OUTLINE OF THE MINUTES
SUMMARY OF THE MINUTES
The Assembly approved $450 to co-sponsor the GC Formal and $300 to co-sponsor the CIGS Cricket World Cup Screening. Volunteers were solicited for the Valentine's Day Dance. It was announced that the APGA is offering to sponsor a Spring barbecue. The Parking and Transportation Committee noted the success of the new daytime campus shuttle and several suggestions were made for its improvement. The International Student Concerns Committee reported on a meeting to discuss changes in visa regulations. The Health Care Committee discussed progress on dissemination of information regarding the prescription program and its plans for requests to Health Services. The Information Technology Committee reported that OIT is evaluating wiring Butler for ethernet. The Housing Committee reported delays in the Lawrence Apartments expansion project. Three By-Law Amendments were introduced on the appointment of acting officers, the conduct of officer elections, and the conduct of CPUC elections. The Library Committee was empowered to make recommendations. Sinéad MacNamara was elected Social Chair to serve the remainder of Kerry Bystrom's term.
ATTENDANCE
Representatives Present:
Delegates Present:
Councilors Present:
Also present:
Officers Absent:
Representatives Absent:
Councilors absent:
Offices vacant: Social Chair
Representative seats vacant: ART, AST, CHM, COM, COS, HOS, NES, PHI,
SPO
Delegate seats vacant: Hibben-Magie, Millstone, Off-Campus
Mr. Miller called the meeting to order at 6:09 p.m.
Mr. Miller called for a motion to approve the minutes of the January 8 meeting. It was made, seconded, and passed unanimously.
Mr. Silberman announced that Mr. Fiori had stepped down as representative of the Woodrow Wilson School and that he would be replaced by Ms. Medema. Mr. Silberman announced that Mr. Crittenden was the new representative from Slavic Languages and Literatures, filling a previously vacant seat.
Mr. Silberman announced that elections for the Council of the Princeton University community would be held in two months' time, at the April meeting.
Mr. Miller recognized Mr. Butler.
Mr. Butler stated that there had been one funding request, by the Graduate College House Committee for $450 for the annual Graduate College Formal (formerly Waltz Night). The details of the request had already been sent to the Assembly via e-mail.
Mr. Butler's e-mail read, in part:
There is one funding request for the February 12 Meeting. [...]
1_Organization_Name: The GC House Committee
2a_Contact_Person_Name: Lior Silberman [...]
3_Event_to_be_funded: The 2003 GC Formal
4_Date_of_event: Friday, Feb. 28, 2003
5_Expected_GS_Attendance: 150
6_Requested_Amount: $450.00 [...]
9_Event_description: Apologies for the late submission: the details with the university orchestra were not resolved till this week.This is an annual event, advertized and open to all graduate students. It is a formal dance (Black Tie optional), held in the Old GC. After a Waltz lesson (9-10pm), there will be sets of live Waltz music by the University Orchestra, and sets of recorded social dance music till 2am. In addition, between 10pm-1am there will be cocktails, sparkling cider, chocolate and cheese served in the Old GC Common Room.
As to attendance, last year 100 graduate students signed the guest book, and many others enjoyed the refreshments without signing in. The number above is a conservative estimate of total attendance.
The budget is as follows:
Orchestra: $1,700
[... Refreshments] and Decorations: $300
Proctor: $160
Total: $2,160.The Graduate School has agreed to sponsor the event for $150. This replaces a past door charge for non-Princeton people (eliminating door charges completely from this event.) We ask the GSG for $450 more.
TREASURER'S COMMENTS ...
The GSG has co-sponsored numerous GC House Committee in the past three years, but we did not fund this particular event last year. That said this event is rather popular with entire graduate student community including non-residents of the GC. The event has been widely successful and even more since last year's change from Waltz night to Formal night. The budget is reasonable and the request for $450 represents $3 per graduate student (assuming the projected graduate student attendance of 150 is accurate). The total request for this event of $450 is 21% of their $2,160 total budget. $450 represents 13% of our $3,480 co-sponsorship budget for 2002-2003. If this request is approved, then our total expenditures for co-sponsorships this fiscal year would be $3,460. This means that, if approved, we will have spent nearly 100 percent of our co-sponsorship budget. Don't panic, this is actually good news in the eyes of the graduate school, because we need to spend down a surplus. Thus, all remaining [co-sponsorships ...] would have to come out of our surplus from prior years, which I am happy to announce after a final audit stands at exactly $4,791.82. [...]
Mr. Silberman, representing the House Committee, said that the formal would be held on February 28. The University Orchestra will play and there will be refreshments of various types. Last year, Mr. Silberman asserted, over 100 persons had signed the guest book, and many more had attended. All graduate students are invited to the dance and there will be no door charge.
Mr. Butler said that the budget for the event had been detailed in the e-mail sent to the Assembly. Ms. MacNamara moved to fund the event at the requested amount; Mr. McAndrew seconded. Mr. Artis requested a financial breakdown of the funding sought. Mr. Butler said that, as detailed in his e-mail, the amount requested constituted 13% of the GSG's co-sponsorship budget for the year and 21% of the total expense of the Formal. The GSG still had a surplus of approximately $4700 from the last budget year and the event was consistent with the GSG's recent practice of spending $3 per participant per event for an expected attendance of 150. The motion passed unanimously.
Mr. Butler stated that there had been one further funding request, but this request had not been circulated to the Assembly prior to the meeting. He recognized Mr. Govindavajhala. Mr. Govindavajhala informed the Assembly that the Cricket World Cup had started. The Council of International Graduate Students (CIGS) wished to screen these matches. The World Cup lasts February 8 through March 23 and there are somewhere between 30 and 40 games. Mr. Govindavajhala requested co-sponsorship from the GSG for this event. CIGS hoped to show the matches in the New Graduate College Common Room. Mr. Govindavajhala stated their budget as $600. He estimated that each match would attract at least 10 people and that the "big" matches would attract between 30 and 50. The current obstacle to completing the screening of the matches has been getting the feed set up, as this requires a satellite dish and associated equipment and services.
Mr. Miller stated that co-sponsorship had been requested, but that it may not actually be feasible to show the matches. Mr. Govindavajhala said that there are legal problems associated with the showing of a satellite feed in a public space. It would cost $3000 instead of $300, the residential rate. Therefore it was decided that the dish could be connected to a television in a student room. The University had approved the mounting of a satellite dish to the roof of the New GC Common Room. Mr. Govindavajhala and colleagues spent four hours the previous night trying to get the satellite to work, but they were unsuccessful. Ms. Galanter-Hastings asked whether CIGS had purchased a satellite dish. Mr. Govindavajhala replied that one had been borrowed from the House Committee. Mr. Silberman asked how much the broadcast would cost. Mr. Govindavajhala said that it would cost $5 per month for 2 months (a total of $10) for service, $300 for the pay-per-view feed, and $169 for installation of the dish -- an expense he feared would be necessary due to the unsuccessful attempt at installation the prior evening --, for a grand total of $479. Because they anticipated additional unanticipated expenses, CIGS was requesting $600. Mr. Silberman said that it did not make sense for the GSG to pay for the installation of a satellite dish at the Graduate College; surely a capital improvement to the GC should be paid for by the House Committee. Mr. Silberman, as Assistant Chair of the House Committee, expressed confidence that the Committee would cover this expense. Mr. Miller explained that the House Committee had tried hooking up the satellite dish several years before, but that it had not worked. Mr. Ludkovski asked whether the matches were purchased individually or as a package. Mr. Govindavajhala said they were purchased as a package; he added further that there were 15 matches he would consider important.
Mr. Fiori asked whether the GSG had funded events like this one in the past. Mr. Butler said that the GSG had not. There was some discussion of legal issues, but Ms. MacNamara was of the impression that there would be no legal issues so long as a fee was not charged to those watching the matches. Mr. Govindavajhala said that the House Committee had agreed to provide snacks and drinks for the matches. Ms. Safran wondered how the television room could be reserved for the matches. Mr. Govindavajhala said that the satellite signal would work whenever matches were being played. Ms. Safran asked how others using the room would be displaced. Mr. Govindavajhala said that most of the games begin around 5 a.m. and he did not anticipate any problems. Ms. Sherov said that GC television rooms could be reserved by the posting of signs. Mr. Silberman said that the House Committee could reserve the room if necessary.
Mr. Silberman asked Ms. Sherov whether the Graduate School would be contributing to the event. Ms. Sherov said she had not been asked, and she could not immediately give a definite answer, but that she had some funds available and could likely provide a small contribution. Mr. Silberman asked whether CIGS would be providing funding for the event. Mr. Govindavajhala said that CIGS had allocated $100 to fund the Cricket World Cup screening.
Mr. Govindavajhala said that the television in the New GC TV Room was currently not working, but that he had donated his own television set for the duration of the matches.
Ms. White considered the event to be similar to the Turkish Festival funded the previous year, when the GSG had provided co-sponsorship for importing and screening Turkish films. She thought that the satellite dish could be useful in the long run.
Mr. Butler asked how much the service charge would be. Mr. Govindavajhala said it was $5 per month. Mr. Butler asked how many months the fee would need to be paid. Mr. Govindavajhala said it would be paid for only two months. Mr. Silberman said that the House Committee had agreed in principle to fund the connection, since this would likely replace the cable in the New GC Television Room, for which the House Committee was already paying.
Mr. Adelizzi suggested that if the House Committee would be paying for installation and service, the total expense would be $300, of which CIGS had already agreed to fund $100; therefore, $200 would be what Mr. Govindavajhala needed from the GSG. Mr. Govindavajhala said that he would like $100 extra for unanticipated costs. Mr. Silberman said that the GSG should consider only the $300 event cost, as capital improvements and regular expenses should be for the House Committee to cover. Mr. Artis disagreed, asserting that the installation was being done for this particular event. Ms. Sherov said that this wasn't the case, since the House Committee had already purchased a satellite dish and had wanted to hook it up for some time.
Ms. White moved to fund the event with $500. Mr. Silberman objected that this was more money than had been approved for the Formal, and event that would attract more people; the assertion that the Formal would attract more people was disputed. Mr. Butler suggested that the GSG just consider the $300 request for pay-per-view, since the other costs were really responsibilities that other groups, such as the House Committee, should have. Mr. Silberman suggested that $50 would be an appropriate amount of cosponsorship. Mr. Adelizzi suggested that $200 would be the maximum appropriate amount since CIGS had allocated $100 toward the $300 cost and all other expenses were being met by the House Committee. Ms. White retracted her motion and moved to fund the event with $300. Ms. Galanter-Hastings seconded. The motion passed with all in favor but Mr. Adelizzi (opposed) and Mr. Silberman and Ms. Safran (abstaining).
Mr. Miller reported that the Executive Committee had met twice since the last Assembly meeting, mainly to discuss the new daytime campus shuttle and the upcoming St. Valentine's Day dance.
Ms. MacNamara reported that the fourth annual GSG Valentine's Day dance would be held Friday, February 14, 2003, from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. in the Frist Campus Center Multipurpose Room. She stated that she needed about 10 volunteers, including people to do one-hour shifts checking IDs at the door, people to set up, and people to clean up. A sheet was circulated for people to sign up.
Ms. MacNamara said that Dennis Mattheis, a representative of the Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni (APGA) had contacted her regarding the possibility of the APGA's co-sponsorship of an event in the Spring. He had specifically suggested a barbecue to take place after the end of classes, but the APGA was open to other suggestions. Ms. MacNamara thought that a barbecue was a good idea, but she welcomed other suggestions from the Assembly. Because the APGA had a lot of money, she suggested that suggestions for smaller events would be more appropriate for the GSG to run itself. There were no suggestions forthcoming.
There was some discussion of generals periods, final exam periods, reading weeks, and humanities students going abroad, and it was finally decided that the last day of classes, or the day after, would be the best time, but that a barbecue should be held at a distance from graduate student residences to minimize the impact on those suffering from generals and related ailments. Mr. Jordan asked whether there would be a barbecue at the GC around that time; Ms. Sherov said that there would not be.
Ms. MacNamara concluded her report by reminding the Assembly that the APGA had co-sponsored last year's successful Salsa Party.
Mr. Miller announced an almost unprecedented event, the report of the Corresponding Secretary. Mr. Adelizzi reported that he had completed the first redesign of the GSG web pages since his last redesign in the Fall of 1999. He asked members of the Assembly to take a look and pass along any feedback.
Mr. Miller recognized Ms. MacNamara for the Parking and Transportation Committee Report.
Ms. MacNamara reported that the new campus shuttle ("P-Rides"), which started February 3, was a great success. The shuttles were, by and large, on time every day. Ridership was high and about 2000 people had taken the shuttle during the first week; nearly 600 had ridden it on Friday alone. There has been minimal advertising so far. There are still some bugs with the GPS website, but this has not been a problem since the buses have been running on time: A-1 Limousine, which is providing drivers and buses, is doing an excellent job, even keeping to the schedule when the roads have been snow-covered. Ms. MacNamara said that the greatest problem has been that too many people have been riding it -- a second small van has been added to keep up with the demand.
Next week, Ms. MacNamara asserted, two new buses would come on-line, replacing the smaller bus and van currently in use. These new buses would have more space, including standing room. Also, in response to feedback, the Parking and Transportation Committee will be discussing with the University, the Greater Mercer Transportation Management Authority, and A-1, the possibility of moving the schedule up by 15 minutes. Some graduate students have been complaining that the current schedule gets them to campus just a little too late for classes on the hour or half-hour. Mr. Artis suggested that moving the schedule would inconvenience those people whose personal schedules fit perfectly with the shuttle schedule right now. Ms. MacNamara said that only Butler residents currently arrive on campus before the hour and half-hour. Mr. Artis takes the shuttle from Lawrence at 8:21 a.m.; this shuttle arrives at the E-Quad at 8:35 a.m. and it is full. Mr. Silberman speculated that the 8:15 shuttle from the GC is full of people going to 9:00 a.m. classes. Mr. Govindavajhala suggested that the current buses are too small and that the University should get buses with standing room. Ms. MacNamara said that the two buses with standing room had been ordered and that these should arrive next week. Mr. Artis said that the complaints about the schedule the GSG was receiving were not representative, since people who were satisfied with the current schedule would not write to say so. Mr. Artis added that everyone who takes the shuttle with him in the morning is happy with the schedule as it is. Mr. Adelizzi conceded the point that satisfied riders would not complain, but he did not consider those who ride the shuttle with Mr. Artis to be representative either, since the students are riding the shuttle are the students whose schedules allow them to do so. Mr. Miller said that they would be discussing exactly how much earlier the schedule should be shifted. Mr. Adelizzi suggested sending a global e-mail soliciting feedback on changing the schedule. Mr. Artis thought that this was a good idea. Ms. O'Brien said that the shuttle was great.
Mr. Miller recognized Mr. Xu. Mr. Xu said that the GSG International Student Concerns Committee had been established in November to discuss issues pertaining specifically to international students. These issues included: visa issues (both in post-enrollment and returning to the United States after visits home), language problems (including the POPT (Princeton Oral Proficiency Test) and English language program), cultural interface, funding issues -- it can sometimes be difficult for international students to get equivalent funding to domestic students --, food and meal plan problems, and integration.
Regarding the visa issue, the Committee had recently met with International Graduate Student Advisor from the Office of Visa Services Jennifer McNabb. Ms. McNabb, as a result of this meeting, will hold an information/question-and-answer session the last week of the present month on recent changes to visa regulations.
Regarding funding, this did not seem to be an issue in the engineering departments, where students were on fellowships during the first year and funded by advisors' grants after that. In Mathematics, however, domestic students tended to be funded by fellowships and international students were forced to serve as AIs. The Committee is discussing setting up a meeting with Dean of the Graduate School William Russel to discuss the subject, but it wants to collect more information first. Mr. Adelizzi said that he had sent a note to the Assembly asking whether international student funding is an issue in the various departments, but he only received two or three replies.
Mr. Xu continued. The English Language Examination is an issue, he said, that involves the Graduate School and the McGraw Center in addition to the departments. The rules for the POPT keep changing. A meeting will be arranged with the director of the program.
Integration of international graduate students with domestic students is a longer-term issue. Mr. Xu said that the Committee wants to organize various organizations and offices to work on the issue together. A meeting has been scheduled on Friday with the Committee, CIGS, and Paula Chow, the Director of the International Center.
Mr. Xu lastly informed the Assembly that the minutes of the Committee's meetings are published on the GSG web site.
Mr. Govindavajhala raised the issue of Health Care. Health care, he asserted, is especially important for international students. If an international student falls ill and must take a leave of absence, his student visa terminates and he can be forced to leave the country, which is especially bad considering the additional unpleasantness of traveling while ill. He suggested that the GSG should lobby the administration to expand health care services during breaks. Mr. Miller said that the Health Care Committee is already working on this.
Mr. Xu said funding was a serious issue in some departments, but not in others. Mr. Silberman said that, in Mathematics, the entire problem exists because of an act of the U.S. Congress.
Ms. Wijetunge reported on the meeting with Ms. McNabb. They had discussed changes to visa regulations and the issue of how post-enrollment affects visa status. F-1 visa regulations have been changing and things have been getting more difficult for international students. International students get one year of optional practical training after their normal student visa status. Previously, students had 60 days after their thesis defense to request this year. Now, it must be requested before the defense, and the year starts on the day of the defense. They perceive a need to publicize these changes. They suggested that Ms. McNabb update her web site and create a listing of exactly which office should be contacted for each problem an international student might face.
Mr. Silberman asked whether one needs an employer to be approved for optional practical training. Ms. Wijetunge said that one does not so long as one can show a financial means of support.
Mr. Silberman said that after a student finishes the period of enrollment, the University will certify that a continuing degree candidate is still a student for the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). INS does not care whether one is enrolled, merely that the University calls them a student. After the first year of post-enrollment, the University refuses to certify to the INS that degree candidates are still students, but the degree candidates can apply for their year of optional practical training and thus extend their stay for a total of two years beyond enrollment.
Ms. Galanter-Hastings suggested notifying departments and graduate secretaries to get the word out. Ms. Wijetunge said that Ms. McNabb has already done this; Ms. McNabb has also sent all of this information to all holders of F-1 and J-1 visas, which are the two most common student types.
Mr. Butler suggested that members of the Assembly who had been absent at the January meeting consult the January minutes and read about the discussion with Dr. Daniel Silverman, Chief Medical Officer and Director of Health Services. Mr. Adelizzi confirmed for Mr. Butler that he would post the minutes the following day on the GSG's web site.
Mr. Butler said that new members had joined the Health Care Committee, including Ms. Esparza, Ms. Galanter-Hastings and Ms. Snow. He solicited further volunteers, stating that the work commitment was very low, perhaps only a couple of hours a month.
Mr. Butler reported that the Committee had received some updates from Dr. Silverman. The prescription plan information (associated with the MerckMedco prescription card issued to graduate students) was now available on the Health Services website, as was information regarding Celtic Insurance. Graduate students reaching the end of their eligibility for the Student Health Plan may convert their insurance to Celtic, but this information was previously not publicized very well.
Mr. Butler has been working on a set of links to campus health resources for posting on the GSG web page.
Mr. Fiori said that the Priorities Committee had allocated more than $250,000 to Health Services this year; he suggested lobbying Health Services to spend this money on graduate student health needs. Mr. Butler said that Dr. Silverman had said that his top priorities were a new physician and staff psychologist. Mr. Pease said that another one of Dr. Silverman's top priorities was a triage person. Mr. Fiori said that it was an ideal time to discuss health services over breaks. Mr. Butler referred to his notes and found that the amount allocated to Health Services by the Priorities Committee was $324,000.
Mr. Silberman, ex officio Chair of the Elections Committee, reported that there will be a second general call for nominees. Nominations for the GSG's seven officer positions end on Friday. Nominees will then have the weekend to prepare statements, and campaigning will begin the next week. There will be a Meet the Candidates Forum on Wednesday, March 5.
Mr. Miller reported for the Information Technology Committee. He stated that there has been some new progress: The Office of Information Technology (OIT) is evaluating the installation of DormNet in Butler. Mr. Miller reminded the Assembly that the GSG had lobbied for, and achieved, the wiring of the Annexes, the Lawrence Apartments, and the Hibben-Magie Apartments over the last two years. OIT said that wireless ethernet is not an option, due to interference and lack of bandwidth. Two options are being investigated and the Butler Committee is engaged in the process. The first option would cost Butler residents $15 per month and would consist of two network jacks in one bedroom. For $20 per month, there could be one network jack in each of two bedrooms. Mr. Miller said that there was divided opinion over which option was better, both based on impressions of who lived in Butler. Married couples might prefer option 1, while pairs of roommates might prefer option 2. Another rejected option would be the installation of two jacks in one room and Housing running a wire along the baseboard into the second room; this was bundled with option 1 and could have been added for an unspecified fee.
Mr. Miller said that there is serious talk about replacing Butler on a 5-10 year time-frame. The 5-10 year time-frame estimate goes back to 1947, but now the University is actually consulting architects. Mr. Adelizzi said that he had been informed that maintenance costs on Butler have been going up in recent years. Mr. Miller said that the monthly rent increase in Butler could be different from the increase in Lawrence, reflecting the difficulty in installation across physically separated units, but it will be less than the increase in the GC for some reason, probably the number of switches that will have to be installed. Ms. Yang said that the Butler Committee favored the first option.
Ms. Yang asked whether the service would be optional. Mr. Miller said that ethernet has become mandatory where it has been installed. Mr. Adelizzi said that this was because the number of subscribers had become so high that OIT could charge less by mandating ethernet for everyone and eliminating individualized billing and jack activation. Mr. Silberman said that OIT regards ethernet like telephone service -- it is something everyone should have, and something everyone will be billed for.
Ms. Yang and Ms. Galanter-Hastings, members of the Butler Committee both, said that the question of the two options would likely come before the Committee again at its next meeting.
Mr. Adelizzi said that he had talked to Assistant Director of Graduate Student Housing Patricia McArdle regarding the Lawrence Construction. Under the plan, two buildings were supposed to be open by September 2003. The plan was based on a mild or average winter, and the current winter has been colder and snowier than most. The University will either be late on both buildings by perhaps a month, or on-time with one building and very late with the second. There are problems associated with opening graduate student housing mid-year. The Housing Department has delayed the distribution of draw packets and information until the situation is clarified.
Mr. Adelizzi also reported that Housing is generally approving of the Housing Committee's plans to revise the room draw to eliminate gamesmanship between the apartment and dormitory draws. They will conduct a mock draw this year based on data collected from students to see how the proposed system would work in practice. Mr. Adelizzi said that this was only reasonable, as the introduction of a new plan that didn't work could bring chaos to the room draw system. In response to a comment from a member of the Assembly, Mr. Adelizzi corrected himself, saying that it could bring more chaos to the room draw system.
Ms. Safran asked whether a decision had been made on the rent levels for the new Lawrence Apartments. Mr. Miller said that he was given to understand that the Graduate School had been strongly advocating low rents. Mr. Miller sent letters expressing the GSG view as well. Ms. Wijetunge said that the Lawrence Committee had send a letter to Housing asking for reduced rent for all Lawrence residents next year due to the inconvenience of living in a construction zone.
It was clarified that the building that will house the heating and cooling machinery will not be among the first two built, but its basement will be completed to allow the two buildings that will be built first to have heating and cooling.
In response to a question, Mr. Adelizzi said that he did not know how long the distribution of room draw information would be delayed.
Mr. Adelizzi introduced three By-Law Amendments on behalf of the Executive Committee. Mr. Adelizzi said that the Executive Committee, upon reviewing the By-Laws in advance of the upcoming Officer and CPUC elections and in dealing with the resignation of Ms. Bystrom as Social Chair, had found three portions of the By-Laws that could stand some improvement. The three amendments had been distributed via e-mail to the entire Assembly. Mr. Adelizzi said that it was the hope of the Executive Committee that each of the three amendments would be uncontroversial.
Mr. Adelizzi stated that the first amendment would allow the Chair, with the consent of the Executive Committee, to appoint acting officers, without vote, in the event of a vacancy. When Ms. Bystrom had resigned, he said, Ms. MacNamara had generously volunteered to fill in; however, generally speaking, a vacancy in an office for a month could cause problems. The amendment, Mr. Adelizzi said, also clarified and extended the succession to the Chair.
The text of the amendment as introduced by Mr. Adelizzi ran:
VI. Establishment of procedures for temporary appointment of officers. Explanatory Statement. From time to time, an Executive Office may fall vacant. Under the procedures outlined in the existing By-Laws, the Assembly shall elect a replacement. Because it may sometimes be necessary or expedient to fill a vacancy immediately, this amendment empowers the Chair, with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee, to fill a vacancy temporarily, until such time as the Assembly shall be able to act to fill the seat, as well as establishing an order of succession to the Chair. The amendment also clarifies in some detail the procedures for Assembly by-elections and establishes the powers of the Assembly over Acting Officers created under this By-Law. Text of the amendment: Paragraph J of Clause 5 of Article III of the By-Laws, shall be deleted, and the remaining clauses of Article III that follow shall be appropriately re-lettered. From Clause 7, Paragraph C, the words "until the new election is decided" shall be stricken. A new clause, numbered 8, shall be added to Article III, and it shall run thusly: 8. Vacancies. a. Definition of Vacancies. A vacancy in an Office shall be deemed to occur when any Officer resigns, loses a recall election, is removed by the Assembly, or ceases to be a member of the Graduate Student Body. b. Vacancies through Suspensions. If an Officer has been suspended in Office, and until such time as the suspension terminates or the Assembly appoints an Interim Officer, that Office shall be considered vacant. c. Notification of Vacancies. The Parliamentary Secretary shall notify the Assembly immediately of a vacancy in any Office. Should the Office of Parliamentary Secretary fall vacant, the Chair shall notify the Assembly. d. Vacancy in the Office of Chair. Should the Office of Chair fall vacant, the Officer highest on the list of Officers specified in Article V of the Constitution who is able and willing to accept the powers and duties of Chair shall serve as Acting Chair, without relinquishing his or her own Office, upon notifying the Executive Committee of his or her acceptance of the position of Acting Chair, except that if the Chair has appointed an Assistant Chair with the concurrence of the Executive Committee, and that Assistant Chair is qualified to be Chair, then the Assistant Chair shall succeed before the Parliamentary Secretary, and except that any Acting Officer shall not succeed before a properly elected or appointed Officer. Should none of these Officers qualify, the longest-serving qualified representative of the Assembly shall serve as Acting Chair. The Acting Chair shall continue in Office while qualified and until a Chair qualifies or a prior-entitled person qualifies to the position of Acting Chair. No person shall acquire a vote on the Executive Committee by virtue of serving as Acting Chair except when, due to vacancies, no regularly chosen Officers serve on the Executive Committee. d. Vacancies in Other Offices. Should a vacancy occur in any Office created by the Constitution except for the Office of Chair, then the Chair shall have the authority, if he or she deems it necessary or expedient, to appoint an Acting Officer, with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee. Said Acting Officer shall serve while qualified at the pleasure of the Chair and until the vacancy is filled by the Assembly or by a general election. Said Acting Officer shall discharge all of the duties of the vacant Office but shall be without vote on the Executive Committee unless no regularly chosen Officers serve on the Executive Committee and shall be ineligible to succeed as Acting Chair under Paragraph (c) unless no properly elected or appointed Officers qualify. The Chair shall promptly communicate to the Assembly the appointment of any Acting Officer. e. Judicial Procedure for Acting Officers. Acting Officers shall be liable for trial or appeal before the Assembly as Officers, and the Assembly shall have full powers of censure, suspension, removal, recall, or ban on holding Office, over any Acting Officers. This clause shall not be interpreted to deprive the Assembly of any other power they may possess with regard to Acting Officers. f. Qualification of Acting Officers. No person shall be qualified to serve as an Acting Officer who shall not be a member of the Graduate Student Body or who shall be banned from that Office by the Assembly. An Officer or Acting Officer who shall have been removed from Office previously by the Assembly, or via losing a recall election, shall be unqualified and ineligible to serve in that Office as Acting Officer, unless the Assembly, by a simple majority vote, shall remove such disqualification. Acting Officers in service shall be disqualified by resignation, suspension, removal, recall, ceasing to be a member of the Graduate Student Body, or at the pleasure of the Chair. g. Filling of Vacancies. When an Office falls vacant except through suspension of an Officer, the Assembly may elect a new Officer to fill the vacant Office. If a vacancy occurs through suspension, the Assembly may elect an Interim Officer to serve for the duration of said suspension. Officers elected in this manner by the Assembly shall be considered regular Officers and they shall discharge the full powers and duties of their Offices as if they had been elected or appointed in the regular way. An Officer appointed in this manner shall serve for the remainder of the then-current term of Office, except Interim Officers shall serve for the duration of the suspension, or the remainder of the then-current term of Office, whichever terminates first. The Assembly may elect an Officer to fill a vacancy at the next Assembly meeting after the vacancy is announced, provided that the vacancy continues and no Officer has been elected to fill the Office in the intervening time. The Assembly shall be empowered to leave an Office vacant, or delay an election to a subsequent or extraordinary meeting, should they deem it appropriate, but the Chair shall give the Assembly an opportunity to fill an Office by election at any Assembly meeting that occurs while an Office is vacant, unless the Assembly has directed otherwise or the meeting is an extraordinary meeting called for other business. h. Conduct of By-Elections. The Parliamentary Secretary shall preside, unless that office is vacant or he or she is a candidate for the Office being filled, in which case the Chair shall preside unless similarly excluded, in which case the Assembly shall elect one or more Election Proctors to preside and supervise the election. Any member of the Graduate Student Body may nominate any qualified member of the Graduate Student Body, who shall, upon acceptance of the nomination, become a candidate. Candidates shall be given an opportunity to speak, or communicate in any other manner deemed appropriate by the presiding officer, to the Assembly before the vote. Voting shall be by voice vote, unless an objection is heard by the presiding officer; in the event of an objection, the by-election and any other by-election scheduled for that day shall be conducted by secret ballot. The results of the by-election shall be announced, as well as the number of votes won by each candidate if the vote was held by secret ballot, and this information shall be entered into the record. If only one candidate is seeking a particular Office, members of the Assembly shall be given the opportunity to vote to approve or disapprove that candidate's election, and that candidate shall be considered approved only if he or she receives more approvals than disapprovals. In the event of a tie vote, the Chair (or Acting Chair) shall be empowered to break the tie. i. Accession to Office. An Officer or Interim Officer elected at a by-election shall take office immediately upon his or her election. An Officer elected at a general election to fill an vacant Office shall take Office immediately upon certification of the election by the Assembly and serve out the remainder of the term, if any, of his or her predecessor, before starting his or her own term.
Mr. Adelizzi introduced a second amendment abolishing runoff elections for Officer Elections. He stated that the current system would result in a one-month delay, at least, if no candidate received a majority in the first round, and a one-month delay in a twelve-month term was rather long. Further, this amendment would fix a problem with the By-Laws as adopted, in which a three-way race, with the top candidate falling short of a majority and the second and third candidates accruing the same number of votes, could result in a situation in which no candidate could be deemed elected.
The text of the second amendment introduced by Mr. Adelizzi follows:
VII. Abolition of runoff elections and establishment of a first-past-the-post system for election of officers. Explanatory Statement. The procedures for holding runoff elections for offices are unclear and time-consuming. This amendment replaces the system of runoff elections with a first-past-the-post system. Text of the Amendment. By-Law Article III, Paragraph 5, Clause D shall be deleted and replaced with: "Determination of Winner. The winner of an election shall be that candidate who receives the greatest number of votes. Should there be a tie, with more than one candidate receiving an equivalent number of votes, and that number being the highest received by any candidate, the Assembly shall be empowered to break the tie. The Assembly, acting under this clause, shall vote by secret ballot at its next meeting following the election. The Election Committee shall tally the votes, and the Chair of the GSG shall be empowered to break a tie in the Assembly balloting." By-Law Article III, Paragraph 5, Clause G shall be deleted, and the subsequent clauses of that paragraph re-lettered.
Mr. Adelizzi introduced a third and final amendment to the By-Laws. When the By-Laws had originally been adopted by the Assembly, the Assembly had been under the impression that the CPUC Charter had been amended to remove the requirement that the graduate student delegation to the Council include one member from each of the University's four divisions. The Charter had not been so amended, and therefore the GSG By-Laws are inconsistent with the CPUC Charter. Mr. Adelizzi said that the amendment he was introducing would fix this problem. At the same time, it would introduce a transferable vote system for election of CPUC Councilors, a system that is marginally more democratic than the similar system currently in use.
Mr. Adelizzi noted that one member of each division had been elected each of the past two years to the Council, so the inconsistency between the By-Law and the Charter had not yet been an issue.
The text of the third amendment follows:
VIII. Alteration of CPUC Election System to Comply with the CPUC Charter Explanatory Statement. When the GSG By-Laws were originally adopted, the Assembly was under the impression that the clause in the CPUC Charter that requires that of the seven graduate CPUC members, "each division must be represented by at least one member", had been repealed. That clause has not been repealed, and this amendment alters the GSG By-Laws to come into compliance with the CPUC by-laws in this respect. It also replaces the current ranking system with a multiple-transferable vote system. This system will appear identical (or very similar) to the voter, but the tallying of votes will be done in such a way to give greater weight to the lower-ranked votes of voters voting for less popular candidates. The system is essentially single transferable vote with a multiseat constituency and a majority quota, with several rounds. Text of the amendment: By-Law Article V, Paragraph 1, Clause A, shall be deleted. By-Law Article V, Paragraph 1, Clause E, which currently reads: "In elections for Graduate U-Councilors, all Representatives of the Assembly shall vote. Election shall be by voice vote, or, in the event of objection or contest, by secret ballot. The Chair shall conduct the elections with the assistance of the Parliamentary Secretary. In the case of a vote by secret ballot where there are more than five candidates or in the case of proxy votes submitted by email as above, voting shall be according to the following procedure: each Representative shall vote for up to five candidates, rank-ordered on the ballot from most preferred on the top to least preferred on the bottom. Then, the votes will be tallied, with only the most-preferred votes counted; the candidate with the most votes will then receive a seat, and all votes for that candidate shall be crossed off the ballots. The highest remaining vote on each individual ballot shall become the newly most-preferred vote on that ballot. Then the votes will be tallied again, with only the newly most-preferred votes counted, and again the candidate with the most votes shall receive a seat and have all votes for him crossed off the ballots. This process will continue until five seats have been awarded. If there are five or fewer candidates, Representatives will vote "approve" or "disapprove" for each candidate, and all candidates receiving a majority of "approve" votes out of the votes cast shall be deemed elected." shall be amended to read: "The Assembly shall elect such number of members of the Council of the Princeton University Community as the Council empowers the Graduate Student Government to elect, save the number who shall serve ex officio. The Chair shall conduct the elections with the assistance of the Parliamentary Secretary. The Chair and Parliamentary Secretary shall serve ex officio. Election shall be by voice vote if and only if (1) the number of candidates is equal to or less than the number of representatives to be elected, (2) the election of all candidates would result in representation of all four divisions of the University within the graduate student delegation to the Council, including those members serving ex officio, and (3) no member of the Assembly objects to a voice vote. Otherwise, election shall be by secret ballot. Voting by secret ballot shall be according to the method of the multiple transferable vote. Each Representative shall cast a ballot containing a rank-ordered listing of candidates, from most preferred to least preferred, and including such candidates (not necessarily all) as the Representative deems appropriate. Through the voting process, the Assembly shall collectively place each candidate in a ranked position on the List from which members of the Council shall be determined. Tallying of votes shall be an iterative process. Before votes are tallied, the Chair shall be placed first on the List and the Parliamentary Secretary shall be placed second on the List. Then, the first iteration of tallying shall occur. During this iteration, the first-preference votes on each ballot shall be tallied for each candidate. If a candidate receives a majority of first preference votes, that candidate shall be deemed elected to the List and shall take the third place on the List. If no candidate receives a majority, then the candidate with the least votes shall be eliminated (from that iteration only) and the votes for that candidate reallocated to the uneliminated candidate receiving the highest preference on each ballot for the eliminated candidate. This process shall occur until one candidate achieves a majority. If there is a tie for candidate to be eliminated, all such tied candidates shall be eliminated unless doing so would eliminate all candidates in the iteration, in which case the Chair shall exercise his or her power to break ties by choosing one candidate to be eliminated but shall not announce this choice publically, only notifying the Parliamentary Secretary. Once a candidate has been elected to the List, that candidate shall be stricken from each ballot. Candidates eliminated during the previous iteration shall once again be candidates. In the second iteration, which shall be for the fourth place on the List, the top ranked non-stricken candidate votes on each ballot shall be counted. The process shall be repeated until each candidate shall have been placed on the List. Once the list has been completed, the top candidate on the List from each of the four divisions of the University shall be deemed elected, and the remaining seats in the graduate delegation shall be filled by those remaining on the List, starting from the top of the list and continuing until all seats are filled." Clause F, which reads: "In the case of a vacancy after the elections, or should one arise during the academic year, elections according to the above procedure shall be held for the vacancy as soon as is practical. If, and only if, no candidates come forward, the Executive Committee may fill the seat by appointment." shall be replaced by: "In the event of a vacancy in the graduate student delegation to the Council, the candidate next on the List whose election would not violate the principle that all four divisions of the University must be represented in the graduate student delegation to the Council shall be deemed elected. In order to assure that no seat in the delegation shall remain vacant for want of candidates, the Executive Committee shall be empowered to add names to the bottom of the List at any time." The clauses in By-Law Article V, Paragraph 1 shall be re-lettered in order from (a).
Mr. Adelizzi solicited comments or questions. There were none.
Mr. Miller recognized Mr. Pease, Chair of the Library Committee. Mr. Pease said that the Library Committee had been empowered by the Assembly to investigate issues regarding the new Science Library but not to make recommendations. Mr. Pease said that the Committee had investigated and was now returning to the Assembly to request the authority to make recommendations.
Mr. Pease said that the Committee had come to the conclusion that graduate students will have little or no influence on the design of the new library. Therefore, the Committee is now focusing its efforts on what can be changed. Mr. Pease said that two such issues were (1) extension of library hours, especially in the summer, to be financed by savings in staffing made by combining the operations of multiple libraries into one, and (2) de facto expansion of the Article Express service to graduate students. Apparently, graduate students can now use Article Express, but the fact has not been announced. One graduate student was refused but later received an apology following the intervention of the Library Committee.
Mr. Silberman said that he had introduced a motion over e-mail to the gsg-assembly list to empower the Library Committee to make recommendations, but the motion failed for lack of a quorum. Mr. Adelizzi said that everyone who voted had been in favor, but very few had voted. Mr. Silberman therefore reintroduced his motion to empower the Library Committee to make recommendations.
Ms. Yang stated that she cannot access electronic journals from the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory. Mr. Miller suggested that she should install Princeton's Virtual Private Network on her system.
The motion to empower the Library Committee to make recommendations passed unanimously.
Mr. Silberman made the formal announcement to the Assembly that Ms. Bystrom had resigned as Social Chair, effective January 21. Mr. Miller had created the Office of Acting Social Chair, to exist until the election of a new Social Chair, and, with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee, appointed Ms. MacNamara to this new post.
Ms. Bystrom's letter of resignation had been sent to the Assembly. It read, in part:
I wanted to let you know that ... I am resigning for my position as Social Chair of the GSG. I'm heading off to South America in a few days to do research for the coming semester, and want to make sure that the GSG has an official social chair on campus to administer the dance and any other events that come up in the next month. Sinéad MacNamara, the representative from Civil Engineering, will replace me as temporary Social Chair until the GSG officer elections in early March. ... I encourage everyone to think about running for the position. It really is a lot of fun. Thanks to all of you who helped out with the social events over the past year--and, I'll see you in assembly meetings next fall!
Mr. Miller's notice announcing the temporary appointment read, in part:
...Kerry Bystrom has stepped down as GSG Social Chair ... because she will be out of the country for the remainder of her term of office. I'd like to take this opportunity to personally thank Kerry for her service and the excellent job she's done. Her work as Social Chair has helped to remind many of us to take some time for fun while in grad school (and provide us more opportunities to do so), just as her other contributions to the GSG have helped to improve the quality of life for all Princeton grad students. I hope that when she returns to Princeton Kerry will resume her involvement with the GSG!In the absence of an elected Social Chair, I am creating a temporary position of "Acting Social Chair" and appointing Sinéad MacNamara to this office, in accordance with the GSG Constitution, Article V.2.f. The duties associated with this position are to perform tasks and carry out responsibilities normally done by the Social Chair. The position will exist only until the Social Chair position is filled, either by vote of the GSG Assembly or in campus-wide election, or until the Chair dissolves the "Acting Social Chair" position.
Thank you, Sinéad, for graciously accepting this responsibility, especially during the planning of our [... Valentine's] Dance!
Mr. Silberman moved to appoint Ms. MacNamara Social Chair, to serve out the remainder of Ms. Bystrom's term. Mr. Jordan seconded. Mr. Silberman asked if there was any debate. Mr. Adelizzi said he endorsed Ms. MacNamara and wished to praise her for her excellent work on the upcoming dance. There being no further debate, Mr. Silberman asked for a vote. Ms. MacNamara was elected unanimously.
Ms. Galanter-Hastings suggested to Ms. MacNamara that the daytime shuttle be labeled "Alexander Route" or "Harrison Route" so that riders could tell which way the shuttle was going. Ms. MacNamara said that the Parking and Transportation Committee was working on it.
Mr. Miller reminded the Assembly that the next meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, March 12, 2003, at 6 p.m., in Frist 309.
Mr. Miller attempted to adjourn the meeting at 7:30 p.m., but Ms. Man hurried into the room to make a report. Ms. Man reported that CIGS was returning to the GSG the $500 the GSG had approved for the Beijing Dance Troupe. They were unable to perform, due to visa problems. The Association of Chinese Students and Scholars, however, had held their Chinese New Year's Party as planned and they brought in a local lion-dancing group.
Mr. Miller adjourned the meeting at 7:31 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Eric Adelizzi
Corresponding Secretary and Acting Recording Secretary