Graduate & Professional Student Assembly Minutes January 24, 2000 Big Red Barn Graduate & Professional Student Center Greenhouse 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Attendance: 1999 - 2000 GPSA Members 4/26 9/27 10/25 11/22 1/24 2/28 3/27 4/24 Jean Ahn P P P P P Bill Bauerle P P P P P Dennis Carlson P P P P Pat Carr P P P P E Rong Fan P P A A P Stefan Hames E P P P P Wendy Harris P A A A A Chitkala Kalidas P P A A A Peter Kaskan P P E P P Charles Marentette P P P P P Emily Meseck A P P P P Krista Mowry P P P A P John Schwarz P Daniel Simmons P P P A A Lakshmi (Vatsa) Srivatsa P A P P A Kevin Sherper-Walker P P P

Others Present: Robert Harris, Michael Cosh, Bonnie Bailey, and Stephanie Tinsley

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by Stefan Hames, President of the 1999–2000 GPSA, at 5:10 PM.

Open Forum

Michael Cosh, Civil Engineering, announced that the deadline for submitting budgets to the GPSAFC would be March 1, 2000. He will provide additional information as the time gets nearer.

Bill Bauerle, Floriculture, informed members that the ad-hoc committee that was formed to gather information regarding including health insurance in assistantship packages has finished collecting its information. He reported that this committee accomplished what it was charged to do. He clarified that the ad-hoc committee was not formed to tackle the details of forming a potential plan with the gathered information. He noted there is already another committee that exists to address those issues.

S.Hames announced that the GPSA Executive Committee would not meet with Dean Cohen until next month, so he has no new news to report on the subject of health insurance.  He reminded members that Dean Cohen would speak to the GPSA once a solid plan has been formed.  S.Hames informed members about be a meeting for the officers of the graduate student assemblies (GSA) of Ivy League schools in the spring.  Health insurance is likely to be a major topic at this meeting.  S.Hames expressed an interest in obtaining the information gathered by the ad-hoc Health Committee so he can potentially use it at this meeting.

Kevin Sherper-Walker, City & Regional Planning, expressed that he would like to organize and collate the information that has been gathered in order to make it more useful.

S.Hames replied that he believed such energy could be better channeled elsewhere, although it would be useful to have the information analyzed if the health plan was ever negotiated.

K.Sherper-Walker reiterated his interest in analyzing the information and then disseminating it.

Jean Ahn, Human Services, stated that the information would be more useful if there were summaries of how and where the plan is not competitive.  When the time comes to renegotiate the insurance plan this information could be used to improve the health plan.

S.Hames requested that the Health Committee compile the information so he can bring it to the meeting of the Ivy League GSAs.  He noted that this topic would be addressed further at the next COR meeting.

Approval of Minutes

The minutes of the November 22, 1999 meeting of the 1999–2000 GPSA were approved as submitted.

Announcements and Reports A) Committee reports

No members reported additional committee activity.

Business of the Day A) CCC Diversity Statement

S.Hames introduced Professor Robert Harris, co-chair of the Campus Climate Committee, and thanked him for attending the meeting.

R.Harris stated he read the notes from the last COR meeting and is glad to have the opportunity to attend this meeting and address the issues that were discussed. He clarified that the nota bene will not be printed with the statement.  This is not a policy statement as it has no sanctions, no process, and no procedures.  It is meant as a statement of principle.  R.Harris stated that the Campus Climate Committee would like this statement to be widely circulated so everyone would know what type of community is considered to be the ideal.  The statement will be printed on posters and distributed in that format.  The Campus Climate Committee is also considering putting the statement onto mousepads and then distributing those.  R.Harris announced there would be a poster design contest to help determine the format that will be used in spreading the statement.

Charles Marentette, JGSM, asked if the SA had passed the Diversity Statement?

R.Harris replied that they did pass it, after much vigorous debate.

C.Marentette informed members that during the debates at the SA meetings some SA members were concerned about censorship.

R.Harris responded that some of the SA members were critical of the language portion under the third section, entitled “Open Minds,” which states that constructive discussion should take place “without degrading, abusing, harassing, or silencing others” since this could be seen as a form of censorship.   R.Harris expressed his belief that discussion and debate can occur on issues without people resorting to personal insults.

K.Sherper-Walker asked if there would be any action taken on this statement, such as increase allocations of funds to support cultural events?

R.Harris responded that there have already been some efforts, most noticeably by Campus Life, to help fund such events. However, the problem is that departments all have limited resources.

Rong Fan, Material Sciences, asked how the Campus Climate Committee would like people to view this statement?  She also asked if the statement would aid in measuring improvement?

R.Harris replied that the statement is not intended to be used as a yardstick.  He would like to have people to agree with the ideas embodied by the statement.  The Campus Climate Committee wants the statement to be viewed as something that has been constructed by the Cornell community instead of by the Cornell administration.  He elaborated that in his experience items that were perceived to be put into place by the top administration had a tendency to be resisted by the community.  This statement, however, was derived from  the “bottom-up”. R.Harris explained that the Campus Climate Committee asked for input from all sectors of the Cornell Community and is currently trying to put together discussions on the subject of diversity amongst groups of faculty, staff, and students.  He stressed that it is important to get individuals to take ownership of this document because they would then be more likely to promote change.

M.Cosh suggested that in the third section, the third sentence end at “constructive engagement” since the portion after that makes the statement seem more like a policy.

S.Hames reminded members that all the other Assemblies have already passed the Diversity Statement and a lot of work has been put into constructing it.  Therefore, it is unlikely that more changes would be made at this time since it would mean that the other Assemblies would have to be asked to pass it again in the revised form.  S.Hames requested that, given the timing, members not suggest editorial changes.

In response to members’ concerns, R.Harris said that the portion entitled “Open Doors” had originally ended without the last clause addressing historically marginalized minorities, but then the statement seemed as if it were not welcoming those minorities.  He noted that on the third sentence in the third portion, there is no policy in place to make people comply with the ideal stated.  The Diversity Statement has no procedures or sanctions. Such items are left up to the Campus Code of Conduct.

Krista Mowry, Nutrition, commented that she has heard that this statement is intended to be a starting point.  She added that as a starting point, this statement is fine as it allows for future debate and action.

R.Harris agreed that the statement is meant as a starting point.  He expressed his wish that the statement encourage people to discuss the issue of diversity at Cornell.

The 1999–2000 Graduate and Professional Student Assembly voted to approve of Cornell’s Statement on Diversity and Inclusiveness.

The GPSA Statement on Diversity and Inclusiveness passed unanimously.

The text of the statement is as follows:

Open Doors, Open Hearts, and Open Minds: Cornell’s Statement on Diversity and Inclusiveness

Open Doors “I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study.” This statement, made by Ezra Cornell in 1865, proclaims Cornell University’s enduring commitment to inclusion and opportunity which is rooted in the shared democratic values envisioned by its founders. We honor this legacy of diversity and inclusion and welcome all individuals, including those from groups that have been historically marginalized and previously excluded from equal access to opportunity.

Open Hearts Cornell’s mission is to foster personal discovery and growth, nurture scholarship and creativity across a broad range of common knowledge and affirm the value to individuals and society of the cultivation of the human mind and spirit. Our legacy is reflected in the diverse composition of our community, the breadth of our curriculum, the strength of our public service, and the depth of our commitment to freedom, equity, and reason. Each member of the Cornell community has a responsibility to honor this legacy and to support a more diverse and inclusive campus in which to work, study, teach, research, and serve.

Open Minds Free expression is essential to this mission, and provocative ideas lawfully presented are an expected result. An enlightened academic community, however, connects freedom with responsibility. Cornell stands for civil discourse, reasoned thought, sustained discussion and constructive engagement without degrading, abusing, harassing, or silencing others. Cornell is committed to act responsibly and forthrightly to maintain an environment that opens doors, opens hearts and opens minds.

nb: Cornell University’s Policies on Equality of Educational and Employment Opportunity and the Campus Code of Conduct outline expectations and processes regarding matters of affirmative action and diversity.

11/22/99

R.Harris thanked members for their discussion on the issue.  He assured them that he will keep in mind their reservations voiced on the subject.

S.Hames thanked R.Harris for taking the time to attend the meeting and answer members’ questions.

B) GPSA Secretary

S.Hames stated that this topic will be postponed, as a two-thirds vote is needed to elect a new officer.

C) University Assembly Vacancy

S.Hames announced that Dennis Carlson, Statistics, recently graduated. Consequently there is an empty GPSA seat for the field cluster of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Social Sciences, and also a vacancy on the University Assembly (UA).  Council of Representative members from Dennis’ field cluster have been contacted regarding the GPSA vacancy. He asked if there were any members interested in the University Assembly position.

Peter Kaskan, Psychology and GPSA representative on the UA, stated there is a meeting of the UA on the last Wednesday of every month.  He noted that while the time commitment can be equal to that of the GPSA, the discussions are often interesting and pertain to campus-wide issues.

R.Fan agreed that the UA does encounter a wide range of material since it deals with constituencies from the whole University.  She felt this Assembly offers an interesting opportunity.

S.Hames determined that this issue would be tabled as no volunteers were forthcoming.

D) Discussion of Improving Communication

S.Hames concluded that this item would be postponed due to lack of time.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned by S.Hames at 6:10 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted, Stephanie Tinsley, student clerk