COUNCIL OF GRADUATE STUDENTS
THIRD SPRING QUARTER MEETING
May 19, 2000 3:30 pm
Kottman Hall Lawn
No quorum.
I. OFFICER REPORTS
A. President - President Meyers described his activities with the CWA strike, including documenting instances of student teachers being forced to return their classes to campus buildings when the teachers and/or students voted to hold them outside. The G-QUE report will be ready soon; data suggests that there is strong support and need to raise the minimum stipend to $1000. Prospects for a health insurance subsidy for graduate students is also looking promising, as is prescription insurance and multiple options for health coverage.
B. Vice President - Vice President Pommiss reports that there is a need to fill the Orientation Committee, which organizes the Graduate Student Orientation on September 18, 2000. Other committee positions are still available. Please contact the VP if you need a committee appointment.
C. Secretary - no report today.
D. Treasurer - Treasurer Cormier reports that CGS continues to spend money as expected. Roll-over funds (those funds from this year's budget that remain unused by the end of the year) may be used to fund PDF or other committees next year.
II. COMMITTEE REPORTS
A. The CWA strike ended today.
B. Compensation and Benefits - new chair Phil Huckelberry. Next meeting of this committee will be Tuesday, May 23 at 4 pm. The petitions the committee had been distributing in support of health insurance subsidy for graduate students have been doing well; 225 have been collected thus far. The petitions need to be in by May 31st so that they may be counted and presented at the June 2nd Board of Trustees meeting. Depending on the response from the Board, the committee will re-focus its efforts beginning Autumn Quarter. It is suggested that delegates have a faculty member bring up a resolution of support for graduate student insurance subsidy at a faculty meeting, or else have faculty write strongly-worded letters of support. Treasurer Cormier asks what would happen in departments that are more financially strapped: wouldn't they have to cut other programs in order to fund graduate student insurance? President Meyers responds that we are and need to continue monitoring budgets. He also suggests working with Larry Lewellen from Human Resources about stipend levels, grievance procedures, and other pertinent issues.
III. NEW BUSINESS
A. A resolution was presented by Phil Huckelberry about collecting donations for union strikers. However, now that the strike has ended, it is feared that support may be less than forthcoming. President Meyers suggests limiting the time span of the donation drive to two weeks beginning Monday, May 22nd and ending on June 5th. An advertisement in The Lantern would be helpful, and delegates can also contact people directly regarding donations. Donations can also be collected in the CGS office for the moment; once we consult with other student organizations on this issue, we can decide on a central drop-off point for donations. A straw poll suggests that delegates would prefer NOT to solicit individual donations to the worker's fund.
B. The proposed Technology Fee was defeated at the Board of Regents. The issue will be dropped for the forseeable future.
IV. ANNOUNCEMENTS
Next meeting: Friday, July 7, 2000, location TBA.
Submitted by Christine Parker, Secretary, CGS
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