GPSA Student Advocacy Committee

Student Advocacy Committee
November 11, 2008
Minutes

In attendance:
➢ Brian Forster, Chair, Student Advocacy Committee
➢ Briony Horgan, Student Advocacy Committee Member
➢ Jay Worley, Student Advocacy Committee Member
➢ Melissa Hardstone, Transportation Advisory Committee Member
➢ Amy Richter, Child Care Sub-committee Member
➢ Mario Roman, Student Advocacy Committee Member / President’s Council on Alcohol and other Drugs
➢ Marques Zak, JA Financial Aid Review Committee Member
➢ Betsy Romero, Student Advocacy Committee Member / President’s Council on Mental Health & Welfare
➢ Martha Wilfahrt, Student Advocacy Committee Member / Safe-Ride Committee Member
➢ Jonathan Oliver, SAGES President (via teleconference)
➢ Mario Guerrero, Executive Vice President / Chair, Communications Committee
➢ Mike Walsh, Graduate Student Trustee Representative
Meeting began at 5:30pm

1.  Committee Business

The committee reviewed the working procedure (Parts I thru 3) that was previously distributed at the last committee meeting. Comments and suggestions (both at the meeting and emails following the meeting) were given to B. Forster. Parts IV and V were distributed at the meeting. The committee was asked to look over the entire document and send to B. Forster any corrections, comments, additions, deletions, etc. B. Forster explained that the working procedure and GPSA Charter changes to further define the role of the Student Advocacy Committee must be presented at the 1/26/09 GPSA Assembly meeting. The January committee meeting will be devoted to finalizing these documents.

The GPSA is establishing a Charter Review Committee which will be looking over the entire GPSA charter. Each standing GPSA committee was asked to send a representative to the Charter Review Committee. B. Horgan will be the Student Advocacy Committee Representative.

2.  Geneva Health Care / Health Insurance

J. Oliver explained that Jo Ann Molnar-Kieffer, Cornell Student Insurance Administrator traveled up to Geneva to meet the SAGES graduate students. She explained their health care and health insurance options. The provisions for Geneva students was present, but was not effectively communicated to the graduate students or Gannett. J. Oliver said they would get the health care information for Geneva students posted soon on the SAGES website (http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/grads/Welcome.html). B. Forster suggested that M. Guerrero and the GPSA Communications committee provide access to basic health care and health insurance information for graduate and professional students.

B. Forster presented to the committee Resolution R.1: Regarding Health Care & Health Insurance for Cornell Graduate Students Studying at Geneva. Comments and suggestions (both at the meeting and emails following the meeting) were given to B. Forster. R.1 will be presented by B. Forster at the 11/17 GPSA Assembly meeting. Following the passing of R.1, the Student Advocacy committee will schedule regular meetings with Sharon J. Dittman, Associate Director, Gannett Community Relations.

3.  Committee Budget Presentation by B. Forster

B. Forster presented two potential committee budgets. The first assumed the committee would not hold a town-hall meeting, totaling $50. The second included more money for a town hall meeting, brining the total to $250. The committee was asked whether they should hold a town-hall meeting in Spring 2009. It was decided that the committee should hold such a meeting in late February. B. Forster said the January meeting will be held with the GPSA Events committee in order to plan this town-hall meeting. M. Guerrero suggested that the committee ask for more money for specific committee events (i.e. have some extra money to do something at the end of the year). B. Forster said he would revise the budget based on everyone’s suggestions and submit it to Joern Kupferschmidt, GPSA Funding Policy Committee Chair and Michelle Leinfelder, GPSA President.

4.  Old Business

Mental Health: B. Romero and B. Horgan met with Tim Marchell from Gannett to discuss the improvement of mental health services for graduate and professional students. A discussion of the issues at hand was held and it was decided that a separate committee on graduate mental health care with Gannett and members of the Student Advocacy Committee will be established and meetings will begin in Spring 2009.

Graduate & Professional Student Contact Sheet: B. Forster asked the committee if they had any comments or suggestions for the Contact Sheet which will be used by both the Graduate School and the Office of Assemblies. Both B. Forster and B. Horgan were scheduled to meet Brenda Wickes later in the week to discuss the contact sheet. M. Guerrero noticed that the LGBT Resource Center was not included. The center was added under “Campus and Student Services”.

Amethyst & Safe-Ride: M. Roman briefly explained two issues from the President’s Council on Alcohol and other Drugs which may pertain to graduate students: the amethyst issue and the Safe-Ride program. B. Forster read back an email he received from President David Skorton regarding his decision to not sign the Amethyst Initiative. B. Forster explained that both he and M. Roman presented this issue to the GPSA Assembly at the prior meeting and was told to bring the issue back to the committee for further discussion. The consensus of the committee was to not to write a resolution taking a particular position on the initiative at this time. Regarding Safe-Ride, B. Forster introduced M. Wilfahrt, a newly appointed Student Advocacy Committee Member who has agreed to become a graduate student representative to the Safe-Ride Committee. Both M. Wilfahrt and M. Roman discussed what other universities use as a “safe-ride program” and whether they can be used here at Cornell. Since the Student Advocacy committee had not heard back from the Safe Ride Committee, A. Richter offered to contact one of the committee chairs, Sanjiv Tata.

5.  Committee Updates

Transportation Advisory Committee: M. Hardstone said that the Transportation Advisory Committee met recently. She reported that one of the topics the committee discussed was bike safety. M. Hardstone suggested that the Student Advocacy Committee prepare a resolution showing support for Cornell and the Transportation Advisory Committee’s work on the encouragement of bike usage and their concern for bike safety. B. Forster offered to help her in writing such a resolution.

6.  A Final Note

B. Forster reminded the committee that there would be no meeting in December. A meeting in January will be held prior to the 1/26/09 GPSA Assembly meeting so the committee can finish preparing its Working Procedure and its resolution for changes to the GPSA Charter.

Meeting adjourned at 6:45pm.

Respectively Submitted,

GPSA Student Advocacy Committee 2008–2009