GSG Minutes February 20, 2002 Frist Campus Center I. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by chair Matt Fouse at 6:00. II. Approval of Minutes The Assembly voted to approve the minutes from the January meeting. III. Officer Reports A. Social chair Yesim Tozan reported that the GSG's contribution to this year's Valentine's day party will be $1161.91. The cost was slightly higher than the original estimate because of the costs of publicity and wall coverings for the Dbar. The salsa party is being planned for Friday, March 8, at the Third World Center Liberation Hall at 10:00. The party will include a live band and a DJ. The groups cosponsoring this party include the APGA ($1000), the Graduate School ($2000), the International Center ($500), and the Vice President for Campus Life ($1500). The GSG will cover the remaining costs, which will be at most $1650. The GSG had previously approved a $1200 cosponsorship. IV. Special guests: President Tilghman, Dean Wilson GSG Exec recently completed a large-scale survey of post-enrolled students. GSG Exec recently obtained an email list ("allgs") from OIT that includes both enrolled and post-enrolled graduate students. The "allgs" list was first discovered by GSG Exec when the Ombuds office sent an email to the "allgs" list. The GSG had tried to obtain such list from the Graduate School in the past and was told that the list did not exist because records of post-enrolled graduate students were not kept. With assistance from OIT, GSG Exec created a list of post-enrolled graduate students by subtracting the names of enrolled graduate students from the "allgs" list. GSG Exec then constructed an online survey about post-enrollment issues and sent it to the new list of post-enrolled graduate students. Matt Hindman presented a report summarizing data from the post-enrollment survey. 492 responses were received, of whom 348 were currently or formerly post-enrolled. The majority of post-enrolled respondents were currently post-enrolled students. Nearly half of the respondents were Humanities students. One third had difficulty finding housing during post-enrollment. About half reported stress, and over one fourth reported depression during post-enrollment. About half felt that the portrayal of time-to-degree in their program was honestly conveyed. Fifty-four percent reported thinking less highly of Princeton since becoming post-enrolled. Matt emphasized that the respondents largely focused on feelings of exclusion from the University community rather than a desire to obtain more money from the University. Based on the data from the survey, some solutions were proposed, including the creation of an "Advanced Student" status; inclusion of Advanced Students in email lists and access to athletic facilities; and the creation of an official University packet that explains the options of Advanced Students. These solutions would cost the University very little money, but would make a significant difference in the quality of life of post-enrolled graduate students. The Assembly discussed various points with President Tilghman and Dean Wilson. Specific concerns were raised about the extra pressures that international students face regarding visa status and availability of fellowships. Dean Wilson expressed concern about the legal implications of maintaining student status for students who are no longer paying tuition. Many individuals suggested that there are ways to avoid that legal problem. Members of the Assembly stated that the University's policy of supporting gradate students primarily in their earlier years of study is not effective during the period when students are finishing their dissertations and preparing for jobs with little support from Princeton. Many stated that the enrollment period for most departments is often several years lower than the expected time-to-degree, making post-enrollment a systematic component of the graduate experience rather than a rare occurrence. Members of the Assembly also complained that the University administration has not been forthcoming regarding post-enrollment data, often denying the existence of such data. President Tilghman asked how much comparative analysis was done in studying the post-enrollment problem at Princeton. She stated that Princeton's system should be compared with peer institutions in order to find a model that works better than the current system. She also indicated that it is important to understand whether post-enrollment is a problem only in the humanities or for all graduate students. She emphasized the importance of making post-enrollment data available, citing her experience as a chair of an NIH study of graduate biology education in which participants agreed that departments should be required to publicly post their time-to-degree and employment of graduates. President Tilghman stated that some of the proposed changes should be made this semester, and the more complicated problems should be addressed as soon as possible. She emphasized the need to collect more data about peer institutions in order to make informed decisions about how to proceed. She asked that a committee be formed to create a prioritized list of solutions and present the list to her soon. On behalf of the Parking and Transportation committee, Meredith Safran presented a proposal for the implementation of a daytime shuttle that would transport graduate students living in Lawrence, Butler, Hibben-Magie, and the Graduate College to and from campus. The committee proposed that the shuttle service could be run by the Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association. The Assembly discussed the proposal with President Tilghman. The general consensus was that in order to be effective, the shuttle must consistently adhere to a set schedule and therefore be trustworthy enough for students to rely on. President Tilghman suggested that the plans for a new shuttle service should use an existing effective shuttle system as a model. Members of the Assembly mentioned two known shuttle systems at other institutions that were effective because the shuttles were regular and reliable, probably because the drivers were paid well. Dr. Thema Bryant, the new coordinator of SHARE, was scheduled to speak to the Assembly but was unable to stay due to another prior commitment and the lengthy first portion of the meeting. Dr. Bryant left pamphlets from the SHARE office that were distributed to the Assembly. V. Officer Reports (continued) B. Treasurer Four funding requests were made. The first request was made by a sophomore undergraduate, Hannah Havilan, for a forum on sexual harassment in academia that will be held on April 24 in the Frist multipurpose room. The budget includes the cost of desserts, advertisement, and showing a film. The Assembly voted and approved a $100 cosponsorship. The second funding request was for $500 to cosponsor a Month Celebration of Turkish Culture and Identity that will be organized by the Turkish Students Association. After questioning specific items in the proposed budget for the events, the Assembly voted to allow the Exec members to first obtain further information and then decide at a later time whether to allocate up to $200 for the event. Huiyan requested $200 for the Butler Earth Day celebration. The event will include a barbecue and ground cleanup project. The Assembly approved the request for $200. Susan Schweinsberg requested $300 for an event organized by SPEAC that includes a lecture and a spoken word performance by Walidah Imarisha, a young activist. After much discussion, the Assembly decided that the GSG should not sponsor political events such as the lecture. The Assembly voted to cosponsor the spoken word performance, but not the lecture, for $200. VI. Business A. Elections The nominees for this year's GSG officer election were announced. The Assembly voted to approve five amendments to the bylaws of the constitution that deal with officer elections. The election will be held in March. B. Open Forum Minutes from last month's open forum with Dean Wilson will be posted on the GSG and GC House Committee websites. C. Focus Groups Matt Fouse reported that he had been contacted by an international consulting group interested in holding undergraduate focus groups in Princeton on educational quality. He asked if anyone was interested in organizing three such groups for financial compensation. D. GSLI Committee reports The Housing committee and the Health Care committee each submitted a statement outlining their progress and current goals. The reports will be available on the GSG website. The Campus Relations committee will find a date to organize a social with members of the USG. VII. New Business Eric Adelizzi relayed a complaint from a constituent that tickets to University athletic events are free for undergraduates but not for graduate students. Members of the Assembly stated that graduate students may buy season passes. More information may be available from the Athletics department.