Student Assembly

Minutes — October 18, 2012
Cornell University Student Assembly
4:45m — 6:30pm, Willard Straight Hall Memorial Room

I. Call to Order/Roll Call

A. Gitlin called the meeting to order at 4:45pm

Members present

S. Balik, J. Batista, G. Block, G. Braciak, I. Chen, M. Cho, A. Chopra, R. Desai, A. Gitlin, I. Harris, T. Hittinger, J. Lee, G. Lovely, M. Lukasiewicz, J. Marshall, J. Mueller, D. Muir, U. Smith, M. Stefanko, N. Terrones

Members tardy

S. Breedon, C. Pritchett

Members excused

E. Bonatti, R. Gitlin, D. Iwaoka, D. Kuhr, P. Scelfo

Also present

A. Santangelo, A. Bores, A. Apstein, A. Edwards

II. Approval of the 10/11/12 Minutes

• Minutes approved by unanimous consent

III. Open Microphone

• None

IV. Announcements/Reports

AAP Announcement — U. Smith

• Upcoming outreach event on 10/12: Coffee Hours Series: Imagine a Place. Opportunity for AAP students to gather and discuss anything and everything related to AAP

Diversity Announcement — U. Smith

• Diversity meeting earlier today — encourages members to go to website and upload feedback

Farmers’ Market Announcement — S. Balik and J. Marshall

• Next week is the last farmers’ market event — held on Ag Quad and encourages members to attend

CALS Dean Meeting Announcement — S. Balik and J. Marshall

• Met with Dean yesterday — some topics were the Outing Club, composting, and holding fewer night classes at Morrison

Health Task Force Announcement — G. Block

• Some ongoing efforts: smoke free campus initiative, increasing mental health support, BLUE

Elections Announcement — J. Weinberg

• Working on Spring elections — request any input from SA and audience. Will hold an open house session next week

Engineering Representative Report — T. Hittinger

• Met with Tod Dodds and discussed MOOCs, E-textbooks, strategic planning, and learning space upgrades

Ivy Council Announcement — C. Pritchett

• Ivy Council links student government across Ivy Leagues — registration for the summit is out — to be held at Dartmouth

Freshman Committee Announcement — I. Harris

• Met for the first time — looking to make the TCAT schedule more accessible and allowing more freedom in freshman scheduling

Collegetown Neighborhood Fair Announcement — A. Gitlin

• To be held on Saturday from 1–4pm
• Collegetown Student Council to organize a fair at the Collegetown fire house
• Joint effort between Collegetown Student Council, Panhellenic Council, IFC, and SA

University Assembly Announcement — A. Gitlin

• In the last UA meeting, each ALANA representative presented

Food Pantry Announcement = A. Gitlin

• Encourages donations to sponsor turkeys for Food Pantry

V. Business of the Day

Appropriations Committee Report — ALANA — R. Desai

• Not a by-line funding year, so the Appropriations Committee meets with funded groups to discuss their standing
• ALANA was recommended to focus their efforts as a funding board instead of a programming board
• Committee suggested more development of internal guidelines

Appropriations Committee Report — WSHSUB — R. Desai

• WSHSUB has been doing very well with the Bear’s Den and should continue focusing on that
• Committee felt that the WSHSUB should focus on late night programming, particularly during the 1st six weeks of the school year, programming to give exposure to WSH as a building, and efficiency

VI. New Business

Resolution 15: In Support of a Green Revolving Fund — Jacob Reisch, J. Lee, J. Marshall, S. Balik, G. Braciak, N. Terrones, A. Chopra, E. Bonatti, I. Chen, C. Pritchett, T. Lovely

• Green Revolving Fund in place among many universities — goal to reach $1 billion in investment in the fund
• Has been found to be very successful — median return is 29%
• R. Desai points out that the resolution should either be a Recommendation or a Sense of the Body
• G. Block — great idea, but what will passage of the resolution allow for?
  • It shows student interest and provide more of a push for the fund
• A. Bores: What projects will be funded? Have you considered including hard stats on the Resolution?
  • Projects include anything from efficient light bulbs to composting
  • Numbers tend to scare administrators
• M. Lukasiewicz: Have you considered bringing the Resolution to the UA as well?
  • Plan to do so — all Administrators they have talked to have been in full support
• J. Mueller: Will there be an attached report with more details?
  • Have given out physical documents and links to online resources of case studies of universities currently involved

Resolution 16: Fall 2012 SAFC Appeals — R. Desai

• Appropriations Committee listens to appeals and votes on whether or not the SAFC erred in the interpretation of their guidelines
• Only appeal this semester from the Go Club — they did not receive funding for batteries because they were not seen as a durable good
• Committee felt the SAFC did err and that they should fund an additional $30.13 for the batteries
• Motion to move to Business of the Day, seconded
• Resolution 16 moved to Business of the Day
• Call to question, seconded
  • Vote: 18–1−0
• Resolution 16 passes

G. Block: Motion to suspend the rules and move Resolution 19 up on the agenda as a matter of urgency, seconded

Resolution 19: Support for the Allocation of Space to the Cornell Outing Club

• Outing Club diverts attention away from the gorges and substance-based recreation by offering weekend outdoor activities, activities near Bebe Lake, and other activities to promote student welfare and health. Also provides leadership opportunities
• Outing Club has been asked to leave Japes Lodge due to water damage on the roof that cannot be repaired for financial reasons
• U. Smith: What is the club’s relationship with Cornell Outdoor Education? Have you asked them about space?
  • No relations, but went to them first — they are having trouble with space as well
• G. Block: How much gear? Backup plan?
  • Sleeping bags, backpacks, rock/ice climbing equipment, canoeing gear, etc.
  • Gear originally cost over $40,000 total
  • No backup plans — SAFC does not allow durable goods to be stored by students
• J. Mueller: Who is the faculty advisor and what has he/she done in regards to the issue?
  • Advisor is Simeon Warner (Director of IT Application Development in Olin Library) — he has been doing research on procedures, reaching out to people, etc. Putting in a lot of effort
• T. Hittinger: What is the University’s plan for the building?
  • Facilities manage the building — currently not a priority in their financial situation so there is no plan to repair it
  • General consensus among the Administration is to raze it
• A. Chopra: Have you contacted other buildings for potential storage spaces?
  • In the process of contacting every building on campus — no positive replies yet
• Motion to move to Business of the Day, seconded
• Resolution 19 moved to Business of the Day
• Call to question, seconded
  • Community vote: 1–0
  • SA Vote: 21–0−0
  • Total Vote: 22–0−0
• Resolution 19 passes

Resolution 17: Reforming JAMIC as the Student Assembly Committee for Inclusion and Diversity Initiatives (SACIDI) — C. Pritchett, R. Gitlin, R. Desai, S. Breedon

• Hope to make the Committee the central hub of SA Diversity Initiatives
• The greatest chance for JAMIC would be making it an actionable organization as opposed to a forum for discussion
• Motion to move to Business of the Day, seconded
• Resolution 17 moved to Business of the Day
• M. Stefanko: What does the initiative tracker look like? How will you engage the public?
  • Currently drafting the tracker — idea to have initiatives, contacts, important motions, and development
  • Committee has two Co-chairs — idea to foster teamwork between students and SA
• U. Smith: Suggests clear definition of terms and clear, direct goals. Also suggests the Undesignated At-Large Reps be required members as well
  • Resolution is still a draft document, but will keep everything in mind and return with a better Resolution next week
• A. Epstein: Suggests considering expansion of the scope of the SACIDI in the future. Personally against the co-chair model = believes having one chair is a better model for defining responsibility and accountability. Also suggests establishing a clear method of communication between SACIDI and the SA
• Oscar: Unsure of how SA procedures work, but suggests committee reports be in a ‘votable’ form so the SA can formally review them. Regarding the co-chair model, it works for a lot of organizations and thinks it is a good way to exemplify cooperation between a student and an SA rep

Resolution 18: Improving Student Assembly Voting Procedures — G. Block, A. Bores, D. Muir

• In certain instances of voting, abstentions are counted as no’s
• Representatives should have the ability to remain completely neutral
• Resolution excludes abstentions from counting as no’s
• If votes cast do not meet quorum, issue to be tabled and brought back at the next meeting
• R. Desai: Should abstentions even be allowed?
  • Abstentions are for people who show up late to a discussion or for people who have a conflict f interest
• A. Santangelo: How does this make the voting procedure easier? How will it prevent a minority group from making a majority decision?
  • The latter can already happen in the current voting structure
  • Stringency of the system would be the same (quorum clause) — just allowing people to have a true abstention

A. Gitlin adjourned the meeting at 6:34pm

Respectfully submitted,
Chelsea Cheng