Student Assembly

Minutes — March 14, 2013
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 4:55pm.

Members present

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

Members tardy

S. Balik, M. Cho, D. Iwaoka, J. Marshall

Members unexcused

J. Batista, I. Chen

II. Approval of the 3/7/13 Minutes

• Minutes approved by unanimous consent

III. Open Microphone

• None

IV. Announcements/Reports

SJRT Dinner Recap, Diversity & Inclusion Plan Update, and Joe Quandt Memorial Update — U. Smith

• SJRT Dinner was a great meeting with many members attending
• Working on all 5 initiatives of the Diversity & Inclusion Plan, 3 are in the process of completion
• Joe Quandt Memorial on 3/27 — there will be a gallery space to post a personal note

Memo to the Provost — U. Smith

• Memo sent from SADAC to Provost Office regarding the search for a new Arts & Sciences Dean — record time response that will be relayed to SA members

Convocation Announcement — R. Desai

• Mayor Cory Booker will be the speaker — he was one of our top choices and is in high demand, so we are happy to have him

Dining Announcement — E. Bonatti

• Have been working on increasing dining options over break and getting the information out

Codes and Judicial Committee Announcement — P. Scelfo

• Current projects
  • Should privacy for student organizations be maintained (for processes such as hazing, for example)
  • Who needs and how to get approval for using Ho Plaza for protests
  • Extension from 2 to 5 days for JA response to appeals

Outreach Announcement — R. Gitlin

• SA was given tickets from CAPSU for post-break events — encourages members to attend

V. Business of the Day

Resolutions 40–2: Creation of the University Student Supreme Court — U. Smith

• G. Block: SA doesn’t have the powers outlines in these resolutions. Do students actually want this?
  • This is NOT an extension of the SA — the only reason the SA is involved is to provide a check for the court
  • There are a lot of things to look into — fines/restraints/etc. and they are not married to any part of the resolution
• G. Lovely: What exactly is being discussed? What are you looking for from the SA?
  • Looking for opinions and feedback
  • This is not a radical idea — already in place for every other judicial body around campus
• C. Pritchett: Believes the SA should have the ability to recall decisions, but is there a limit to the reach of what can be recalled?
  • Technically, anything is up for recall
• J. Mueller: Can’t fathom how this will be handled by five people — how will this work? Also, some of the samples are very pretentious
  • The samples are from public universities
  • The Court will look at current Assembly bylaws and charters as well as organization charters — does not cover Code of Conduct. These topics currently not covered by any judicial body
  • Not all 5 people will be present for everything — handled in stages. If appeals get that far, they have the option to present to the full Body
• N. Terrones: What models did you follow and how long have those been in place?
  • Have looked at a lot of public colleges — not sure that any other Ivy League university has this
• S. Balik: How is this different than the Peer Review Board?
  • PRB hears cases of house rules violation, whereas this will cover documents/charters/bylaws
• G. Braciak: Will this Court be able to cover byline appeals made to the SA?
  • The current byline appeals system is pretty good. If there was a special case where a bylaw/charter rule was broken, then yes
• C. Pritchett: If this were to pass, how will the University be notified? What will be the feedback mechanism?
  • Planning on housing the Court at the Dean of Students Office
  • JA office is currently the only body talked to so far regarding feedback
• J. Mueller: Motion to commit back to the Residential Life Committee, seconded