MINUTES

Graduate and Professional Student Assembly
October 4, 2010

Rm 400, Riley-Robb Hall

5:30—7:00 P.M.

I. Welcome and Introductions:

J. Swartz welcomed everyone to the meeting at 5:35 pm. People went around the room and introduced themselves. C. Mansfeldt explained what the GPSA did at the first business meeting.

II. Executive Updates & Committee Announcements:

a. President: Cresten Mansfeldt

C. Mansfeldt explained what happened with his committee, the executive committee. The first event is Ivy Summit. This year it is occurring in Princeton from October 15–17. They can take around 4 people. Talk to him if you are interested as they likely have three vacant spots. They are also working on developing a meeting with President Skorton. Usually, he attends one each semester, but this semester he can’t due to scheduling conflicts. Instead they will hopefully have a question and answer session in a more relaxed manner.

b. Executive Vice President: Jennifer Swartz

At the Communications Committee meeting they discussed how to better publicize the website, how to use PR products, the budget allocation, and they will continue discussing that at the October meeting.

c. Vice President of Operations: Thomas Balcerski

• i. Committee Vacancies

T. Balcerski explained the vacancies and what the responsibilities would be and how to apply for the spots.

• ii. Charter Review Process

T. Balcerski explained the importance of the charter. He explained that they must review it every two years and this year they’re reviewing it. They wanted to stress that the process to review is open to everyone here. The meetings this semester are all on the PowerPoint online and by the April 18th meeting, it should be called on to vote.

d. GPSAFC Chair: Bobby Hartshorn

• i. Review Process

B. Hartshorn gave a brief introduction to the process and how it’s operated in the past. They also have two positions open and are going to work on the 29 budgets they have as of now. R. Desai asked if the GPSA was looking to change the process for funding. B. Hartshorn responded that they are always looking to make the process better but not a huge overhaul. An audience member asked, if you are on the executive board of an organization, can you still be part of the GPSAFC? B. Hartshorn said that is perfectly acceptable so long as you remove yourself for your specific application under conflict of interest.

• ii. How to get field funding

B. Hartshorn went over the rules of how to qualify for field funding. They are all available on the GPSA website. There is a list of criterion an organizaton needs to fulfill to qualify for funding.

e. Appropriations Committee: Kyle Albert

He explained that the budget is done. They are now determining a new meeting time. For the remainder of the year, their objective is to review the policies and guidelines surrounding the FC funding process. If you have questions, address them to him and he’ll forward them to the committee.

f. Events Committee: Nicole Baran

They have met twice and have some confirmed events. The first Grads Night Out, at The Westy next Thursday, the 14th. There will be drink specials. More information will be sent via an email. As field reps, please let your field know. We don’t have a great way to get in touch with the student body except through field members. The next event is a Zombie Bar Crawl on the 28th of October. A bunch of people will dress up as zombies and walk from bar to bar. Other ideas are bowling, a fire-side chat with President Skorton, Grad Day at the ScienCenter or Museum of the Earth. If you’re interested in getting involved, there are still openings. She can use as much enthusiasm as people have.

g. Advocacy Committee: Garance Choko

There was no update.

h. Ad-Hoc Committees: Mental Health, Sustainability

Sustainability doesn’t have any updates. There are currently three members and they are looking for more. If you are interested, email jkb84. The next meeting is Wednesday. T. Balcerski on behalf of B. Forster updated on the Mental Health committee. On October 21st from 5:30–6:30, there will be a discussion with susan murphy regarding means restriction and the fences around campus. Email bmf34 with questions.

i. Assembly Updates

• University Assembly

E. Strong gave an update on the University Assembly. They are an equal counterpart of every constituent body and deal with issues affecting all constituencies. E. Cortens, M. Walsh and E. Strong all represent the GPSA. The UA was established 30 years ago and hasn’t changed the charter since then. They’ve spent considerable time drafting that and the changes are available online. They are engaged with administrators and the draft is being fine-tuned. They plan on ratifying charter in its entirety when finished. Another issue is the child-care situation on campus. This affects largely grads, faculty, and employees. It is a debacle and at the request of the president, the UA was asked last week to give input on the issue. They are having a meeting in 2 weeks devoted to the issue on the 13th of October. The feedback is going directly to the president.

• Student Assembly

R. Desai gave a brief overview of the many items they are working on this semester such as a mental health campaign, reviewing the SAFC process, sustainability, and others. If you are interested, please email him.

III. Break-out Sessions:

The group broke into smaller groups sorting by Physical Sciences, Biological Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities, and Professional Schools to discuss the following issues.

a. Do you think that the current reimaging process has negatively impacted your academic experience or your department’s ability to recruit top talent?

b. What issues do you see in your field in the near future as a result?

c. Do you feel that graduate student needs are being addressed as fully as

those of the undergraduates in this process?

IV. Election of one Assembly Seats (5 min.):

a. Master of Engineering Voting Position

There were no Masters of Engineering students interested in running. As this was the second meeting where the seat has gone vacant, it became an at-large election. Mia Tootill from Music and Yevgeniy Izrayelit from Chemistry and Chemical Biology were both nominated and accepted the nominations. They each gave brief speeches. Yevgeniy Izrayelit won the seat.

V. Open Forum (10 min.)

E. Cortens explained that they wished to have a survey of the whole grad student body with respect to their attendance at events, how money is being spent, etc. He appointed himself to spearhead, and it would be nice to have some hard data. There is a forum thread going about this. If anyone is interested, let him know.

N. Baran encouraged people to use the blog. The forums are a good resource.

Steven An said that at the last Communications meeting, they were discussing putting together a FAQ for the Finance Commission. He encouraged people to go on the forum and list any past questions they had about the funding process.

VI. Motion to Adjourn

There was a motion to adjourn by T Balcerski. It was seconded. At 7:01PM, the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully Submitted,
Brittany Rosen