WHEREAS, The Big Red Barn (BRB) is the only graduate student center at Cornell University and is centrally-located in the heart of campus; and

WHEREAS, The Graduate Community Initiative (GCI), passed by the GPSA in 2007, stressed the importance of graduate community space for enhancing “the sense of graduate and professional student identity on campus, improving mental health and general well being, thus encouraging retention rates and degree completion.”; and

WHEREAS, The GCI articulated a broad vision for a graduate community center and requested “that Cornell invest in constructing an expanded Graduate Student Center that can better accommodate and foster both academic and social interactions among Graduate and Professional Students.”; and

WHEREAS, In an update on the Progress on the Graduate Community Initiative (GCI) presented to the GPSA in August 2011, Barbara Knuth, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School, stated that although the former Dean of the Graduate School, Sunny Power, and Vice President Susan Murphy had been charged with exploring the possibilities of a new location/co-location of a graduate community center as part of longer term strategic planning, further planning was put on hold as a result of the financial crisis; and

WHEREAS, Modest changes to the current operation of the Big Red Barn may profoundly impact the progress toward the vision for graduate and professional student community space articulated in the GCI; and

WHEREAS, Cornell Dining has been the food vendor in the BRB since 1992; and

WHEREAS, For nine years BRB Dining initially did not accept undergraduate “meal equivalency” payment for food service at the BRB; and

WHEREAS, In 2002–2003 academic year, BRB Dining began accepting undergraduate meal equivalency payment for food while Trillium was being renovated; and

WHEREAS, In the fall of 2003, although BRB Dining no longer accepted meal equivalency, the undergraduate form of payment accepted at the BRB changed to “Big Red Bucks”, continuing the influx of undergraduate students using the BRB during dining hours; and

WHEREAS, the BRB should focus on creating an environment that serves the needs of graduate and professional students; and

WHEREAS, there are currently disincentives for graduate students to participate in a Cornell Dining meal plan; the Meals By Design debit meal plan offered to graduate students costs $300 for only $250 worth of Big Red Bucks; and

WHEREAS, Both a recent Cornell Dining Consultation and the GCI suggested that the Big Red Barn space would be improved by creating a tavern or coffee shop atmosphere; and

WHEREAS, The GCI proposed extending food and coffee service hours at the BRB, providing at least limited service for graduate and professional students through midnight; and

WHEREAS, Manndible, the caf� in the lobby of Mann Library, has been a highly successful model and is very popular among graduate students; and

WHEREAS, Graduate and professional students should be given the opportunity to articulate their core values for the graduate student center and consider alternative approaches for creating an ideal graduate and professional student community space in the Big Red Barn; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the GPSA recommends that the Big Red Barn create a “Big Red Barn Advisory Board” comprised of key administrators, interested faculty and staff members, and graduate and professional students to be staffed through the GPSA’s Operations & Staffing System each fall.

RESOLVED, That the GPSA recommends that the Graduate School and the Big Red Barn, in consultation with the GPSA, administer a comprehensive survey on the dining options at the Big Red Barn to assess the interest in and viability of alternative approaches.

RESOLVED, That the GPSA recommends that the Graduate School collect information on the current and pre-2002 Big Red Barn dining operation from Campus Life.

RESOLVED, That the GPSA requests that the Graduate School and the Big Red Barn consider issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) which would allow vendors to submit proposals and bid to provide the food service at the Big Red Barn.

RESOLVED, That this resolution be sent to David Skorton, President of Cornell University; Susan Murphy, Vice President for Student and Academic Services; Barbara Knuth, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School; Kris Corda, Director of the Big Red Barn; Gail T. Finan, Director of Cornell Dining; and Howard Raskin, Chair of the Mann Library Caf� Advisory Board.

Respectfully submitted,

Nicole M. Baran GPSA Executive Vice President and Social Science Representative