Minutes
University Assembly Meeting
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
4: 30 � 6:30 p.m.
225 ILR Conference Center

I. Call to Order

R. Orme called the meeting to order at 4:35 p.m.

II. Roll Call

Roll was taken via sign-in sheet. Present: A. Craig, M. Fontana, A. Frieden, K. Laden, N. Raps, N. Brideau, E. Strong, L. Lawrence, R. Orme, M. Hatch, R.Wayne, K. Duch

Not Present: C. Robertson, S. Pardo, B. Liddick, K. Speiser, J. Blair, E. Loew, E. Sanders, A. Stroock, R. Wayne, B. McKinney, K. Duch

Also In Attendance: K. Zoner, T. Bittner, D. Cronheim, E. Magruder, A. Epstein, P. Beach, A. O’Donnell, Y. Zhang

III. Reports from Constituent Assemblies — SA, GPSA, EA, FS

SA� There was no report.

GPSA� There was no report.

EA�There was no report.

FS� P. Beach reported the FS decided the new academic calendar would be changed so classes would start on a Wednesday and in turn, there would be no classes on Labor Day. The implementation year has not been established.

IV. Call for Late Additions to the Agenda

There were no late additions to the existing agenda.

V. Approval of Minutes

R. Orme asked the assembly to vote on the minutes from the March 25, 2009 meeting. M. Hatch made a motion to approve the minutes. M. Fontana seconded. The members voted and the minutes were approved unanimously.

VI. Business of the Day

• A. Gorge safety discussion and resolution — 1 hour

This item was put on hold in order to wait for guest CU Deputy Chief Kathy Zoner, and undergraduate representative A. Craig.

• C. Consideration of a motion of support for a resolution on Funding for Capital Projects at Cornell University, passed at the March 11th meeting of the Faculty Senate — 20 minutes

M. Hatch drafted a motion of support that he would e-mail out. He then made a motion to support the resolution. R. Wayne seconded. R. Wayne then asked if there were objections against the resolution. M. Hatch replied there was. The argument was the finances may be too complicated for people to understand.

E. Strong questioned requiring full funding before buildings can start construction, and cited the fact that science buildings are very expensive to build. M. Hatch replied the financing plan will have to be accepted by a wider circle of the campus than just the administration and the trustees, but full funding may not be required.

There was a call to question, and the motion was passed 6–0−3.

• B. Discussion of BUHS resolution and UA committee structure — 20 minutes

M. Fontana explained that he, M. Hatch and S. Pardo met recently, and it was decided it would be best if the structure of BUHS was similar to that of the Sustainability Committee. There will be a liaison and 4 members, one from each of the constituencies. This will give a streamlined approach to help give the committee greater flexibility.

M. Fontana moved to approve the resolution, and R. Wayne seconded. There was no further discussion.

There was a call to question, the members voted, and the resolution was passed 10–0−0.

• A. Gorge safety discussion and resolution — 1 hour

K. Laden began the discussion by saying the students were coming from an educational perspective and do not want people arrested just for getting close to the gorges. He explained they were trying to educate people about the dangers of the gorges; this resolution gives us more, some that we did not want. Students were wondering what is the explanation of “safe.”

N. Raps said students wondered about what was the difference between bathing and diving in the gorges. She also reported the SA voted 15–1−1 against the resolution. The resolution is not clear about who would enforce it. Historically, people have been allowed to swim in the gorges, and this would take away from the culture of the campus. Also, the gorges are not patrolled at night, and this resolution may encourage students to go swimming at night when they wouldn’t get caught, which would increase the risks even more.

K. Laden said the resolution came from another death that occurred there over the summer. He explained Cornell owns the gorges, but New York State owns the water.

E. Strong questioned whether the resolution was even needed, if the city can enforce the no swimming policy or Cornell could enforce “disorderly conduct” at any time.

A. Frieden said this resolution makes it impossible for the university to try to make the gorges more safe, because students are not allowed to be in the water in the first place. He knows people who would blatantly disregard this resolution, so it wouldn’t make the gorges safer.

Natural Areas Director Todd Bittner stressed that this resolution shouldn’t be viewed as the university’s only measure to promote safety in the gorges. It’s going to involve the Orientation weekend. He said he believes the culture of the gorges is perpetuated by orientation leaders who take new students there to swim. This legacy has to change because three people have died there. There will be educational signage near the gorges (e.g. “End of Trail” signs) to make sure people know where trail management ends. When one person is danger, friends will try to save them and the EMS is call so more people are put into risk. The City of Ithaca has a code that makes it illegal to swim in any of the waters in the City of Ithaca. All three deaths so far were the results of swimming. One of the EMS divers described the horrors of swimming at the gorge. The water changes quickly so even “safe” spots can become really dangerous.

David Cronheim and Evan Macgruder, both CU law students, were invited by E. Strong to provide legal context for the resolution. D. Cronheim said that banning swimming in the gorges could violate the easement (squatting) right of the students. If you take an adverse action in open view on a property without the owner’s permission for more than 10 years, you gain an easement right. The students or the public could sue the university for violation of this right. Only the State of New York owns the water. To forbid the students from swimming, NYS would have to demonstrate that swimming in the gorges is uniquely dangerous.

M. Fontana asked if there could be precautions at the specific spot where the deaths occurred. T. Bittner replied that if the university implicitly sanctions swimming at other spots, it would be open to more liability if other deaths occur.

M. Hatch asked if the university could adopt a “swim at your own risk” mentality. T. Bittner said the deaths that have occurred are driving us to take a more stringent approach.

Kathy Zoner from CUPD pointed out that it doesn’t matter who owns the land. She explained ownership and jurisdiction are not the same thing. The university still has jurisdiction to forbid people from swimming there. We are trying to educate people that the waters are dangerous and people have died. CUPD can cite violations at all the waters other than Fall Creek. For Fall Creek, we can call the city police, who would take the matter to a criminal court.

E. Macgruder commented that JA has lighter consequences but also doesn’t allow for many rights. K. Zoner replied most people still prefer to go the JA than the city court because a city ordinance can last a lifetime, as opposed to probation or other punishments from the JA.

R. Wayne would like to attach a map to the resolution to make sure people know the boundaries of the different bodies of water.

E. Strong said we have the liberty to do many things, some of them dangerous. He suggested that instead of taking away the liberty, there could be other measures like increased education. K. Zoner said the education has been ongoing for quite a few years, but it is apparently not enough if people are still swimming in the gorges. P. Beach added this resolution is just another aspect of what we can do to prevent people from swimming there, in addition to the education.

R. Wayne raised a call to question, N. Raps seconded. The call passed with 8–1−1.

The UA members proceeded to vote. The resolution to amend the Campus Code of Conduct failed by a vote of 0–6−4.

VII. Additional Items from the Floor

There were none.

VIII. Adjournment

K. Laden made a motion to adjourn the meeting. L. Lawrence seconded. R. Orme adjourned the meeting at 6:22 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Yang Zhang
Student Clerk, Office of the Assemblies