Minutes from Wednesday, March 14, 2001 GSG Meeting The meeting was called to order at 6:01 by Chair Lauren Hale. Pizza was served, and introductions were made. The Assembly approved the minutes from the February meeting. APGA representative Dennis Matthies spoke about the APGA career brunches. At a recent career brunch, alumni from various departments assembled, and there was a record number of 46 students attending. The career brunch held on March 4 had a modest turnout with 20 students attending. Dr. Matthies asked department representatives for help in identifying graduate students who are close to graduating in order to find those students who would benefit most from the career brunches. Lauren stated that post-enrolled students are not on the University's email lists and therefore are not made aware of the career brunches. Dr. Matthies reminded the Assembly of an event in April about "What to do with your Ph.D.?". He also indicated that the APGA is interested in sponsoring the spring fling. Officer Reports A. Treasurer's Report Steven Miller gave the Assembly copies of the GSG budget to date from the past year. Steve suggested that the GSG appoint an auditor to review the budget. Rick and Yesim volunteered to be the auditors. The Assembly applauded Steve for his work as Treasurer. B. Social Chair Yesim Tozan discussed the wine tasting event planned for the end of March. She suggested charging $6 to $7 per person to cover the cost of water, bread, cheese, rented wine glasses, and a hired proctor. Yesim stated that she expected 100 people to attend, and proposed having a signup sheet with a waiting list of 25. The GSG has received two requests for cosponsorship. First, several organizations of international students are planning Party a la Mediterranea. Approximately 500 people are expected to attend, one third of whom are expected to be graduate students. Yesim recommended that the GSG designate $100 for this event. The Assembly voted and approved this cosponsorship. UFO expressed interest in including graduate students in its film series. UFO suggested showing a few films specifically for graduate students. The cost for these events would be $500 to $1000; UFO wants the GSG only to advertise for these events. Discussion followed. The advertising would most likely include a global email and approximately $30 for flyers. Lior suggested that grad students could be asked to vote on the movies. The APGA is interested in sponsoring an all-day event for grad students in May, possibly on May 16 or 17. The event would start at 4 p.m. and include an outdoor meal and music. The D-bar is also interested in collaborating with the APGA for this event. The Graduate College is a proposed location for this event. Karthick suggested the Frist lawn as an alternative site. The Assembly applauded Yesim for her work as Social Chair. C. Parliamentarian Jim Vere discussed the upcoming CPUC elections, which will take place in April. There are five grad student representatives on the CPUC who are elected by the GSG Assembly. The GSG Chair and Parliamentary Secretary are ex officio members of the CPUC. Elections must be publicized one month in advance, and candidates should declare their candidacy three days before the election. The election is done by single transferable vote. In addition to the general CPUC, the GSG will nominate graduate student representatives for the following CPUC subcommittees: Priorities, Governance, Judicial, Resources, and Rights and Rules. The CPUC elections are under Clause II of the Constitution. The Parliamentary secretary has discretion in running the elections. CPUC members have direct contact with University administrators and have been able to lobby for graduate student needs. A link to the CPUC charter is on the grad CPUC website, which can be accessed through the GSG web page, or directly at http://www.princeton.edu/~gradcpuc. Press Secretary Karthick Ramakrishnan encouraged everyone to consider running for a CPUC position. Dean Dunne, the Dean of Undergraduate Students, has requested that someone act as a GSG liaison to the USG for planning the Student Activities Fair. Dean Dunne is willing to support having graduate liaisons to undergraduate organizations. Incoming Press Secretary Lauren Hale is encouraged to maintain ties with the Daily Princetonian and to keep grad student events on the Active list (formerly the Aime Scott list). Lauren thanked Jim and Karthick for their work on GSG Exec, and applause was given. Eric Adelizzi stated a request for funding for additional bagel breakfasts during break. He estimated that 60 people would attend. The Graduate School has agreed to cover one third of the cost, and the Graduate College is also covering one third. Eric asked the GSG to cover the remaining third of the cost. Karthick proposed designating one of the bagel breakfasts as a GSG day. The Assembly voted and passed this proposal. Election Committee Report Election Committee member David Linsenmeier stated that the open elections were successful. The voter turnout was almost 20% of the eligible population (330 individuals). The election results are the following: Chair: Matthew Fouse - Approve, 246; Disapprove, 21; Abstain, 52 Parliamentary Secretary: Matthew Hindman, 139; Jim Vere, 133; Abstain, 55 Corresponding Secretary: Adrian Banner - Approve, 255; Disapprove, 22; Abstain, 50 Press Secretary: Lauren Hale, 211; Jonathan Eastvold, 68; Abstain, 50 Recording Secretary: Michi Taga - Approve, 249; Disapprove,19; Abstain, 58 Treasurer: Ori Heffetz - Approve, 238; Disapprove, 29; Abstain, 59 Social Chair: Yesim Tozan - Approve, 270; Disapprove, 20; Abstain, 38 Elections were also held for departmental representatives for the Politics, Psychology, and WWS departments. Lauren called for applause. Lauren passed the Chairship to newly elected Chair Matt Fouse. Matt stated that he looked forward to working with everyone, and that he was interested in appointing an assistant chair. He asked the Election Committee members for recommendations for further elections. David stated that he would prefer to report at a later time after he has had time to think about the elections. Amy Schuster thanked the Election Committee for their work in running the elections. Several members of the Assembly discussed their thoughts on the election. Concerns were raised about the large number of email messages exchanged about the elections, several of which were negative and personal in content. There was discussion over whether the Assembly had given the Election committee the authority to send global emails without a majority vote by GSG Exec. Rick asked the Assembly for thoughts on whether the GSG should continue to hold open elections in the future. Members of the Assembly responded that the open elections caused increased interest in the GSG among many graduate students. The Assembly agreed that an ad hoc committee should be formed to evaluate the elections and report to the GSG in one month. Business A. Summary of GSLI Report Lauren reported that the Graduate Student Life Initiative (GSLI) was completed and submitted. 200 people have downloaded it from the web. After the CPUC meeting, Provost Ostriker mentioned "chipping away at some of the post-enrollment points". The new President will receive a copy of the GSLI when he/she arrives. Matt F. asked for an update from the short-term housing committee, and Rick Ellis spoke on behalf of the committee. Rick reminded the Assembly that the short-term housing committee will hold a public meeting tomorrow to explain the current situation to graduate students. He stated that the committee was somewhat committed to raising the priority of grad students above that of faculty and staff. Amy stated that 160-200 students are estimated to be without housing. Cindy Tobery said that about 112 more beds will be added before the housing draw. Eric asked Lior for the GC House Committee's position on the plan to convert two-room singles into doubles. Lior replied that the House Committee disapproves of the plan but recognizes that there are students who need housing. Rick pointed out that the conversion would be optional. Discussion followed. David Linsenmeier and Mary Wheeler, graduate student representatives on the health care committee, asked the Assembly for input on dental and vision benefits to help the committee understand the preferences of graduate students. They conducted an informal survey of Assembly members and recorded their preferences. B. Communiversity Kerry Bystrom, a member of the Communiversity planning committee, reported that Communiversity will be held on Saturday, April 28. She suggested that grad students could participate by exhibiting artwork, performing, speaking, or setting up a booth to provide information about grad school. Karthick added that grad students will be represented in the parade, and suggested that the Graduate School could come up with a Centennial banner. Kerry asked individuals interested in planning Communiversity events to contact her by email (kbystrom@princeton.edu). Amy added that Take Back the Night will be on the same night as Communiversity and encouraged both men and women to participate. C. Departmental survey A departmental survey will be issued to graduate students in the future. In preparation, volunteers were asked to fill out a preliminary survey and give feedback on the questions. Kevin Osterloh suggested that separate committees be formed to address different issues related to post-enrollment. He stated that he still needs statistics from many departments to add to his data. D. Adopting a community service project Amy distributed pamphlets from the student volunteers council (SVC). More information can be found at http://www.princeton.edu/~svc/. At a later date, Amy will bring a proposal to the GSG for Adopt a Community Service Project. E. Vote NJ Conference Karthick reported that the Vote NJ conference will be held on March 30-31. The University will cover the small registration fee. F. IGAPS Conference Lauren reported that the Ivy Graduate and Professional Schools (IGAPS) conference will be held at Yale on March 30-31. Steve Miller was nominated as Princeton's representative. G. Clarification on Confidentiality Matt F. proposed that all email correspondence should be considered public domain, with the exception of communications with the administration. Lauren suggested that GSG members have permission to forward emails to others, but that GSG cannot be expected to keep all emails for the public. Eric pointed out the GSG Exec occasionally deals with financial and other confidential matters over email, and that GSG Exec may want to keep emails confidential. Matt stated that we should not have the expectation of privacy when using official GSG communications, indicating that it should be allowable, but not necessary, to publicize emails. Amy pointed out that if a woman contacts the GSG about having been raped, for example, she may expect confidentiality. Karthick stated that the GSG had once received email about HIV tests, and that correspondences of that nature should be kept confidential as a matter of courtesy. Lior added that any discussions on Active should be considered the same as the conversations that take place in GSG meetings, in which the public is welcome. Eric suggested that once a consensus is reached, the GSG should compose a statement on confidentiality which should be posted on the GSG web page under email policy. Amy stated that the statement should include specific language about how confidential matters would be handled. Nathan expressed concern about how GSG Exec would handle sensitive issues, and stated that there should be a reasonable expectation of courtesy surrounding these matters. Rick pointed out that Yahoo, Hotmail, and Princeton University state that email is not a confidential means of communication. Karthick issued a motion to put Amy in charge of a committee to draft a policy on confidentiality and to report back to the Assembly. Amy accepted, and the motion passed. H. Prince Ad A question was posed to the Assembly concerning whether the GSG should take out an ad in the Daily Princetonian showing names and photographs of the newly elected GSG officers. Karthick stated that last year the GSG paid for a full page advertisement showing the elected CPUC members, and suggested a half-page ad for the GSG officers. After some discussion, a motion was made to allocate $50 for the Prince advertisement. The Assembly voted and passed the motion. Lauren suggested that the new members of GSG Exec meet with Dean Montero soon. The Assembly was reminded that the short-term housing committee would be holding an open forum in the Frist multi-purpose room tomorrow. Matt made a motion to call for CPUC elections. The Assembly passed this motion. Eric stated that the long-term housing committee is interested in meeting with the GSG Assembly in April. Eric mentioned that GSG records need to be moved from the old GSU office in the Prince building to the new office or they will be discarded. The Assembly agreed to meet again in April. The meeting was adjourned at 8:03.