princeton.edu)
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Priorities Committee Requests and Results
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Ivy Summit Report
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• Representatives present • Aleksandar Donev, ACM • Peter Locke, ANT • Anita Adhitya, proxy for Irina Marinov, AOS • Sinéad Mac Namara, CEE • Jack Tinsley, CHE • Basak Surmeli, CHM • Jessica H. Clark, CLA • Jonathan Vogel, ECO • Fei Sun, ELE • James Bickford, ENG • Karin Sigloch, GEO • Michael K. House, GER • Donna A. C. Sy, HOS • Ken Kroenlein, proxy for Chris Wyckham, MAE • Shin-Yi Lin, MOL • Joshua Friess, proxy for Annika Peter, PHY • Jonathan Eastvold, POL • Kim Montgomery, PSY • Cori Anderson, SLA • Newsha M. Dau, WWS •
• Delegates present • Joshua Friess, proxy for Huiyan Yang, Butler Apartments • Fei Sun, proxy for Weining Man, Council of International Graduate Students (CIGS) • Leonard F. Pease III, Off-Campus •
• Councilors present • Chair Leslie Medema, CPUC, CPUC Executive Committee, CPUC Priorities Committee • Parliamentary Secretary Leonard F. Pease III, CPUC, CPUC Priorities Committee • Corresponding Secretary Nicole Esparza, also chair-elect • Press Secretary Meredith Safran • Recording Secretary João Pedro Boavida • Treasurer Jeff Dwoskin, also treasurer-elect • Social Chair Sinéad Mac Namara • Ian Parrish, CPUC, CPUC Executive Committee • Fei Sun, CPUC Governance Committee • Jack Tinsley, parliamentary secretary–elect • Christine Percheski, elected press secretary during the meeting • Aleksandar Donev, social chair–elect •
• Others present • Lisa Sherov, assistant dean for residence life and student affairs • Beth McKeown, community programs coordinator •
• Representatives absent • Brigitta A. Lee, EAS • Christiane I. Meyer, EEB • Valerie Dionne, FIT • Jane Murphy, HIS • Thomas Horine, MAT • Andrew Moroz, ORF • David R. Smith, PPL • Susan Gunasti, REL • Debbie Becher, SOC •
• Delegates absent • Yuan Liu, Association of Chinese Students and Scholars (ACSS) • Aderemi Artis, Black Graduate Caucus (BGC) • Lior Silberman, Graduate College (GC) • Radhika Wijetunge, Lawrence Apartments • Heather White, Women’s Center •
• Councilors absent • Aderemi Artis, CPUC Resources Committee • Meredith Galanter Hastings, CPUC Judicial Committee • Brigitta Lee, CPUC • Lior Silberman, CPUC, CPUC Rights and Rules Committee • David R. Smith, CPUC Rights and Rules Committee • Rob Sobak, CPUC • Joseph P. Valentino, CPUC • Eric Adelizzi, corresponding secretary–elect •
• Representative seats vacant • ARC • ART • AST • COM • COS • MUS • NES • POS • PHI • SPO •
• Delegate seats vacant • Hibben/Magie Apartments • Millstone Apartments •
The Graduate Student Government held its regular monthly Assembly meeting on March 10, 2004, at Frist 309. Chair Leslie Medema called the meeting to order at about 6:06pm.
Parliamentary Secretary Leonard Pease introduced one new Representative: Cori Anderson (SLA).
Recording Secretary João Pedro Boavida proceeded to the minutes. He noted no suggestions had been made, besides one typographic mistake. Sinéad Mac Namara and Jack Tinsley moved to approve the minutes, there was a second, and the motion carried without opposition.
In his capacity as chair of the Officer Elections Committee, Mr. Pease reported on the conduct of the 2004 Officer Elections. There were a few questions after he finished. Shin-Yi Lin asked whether there were plans to change the by-laws. Mr. Pease stated that he knew of two potential suggestions (Mr. Boavida added later on that he is planning to draft an amendment). Newsha Dau asked about the references to conditional candidacy, and whether the committee thought we should pay attention to something in the larger picture. Mr. Pease stated that the details of that specific case had been explained in an interim report.
Mr. Pease moved on to elect the remaining officers. He asked for nominations or candidates for press secretary. Meredith Safran nominated Christine Percheski. No more candidates came forward.
Mr. Pease asked Ms. Percheski to introduce herself. Ms. Percheski stated she was a first-year in Sociology. She is involved in other student organizations, and in her department’s graduate student departmental committee. She has also worked in radio and collaborated in the preparation of newsletters. Mr. Pease asked whether any member of Assembly wanted to interview Ms. Percheski further. There being no more questions, she was asked to leave. Her appointment was voted on, and approved by a show of hands (16 in favor, none opposed). She was called back to the room and deemed elected.
Mr. Pease asked for nominations or candidates for recording secretary. There were none. He announced an election would be held in the upcoming meeting. Mr. Boavida noted that he would likely not be in town for the next meeting, and a replacement was absolutely necessary. He invited potential candidates to contact him or Ms. Esparza.
Mr. Pease then invited a motion to certify the elections. The results, by the way, were as follows. A total of 612 ballots were cast. For chair: Nicole Esparza was elected with 438 votes, Aderemi A. Artis got 81 votes, David A. Gordon got 74 votes, and there were 19 blank ballots. For parliamentary secretary: Jack F. Tinsley was elected with 402 votes, Christopher R. DeCoro got 174 votes, and there were 36 blank ballots. Eric Adelizzi’s candidacy to corresponding secretary was approved by 418 voters and disapproved by 111, while 83 voters abstained. Jeffrey S. Dwoskin’s candidacy to treasurer was approved by 514 voters and disapproved by 17, while 81 voters abstained. Aleksandar N. Donev’s candidacy to social chair was approved by 498 voters, disapproved by 31, while 83 voters abstained.
Jack Tinsley made such a motion. Ms. Safran and Sinéad Mac Namara raised a point of order, to determine whether it was possible to certify distinct elections separately. Ms. Mac Namara stated that, even if legitimate, Mr. Adelizzi’s election might strike some as illegitimate, and the GSG should be careful to avoid any appearance of impropriety. Mr. Pease stated that Assembly might overrule the Elections Committee by a two-thirds vote [By-Laws, III.5.l], but thought such decision should have been made before the online election started. Mr. Pease also stated that it was not clear whether the election could be certified only in part. Mr. Boavida stated that he didn’t think it was clear whether a certification was needed or a non-certification could go beyond requiring a recount of the ballots.
Mr. Tinsley suggested that that was a moot point, as Mr. Adelizzi had campaigned to stay in office on an interim basis and had already expressed his willingness to resign should a new candidate come forward. Ms. Dau was asked whether a resolution could be passed for Mr. Adelizzi to leave office. Mr. Boavida stated that Mr. Adelizzi could not be required to leave office, and no motions or resolutions can be passed that are against the by-laws. But he suggested that Assembly could express the wish that Mr. Adelizzi step down. He added that he believed Mr. Adelizzi would fulfill his promise, and suggested that there was widespread agreement that conditional candidacies should not be accepted (no one expressed disagreement). Ms. Esparza stated that there was already an interested candidate, so a by-election could be held in the upcoming meeting. Mr. Tinsley took the suggestion (to express the wish that Mr. Adelizzi fulfill his promise) as a friendly amendment, and the motion was put to a vote.
The MOTION to certify the election results and express the wish that the corresponding secretary-elect fulfill his promise (to resign so that a by-election can take place) CARRIED without opposition.
Ms. Medema invited the newly elected officers to lead the remainder of the the meeting. Ms. Esparza took the chair, and thanked Ms. Medema and Mr. Pease for their work on the CPUC Priorities Committee and in the GSG Executive Committee, Ms. Safran for the detailed reports that she so often brought to Assembly, Ms. Mac Namara for throwing great parties and for her work with the shuttle, and Mr. Boavida for his work in the minutes. It was about 6:35pm.
Treasurer Jeff Dwoskin had sent his report in advance of the meeting.
There had been one funding request, from the Consortium of International Student Organizations (CISO). They were organizing the “International Festival” that will take place in the week starting on March 29th, in Dillon gym. CISO is mainly an undergraduate organization. The total budget for this event is $13,000, $900 had already been secured from other graduate student sources, and they were asking the GSG for $200.
Mr. Dwoskin noted that we had only $360 left for the remainder of the term (March through June), so he recommend giving only $100. However, he noted that we had a surplus of about $1,150 [Minutes 2.11.2004, III.C]. So, we can can go slightly over budget. Mr. Pease noted that we could also considered investing in the endowment, as the real value of our annual budget would be minimal in about 17 years. It was noted that such a decision could be made later, or by the end of the fiscal year (when we know the real surplus we’ll have). Mr. Dwoskin also noted that CISO had asked for payment to be provide in advance, and for original receipts not to be asked. He stated that he was willing to accept copies, but he recommended against disbursing funds in advance of the event.
Fei Sun spoke for CISO. In the first place, he asked for the budget details not to be included in the minutes. There were no objections. Mr. Sun stated that it is important to break the barrier between graduate and undergraduate students. He noted that CISO discussed that barrier with President Tilghman. He has also talked with graduate alumni. Everyone was supportive of working to that end. Graduate students have always fought to improve their status in the University. Some undergraduates want change to happen, but most don’t care. So, he asked, how much do graduate students care? Supporting this request would be a proof of sincere intentions. The amount is symbolic, but $100 would be too little. He noted that there is a surplus, and encourage the GSG to grant the request in full. Finally, Mr. Sun noted that there have been a mistake in the details he had originally provided. The funding request stated that the GC House Committee had granted $800. However, he could with the financial chair of CISO, and those $800 had been provided by the dean of the Graduate School.
Mr. Boavida moved to fund the request at an amount to be determined in a quasi-committee of the whole. This motion carried, and the quasicommittee’s report recommended that the event be funded at $200, and funds be disbursed only after the event.
The MOTION to fund the “International Festival” CARRIED without opposition.
Ms. Medema reported that Exec held several email ‘meetings’ since the last Assembly meeting.
Ms. Medema also reported that she was present at an APGA (Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni) board meeting. She thanked them for the funding for the Valentine’s Dance [Minutes 2.11.2004, II.C]. The APGA was very impressed by the Dance, and by how organized the GSG is. They discussed fund-raising initiatives.
She also reported that the next CPUC meeting (March 22, McCosh 10, 4:30pm) will feature a special town-hall meeting. President Tilghman will outline her priorities for the coming year, and answer questions from the audience.
Finally, Ms. Medema reported that Jessica Clark had resigned for a few hours from the elections committee, but then ask to be reinstated. The Executive Committee accepted both requests.
On the topic of alumni giving, Ms. Safran noted that the profile of graduate students in the University would be improved if annual giving by graduate alumni went up. She noted that more important that the total amount, is the participation. Mr. Pease noted that last year, graduate giving had been less then (current undergraduate students’) parent giving.
Ms. Medema thanked the outgoing Executive Committee for their help and guidance upon her taking on as chair by midterm.
Mr. Pease complimented Ms. Medema for her leadership, and for her effort in meeting individually with every new Assembly member.
Mr. Pease noted that the elections and nominations for the Council of the Princeton University Community (CPUC) would happen in the next Assembly meeting [By-Laws V.1.a].
Mr. Pease stated that the GSG appoints seven graduate students to the council itself, and nominates people for the committees. One student will be nominated for each of the following committees: Governance Committee, Judicial Committee, and Resources Committee. Two students will be nominated for the Priorities Committee (PriComm) and the Rights and Rules Committee. He noted that the time commitment for all but PriComm was typically a few hours per year. PriComm was very time consuming in the fall. Ms. Mac Namara noted how important our representatives in PriComm are, and complimented Mr. Pease and Ms. Medema for their successes. Which successes they took to report on.
Mr. Pease and Ms. Medema started their presentation on how PriComm works, and what was achieved this year. The process started one year ago, with the nomination of the representatives [Minutes 4.9.2003, VII]. As only the senior administrators can ask submit requests to PriComm, the Executive Committee started collecting ideas [Minutes 6.11.2003, VI.B], with a letter-campaign in mind. The list of ideas was presented to Assembly in July [Minutes 7.9.2003, IV.B], and Assembly approved the Executive Committee’s plan of sending letters on those issues to the appropriate administrators. Some requests made their way to PriComm, others were solved before. The presentation detailed all the requests, and the results. They concluded by noting that next month Assembly would nominate next year’s representatives to PriComm, and by encouraging Assembly to take on another letter-campaign. Mr. Pease noted that, in his two-year experience in PriComm, he had learned that (contrary to the impression that students have) faculty representatives in PriComm are very sympathetic toward graduate student concerns. He also noted that the provost plays an important role in the decision process. Aleksandar Donev suggested invited the newly appointed provost for an Assembly meeting early next year.
Donna Sy reported on a recent University decision to close the fireplaces at the Graduate College. The University had inspected several fireplaces (with appropriate video equipment), and none was up to code. The cost of repairs was estimated at $4,000 per fireplace, for a total of $400,000. So, it had been decided to close them with a metal plate. Ms. Sy had ascertained that about 8% of the rent collected was for maintenance, but the fireplaces had not been repaired for some time. She stated that a petition was being circulated among residents, and about 150 people had already signed. It was noted that this was not a new problem. Ms. Safran asked Ms. Sy’s opinion about how this problem would rank as a priority in the GC. Ms. Sy stated that the House Committee’s first concern was the lack of air conditioning. Different people ranked the fireplaces as their second or third concern.
Ms. Esparza reported on the Ivy Summit [Minutes 11.12.2003, IV.D]. At the end, she noted that all participants thought the Summit was a success and decided that it should be continued on a yearly basis. It’s planned that next year it will be held at Columbia University.
As to Ms. Esparza’s report that the GSG actually charges the lowest fees, some members of Assembly asked how that could be changed. Mr. Pease noted that that was the more closely protected clause in the Constitution. Changing that value would require a lengthy process, a student-wide referendum, and a massive approval rate [Constitution, X.3, XI.6]. Mr. Boavida noted that one much simpler alternative is to work with the development office to raise funds for the GSG endowment.
Ms. Esparza asked whether there was any new business.
Mr. Donev, the newly-elected social chair, encouraged members of Assembly to contact him with ideas for social events.
Mr. Boavida noted again that a new recording secretary is needed. He noted that in the past few years the GSG had learned a lot about the working of the University. He thought that, second only to the GC House Committee, the GSG might well be the institution within the University with the most extensive institutional memory and knowledge about how the University works. The PriComm results just report were evidence to that. He insisted on the importance of having a complete Executive Committee, and encouraged Assembly to go forward with the committee rearrangements [Minutes 2.11.2004, IV.C] that will involve more people in the decision process and distribute the workload more evenly.
There being no further business, Ms. Esparza adjourned the meeting at about 7:50pm. The next meeting will be on April 14, 2004, at 6pm, in Frist 309.