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Council of Graduate Students - Minutes - 30 November 2001

In attendance were:

Absences:

I. Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 3:36pm, J. Briggs Cormier, President, presiding.

II. Approval of the Minutes of the 26 October 2001 Meeting

Moved by Delegate Lewis; seconded by Delegate Frey.

Delegate Beck moved that the reference to his name in section XII be changed to Delegate Frey; with Delegate Frey's concurrence, the Secretary took this amendment as friendly.

Paliamentarian Hodak offered a clarification of her remark in Section XI, namely, that the funding for the SHLC came from set-aside funds rather than from the College of Law. This was also taken as a friendly amendment.

The minutes were then approved by a unanimous voice vote.

III. Elections

After brief statements, one Senator and one Representative to the Research and Graduate Council were elected: John Gatiss, Senator from the Biological Sciences; Katherine Peyton, Representative from the Administrative Sciences.

IV. Act 0102-AU-016: On the Creation of a Standing Policy for Advertisements

Authored by Parliamentarian Hodak and sponsored by the Executive Committee.

Parliamentarian Hodak introduced the act by noting that it was written in response to several inquiries that various CGS committees have received relating to advertising opportunities. CGS needs to have a consistent policy, and this is an attempt to develop one.

Delegate Beck asked why advertising was even necessary -- CGS's budget shows that we are not exactly starving for funding. He pointed out that internal CGS communications ought not to contain ads as a matter of principle. President Cormier responded by saying that this resolution was merely an attempt at presenting a cohesive policy on the issue. Cormier expects that CGS will exercise restraint if this is approved, perhaps even limiting the advertising to companies that have a direct relevance to graduate students.

The act passed by simple majority.

V. First Reading of Amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws

Governance Chair Allyson Lowe gave the first reading of the proposed amendments to the Constitution, Bylaws, and Standing Rules. She pointed out that these documents have essentially remained unchanged over the past decade, except for a few sporadic changes (e.g. apportionment, nature of the fiscal year, and so on). There had come to be general feeling among the Executive Committee that revisions were overdue and so a thorough process of revision, review, and modernization began, culminating in the current proposal.

The changes fall into four classes. Numerous corrections were made to the capitalization, punctuation, and grammar of the document. Several constitutional procedures were rewritten so as to present the procedure more clearly in terms of its composite steps. Clarifications were added to fill in areas originally left unspecified. Also, many changes were made simply in order to reflect the current world. For instance, what used to be called the "Council on Research and Graduate Studies" is now the "Research and Graduate Council". Similarly, the few mentions of dollar amounts have been adjusted for inflation. Finally, after consultation with the current and previous Council officers, several substantive changes were made. One example here is that CGS Committee Chairs would now be given votes on Council.

The existing procedure for amending the Constitution has several requirements. First, the signatures of ten delegates endorsing the revisions must be collected. These are on file in the CGS office. Second, the revisions must be presented at a regular CGS meeting; this is currently taking place. Third, the proposed changes must be distributed to all delegates in writing. This will happen between now and the next meeting. Finally, it will take a two-thirds vote of the delegates at the January meeting to enact the amendments.

For delegates' consideration, the following resources are available on the CGS web site:

President Cormier thanked Chair Lowe and her committee for their work, remarking on the immense effort it represented.

VI. Act 0102-AU-17: Resolution for Tolerance and Respect for Diversity

Moved by Delegate Foo Kune; seconded by Delegate Frey.

Delegate Foo Kune introduced the resolution by noting that as the result of a recent "Let's Talk" event run by the CGS Diversity Committee, several unofficial reports of harassment against those of perceived Arab descent were collected. The attempts that were made to report such harassment were reportedly not taken seriously by the relevant authorites (i.e. it was asserted that verbal harassment fell under the protection of free speech). It is becoming clear that various steps still need to be taken to ensure that the OSU community presents a welcoming atmosphere to all.

In particular, students need to know who to contact when they experience harassment or when they hear of others being harassed. In addition, the authorities who deal with these complaints need to be trained in what the relevant laws actually say about hate speech and the proper ways to deal with such complaints. This resolution calls upon the relevant offices and authorities to provide this information and training.

Delegate Knott asked about the specificity and purpose of the third paragraph. Diversity Chair Marsha Robinson explained this section, noting that while many ethnic groups on campus enjoy the benefits and resources provided by an associated student organization, no such group exists for Arab students. The resolution calls upon the relevant offices to investigate and facilitate the creation of such a group.

Senator Meyers mentioned that the Code of Student Conduct explicitly speaks against harassment, and so the prospect of university authorities casually dismissing harassment claims is quite serious. He proposed to amend the resolution to directly call for Judicial Affairs to work with the University Police on enforcing the Code. This amendment was taken as friendly. Meyers also suggested that the committee consider putting an ad in the Lantern to collect evidence of harassment.

Chair Lewis pointed out that his experience on the Student Judicial Panels proved the group quite effective in combating instances of harassment.

The motion passed unanimously with one abstention.

VII. Delegate Issues and Concerns

Vice President Scrogham reminded everyone to pass along the message included in the packet on holiday stress to their constituents.

Delegate Ames noted that their department has a faculty member who hasn't started a research project in over a year, and just called in at the beginning of the quarter and abandoned a class; many people had to pitch in and help with the class he'd have to do. Is there anything that can be done in such a situation?

President Cormier pointed out that normally, the department chair and the dean of the college are the first people to be contacted -- while not too much can be done with a tenured faculty member, department chairs and deans do have some tools at their disposal (determination of merit pay increases, for instance). Dean Siddens noted that the graduate school can be consulted when all else fails. President Cormier also added that letter writing is better than just emails or conversations in situations like these.

Chair Robinson noted that the History department is increasing maximum class sizes in order to make up for the budget cuts that have been required of all departments. She asked if CGS will be actively involved in lobbying the state government. Legislative Affairs Chair Hodak replied that yes, that issue forms a substantial part of their plan for the year.

Treasurer Lasseigne asked if delegate was aware of a potential "best practice" that their department had instituted to handle the budget difficulties. Do delegates even know what their departments are doing to handle the budget cuts? Chair Hodak replied that Political Science is cutting travel funds but not reducing the number of assistantships. Delegate Eaton replied that English is similarly cutting travel and copying allowances. President Cormier noted that he had heard reports of class sizes doubling in some areas. Delegates are requested to email lewis.317@osu.edu and cormier.5@osu.edu as they hear from their departments. As the deans must submit budget plans to the provost by January, delegates should be hearing about plans in the next few weeks.

Senator Meyers asked if the Graduate School has an official policy on class sizes. Dean Siddens replied that the varying nature of TA duties across the colleges would make such a global constraint impossible: such a policy would only be possible at the college level. The Graduate School does impose constraints on the hours per week that a TA may be required to work.

Delegate Burkhart pointed out that the Sociology department has instituted salary compression: the new MA cohort makes more money than existing PhD students. Senator Meyers observed that his program has made significant cuts in the number of assistantships as well as lowered the funding threshold; by doing so, they violated their pattern of administration.

Delegate Kearns asked if there were guidelines on when a graduate student should be told that they'll have funding for the next quarter. She remarked that there was one time when she didn't find she had a job until a week before the quarter started. Dean Siddens said that although standard contract language allows for termination in case of "fiscal problems", one should be told within a week of the passage of the budget authorizing the assistantship.

Chair Lewis pointed out that University President Kirwan's recent Dispatch editorial accurately condemned the state legislature's trend of using higher education as a "slush fund" for the budget. He urged delegates to contact their state representatives directly and write to them about the importance of higher education.

VIII. Presentation by Steve Kramer

Council then heard a presentation by Steve Kramer, Assistant Vice President for Residence Education.

His office has been working on a graduate/professional housing complex for about four years that open in Fall 2003. The center will be located at 10th and Neil. Currently the buildings are out for bid; construction should begin in February. The complex has been designed to blend in with local architecture and will feature ten thousand square feet of retail space. There are also plans to build several houses on the north side of 10th, facing and complementing the complex.

The units designated for graduate students will consist mostly of 170 single units (with own bathroom and kitchen). There will also be some units with 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, and living room. Three other types of units in the complex will be targeted at honors and scholars-level undergraduates. These students will likely have an interest in becoming graduate or professional students, and should therefore benefit from such a living arrangement.

The complex was designed to take into account input from current Jones Tower residents, and pricing levels have been based on the average gradaute stipend. A future graduate housing project might be located along the Olentangy River; the idea is to generally disperse graduate housing (since not everyone's program is located in North Campus).

The intent is to offer parking only for handicapped students. They are working with the traffic and parking office to arrange something for students who have driven to Ohio. The complex will not be advertised as car-friendly (what parking will be available will be CP class). The rent couldn't include parking, as that would unfairly penalize non-car owners. Some of the issues still undecided: should Jones residents have priority? (i.e. as a reward for their loyalty) What should be put in the retail space?

How will rent be done? Will you have to sign a year-long lease? The lease is month-to-month, so rent will be paid on a monthly basis, just like Jones and Buckeye Village. This way, you don't have to predict your graduation quarter in advance.

Prof students want to move in during August. Will this happen? There's no way to easily guarantee this -- we'd have to leave units open the entire year. But if something's open in August, we'd certainly rent it.

How about short-term (i.e. 3-month) leases? Only when space permits. But probably easier to get during summer.

For the retail space, something that's open after 10 would be nice. True. The complex will also include conference room/study room space for residents.

A bagel/coffee shop would be nice (to replace Arabica).

A small grocery store would be nice. The trouble is that CVS is nearby. We'd have to supplement them, not compete with them.

We've heard from international students that you really can't get good groceries without a car.

You're talking about eliminating the parking lot on 10th avenue? Yes, to hide the garage that's there. The hope is that increased housing close to campus will decrease the parking demand.

How about secure, indoor bicycle storage? (as mentioned when you spoke to us last summer) No, we won't have that. The plan is to have security cameras and covered storage in the courtyard.

Will retail space fall under standard University merchandizing policies? Yes, so no Pepsi products.

What will the total occupancy be? 500 residents.

Any plans to upgrade Jones? Not right now. The pricing differences between the two buildings will compensate for the difference in facilities.

Will there be family housing in the complex? No.

What will the rent be? $500/month (in 2001 dollars), including utilities, networking, and cable.

Have there been any other thoughts on priority (for instance, based on years of residency in program)? No. We have thought about a one-year residency limit (i.e. the complex would be a place especially for people who can't search for housing before arriving, like many international students). Some people have been in Jones for 12-13 years! That's how undergrads are housed - freshmen have priority. But no definite decisions have been made yet.

That's nice - we hear a lot from new international students about their housing problems. What about future plans for housing near the law school? We've been working with Campus Partners on housing stuff (as a residential component to the Gateway Project). The big problem is land acquisition -- we only just now acquired the two houses that had been the last stumbling block for the 10th and Neil project. The Law School certainly wants law housing, like upper-tier law schools do elsewhere. There are no concrete plans at this stage.

Will building have staffpeople (i.e. programmers?)? We plan to mimic the Jones structure, with both professional and grad assistants.

Note that the first-year-only idea would completely change the nature of the community. True. We certainly acknowledge the role that the long-time residents in Jones play -- they help 'glue' the complex together. We don't have any firm plans in place right now to limit residency -- long-term people are a landlord's dream, after all.

IX. Presentation by Chantae Recasner

Council was introduced to Chantae Recasner, the Jones Tower president. CGS has a general tradition of close ties with JTC and invites the JTC president to address the council on a quarterly basis.

Recasner reminded delegates that Jones events are open to all graduate students, not just to residents. She also reported that JTC is attempting to regain access to the Jones Tower roof for special events.

X. Committee Reports

Communications Chair Stefne Broz reminded delegates of their role in distributing the Evoice and thanked them for their help so far.

PDF Chair Jeff Walline mentioned that several slots were open on the PDF committee.

XI. Officer Reports

Treasurer Ed Lasseigne reported that the amount of Red Cross donation is $550, including proceeds from ribbon sales. The budget has been updated to reflect last month's budget amendments. CGS has also received our annual share of the Coca Cola Endowment interest.

Secretary Mike Daniels asked for feedback on the new packet format and reminded delegates of the attendance policy.

Vice President Eve Scrogham mentioned that only about 12 or 14 external committee openings remain, including Campus Partners' Student Advisory Council, the Campus Collaborative, the Buckeye's Watch Coordinating Committee, the University District Committee, Research Computing Advisory Council, Student Evaluation of Instruction Oversight Committee, the Traffic and Parking Appeals Board (students only hear Faculty/Staff appeals). Delegate Kearns asked if these positions are listed on the CGS web page. Scrogham replied that they were.

Planning for the 2002 Hayes Research Forum will start soon. The number of people interested in serving on the Forum committee means that she will probably divide them into two subcommittees. The Research Forum application and judge nomination forms are available from the CGS web page.

President J. Briggs Cormier reported that Winter quarter meetings will be held in 1015 MacPherson Chemical Laboratory. The Spring meeting location is to be announced, based on our experiences with 1015 MacPherson.

The GQUE implementation committee has been meeting, and four subcommittees exist. Delegates wanting to serve on these subcommittees are welcome. 1) Student Finances; 2) Quality of Life and Campus Climate; 3) Academic Organization; and 4) Data Management. Work continues on distributing the full GQUE report.

FTAD has announced that their conference on teaching methods (originally scheduled for september 11) has been rescheduled to Friday, January 4, 10-4. All are welcome; contact cormier.5@osu.edu or FTAD@osu.edu for more info.

Nominations for the Outstanding Graduate TA Award have a February 1 deadline.

The student trustee application is on the CGS webpage now. Delegates should talk to their constituents about applying or consider applying yourself. Talk to Briggs about the selection process; to Allyson Lowe or Kevin Filiatraut (past and current grad/prof trustees) for current info.

CGS will hold an Open House next Tuesday from 10-5; all are welcome.

XII. Announcements

Vice President Scrogham: Makio will be at the January meeting to get a CGS picture.

Parliamentarian Hodak: BalletMet is opening the Nutcracker, $10 tickets.

Senator Meyers: Buckeye's Watch is trying to deal with crime problems on 8th and 13th avenues. A block watch has been created on 8th Avenue; crime seems to be moving to 9th and Highland, where future Buckeye's Watch efforts will be concentrated.

Delegate Foo Kune: there will be an affirmative action rally on Dec 6 in Cincinnati before the Appeals Court. (The court's decision will bind Ohio.)

XIII. Adjournment

Moved by Delegate Kearns; seconded by Delegate Lewis. The meeting was adjourned at 5:23pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Mike Daniels
CGS Secretary
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