Student Assembly

‘ ’ ‘MINUTES
Student Assembly
Thursday, April 10, 2014
4:45PM-6:30PM
Willard Straight Hall Memorial Room

I. Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by U. Smith at 4:50pm.

Members Present

S. Ali Khan, S. Balik, J. Batista, Y. Bhandari, G. Block, E. Bonatti, I. Chen, T. Drucker, R. Gademsky, I. Harris, M. Henderson, T. Hittinger, F. Jimenez, L. Liu, M. Lukasiewicz, Y. Ma, N. Mileti, U. Smith, M. Stefanko, T. Talbot, B. Thompson, N. Tulsky, N. Vasko, L. Wershaw, A. Zhou

Members Absent (Excused)

J. Hutson

Members Absent (Unexcused)

S. Lutsic

Also Present

A. Mulgia, R. Gitlin

II. Approval of Minutes

Minutes from the March 20, 2014 and March 27, 2014 meetings of this Assembly were unanimously approved.

III. Open Mic

President Smith explained the processes this Assembly followed for resolutions.

Big Red Bikes is open for the Spring, holding an biking event on Friday. Bike trip to the Cornell Orchards. Friday at 4:30, Uris Library.

Max Weisbroad ‘16, concerned about the sitting UA resolution to discontinue free TCAT bus passes for first-year students. Has a counter-proposal plan, seeking time at the UA meeting and assistance in getting the TCAT-Cornell agreement document signed by the Cornell Administration.

Christian Brickhouse ‘17 — Holding an event about free speech at Risley Hall on Sunday, April 20 at 10am-? to further everyone’s ability to speak freely on campus.

Rachel Medin ‘14 — Concerned about the SA considering politically polarized issues. Thinks there are other ways to resolve issues of a politically polarized issues.

Jacob Glick ‘15 — It is the SA’s charge to create a campus conversation, and the SA should take that charge seriously.

Jeffery Slavin ‘14 — It is important to introduce the TCAT system to students early in their academic career, otherwise they will not use the system.

Several community members yielded their position on the Open Mic list to the discussion list for R72.

IV. Announcements and Reports

Multicultural Organization Meeting Update — S. Ali Khan

• Meeting with various Multicultural Organizations over the next few weeks. Looking to see how the SA can help them in their respective missions.

SADAC Update — N. Tulsky

• Looking at different ways to help fund undergraduate students going abroad. Also talking about adding mental health information to Syllabus and adding more reserve books to the library.

Appropriations Committee Update — G. Block

• Met this week to discuss Appendix B, now looking at broader details of the document, including attendance and accounting structure.

FARC Update — M. Henderson

• Talking about financial barriers for studying abroad among other financial aid initiatives.

Dining Committee Update — R. Gademsky

• The dining app is almost finished, will be in the app store soon. Additionally, looking at developing a Vegan meal plan app.

Ithaca College Student Government — Ayesha Patel, Ithaca College ‘15

• Looking to see how the SA runs their meeting and get feedback on their process. An exchange of information.

V. Business of the Day

R. 68: Financial Aid Review Committee Membership Revisions — M. Henderson

• Goal is to increase the undergraduate membership of FARC to between 5–10, which is a consistent membership in comparison to other SA committees. International students are eligible to be on the committee.
• G. Block: Why include two professors? Can you clarify what institutional aid is? Response: We are changing the charter’s language pertaining to professors because there are not always two professors on the committee, and we don’t want to be in violation of the charter. It includes everything in the University umbrella, like ROTC and student employment. Final interpretation is up to the Financial Aid Office.
• N. Vasko: Is there a concern with privacy on students having to reveal they receive institutional financial aid? Response: It hasn’t been an issue.
• Motion to call the Question. No dissent.
• Resolution Adopted. 22–0−0

R. 71: Addressing the Student Activity Fee Endowment Fund — G. Block and S. Ali Khan

• This resolution has come to the floor because its review was stipulated in the original passing of resolution during the 2012–2013 AY.
• Looking at what small Capital Expenditure projects can do. One example: small “fix it” fund to improve the quality of life in “small” ways across campus. Schools who use this process receive more than 20 requests per week.
• N. Vasko: How much money will be put off by this fund? Response: The amount that’s proposed is about 1.5% which equates to $25,000-$30,000 in the first year. The amount will grow year to year.
• T. Talbot: Question about the sitting resolution language. Response: What is on the docket today is not what we want to propose. This vote will be on what was passed last year, not what we are currently looking at doing. What we are proposing will be looking to fund what will have the most impact at the lowest cost.
• N. Tulsky: For the new proposal, looking to add a Public Relations task force to ensure the initiative is known across campus. Response: We agree — that’s essential to the proper functioning of this fund proposal. We would like representatives from all across the University.
• Motion to Call the Question. No dissent.
• Resolution Fails. 0–23–0

VI. New Business

R. 72: Resolution Urging Cornell University to Divest from Companies Profiting from Israeli Occupation and Human Rights Violations — N. Vasko

• G. Block: Motion to Table Indefinitely. Dissent.
  • Chair does not entertain the motion.
  • G. Block: Motion to Overturn the Chair. Dissent.
• Motion passes, decision overturned. 14–10–0.
  • Motion Tabled Indefinitely. 15–8−1.
• I. Harris: Motion to move to Open Mic. No dissent. Unanimous Consent.

VII. Re-opened Open Mic

Claire Blumenthal ‘14 — Co president of the Echoing Nick Vasko’s sentiments, and expressing the need for dialogue between the groups in a setting other than the SA.

VP Block — Shared a letter from a Cornell Alum that served on the SA during the ramp-up to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Recommended that the SA focus on issues specific to Cornell.

Jordana Gilman ‘14 — Neither side of this issue is a monolithic. The issue should be discussed in a non-binary way.

Rep. Ali Khan — We created a precedent that this Assembly will talk about international or national issues. Because of that, we should have heard the issue today.

Rudy Gerson ‘14 — The SA should continue to play a role in this issue. A lot of people left, so this conversation cannot continue in this way,

Rep. Bonatti — Preventing the community from having a dialogue about the issue. There are multiple perspectives.

Shanti Kumar ‘17 — Cornell generally wishes to remain neutral. Divestment is a movement towards neutrality.

EVP Balik — This issue and the Fossil Fuel divestment are both related to the endowment. Thank you to everyone who came to the meeting, and we should figure out a way to safely and effectively continue this discussion.

Mark LaPointe ‘16 — The SA is here to improve the life of the student. Decisions that affect students everyday. It is important to remain focused on the lives of the students, not a waterfall effect to inspire change across the nation. No perspectives were shut out.

Rep. Mileti — Why have the language written the way of is? Pres. Ulysses Smith: This is best addressed to the sponsors of the resolution.

EE ‘14 — Sympathetic in some ways to the idea of Divestment. I think the reason that so many people walked out today is because their voices weren’t heard. But, this is also taking a stand against issues that are just too political.

U. Smith adjourned the meeting at 6:32pm.

Respectfully submitted, Brian J. Murphy Clerk, Office of the Assemblies