DRAFT
Graduate and Professional Student Assembly
Council of Representatives
Vet School, Hagan Room Schurman Hall
December 11, 2006
5:30–7:00 p.m.

I. Call to Order

M. Walsh called the meeting to order at 5:33 p.m.

II. Open Forum

There were no comments for open forum.

III. Executive Reports

a. Student Assembly Report (R. 5)

J. Vertesi said that the SA meeting was eventful in which they discussed R. 21 / R. 5 concerning the election of graduate and undergrad seats on the board of trustees. She said the resolution passed at the GPSA and was passed at the SA as well. J. Vertesi said during the SA meeting there was a debate on it for an hour and that the final vote was close. She said the SA’s big concern was the status of freshman and if freshman can run for the seat. J. Vertesi said at the end of the resolution, there is a clause that asks for the board of trustees in 4 years to make changes so there’s a good representation of students.

D. Mitarotonda wanted to clarify that freshman can run and the SA just believes that there may be disadvantages for freshman to run against sophomores. He said a formal resolution will go to trustees in their January board meeting.

J. Vertesi said this has been an issue for the past 4 years.

J. Vertesi discussed a handout which was a letter from LeNorman Strong. She said the letter was about how they looked into a variety of options and how Hasbrouck has to happen. J. Vertesi said he outlined his points in the letter and they were very detailed. She said this letter is basically his response to the resolution regarding undergraduate housing at Hasbrouck.

J. Vertesi said they are restarting the residents advisory group and that they need people to staff it. She said she has Maplewood, Sklyar (?) and Hasbrouck people to start off and sit on the committee.

M. Walsh said he and E. Spero went to the Albany division of budget and planning, the chair of the senate committee on higher education and other members of the NY State government. He said they talked about issues that they could lobby for, such as capital improvements for statutory colleges. M. Walsh said they also talked about financial aid in great depth, he said most of the discussion was about the undergrad financial aid program but they also talked about TAP (for undegrads they are allotted ~100 million and grads ~3 million). He said they got to talk to numerous people on that issue about how money can be increased to maybe encourage more students to stay in state schools.

E. Spero asked who receives TAP, and a grad student from the vet school said he gets $50. Then E. Spero said they talked about whether or not its worth for people to even get TAP. She said they spoke with the lobbyist on what is the incentive to stay in the state school. E. Spero said they were talking about maybe having programs with employers from the state as an incentive, maybe they will not give financial assistance but possibly networking assistance.

E. Spero said one thing she got out from this trip is she got to see the process of how things are done.

M. Walsh said writing to a representative works to get what u want. He said if you want to see change happen, send a letter.

IV. Committee Reports & Announcements E. Spero mentioned the grad night out. She said it is this Wednesday at Level B. She said they will be having a running tab for the first $150 and it starts at 7pm.

E. Spero said if interested, there are spots open in the events committee. She said most of the things are happening in the Spring.

E. Spero said the ball is April 14 at WSH. She said they haven’t decided on a band yet, so if you want one please tell her.

V. Business of the Day

a. Cornell Transportation & Parking Services — David Lieb

J Vertesi said there was a referendum put out. There was a handout that was a brief summary sheet of referendum questions and answers with the results from the survey.

D. Lieb said he came to answer questions. And if he can’t answer a question, he will find out the answer.

D. Lieb gave a brief description of the transportaion-focused generic environmental impact statement (T-GEIS). He said they put out one of these statements when a project impacts the environment. D. Lieb said they are looking at ways of making sure they can keep traffic at reasonable/current levels even as the university grows over the years.

D. Lieb said each project that comes up has its own impact statement. He said this is as a headstart for if there are other projects in order to reduce negative transportation related impacts. D. Lieb said the process has been going on for about a year. He said they got a 50% grad input on the survey. In the early spring, there will be the next set of open house meetings. He said after they get feedback from initial surveys, they always have public meetings (open houses) afterwards.

J. Vertesi opened up the floor for questions and comments.

A representative asked for the rationale of charging $650 for a lot. They said other universities don’t charge that much.

D. Lieb replied, no matter how much people pay it is subsidized. He said the university spends $1000 per parking space. D. Lieb said it’s expensive to maintain the roads, keep it painted, lit, etc. He said everybody pays the same whether they are students or staff. D. Lieb said the heavier subsidy goes to transit for bus passes. He said there are 10,800 spaces on campus, and a lot more students. D. Lieb said they are trying to keep a balance and trying to discourage automobile use.

A representative said they try to ride their bike whenever they can. She said she tried to purchase a 10 day commuter pass but she had to give up her bus pass. She said she doesn’t know the point of it is except as a supplement to commuter transportation.

D. Lieb replied, they are not sure what they are going to do with the bus pass for next year

A vet student asked if bus schedules will have an improved time schedule for vet students because usually the bus schedules end at 6pm. They suggested to maybe have it end at 10pm.

D. Lieb replied, it is a gradual change. He said as ridership increases, they will have more routes. D. Lieb said they are working with TCAT to see what they can do about this Catch 22 situation for more weekend/evening services.

J. Vertesi said a lot of lots are being closed/restricted now and with less bus routes.

D. Lieb replied, they’ve lost many lots because of construction. He said the parking garage opens at 5pm.

K. Fallinski asked why lots are opening at a later time.

D. Lieb replied, he is trying to save spaces for people to use between 5–8pm.

K. Fallinski said spots aren’t being used efficiently and that is where her frustration is coming from.

D. Lieb replied, they need to do lot counts for the flex areas. He said they do need to look at it over time because flex areas just started in the Fall. D. Lieb said a lot of it is delineated by shape of the lot to get the message across.

A pharmacology student asked how much staff pays for parking.

D. Lieb replied, $300–700 a year.

E. Spero asked about motorcycle parking permits and what is the time frame for losing the lot and building a garage in MVR.

D. Lieb replied, spaces will be gone by the summer.

E. Spero said spaces being lost will affect a lot of people.

D. Lieb replied, he is aware of that and they added a level to the parking garage. He said he is seeing a trend in which they are losing spots on central campus because they are being edged out in the outside areas. D. Lieb said for the garage in MVR is still in design. He said they might not see parking until 2010.

D. Lieb said the Bailey plaza project has fairly lofty aims. He said it is a place where they invite a lot of people from the outside to go there. D. Lieb said they are finally upgrading that area after it has been needed to be upgraded for a long time.

A representative wanted to know what they doing with the $1000 for each parking spot. She said it’s not safe because it’s not plowed, so she wanted to know where does the money go to. She asked to please have snow cleared.

D. Lieb replied, this issue is the grounds department. He said they plow the grounds in a certain order, sidewalks, roads, then parking lots. D. Lieb said sometimes once they finish one area and goes to another area, the snow begins to fill up the parking lots again. He said there are 260 surface lots to clear and that it’s expensive to build and maintain parking.

D. Lieb said better constructed lots are better for the environment which cost $7,500 per space. He said lots are landscaped and lit. D. Lieb said a garage space is $25,000 per space to build and they are trying to build things to last longer and that is why a parking lot is more expensive.

J. Purcell said point to point driving isn’t going to work. He said they need to have better public transportation because they can’t keep building more lots. Jeff said they don’t need more lots, just need more public ridership.

C. Sander said when talking about surface lots, why is there only 1 parking garage on campus. She said maybe it’s better to get rid of smaller lots and just get another big one. C. Sander said parking garages can be made pretty so it won’t be an eyesore.

D. Lieb replied, if they can’t accommodate people for Bailey, maybe they will provide shuttle services. He said they might have some changes towards parking garages, and that they’re thinking about it.

D. Lieb said if they were to build parking garages they must do it carefully because the surface area can be changed to a building, but a parking garage must stay for a long time. He said the Master plan can help decide where to make the parking garages and they need to plan it carefully as to how they want it to look like.

D. Lieb said parking garages are expensive and if they integrated it into a building, it is more expensive. He said he has also heard suggestion of putting it underground. D. Lieb said Cornell sits on very hard bedrock and underground parking is normally $40,000 per space, however it would be $75–85,000 per space for parking to blow up bedrock.

J. Vertesi asked why student parking is the same price as staff parking. She said 2/3 of students on the survey say parking is not enough. J. Vertesi said there are some faculty/staff who use the car pool program to the mall and then use public transportation. She asked why are grad students not with the faculty and staff car pool plan. J. Vertesi said if people carpool together, why can’t they have a free bus pass. She said grad plans are more similar to staff and faculty than undergrads.

D. Lieb replied, the programs are for faculty and staff. He said they are funded by the employee benefits pool, $1.37 per staff member go towards it.

J. Vertesi asked if $1.37 is put aside in the student activities fee to pay for that, can grad students also have that plan.

D. Lieb said it is possible, the money can be used for alternatives.

K. Fallinski said maybe we can have the tier system in which people pay different prices according to where they live.

One representative said clients come to the vet school and pay for parking. She asked whether or not vet students get a reduced fee because of the revenue.

D. Lieb replied, all revenue from parking and expenses is all counted as a whole.

D. Lieb said to e-mail djl5 with any questions.

b. Slope Day Discussion-Jenna Lazar & Liz Rappaport (sp?) Dean Kent Hubbell

J. Lazar introduced herself and the other members. She said their goal with grad studentss is to try to get grad students more involved. J. Lazar said she understands there were tensions last year, but it’s a new board this year and they want to get GPSA input.

J. Lazar said there was a Gannett survey about slope day. She said presently they only have information on who attended and by which school. J. Lazar said as soon as they get more information, it will be presented.

J. Lazar said they had a 19% response rate. 59% of people who responded attended slope day. She said based on this information, it shows that there is some graduate students present at slope day.

J. Lazar said this year they are not making a formal request for funding. She said last year they asked for $4,000. J. Lazar said the money from last year went to talent and production and slope fest on ho plaza which is the non alcoholic alternative.

L. Rappaport said they are trying to emphasize that graduate students do go to slope day. She said Slope day is byline funded by the SA with $12 per student from the student activity fee.

L. Rappaport said their goals to spend money on slope day is that if there is more money towards talent, less people will drink because drinking on the slope is a big issue. She said they want to decrease the amount of drinking. L. Rappaport said for example, with Snoop Dog, less people drank.

L. Rappaport said to e-mail slopeday@cornell.edu in which ideas people can send ideas which will be presented at the steering committee (idea generating committee). She said you can also e-mail if you want to be part of the committee.

L. Rappaport said this year they will ask for byline funding from the GPSA. She said they want graduates to have input directly and that she has a list of spots open they would like graduates to fill. L. Rappaport said there is already somebody on the steering committee, the logistics committee has a spot open, the exec board for the program board as a spot open, and anyone can go to the Slope day meeting at 6pm every Thursday.

J. Lazar said the logistics committee has not started meeting yet. She gave a brief summary of what the logistic committee does. J. Lazar said, for example, if the program board says they want a fence, the logistics committee decides where to put the fence.

D. Mitarotonda asked how do they plan on making Slope day more community oriented.

L. Rappaport said talent is very touchy because Cornell has a very diverse community. She said they decide which talent by seeing what the majority will like. L. Rappaport said this year they want to make it more like a time to hang out.

J. Lazar said they will never appease everyone. She said 2005 everybody was happy with Snoop and in 2006 not many people were happy with Ben Folds, but there were students that were still happy. J. Lazar said the main focus of the steering committee is to get people away from drinking.

The Plant Pathology GPSA Represenative asked about food for Slope day because it is his first year here so he didn’t know about it.

J. Lazar talked about food last year. She said everything was $1 in the parking lot behind WSH from Cornell dining. J. Lazar said usually on Ho plaza had other foods and there is free ice cream every year.

D. Mitarotonda asked what amount of money will be funding for graduate students since for undergrads its $12 per student. He asked if the amount will be the same.

L. Rappaport replied, they would like funding from grad students because grad students do go and they would like grad students to be involved. She said the plan might be to request $4000 again, and apply for byline funding.

E. Spero said many grad students don’t go because they think it’s an undergrad thing. She said it is hard to change the reputation for slope day. E. Spero suggested maybe having student bands or student groups as part of slope fest.

J. Lazar said in terms of image, they want to move the focus away from a drunken party. She said they considered having a battle of the bands with maybe a smaller stage on Ho Plaza. J. Lazar said the MGLC (Multicultural Greek letter council) usually has a stroll competition on the stage on Ho Plaza.

T. Pardo asked how often grad students are surveyed to have a consistent evaluation of why people are showing up.

L. Rappaport said it’s something they have been trying to work on. She said surveys have been used extensively by the steering committee.

M. Walsh said the data from the Gannett survey will be finished processing by January hopefully.

c. Election of At-Large Representative to Assembly

S.Boutin got a job so he stepped down from his position.

J. Vertesi gave a short summary of what is involved with being part of the GPSA.

E. Spero nominated T. Pardo and she seconds it.

M. Walsh asked for a motion to accept T. Pardo as the new representative. C. Sanders motioned, M. Moyer 2nd. There was no dissent. T. Pardo is the new at-large representative to the Assembly.

d. Election of Representative to Graduate School General Committee

M. Walsh said S. Boutin was also part of the graduate school general committee. The representative from pharmacology gave a summary of what the committee does. She said they get to say their opinion and represent the GPSA and that it is a 2 year appointment.

B. Shaparenko from computer science nominated themselves. ? gave a motion to accept. A. McNamura second it. There was no dissent. B. Shaparenko is the new representative to the Graduate School General Committee.

e. Campus Code of Conduct Discussion

J. Purcell said there is a handout giving a brief summary about what the CJC discussed. They are looking at 3 large questions: Should the UA continue to write the Code, or should the Administration take over responsibility? Should the Judicial Administrator continue to be independent? Should the campus disciplinary code affect only students, or should faculty, staff, administrators, and trustees also be bound to follow it? (these are all listed on the handout).

J. Purcell said the CJC is still trying to find a better way to get feedback from people. He said the link (http://www.assembly.cornell.edu/KrauseReportComments/Home) will be the main feedback mechanism. He said they are meeting in February and that the administration is not looking for a large discussion, e-mail only.

J. Purcell said the Krause report came out to the president in May but it was presented to the community in November. They want the community to decide by March. He said so far nobody has spoken in favor of these revisions and so far everyone is critical of the changes.

Jim said the UA has been handling this situation by first empowering the CJC and they are trying to help by providing feedback to assist the CJC any way they can.

J. Vertesi said she just wanted to clarify that point the of the Krausse report was not to give recommendations to the president and have him approve it. She said they wanted him to talk to people about it and inspire some change in the campus code of conduct. J. Vertesi said it was supposed to be a collaborative process for students to say their opinion of the campus code.

Andy from Law said he does want to echo the message that everyone should read the Krause Report to see what the issues on the table are. He said a lot of issues that will occur can effect all students. Andy said this involves civil disobedience, how will this effect students who are in trouble, will they have the right to a lawyer, do they have a right to remain silent, etc.

Another assembly member said this effects people’s due process.

K. Fallinski wanted to know what the imputus for change is.

J. Vertesi replied, Krause has been the JA for a while and the rules were old and cumbersome. They were thinking of having the JA not independent but be under the dean of students. She said they were thinking about making this change because the JA might be thought of as too prosecutorial for students, and if it was under the dean there will be the dean on the students’ side. Rresident Lehman asked Barbara to find a process for change.

M. Walsh said if have any question about the procedure to ask it.

Dean Hubbell wanted to re-emphasize how important the campus code is.

Andy said Rawlings commissioned Barbara to relook at the code. He said it’s not the whole administration pushing for the change, it’s just some ideas on the table.

VI. Adjournment

M. Walsh adjourned the meeting at 7:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

YuhLi Tsuei
Office of the Assemblies