Minutes of the GSG Meeting, 13 March 2002

SUMMARY OF THE MINUTES

1. Amendments to previous minutes
2. Elections Committee report
   • Announcement and ratification of election results
3. New officer introductions
4. Officer reports
   
   • Treasurer report -- funding requests, the budget
   • Social chair report -- salsa party
5. Social Chair vacancy
6. Old business
   • Post-enrollment -- prioritised recommendations
   • Transportation and parking -- proposed shuttle service
   • Computing -- Dormnet
7. New business:
   • CPUC -- graduate student representatives
   • Funding request -- Programme for Applied and Computational Mathematics conference
8. Next meeting: 6pm, Wednesday 10 April 2002, Frist 309

MINUTES OF THE GSG MEETING, 13 MARCH 2002

Attendance

Representatives Present: AOS Anita Adhitya, CEE Sinéad MacNamara, CHE Eric Adelizzi, CLA Meredith Safran, ELE Scott Miller (proxy for Bill Jordan), ENG Kerry Bystrom, MAE Brendan McAndrew, MAT Adrian Banner, MOL Jessica Bessler, POL Jason Casellas, PSY Cara Talaska, SOC Donnell Butler,

Delegates Present: BGC Aderemi Artis, GCHC Lior Silberman

Others Present: Ori Heffetz ECO, Past Treasurer; Michi Taga MOL, Past Recording Secretary; Lauren Hale WWS, Past Chair, Press Secretary, and Social Chair; Steven Miller MAT, Past Treasurer; Weining Man PHY; Lisa Sherov, GC RLC

Representatives Absent: ANT Riaz Tejani, ACM Cynthia Rudin, COM Seth Abelson, COS Robert Osada, EAS Alexei Ditter, EEB Sarah Smith, ECO Tanjim Hossain, GER Alison Beringer, HIS Joseph November, HOS Ishita Pande, MUS Emily Snow, NES David Brenner, ORF Pavel Diko, PHY Tamar Friedmann, PPL Ethan Schartman, OPR Patrick Gerland, REL Heather White, WWS Caroline Nguyen,

Delegates Absent: Butler Huiyan Yang, Hibben-Magie Nate Gleason, Lawrence Eszter Hargittai, Millstone Matt Moore, Off-Campus Upma Sharma, ACSS Haizhou Yin

The following representative seats were vacant: ARC, ART, AST, CHM, FRE, GEO, PHI, SLA, SPA
The following delegate seats were vacant: Women's Center, CIGS

1. AMENDMENTS TO MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

   • Lior Silberman noted that the minutes did not record the discussion with Dean Wilson and President Tilghman. More details in the minutes were requested for the purposes of institutional memory. Approval of the minutes of the February meeting were postponed to a later date by Lauren Hale. A motion by Eric Adelizzi to allow an e-mail vote to approve the minutes between meetings, should the minutes be ready before the next meeting, was passed by unanimous consent.

2. ELECTIONS COMMITTEE REPORT

   • The Elections Committee was pleased to report that 463 votes, a higher number than in the previous year, were cast. Emails about the elections had been sent to 1800 graduate students. It was noted that post-enrolled graduate students were able to vote in this election.
   • The following election results were announced:

          2002 GSG Officer Election
     
          Election held: Friday, March 8, 2002, through Monday, March 11, 2002
          Election Committee: Matthew Hindman (Chair), Matthew Fouse, Lauren Hale
     
          Total number of votes: 463
     
          Chair
          Scott Miller               229
          Erica Carlisle             171
     
          Treasurer
          Donnell Butler             239
          Weining Man                194
     
          Recording Secretary
          Anita Adhitya              335
     
          Corresponding Secretary
          Eric Adelizzi              334
     
          Parliamentary Secretary
          Lior Silberman             319
     
          Press Secretary
          Meredith Safran            330
     
          Social Chair
          vacant
     

   • Ms. Hale reported that this year's election, held online, had violated the Constitution because the option of an 'approval' or 'disapproval' vote was not given for the uncontested seats, the only option being the former. However, as voters could have abstained it was considered that this would not have changed the election results.
   • It was reported by Ms. Hale that one person had requested a change in their vote after it was cast; this person suggested that they should be able to do so since it was an online election.
   • The results of the election were ratified by the Assembly with no opposition. Ms. Hale moved to thank the outgoing officers.
   • Mr. Adelizzi moved that the current elections committee be an elections advisory committee for the next election, thus passing on the experience of past election committee members to avoid problems, make improvements, and so on.

3. NEW OFFICERS

   The remainder of the meeting was chaired by the newly elected and ratified chair, Scott Miller, and began with the introduction of the new officers. Several officers raised issues that they hoped to see addressed...

   • Mr. Miller, Chair, stated that he wished to continue addressing the current issues of Post-enrollment and Parking & Transportation. He also expressed an interest in continuing to work with OIT in improving computing services and facilities.
   • Ms. Safran, Press Secretary, stated that she would like to see greater communication between the GSG and the graduate student body (GSB). In particular, Ms. Safran was interested in creating a circulation specifically for the GSB, whether paper, on-line or a combination of the two. Ms. Safran also raised the need to at least attempt to fill all vacant assembly seats.
   • Mr. Adelizzi, Corresponding Secretary, stated that he agreed with the goals stated by others but that, additionally, he would like to see the reinvigoration of departmental Graduate Student Committees. (Many departments do not have GSCs as required and many GSCs that do exist do not know their purpose or authority.)

4. OFFICER REPORTS

   4.1 Treasurer's Report - Donnell Butler

   • Funding requests

     • A request of $502.50 to pay Yaoping Ruan for his work on the post-enrollment survey had been received. This amount would cover 33.5 hours of labour, as submitted on a time sheet, at $15/hour. Upon the raising of the concern by Mr. Silberman regarding payment of international students, Mr. Butler stated that he would ascertain the appropriate payment method with Shelley Wester (the Graduate School). The funding request was approved by the Assembly with no opposition.

     • A funding request from Cynthia Rudin, submitted in writing prior to the meeting, was postponed to later in the meeting as Ms. Rudin was not yet present.

     • Funding was requested by Acción Puertorriqueña y Amigos to host a Salsa Party in April. Mr. Butler reported that the Patricia Fossas, the President of Acción Puertorriqueña y Amigos, had contacted him directly requesting that they present at the April meeting instead of the March meeting.

   • Ms. Safran queried the current state of the budget. Mr. Butler stated that the full account balance was $12 536.42 and the known unreconciled liabilities were $2775.00, leaving an unaudited cash balance of $9 761.42. However, Mr. Butler noted it was necessary for him to meet with outgoing Treasurer, Ori Heffetz, before he would have a reconciled financial position. On this note, it was observed by Adrian Banner that a number of groups request funding but never actually ask for the money.

   • The endowment was mentioned by Mr. Adelizzi. Mr. Butler stated that Shelley Wester did not know of the details of the endowment. Mr. Adelizzi volunteered the details and account number. Mr. Miller noted that the GSG received interest on the endowment. Mr. Butler suggested that this might be the $88.14 of unknown source in the records, following Mr. Adelizzi's information that the interest was of the order of $90.

   • Mr. Butler thanked Mr. Heffetz, recently arrived, for his work as treasurer. Ms. Tozan was thanked for her contribution to the budget surplus by means of seeking funding from other sources for social events.

   4.2 Social Chair's Report - Yesim Tozan

   • Salsa Party
     • The cost of the Salsa party would be of the order of $1200-$1800. It was uncertain as to whether or not there would be a charge from Building Services.

     • Attendance was approximately 200 people, with 50-60 people attending the lesson. Ms. Tozan suggested that the turnout was not so high, but that those who came enjoyed themselves. It was noted by Ms. Tozan that a number of graduate students who attended the event did not usually attend other parties, thus suggesting that this event had catered to a different group of students; this was viewed in a positive light. It was also noted that a D-bar party was being held at the same time, which may have affected attendance.

     • Mr. Adelizzi questioned whether the band had played for the full time they were hired for. Ms. Tozan reported that although the band had arrived late, they had indeed played for as long as they should have (1 hour).

     • Photos from the Salsa party will be posted on the website.

   • There will be no more GSG social events for this semester

5. SOCIAL CHAIR VACANCY
   • Ms. Hale reported that the Elections Committee had received one nomination for the Social Chair vacancy. The nomination was for Weining Man.

   • It was suggested by Ms. Man that one of the reasons for the increase in the number of votes this year may have been that more Asian students had participated in the elections because she was a candidate in the election. Ms. Man pointed out the graduate student body was a diverse group of people, but that there was a lack of involvement of some groups of people due to a cultural gap. Ms. Man stated that she hoped to help bridge the cultural gap and was grateful for the nomination and the support she had received. However, Ms. Man was concerned that her lack of background in Western culture and her time commitments to her academic work would interfere with her ability to perform the duties of Social Chair. Ms. Man expressed a preference for holding the Social Chair jointly with someone else, and was willing to accept a nomination for a co-Social Chair position.

   • Several comments were made in response to Ms. Man's statement, including a note by Mr. Banner that Ms. Man could stand down from the position should the time committment prove too great, a comment by Mr. Adelizzi that non-Western social events would be most welcome, a comment from Aderemi Artis regarding under-representation of certain groups, and an offer from Ms. Tozan to write a memo that would enable the extent of the job to be seen. Mr. Miller stated that the executive committee could appoint a position for a nominal duration to undertake specific duties; Mr. Silberman noted that a permanent Social Chair would be elected by the Assembly. Kerry Bystrom was unsure as to whether she would be here in the Fall, but expressed interest in taking on the Social Chair position if she was.

   • Mr. Adelizzi stated that according to the Constitution, Ms. Tozan would stay in office until replaced. Also, it was required that one person take on the position of Social Chair although, he added, the Chair could appoint another, non-Executive, officer to do some of the work. Ms. Tozan volunteered to remain in office for another month as she had issues that required further attention anyway.

6. OLD BUSINESS

   6.1 Post-enrollment

   • Regarding the post-enrollment issue, prioritised recommendations had been drawn up, as requested by President Tilghman following the presentation given by Matthew Hindman at the previous GSG meeting. The prioritised recommendations consisted of 10 primary goals, 10 broader goals, and a proposed timeline for implementation. The timeline covers all goals by 2004 except for housing. The Prioritised Recommendations report can be found on the GSG website at http://www.princeton.edu/~gsg/reports/GSGPostEnrollmentRecommendations2002.pdf

   • The primary goals, as stated in the report, are: creation of an advanced enrollment status, issuing or renewing university ID cards for Advanced Enrollment (AE) and Enrollment Terminated; Degree Candidacy Continues (ETDCC) students, release of time-to-degree data for all departments and PhD programmes, library access: implementation of current system and expansion to all AE and ETDCC students, inclusion of all active degree candidates in the campus computer system, an information packet detailing options for AE and ETDCC students, access to group therapy at the Counselling Centre, athletics access, and end of the termination form.

   • Mr. Adelizzi announced that Dr. Jed Marsh, formerly Associate Dean of the Graduate School at Northwestern University, had been employed by Princeton as an Associate Provost. It was noted by Mr. Adelizzi that one of Dr. Marsh' duties at Northwestern University was to monitor graduate student satisfaction.

   • Mr. Miller stated that he had been approached by post-enrolled students who had filled in the survey and wanted the results posted. Following a question from Ms. Safran regarding whether or not there was cross-tabulation across the four divisions (humanities, sciences, social sciences, and engineering) and the comment that a representative from different divisions might be desirable, it was revealed by Mr. Miller that this was the main reason for why the results had not yet been posted on the web. Ms. Hale stated that she had done the cross-tabulation and had the data files. She noted difficulties in categorising some departments, such as Psychology.

   6.2 Transportation and Parking

   • Meredith Safran presented the report of the Transportation and Parking Committee. The committee is currently involved in planning a proposed shuttle service that would serve both the University and the Princeton community.

     The are currently two competing routes: a) a loop around campus that includes Nassau Street or b) a cross pattern that runs from Lawrence/Graduate College up Nassau Street to Princeton Shopping Center, crossing with a route running from Hibben/Butler Apartments down Nassau Street to north of Route 206. The four major graduate student residences would be served by the current proposed shuttle, and Ms. Safran indicated that Pam Hersh, Director of Community Affairs, was supportive of this being the case. During peak hours, the proposed shuttle would run at 15 minute intervals.

   • Ms. Hale suggested that the Arts Council might be interested in the shuttle and that perhaps extra funding could be obtained from other such interest groups. Ms. Safran cautioned that the GSG was not in control, advising the GSG against contacting other groups. Also, due to the involvement of New Jersey Transit, federal funding and help with vehicles were a possibility.

   • Concerns were raised by Ms. Tozan regarding the time it would take the shuttle to travel the route. It was reassured by Mr. Adelizzi that no route taking more than 10-15 minutes would be implemented, and that New Jersey Transit would test the driving time. Also, this was a pilot programme.

   • Mr. Silberman raised the question of shuttle service further south on Alexander Road and was informed by Mr. Adelizzi that New Jersey Transit did not want the route to overlap existing New Jersey Transit routes.

   • Ms. Safran invited graduate students to make suggestions regarding the shuttle service and to inform her of places in the town that they would like transportation to. In particular, information about other university campuses with shuttle services was also requested. Email correspondence can be sent to Meredith Safran (msafran@) or Eric Adelizzi (adelizzi@). The next meeting of the committee is on April 11, 2002.

   6.3 Computing

   • Having heard that it was mentioned by Dean Wilson that Butler Apartments would not be renovated for a long time, Ms. Hale wondered why Butler could not be wired for Dormnet and stated it would be added to the Computing Committee report.

   • It was noted that OIT has exceeded the timeline for wiring those graduate housing areas for which this had been requested in the 2001 Graduate Student Life Initiative.

   • A brief discussion followed about the cost of Dormnet bundled into rent. This is the present situation at the Graduate College and will be so for Lawrence Apartments next year. Hibben/Magie will be wired this summer. It was noted by Mr. Adelizzi that the GSG had originally been supportive of the plan to mandate purchasing of Dormnet because the cost was to have been bundled into tuition, which most graduate students do not actually pay. At the last minute, the Priorities Committee decided to incorporate it into the rent instead. The graduate student representatives on the Priorities Committee had informed Mr. Adelizzi that they did not object because they expected it to be counted as part of the cost of living and thus stipends would be raised by this amount. However, as stipends this year were already to be above the cost of living, it was not deemed necessary to raise them further. Mr. Adelizzi referred to it as a "bait-and-switch."

   6.4 Other Old Business

   • Adrian Banner announced that he was standing down as departmental representative for Mathematics.

7. NEW BUSINESS

   7.1 CPUC

   • Mr. Silberman raised the subject of the CPUC elections. There are 7 graduate student representatives to the Council of the Princeton University Community (CPUC), of who 5 are elected by the Assembly. The other 2 graduate students are the GSG Chair and Parliamentary Secretary, who serve ex officio.

   • The CPUC has several sub-committees on which graduate student representatives also serve: The Executive Committee (2 representatives), the Priorities Committee (2), the Resources Committee (1), the Judicial Committee (1), the Governance Committee (1), and the Rights and Rules Committee (2). The Chair serves ex officio on the Executive Committee and the 7 CPUC representatives elect the other CPUC Executive Committee member from amongst their own number; this may not be the Parliamentary Secretary unless no one else wishes to serve. Mr. Miller noted that the representative to the Judicial Committee may not serve on the CPUC itself, so a minimum of 8 people are required to fill the posts. The Assembly nominates graduate students to all committees other than Executive.

   • Meetings of the CPUC are monthly, and there will be 6 meetings in the following year.

   • It was announced that CPUC elections will be held in the April meeting of the GSG.

   7.2 Funding request: PACM conference

   • The funding request from Cynthia Rudin to help with the Program for Applied and Computational Math (PACM) graduate student conference and dinner was (re-)raised by Mr. Butler. The conference was considered valuable because of the interdisciplinary nature of the PACM and the positive effect it would have on creating a more cohesive department. The conference would be partially funded by Dean Wilson's office ($800). The Treasurer's recommendation was that the conference organisers attempt to seek funding from other sources, and to approve payment of up to and including $250 should they still require funding. However, he stated that he did not think that $250 would be sufficient, and was concerned that, because it was the first time the conference was being run, the organisers requested was based on an estimate of the cost of providing food for the predicted number of conference attendees.

   • Ms. Man called for standardisation of funding, pointing out that the Chinese New Year party, which catered to many more people than this conference would received only $200 each year.

   • Mr. Butler explained that they were inclined to be more generous in funding new events, in order to help them get started; this was the first PACM conference, whereas the Chinese New Year celebrations were an established event. In this spirit, and noting that the conference organisers had underestimated the amount of money required, it was suggested that Mr. Butler offer them advice.

   • On Mr. Silberman's concern that PACM were not contributing to the cost of the event, it was stated that they did not have the funds to do so. Although the PACM graduate students also worked with other departments, it was not feasible to request funding from these departments as only 1-2 students were located in each.

   • Ms. Hale moved to approve Mr. Butler's recommendation to fund the PACM conference up to and including $250 and for Mr. Butler to offer to provide free advice. The motion was passed with no opposition.

8. NEXT MEETING
   • No other business forthcoming, Ms. Hale moved to adjourn the meeting and was seconded by Mr. Silberman. The meeting concluded at 7:28pm.
   • The next meeting of the GSG is scheduled for 6pm, Wednesday 10 April, 2002, in Frist 309.
   
   
   Respectfully submitted,

   Anita Adhitya
   Recording Secretary
   
   
   

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   Appendix 1

   Transportation and Parking Committee Report, March 13, 2002

   The Transportation and Parking Committee (i.e. Meredith Safran and Eric Adelizzi) has met twice with a community group interested in starting a local shuttle service.

   §         Princeton University Director of Community Affairs Pam Hersh believes that the best way to achieve a campus shuttle service for graduate students will be under the auspices of a non-profit umbrella town-gown partnership.

   §         Participating in these discussions are:

   ·        The GSG, in the form of the Committee

   ·        The University, in the form of:

   §         Pam Hersh, Director of Community Affairs

   §         Dean Montero from the Graduate School

   §         Chuck Nouvel from Public Safety

   ·        The Greater Mercer Co. Transportation Management Authority

   ·        The Borough of Princeton (Mayor Reed)

   ·        The Township of Princeton (Mayor Marchand)

   ·        New Jersey Transit (various)

   §         The idea is to form an association between the two Princetons and the University to provide a shuttle service for the entire community.

   ·        Both Princetons want transportation for non-disabled senior citizens.

   ·        Princeton Borough wants transportation down Nassau Street.

   ·        The University wants transportation for grad students to campus.

   ·        Future expansion: suburbs, private/public schools

   ·        Other institutions may be invited to participate: Westminster Choir College, the Institute for Advanced Study, the Seminary, etc.

   §         Guidance and perhaps seed money available from NJ Transit.

   §         First meeting discussed general needs.  The second meeting was a routing workshop in which the best ways to move people around were discussed.

   ·        Two competing ideas:

   §         A loop around campus hitting key areas on Nassau Street

   §         A cross pattern, running from Lawrence/GC up Nassau Street and then up to the Princeton Shopping Ctr, crossing with a route from Hibben/Butler down Nassau St and into the developments north of Rt. 206.

   ·        Service would be a 15-minute commuter-like service for grad students during the peak hours; route/frequency may change during midday to accommodate seniors.

   §         Next meeting: April, second routing workshop

   §         What we need from the Assembly: good town-gown shuttle partnership examples.

   Other news: Chuck Nouvel mentioned the plan to move staff to the lot by Jadwin, freeing up spaces elsewhere for grad students.  He seems to want to proceed on this.