time. She reported that this year there are only seven graduate students participating in the school, but pointed out that post-docs who participate are placed in the category of faculty, rather than graduate students.

M.Cosh stated that last year, the University Co-operative Nursery School received $1224 from the GPSAFC instead of the requested $2800. He noted they were denied funding this year because they did not meet the membership requirements.

J.Schwarz summarized that there are two ways student activity funds are allocated. The first is the method used for by-line funded groups, such as Cornell Cinema, which are reviewed every two years. The second method is for the rest of the organizations who annually submit a budget and proposal for funding which is then reviewed by the GPSAFC. The GPSAFC looks at the proposals from all the groups, and decides how to allocate the money amongst these groups. In addition to this, the GPSAFC is responsible for ensuring that each organization meets all the established criteria, including the 41% membership requirement. Therefore, because the University Co-operative Nursery is not a by-line funded group, it must submit a budget annually, and there appears to be an anomaly this year because it does not meet the membership requirement. Because of this, the request for funds has been denied by the GPSAFC, and now the GPSA must decide whether the University Co-operative Nursery School should be funded with GPSAFC funds.

Members asked what was done the last time this organization did not meet the GPSAFC membership requirement.

M.Frommelt replied that she wasn’t sure what happened last time, though she does not believe they were ultimately denied funding.

M.Cosh repeated that the reason the GPSAFC did not approve the appeal was because the membership requirement is a major guideline and the nursery school did not meet this criteria this year. Therefore, he believes it appropriate for the GPSA to address this appeal. M.Cosh recommended that the GPSA approve this appeal.

A vote was taken to approve the funding of the University Co-operative Nursery School.

The motion passed by a vote of 7–1.

M.Cosh confirmed that the GPSAFC will be responsible for determining the amount of funding the school will receive now that the GPSA has approved funding.

Adjournment The meeting was adjourned by J.Schwarz at 6:00 PM.

Respectfully Submitted, Stephanie Tinsley