Minutes
University Assembly
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
4:30 - 6:00 p.m.
401 Physical Science Building

I. Call to Order

J. Cai called the meeting to order at 4:37 p.m.

Attendance:

Present: K. Albert, R. Booker, J. Cai, R. Kay, N. La Celle, G. Mezey, E. Newbury, M. Paine, P. Scelfo, B. Schaffner, R. Wayne

Absent: J. Blair, J. Burns, A. Gitlin, T. Grove, J. Il Lee, E. Loew, E. McNelis

Others Present: K. Zoner (Chief, CUPD), A. Kleinberger (Assistant Ombudsman), C. Walcott (University Ombudsman), L. Falkson (Associate Ombudsman)

II. Approval of the Minutes

The minutes from the March 26, 2013 UA meeting were approved with no changes.

III. Reports from Assemblies

Executive Board

E. Newbury reported there were two security resolutions up for discussion and a possible vote. Also, there was an additional resolution that could be discussed but not voted on until the next meeting. She also noted the transportation office is scheduled to present at the next meeting.

Student Assembly

P. Scelfo reported the SA held its internal elections last week and would finish the process soon.

GPSA

M. Paine reported resolutions were passed regarding GCI working groups, graduate tuition, and international student diversity. He also reported the GPSA elected its voting membership and would elect officers from within the GPSA at the next.

Employee Assembly

G. Mezey reported President Skorton and VP Opperman attended the last meeting. They spoke about making the staff a priority and the ongoing effort to endow the CARE fund. Skorton said he would try to advance this process. The EA also created an award to recognize the work of an HR professional.

Faculty Senate

R. Kay reported there had not been a meeting since the last meeting of the UA.

IV. Reports from Committees

Codes and Judicial Committee

G. Mezey reported the committee decided to double the number of remaining meetings for the semester and extend their duration. He stated the committee had a valuable discussion and is working to respond to a need to reevaluate the code. The committee would select four proposals at the next meeting to be posted for public comment. He added there were small changes the committee hoped to accomplish by the end of the semester as well.

R. Booker commented the four proposals might not be the most efficient way to gather public comments. He stated the public might not be informed sufficiently to have a meaningful preference regarding a code change. G. Mezey confirmed there was a range of opinions on this within the committee, but the general feeling was releasing information to the public quickly and effectively is paramount. R. Booker added he does not fully understand why Cornell feels a need to offer protections in excess of the law in cases like this.

Campus Welfare Committee

There were no CWC meetings to report on.

Campus Infrastructure Committee

B. Schaffner had no report.

V. Business of the Day

Presentation from the Office of the University Ombudsman

C. Walcott summarized the history of the Office of the University Ombudsman. The guidelines for the office have remained unchanged, despite many changes in the true role of the office and campus life in general. New guidelines for the office were presented to the UA for discussion and approval. Several responsibilities were removed, including the likes of rumor control, investigative work, and record keeping. The guideline changes required a resolution for official approval, so E. Newbury was tasked with drawing up a resolution for the next meeting. C. Walcott also reminded the UA his appointment expired June 30 and reinstating him would be the UA’s decision.

R. 6 Security Design Mandate for New Buildings on Campus

K. Zoner introduced the resolution, stating J. Cai had approached her to discuss relevant security items. K. Zoner noted several considerations are made in classifying the final security status of a building. Additionally, she assured the assembly the goal is not to lock everything down but rather to appropriately secure the different types of buildings. Currently, there are no mandates, though there are many guidelines. M. Paine asked if there is currently a registry of buildings and their associated security classifications. K. Zoner responded there is not.

G. Mezey inquired about measuring ROI. K. Zoner said, while she was not an expert in this area, the appropriate experts are a part of the team that makes security decisions.

M. Paine amended the resolution by adding the words ‘university architect’ despite concerns of redundancy for the purpose of clarification. There were no objections.

B. Schaffner asked for clarification this resolution only applied to new construction and major renovations. K. Zoner responded that is mostly true, though projects like Hoy parking garage lighting give rise to opportunities to improve security. B. Schaffner added there is significant pressure from parents to bring all dorms up to one security standard.

E. Newbury suggested that a mechanism for groups working on this to report back to the UA be added to the resolution. This was added. G. Mezey acknowledged building retrofits will present an issue, but this should be kept separate from the current resolution. He then called the question. M. Paine seconded this. Seeing no opposition, the assembly voted on the resolution.

Resolution 6 passed with a vote of 10–0−0.

R. 7 Calling for Increase Surveillance and Improved Lockdown Procedure

K. Zoner introduced the resolution, stating it was in response to a general increase in crime and the movement of crime toward campus. She recognized the importance of the balance between protecting people’s safety and leaving them their freedoms. She added the CUPD would be hiring a crime data analyst to support recommendations.

G. Mezey expressed support for the resolution and asked for a few pieces of language to be clarified. In line 24, he suggested changing ‘AC’ to ‘ACD’ for consistency, with D standing for Device. K. Zoner disagreed, stating, in the proper context, the entity referred to is not always a device. Further edits were made to clarify the coverage of all university property as opposed to indoor and outdoor spaces. This eliminates confusion around areas with no buildings.

R. Booker suggested stronger language be used, especially surrounding the financial requirements outlined in the resolution. There was some discussion about the need for a progress report. G. Mezey pointed out requiring a report serves to add an assignment to an employee’s schedule at a time when staff are already very busy. R. Booker added an employee does not have authority to make a change if their report demonstrates significant shortcomings. For this reason, he stated the president should speak directly to the UA about these matters.

M. Paine made a small change to the wording.

K. Albert said he was uncomfortable with how general the resolution was and was inclined to oppose it. He added it does not appear project based and does not include the specific steps that would be followed for various buildings. He expressed concern that it was unclear what would actually happen as a result of the passage of the resolution.

R. Wayne added some comments and small changes on behalf of J. Blair, including a request for some basis for the statement about the increase in crime. K. Zoner assured the assembly of her ability to definitively show an increase in crime and its movement toward campus.

R. Wayne shared his opinion that some aspects of the crime issue could be solved more effectively by rethinking the types of people admitted to the university and not by adding camera systems and increasing surveillance. K. Zoner disagreed, stating people unaffiliated with the university pose a threat, too.

R. 8 Calling for the Disassociation of the Public Safety Advisory Committee from the UA

K. Zoner explained the resolution. She stated the committee in question must exist by law, but it is not appropriately associated with the UA. R. Wayne noted this seems to be consistent with a trend of moving committees away from shared governance and toward executive oversight. K. Zoner responded, in some cases, this is preferred because it allows the committees to act more quickly.

Since the assembly could not vote on this resolution until the next meeting and the discussion was tabled.

The assembly then returned to R. 7 for a vote. Resolution 7 passed with a vote of 7–3−0.

Appointments

J. Cai introduced several appointments pending UA approval. The UA unanimously approved a slate of appointments for Judicial Codes Councilor, Judicial Administrator (Mary Beth Grant), and Ombudsman (Charlie Walcott).

VI. Adjournment

J. Cai adjourned the meeting at 6:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Noah Wegener
Assemblies Clerk