MINUTES
Cornell University Student Assembly
September 24, 2009
4:45 — 6:30pm
Memorial Room, Willard Straight Hall

I. Call to Order

R. Salem called the meeting to order at 4:46pm.

II. Roll Call

Representatives Present: I. Akinpelu, V. Andrews, C. Basil, A. Cowen, M. Danzer, M. DeLucia, R. Desai, A. Gitlin, Z. Glasser, N. Junewicz, N. Kumar, J. Min, A. Nicoletti, G. Phillips, N. Raps, J. Rau, A. Raveret, R. Salem, U. Smith, K. Welch, O. Williams, H. Yang

Representatives Excused Absent: C. DeLencquesaing, A. Latella

Liaisons Present: P. Eliasinski, A. Flye

III. Open Microphone

Jing Jin, class of 2013 came forward to present the Cornell Service Team and ask for SA’s support. The organization is dedicated to helping students with temporary/permanent disabilities. They provide service on campus, including picking up books, laundry. They have specific details for volunteer guidelines.

V. Andrews asked if there is anything specific the group is asking from the SA. J. Jin said not at the moment, beside the support of the SA. V. Andrews said he will get the group’s contact info in a moment.

R. Desai said the group should contact Renee in charge of the public service center for volunteer recruits.

IV. Oath of Office

Led by R. Salem, the newly elected representatives were sworn into office.

V. Approval of Minutes

N. Kumar called for acclamation, V. Andrews seconded. The minutes were approved with no dissent.

VI. Announcements/Reports

� Elections Committee Update — Nikki Junewicz

N. Junewicz reported that elections wrapped up yesterday. 2723 people voted. Congratulations to the newly elected representatives.

� Accreditation Update- Nikhil Kumar

N. Kumar said the university is in the middle of an accreditation process and he will have more update next Thursday. Also, there is the scheduled SA retreat on 10/3. It would be a good place for the members to meet and float ideas for the next year.

A. Gitlin asked if the accreditation is a new process. N. Kumar answered this is done every 10 years.

� Appropriations Committee Allocations - Chris Basil

C. Basil went over the allocations for the Community Partnership Board and CU EMS and said the Student Union Board will be discussed later. There was no objection from the SA members. The recommendations were approved by acclamation.

J. Min gave an update for the SAFC. The funding application deadline for the student groups has passed and the application process has wrapped up.

V. Andrews said the electronic process gave some people trouble. He was wondering what will be done to people who missed the deadline because they forgot their online password or something like that.

J. Min said that’s why the 3 extension days were granted.

O. Williams said he is chairing the Jointed Assemblies Multi-Cultural Committee that will meet next Monday at Willard Straight at 6:30. On Sunday at 3:30 at Ujamaa there will be a multi-cultural student discussion. It would be good for SA to be represented there.

VII. Business of the Day

� Constitution Approvals

o MGLC- Nick Diaz and Ola Williams

N. Diaz, the president of MGLC, said they revamped their constitution. R. Salem asked N. Diaz to go over any major changes. N. Diaz said the only major change is the membership status and their voting privileges.

R. Salem asked about the GPA requirement. N. Diaz said that is determined by the national committee.

R. Salem called to question. There was no dissent. By a vote of 19–0−1, the constitution was approved.

o Haven- Ben LeBrun

B. Lebrun went through some changes the organization has made to its constitution. R. Salem asked about the funding for affiliates of Haven. B. Lebrun replied that the affiliates are funded through external co-sponsorships.

V. Andrews called for acclamation. There was no dissent. The constitution of Haven was approved.

� Appropriations Committee Appeal�Bryan Biello, Vivian Liu, and Mike Cretz

B. Biello, the executive director of the Willard Straight Student Union Board (SUB), said that a reduction of 15 cents per student will not allow the SUB to revitalize Willard Straight. The total amounts to about 2000 dollars, and that is one fewer event that we can have at the Straight. To the accusation that attendance was low, Biello said it’s hard to gauge attendance, and it is hard to appeal to all students on campus. We stick to the events that draw lots of people and re-develop the events that don’t draw enough people. We co-sponsored lots of groups. And we have lots of one-time costs: we bought coffee pots that are used by lots of groups, instead of constantly going to Cornell Catering to buy coffee.

M. Danzer said he sat on the appropriations committee. The committee feels that the SUB developed quite a few programs that cost a lot but attract few people. Danzer gave the example of John Rush the Human iPod that cost 2000 dollars but only 189 people attended. He wanted to know why the SUB believes that cutting some of the sub-par events is not feasible.

Vivian Liu said the SUB tries to have a variety of events. Even though cooking events do really well, we cannot have only cooking events. Some events like the music events cost a lot of money to organize.

C. Basil pointed out that some of the events are certainly nice but not worth the amount of money funded. The scope of the organization should be tightened. Re-inventing the Straight is a fantastic goal, but it should not expand beyond the scope of Willard Straight Hall and the SUB.

B. Biello said the SUB’s constitution was approved by the SA last year. If the scope of SUB is a problem, it should not be taken out on our budget.

Bill Imperiale from the class council of 2011 said that low attendance is hard to defend against because attendance is hard to predict. The SUB is already saving money by buying their equipment instead of renting over and over again. SUB is responsible enough to recognize which events are worthwhile so cutting their budget will hurt the entire program.

R. Desai said he doesn’t see why cutting one event will hurt the programs across the board. Also, since you spent so much on one-time costs last year, shouldn’t you have lower costs this year?

B. Biello replied that the events change yearly so the funding cut will hurt potentially successful events. Also we have maintenance costs that are necessary every year.

N. Kumar commended the effort of the SUB and pointed out the appropriation committee gave 90% of the funding the SUB asked for. Kumar asked if there are SA members who want to speak for increasing the funding for the SUB.

J. Min pointed out that co-sponsorships from other groups can help the SUB fund the events.

B. Biello replied a lot of the big co-sponsorships from other groups are only for events that cost a lot of money.

V. Andrews was also on the appropriation committee. He loved the SUB’s mission statement, but voted for the lower allocation for reasons a lot of the SA members have brought up. A lot of the appropriation committee members were going to vote for an even lower budget for SUB.

Kent Hubbell, the Dean of Students, said the Straight has a long history and has been traditionally a place for students to gather. The university has out-grown the student union, and we hope the student union can continue to grow with some help.

Z. Glasser pointed out that in the budget, $3500 was spent on a computer. He asked what type of computer it was.

B. Biello said it was a mac laptop recommended by CIT for playing movies on the slope and other purposes.

M. DeLucia asked instead of a flat-screen TV to direct students around the building, have you considered a paper map that would be a lot cheaper?

B. Biello said the TV would not only direct students but also provide guides to events, etc. Many community centers around campus have those TVs.

A. Flye wanted to steer away from funding for a moment. He acknowledged that programming is hard, and attendance does not always reflect the quality of the programs. He suggested looking at the bright side of a budget cut: more creative ways to organize events.

N. Raps explained this year for the appropriation committee, we took the financial crisis into consideration. We are trying to keep the student activity fee low and to benefit as many students as possible, so attendance does matter because it means more students are benefiting. She made a call to question.

M. Danzer dissented, saying the rest of the speaker list should be heard. Also, this can be tabled until October 8 and the SUB can submit a more detailed budget.

There was a hand vote for the call to question, which failed 12–8−0 (need 2/3 majority). Debate continued.

C. Basil said the appropriation committee tried to allocate the student activity fee as best as we can. We feel the SUB can make do with the funding given.

M. Danzer said he is against the flat-screen TVs springing up around campus; he thinks they are a waste of money. But he would like to see a more detailed version of how the SUB plans to use the funding should it be restored to its amount. He made a motion to table the resolution for 2 weeks.

The motion to table failed 7–10–0.

R. Desai noted that the appropriation committee would probably have gone even lower on the funding. Based on the numbers he saw in front of him, he felt the SUB has no justification for more funding. He made a call to question. It was seconded without dissent.

With a vote of 16–3−0, the SA approved the recommendations of the appropriation committee and rejected the SUB’s appeal.

VIII. Unfinished Business

� R. 8- Student Innovation Council�Rammy Salem, Matt Koren, Phoebe Yu

R. Salem explained the purpose of this resolution is to create a separate committee to better channel student voice.

A. Raveret is not sure about the purpose of the committee.

M. Koren explained that it will act as a think tank, collecting ideas and presenting feasibilities.

A. Raveret said it’s the SA’s job to get the input from different students. What makes this committee different?

R. Salem said this will be an extension for students who can’t voice their concerns elsewhere.

C. Basil said it’s a great way to have additional input to the SA. He made a call to question.

A. Raveret dissented. He wanted to say that this committee seems like it can talk about anything; the topics seem too loose.

R. Salem said it would be about anything that doesn’t fall under any other nets.

O. Williams made a call to question, there was no dissent.

With a vote of 17–0−2, this resolution passed.

� R. 7- SA-Class Councils Collaboration�Rammy Salem

C. Basil noted that there is an ongoing financial crisis. He felt the president should focus on this more pressing concern and not get spread too thin. He encouraged the other SA members to vote this down.

V. Andrews said this resolution is a good idea, if President Salem wants to take this responsibility.

R. Desai asked what necessity is there to link the two groups?

R. Salem replied that it’s important for the class council to include the SA for its activities and vice versa. It would be beneficial for both entities.

A. Gitlin pointed out that our missions align so increasing communication between the two is great. He made a call to question. It was seconded. No dissent.

By a vote of 15–3−0, the resolution passed.

IX. Adjournment

R. Salem adjourned the meeting at 6:32.