Student Assembly

Minutes — September 27, 2012
Cornell University Student Assembly
4:45pm — 6:30pm, Willard Straight Hall Memorial Room

I. Call to Order/Roll Call

A. Gitlin called the meeting to order at 4:49pm.

Members Present

S. Balik, J. Batista, G. Block, E. Bonatti, G. Braciak, S. Breedon, I. Chen, A. Chopra, R. Desai, A. Gitlin, R. Gitlin, I. Harris, T. Hittinger, T. Iwaoka, D. Kuhr, J. Lee, G. Lovely, M. Lukasiewicz, J. Marshall J. Mueller, D. Muir, C. Pritchett, P. Scelfo, U. Smith, M. Stefanko, N. Terrones

Also Present

E. Bick, A. Edwards, A. Epstein,, Dean Hubbell M. Paine, President Skorton

II. Approval of the 9/20/12 Minutes

• D. Kuhr made a motion to approve the minutes. The motion was seconded and the minutes from September 20, 2012 were unanimously approved.

III. Open Microphone

• None

IV. Announcements/Reports

AAP Announcement- U. Smith

• U. Smith stated that he had his monthly meeting with the Dean, who was just reappointed to the position. They discussed Diversity and the Dean is very open to student input and believes that student initiatives are a wonderful idea in regards to Diversity and Inclusion.

Hotel School Announcement- S. Breedon

• S. Breedon explained that he was just recently selected to be on the selection committee for the Hotel School Diversity Committee. He will be updating the SA as the committee meets and moves forward with their ideas and projects.

Human Ecology- D. Kuhr

• He met with the Dean’s Council and they discussed the Center for Population Research opening and the MRI machine, which is now functional. The MRI is a cross collaboration between Human Ecology, Engineering, Arts and Science, and the Veterinarian College and they are working on adding CALs into this collaboration.
• D. Kuhr also explained that the Dean’s Council will be sending a student to the Diversity Committee.

V. Business of the Day

Resolution 9: Establishment of the Student Assembly Diversity Affairs Coalition

• U. Smith made a motion to go our of order on the agenda and begin the new business portion with Resolution 12. D. Kuhr seconded. There was dissent from P. Scelfo.
  • P. Scelfo explained his dissent that if Resolution 12 was introduces it would run into President Skorton’s presentation and therefore the meeting should continue with the vote on Resolution 9.
  • . Gitlin stated that the speakers would not be presenting until 5:30pm. P. Scelfo rescinded his dissent. The agenda was amended and the business of the day continued with resolution 12.

Resolution 12: Adoption of Gender Inclusive Housing Policy- E. Bick, D. Iwaoka, U. Smith, G. Block, D. Kuhr

• D. Iwaoka explained that this resolution would allow all rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors to choose roommates without gender specifications. The group is hoping to have this policy up and running by February, which would include providing the information at the Housing Information sessions beginning the week of October 2nd.
• D. Iwaoka said that the reason passing this resolution is to protect the rights and the means of the one-hundred to one-hundred and fifty people who would be more mentally sound and more comfortable living with people that they really want to live with, disregarding gender specifications.
• A. Gitlin opened the floor to questions.
• G. Lovely stated his support for this resolution.
• M. Stafanko asked if this was a resolution to the University?
  • U. Smith answered that this is an actually policy that would go into affect. The sponsors for this resolution have already brought the resolution to the correct committees and the people who it will affect and have received support for the resolution.
• The question was posed if there are any studies regarding how many people this new policy would benefit?
  • D. Iwaoka: There is not a study but there are a lot of students who are in the beginning of the their transition period who would benefit from this policy.
  • E. Bick: The average age for a person to come out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender is about eighteen to nineteen years old. For many this state of transition causes depression and mental health issues. This policy would help to allow LBGT students to explore and have a safe place to do so.
• J. Mueller: Point of clarification as to why this issue is time sensitive.
  • U. Smith: Due to the current way the housing lottery is set up, housing selections begin in February. The information sessions will start next week and it is better to have a policy ready.
  • D. Iwaoka: It is time sensitive because the research center has to be given sufficient time to find the proper language to use.
• M. Cho: Are there specific schools or programs that this policy is based off of?
  • U. Smith: Yes, there are 80 others universities that have this policy already, including the other Ivies. The sample application attached to the resolution is from Ohio University. U. Smith also said that Cornell University has this policy but it was discontinued.
• G. Braciak: Why was this policy discontinued and how will this new policy be evaluated after a year?
  • U. Smith: The policy was initially for students who chose to continue living on West Campus, which meant that only rising juniors could take advantage of the gender inclusive housing. The justification for discontinuing was not enough people were taking advantage of it; however, it was a restricted program. The Housing Department is more than happy to bring this policy back.
  • U. Smith: Evaluations for this policy will not happen until two years after its implementation. It will be an internal review and the sponsors of this resolution do not know what the exact criteria for the evaluation will be.
• P. Scelfo: What other options have you explored? Residential programming is very understanding, so what is the benefit of this policy over just requesting a single room?
  • D. Iwaoka: Why should there be such discomfort and difficultly for those people that do not identify on the gender spectrum?
  • D. Kuhr: If people have to go to residential programming, it would create another barrier for these people to have to overcome just to feel comfortable and safe.
• D. Muir: Are there any cost associated with this proposal?
  • U. Smith: There may be some minor costs in terms of printed material.
  • U. Smith: To address P. Scelfo’s first question, the group looked at other options such as specific floors for gender inclusive rooms or educational programs but both of these seemed to add more segregation.
• J. Weinberg: Will the gender control be mixed? What are some of the specific needs that first year students have for this policy? Why did you choose not to have romantic couples disclose this information? And finally he asked if there is a shortage of people to live in the gender inclusive rooms would there be a cost to cover this vacancy?
  • E. Bick: There are some special needs which was answered in prior questions. She also said that she has received a couple of emails from people interested in attending Cornell University who are interested in gender inclusive dorms.
    • U. Smith: As a freshman what you can do is to contact the housing department.
  • U. Smith: We cannot ask people to disclose their romantic interests. However, romantic couples are already allowed to live with each other and about ten percent actually do.
  • E. Bick: In regards to the vacancy, it would not incur costs because it the room will be filled with someone from the gender inclusive program.
• T. Hittinger: Are there currently some physiological health problems associated with the current rooming situation?
  • U. Smith: This is a good question but due to confidentiality there is now way to know that directly.
    • D. Iwaoka: It is a very understudied issue but we are hoping that this will be the first step to helping get rid of some problems.
• C. Pritchett: Is the option to expand this to first year students part of the proposal?
  • D. Iwaoka: Yes, part of the proposal is to set up an evaluation with housing in two years. This will gather input from transfers who will be the first to apply blind to this program.
• J. Marshall: Following up on J. Weinberg’s question if there are suites on West that are gender inclusive and they are not full would someone from the regular pool be pulled.
  • D. Iwaoka: There will be are many rooms as the needs require.
  • U. Smith: In the event of a vacancy, someone would probably not be transferred to West immediately but the room would most likely be left as a single. Depending on the situation different actions may be taken.
• G. Block made a motion to make Resolution 12 business of the day. D. Kuhr seconded the motion.
  • J. Weinberg dissented stating that this should not be changed even though it is time sensitive because it could have been introduced at an earlier meeting and then had more time to allow for discussion and debate.
• A. Gitlin called for a vote by placards for moving Resolution 12 to the business of the day.
  • By a vote of 23:2:0 Resolution 12 was made into the business of the day.
• P. Scelfo: When a student chooses this program do they have a specific roommate or will they be random?
  • U. Smith: The process will be almost identical to how it is now. They would room with someone that they know and try and block a suite together.
• E. Bonatti: During the Housing Lottery will there be reserved spots for people in this program?
  • U. Smith: It is similar to the system now, if you get a bad spot in the lottery then you will have to apply for a room change or talk to the housing department directly.
• P. Scelfo motioned to postpone discussion on Resolution 12 until after the presentation from President Skorton. The motion was seconded and passed with no dissent.

Presentation by President David Skorton and Vice President of Student & Academic Services Susan H. Murphy ‘73, PhD ‘94

• A. Gitlin thanked them and also explained that the questioning would occur with two SA members and then an audience member, if any had questions they would like to present to President Skorton.
• Skorton began by thanking the SA and explaining that these meetings are important for two reasons. First, when challenges occur this is the first place he turns to. Although there are many things to be happy about, such as the highly qualified class coming in, there have also been challenges such as the bias incidences and the crime statuses. President Skorton met with a group of students to work on the crime status and will be working on material for them as well as a second follow meeting. He explained that this SA meeting is the first of the government groups he has met with. President Skorton then opened the floor for questions.
  • R. Desai asked for more elaboration on how the University is targeting the safety of all students, not just women, especially after the recent string of sexual assaults.
    • President Skorton answered that there are a few key things that people can do to help unsure a safer campus. First, it is important that people are reporting the incidents when they occur. There are a lot of reasons people do not want to talk about it, but this will not make the situation better. Second, there are and have been important rules of self-choice that the CUPD are attempting to make sure people think about. Some simple security things like locking doors and taking advantage of security rides are essential. President Skorton said that it is upsetting to be in a situation where this is necessary but that is the environment that we are in. He also said that there is the larger issue of making it clear that this kind of activity is absolutely not acceptable. You have heard people say it again and again and we need to make it clear that we will not accept this activity going forward. Finally, there is also the investigator part of this situation. This means people stepping forward if they having information. President Skorton then asked Dean Hubbell if a brief list of the specific things students could do to help with their safety sent to the SA leadership so that it could be included in the minutes or displayed in whatever way the SA believes would be most beneficial.
  • R. Dasai thanked President Skorton and explained that he posed this question because people in the community have asked.
    • President Skorton said that for people in the community there are three ways to get to the community and campus. First, he will be going to talk to the various governments. Second there are town hall meetings, which are thinly attended but still very important. Thirdly, he said that it is important that as groups are formed they are open to interactions and open to submitting new ideas to the administration.
  • D. Kuhr asked what specifically would President Skorton like would you like from the SA and the community at large and what the SA can do to help the situation?
    • President Skorton asked that people with concerns and ideas not to be bashful. He said that everybody should know how to reach him and encourages people to tell him and other their ideas.
  • D. Kuhr also asked about President Skorton’s initiative to increase international programs. He stated that one of the big concerns is language requirements for Arts and Science students which inhibits many from being able to study abroad. He asked where did you see you recommendation to go with the language requirements?
    • President Skorton explained that he just received the faculty taskforce information on this and has not been able to address this issue yet. He will be reviewing the information and meeting the provos to discuss this further but currently does not have a conclusive answer to this question.
  • G. Lovely: There is a lot of information about Cornell services given to freshmen but not a lot about blue light. Another issue with the blue light is that it ends at 2:30am and one of the rapes occurred at 4:30 so it gives the offenders a window of time.
    • President Skorton said that he was surprised that people do not know about the blue light but understands that orientation is a bit overwhelming and this detail might have been forgotten. The administration has been looking into this issue and are attempting to remedy it . In terms of the other aspect., the administration is talking about all the factors and trying to decide what is the best and most cost effective way to cover these costs.
      • Dean Hubbell- explained that he believes communication is one of the largest issues the university faces. We have to find a way to communicate more efficiently.
  • G. Block: Many students do not feel safe right now on this campus and students want to see immediate actions being taken. He asked if this is the proper time to have the CUPD spending their time on ticketing jaywalkers or if the resources could be used in a more efficient manner. Secondly, he questioned the use of an off-campus group to create the sexual assault orientation video.
    • Dean Hubbell said that real students were used for the video and the only outside group involved include the production people.
    • President Skorton explained that there are limited resources which the CUPD has to use. Currntly, the staff support is down by 10% so the resources have to be used as wisely as possible. President Skorton said he will ask the CUPD specifically about the plans and determine how the resources were prioritized. He then again urged that the first immediate action students and the University can take are following the advice of the CUPD and following simple security measures: such as not walking around alone at odd hours and locking all doors and windows.
  • E. Bonatti: Asked for more specifics on the plan to make Cornell more international and how the university intends to improve resources for international students.
    • President Skorton explained that there are three issues the university is currently working on to allow the plan for more international relationships to occur. First is with the US Immigration Service, which is important for international students. Second is to raise more financial aid since now there is limited undergraduate funding for international students. The final issue has to deal with faculty feedback. There is a lack of meaningful over sea experiences. President Skorton suggested that students interested in this initiative should look at the White paper and said that more information on the subject should be coming within the next three months.
  • N. Terrones: She explained her frustration and the frustration of many students who have tried to reach President skorton but have not had thir concerns addressed. N. Terrones stated that there are racial attacks occurring which have not been publicized as much as the sexual assaults. She then explained the idea of a freshman course that would help to educate freshmen about diversity as well as orient them to Cornell.
    • President Skorton explained that he is available to reach by email and he said that every student should have his personal email. He also holds office hours, meets with the leaders of the Sam and other leaders of different organizations. He said that he tries very hard to put in an open fashion and explained that people do not have to beg to meet with him. He explained that in regards to the group that blocked Day Hall to meet with him, the group never asked to meet until that day. He then made a meeting with them for the following day. In regards to the bias incidents not being reports he said that this is an incorrect statement. Many of the intercultural groups have bee holding office hours and meeting to discuss the bias incidences. Finally, President Skorton answered that for the course, it is not true that the President can make a course and install it into each college’s curriculum. One of the difficulties with implementing a new course is that the seven colleges have to approve it. President Skorton and M. Opperman are working on making the system better but he suggested that the SA take the issue to the faculty senate since that is the level who could push the issue forward.

V. Business of the Day

Return to Resolution 12: Adoption of Gender Inclusive Housing Policy

• R. Desai- Questioned in terms of publicizing this to the first generation of students, if there are any worried that there is not a direct line to parents.
  • E. Bick: Susan Murphy and Dean Hubbell have already started to make changes to the housing policy but they are not concerned with backlash since it has not occurred at the other schools who have implemented this program.
• D. Kuhr called to the resolution to question. The call to question was seconded and there was dissent.
  • A. Gitlin called for a vote on the call to question.
    • The call to question passed with a vote of 17:3:0.
• A. Gitlin called for a roll call vote for the passing of Resolution 12.

• Resolution 12 passed with a vote of 23:1:0.

VIII. Executive session

• There was a motion to move to executive session. The motion was seconded and the meeting was adjourned at 6:27p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Claire Lender