Meeting Minutes
The Council of Graduate Students General Delegate Meeting
Friday, June 1, 2001- 3:30 PM
150 Younkin Success Center
Attendance
Delegates Present:
Matthew Anderson, Akshay Arora, Judit Bach, Travis Beck, Diane Bonfiglio, Stefne Broz, Homero Cantu, Jason Cervenec, Pankaj Choudhary, Jill Coleman, Leigh Conrad, Len Cooper, Roger Dashner, Gregory Emch, John Harris, Phil Huckelberry, Pierre Jeanty, Elizabeth Kearns, Unmesh Kurup, Edward Lasseigne, Stacza Lipinski, Yuqun Luo, Katja Michalak, James Peters, Joe Pirone, Brian Ralston, Scott Risley, Christina Rivera, Marsha Robinson, Theodore Robles, Eve Scrogham, Anna Shadley, Reema Shafi, John Shea, Shannon Snyder, Charles Thorne, Michael Triplett, Tommy Troung, Lisa Wallace, Jeff Walline, Rachel Weidinger, Aaron Wichman, Jennifer William
Committee Reps, RGC Reps, and Senators Present:
Carmie Gade, Clara Cheng, Natacha Foo Kune, Kevin Weakley
Minutes
Ron Meyers, President, called the meeting to order at 3:45.
Introductions: Larry Lewellen, Executive Committee, Officers Elect, Debbie Cunningham.
Approval of Minutes
Delegate Ralston moved to approve. Delegate Huckelberry seconded.
Amendments: Kendra Bubulski was here. Kearns was here. Harris was here. Note resolutions that were tabled.
Passed unanimously by affirmation.
Guest Speaker: Dr. William 'Brit' Kirwan, President of the University
Kirwan: Thank you for giving me some time on your agenda. I want to congratulate the new officers of CGS. I look forward to working with them. I want to thank the outgoing officers for the remarkable work that they did. Specifically, about Ron Meyers, Ron and I have known each other for a long time. Ron, I want to thank you for an exemplary job for providing leadership on our campus. What has impressed me so much has been especially how he articulates the needs of graduate students, but also that his interest in the university has transcended graduate student issues. Ron has been a part of many solutions that have affected the community. Ron, I want to let you know that I have the highest respect for your accomplishments - thank you.
Meyers: Thank you.
Kirwan: One of the things that Ron and others have done so effectively is work on the GQUE, and among the issues addressed there have been health insurance. I think the way in which the case was made and the way it was handled was extremely effective. I want to tell you that the administration has bought in to the notion that we must do something in this area. We are facing short-term fiscal challenges, but we've made a commitment to start with $15/month and to get to $50 within 3 years. I wish we could do more, but please understand that this is a significant commitment.
We've also put in a provision that will increase the minimum stipend for TAs to $900/month.
This isn't as much as I'd like to do, but I hope you can appreciate what we've tried to do. I will be putting together a task force led by Ed Ray and Bill Shkurti to develop a compensation strategy so we can provide competitive compensation to our faculty and staff. I've asked them to develop a plan that will allow us to move over the next 3 or 4 years to a competitive compensation level, and grad students will be included in this analysis. Your voice is been heard.
Meyers: We need applause. (Applause.) I want to thank Mr. Lewellen profusely.
Kirwan: The other thing I want to mention is the Hayes Graduate Research Forum. I've been around higher education a good deal of years, but I haven't found anything as impressive as what I've found here. You've taken an idea and made it into a national model, and it was a real privilege to be part of that event in April. Ron, those are the remarks I want to make.
Meyers: Thank you so much. The success you spoke of was the result of a lot of team effort. I presume that the delegates have questions.
Pirone: I want to thank you for your help with our issues. Now I'd like to talk about tuition increases. One of the concerns of those who opposed the increases is that they do not believe that the political leverage it had to win increase funding from the state. Is there anything that prevents the university from being engaged in rallying the parents of students to lobby state lawmakers, and if not, why didn't we do it?
Kirwan: There's a lot of misinformation about the university does do to get increased funding for higher education. Can we do more? Yes. This particular year we were up against some particularly formidable obstacles: the economy, the DeRolph case, and Medicare demands. So the state, with its declining revenues, has to make do. Ohio has a very unusual way of funding education. At other states, each university is a line item and can make its own case. In Ohio, higher education is a single allocation. Any lobbying we do is directed to increase higher education, not just OSU. That said, I think the university has been extraordinarily active in trying to influence the legislature. I personally visited the editorial board of every newspaper and got a lot of positive response. We have an office for governmental relations whose staff's main function is to coordinate efforts in trying to influence the legislature. We have spent several hours down in the statehouse. We have a group of people called Alumni Advocates, who are available around the state to call the legislature on issues of importance to them - we drew upon them heavily. I wrote several letters to parents of Ohio State students, not just explaining the rationale for increasing tuition but also to speak up for higher state funding. Can we get parents more involved? Yes. We can probably get them a little better organized. But even if our state funding had been increased by sixteen percent, we still would have asked for the cap exemption. Ohio ranks 8th in the state for tuition. You cannot find another state where the major research institution has nearly the lowest tuition in the state. It just costs more to run a major research university. Our tuition is out of line with what it should be.
Huckelberry: A lot of undergrads here feel so disconnected with what's going on here at the university. Has there been a discussion about what OSU can do to foster more of a community atmosphere?
Kirwan: There are strategies afoot that can help with the situation. There's no one thing that any university can do.
Meyers: For the first time, ever, we achieved 50% voter turnout through Project Vote 2000.
Kirwan: Our original proposal in funds above the cap was to devote funds back to undergrads for their experience in and outside of the classroom. One thing I am especially committed to is the concept of living/learning centers - something we have been expanding. Students live together in a common experience and share many academic and extra-curricular experiences together. We now have ten or twelve living/learning centers on campus. My goal is that every student who comes to campus will have the opportunity to join one.
One of things we're trying to do with above-the-cap tuition is to enrich and expand advising. Some of the money will be invested in enriching advising early on, so that they will be connected to an advisor that they will stick with through all four years.
We have settled on Bill Hall to be our new Vice President for Student Affairs. He has an unusual commitment to students, and we think there will be some rich programming coming out of that office. We have a long way to go, but it's an issue we need to address. We have some worthwhile activities underway.
Meyers: USG presented a proposal to start positive engagement east of High Street, and in a way that goes to teach civic skills.
Kirwan: We just started the John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy, and the primary reason that John Glenn wanted to create this institute at OSU is that there's a certain apathy toward government and public policy among the college-aged community. He is hopeful that this institute will be a real catalyst in regenerating students' interest in becoming engaged in the processes of our government. One of the things that has been created is a very impressive internship in Washington, DC. That's another high-profile issue that gets at your issue.
Weidinger: The minimum stipend is increasing by how much?
Kirwan: $10/month, $900 minimum.
Kirwan: Thanks again. Hope you have a very good summer.
Meyers: Thank you so much. (Applause.)
Guest Speaker: Larry Lewellen, Assistant Vice President for Human Resources
Lewellen: You can expect my office to be accountable to implement these changes I've talked about. I'll be the one you can hold accountable.
Secondly, there's the larger GQUE agenda, but with that there are other things in it. There are things like making sure you have three health insurance plan choices instead of one, and I want to be clear that that agenda is still alive and moving forward.
Meyers: The collaboration has been quite good, and I want to note that. Lots of campuses have had turmoil and union movements and I want to point out the great cooperation that we've had at Ohio State. Right now it's a cooperative relationship and I'd like to jointly publish a pamphlet regarding employment. Your leadership has been wonderful.
Lewellen: Thank you.
Rivera: What happens to students who pay their health insurance in one lump sum?
Lewellen: If paying through the student fee system, you'd se a credit applied for the subsidy on your bill.
Beck: When you talk about an increase to $50 how will that happen?
Lewellen: There will be a subsidy $15/month the first year, $15/month more the second year (total of $30/month) and then $20/month more in the third year (total of $50/month).
Meyers: We'd like to see an 85% or 100% subsidy down the road, but this is a good step.
Lewellen: This doesn't have to be the end goal.
Meyers: Thank you so much Mr. Lewellen.
Thank you. I hope to return to a future meeting to talk with you again.
Officers' Reports
President - Ron Meyers
The big news you've heard is the stipend increase and the subsidized insurance. We've also increased the PDF fund by reallocating unused funds. Alecia Naugle has done a terrific job on this. Off-campus, we've been involved in developing pilot programs, developing better engagement programs, defining what it means to be a good community member, and so on. We're negotiating with enforcement officials about effective tactics. We're working with the Why Riots? Program and others like Party Smart. We're doing our officers' transition; if you're interested in being on the new executive committee, please contact Briggs.
Weidinger: Will the increase in the stipend and subsidy come form existing budgets or from the general fund?
Meyers: Yes -- both. Some departments will have to pay. For departments, some central funds will be used. The university's general fund will actually slightly increase.
Kearns: Is this going to be everybody getting increases?
Meyers: Everybody gets a $10 across the board increase.
Emch: Do these increases in subsidy for health insurance take into account increases in health insurance?
Meyers: Yes, we are seeking to have three levels of health insurance. And to have the subsidy match the cost of the lower cost plan.
Triplett: Do you know what happens if the latest K-12 plan is determined to be unconstitutional by the Ohio Supreme Court?
Meyers: If there are changes, the Board of Trustees may have to revise our budget, then it may be back out there. But I think they're committed to it.
Nuckols: Does the subsidy only cover TAs?
Meyers: No, all funded students
Vice President - Hyunsook Yoon
New delegate applications have started to come in. Remember that we are asking you to hold delegate elections this quarter. Please encourage your fellow students to join CGS.
Meyers: I'd like to commend Hyunsook for all of their work, and the rest of the Forum committee. (Applause.)
Secretary - Kevin Cope
Members were recognized for exceptional service.
Treasurer - J. Briggs Cormier
There was no Treasurer's Report.
Delegate Issues
Weidinger: I'd like CGS to start a fund that would help students attend conferences they're not presenting at.
Meyers: That's a good idea. We would need people to help start up such a fund.
Pirone: I 'd like to thank this year's executive committee. I appreciate your work. (Applause.)
New Business
Lowe: The Executive Committee, under Briggs' leadership, has expressed concern that our membership is too large and weights some programs disproportionately. Therefore we'd like to change the delegate size to a maximum of 145 delegates. Please see your packet. We want a delegate body that's full and capable of being active.
Questions:
Lasseigne: Will departments that have more than one program have 2 delegates?
Meyers: There will be a minimum of one delegate per program.
Daniels: The proposed amendment is not quite clear about what constitutes a program.
Lowe: We make some modification to the graduate school's list of programs: we do it a little differently than the graduate school.
Wichman: How much of a real problem is if departments don't fill their vacancies?
Lowe: It doesn't hurt the department; it hurts CGS.
Meyers: For each delegate seat, we do numerous efforts to recruit, so it would save a significant amount of time. The sheer number of seats (230) gets very difficult to track.
Wichman: I count four departments that have many reps. Is this going to be enough to fix the planning problems?
Hodak: The conversation the Executive Committee had was that we didn't want to limit it so much that it hampers departments' representation when there are willing delegates.
Conrad: How are elections held?
Lowe: They're held by dept.
Conrad: So five of our delegates will be cut?
Lowe: They are many other opportunities, so if they want to keep serving, we'll certainly be able to find something they'll be interested in. It's a combination of working administratively between meeting our goals and the Graduate School's.
Huckelberry: To delegate Wichman's question, I actually raised that question, but the only program that will have more than six delegates is Education: Teaching and Learning. To the general questions about cutting about the number of delegates, I think we'll be able to more effectively concentrate on the departments that aren't filled.
Meyers: No individual delegate will lose their seat, by the way; they'll be grandfathered in.
Robinson: Is there a second tier of participation?
Lowe: Anybody can join a CGS internal committee, as well as all the university committees, so there are many ways to participate.
Meyers: Were not going to vote on this today, but vote on it at the next meeting: July 13th.
Harris: Can we vote by proxy or email?
Meyers: No, but you can get send an alternate.
Huckeberry: We also discussed (at an Executive Committee meeting) whether this is the kind of thing that should be voted on during the summer.
Lasseigne: I would like more info about problems that a lack of filled seats causes for CGS.
Lowe: Only in education. It's the number of hours we throw at programs that are not participating.
Hodak: 230 members in a single governing body is a very large number, and it's difficult to have a working body with that number, as well as the fact that there a lot of committees that we need people working for. There are still plenty of other opportunities for grad students.
Cervenac: So we're not manipulating numbers based on full or part-time status?
Meyers: No
Harris: One of the things I'm hearing is the potential to have ten delegate-at-large positions.
Huckelberry: One of things we realized is that we can always make new changes each year.
Meyers: It would almost be a dream to have a competitive election for CGS Delegate.
Triplett: Are there any departments that award students for getting involved?
Meyers: No, not even for the Graduate Studies Chairs, although some departments try to recognize service in some ways.
Meyers: Let's move on to delegate Lasseigne's resolution.
Lasseigne: I'm going to make a short presentation about the resolution but I'm going to withdraw it. I would like a short discussion about it. In the future I will be presenting some resolutions on a related issue.
In certain parts of Africa, the AIDS rate is extremely high. A columnist could write a column about the inappropriateness of sex in Africa. Heterosexual relationships in this country are protected but not homosexual relationships, which makes the content of this column all the more damaging. This is the political context of my resolution. I certainly was not suggesting that we censor the Lantern in any way. There are situations in which we might pas a resolution condemning certain types of action by the media. There are precedents for governments monitoring the media, so the proposal is not that far-fetched.
Harris: When I read through this there was a lot of it that bothered me. I was uncomfortable with a government critiquing a newspaper. I'm learning constantly how to selectively pick my battles, and one column in one newspaper is not necessarily worth worrying about. I think that those afflicted with AIDS have a voice, and I'm just uncomfortable with the resolution. I would want to have much more larger discussions about it. I just don't think we're the appropriate body for this type of action.
Wichman: I wanted to second those comments.
Nuckols: The author mentions a point-by-point rebuttal, so it's too bad this hasn't been made into a column.
Weidinger: While I'm certainly concerned with actions of this body that might restrict the Lantern's freedom, I take this column as part of a right-wing movement to have columns written in student newspapers.
Pirone: I was glad that the delegate raised the comparison to the Horowitz ad, because I believe the difference between the way the Lantern handled the ad and the way it handled the column demonstrates the importance of Ed's resolution. I thought Ed's resolution was well-crafted. I think it does not challenge Mr. Bordner's right to write whatever he thinks, nor does it challenge the Lantern's right to print whatever it wishes. I think the appropriate response is that the community stands up and says that the content of the writing is not agreeable.
Huckelberry: I agree with Harris about choosing our battles. The way it was represented I think it's within the bounds of reality to criticize a newspaper.
Nuckols: I'm a little bothered by some of the language and it's dangerous to label anything that's not politically correct as hate filled. I think that's dangerous.
Lasseigne: Be on the lookout for my guest column.
Harris: Do we a have diversity committee?
Meyers: Yes.
Harris: Listening to the discourse, it's still scaring me: are we the campus policemen? That's scary to me. I'm afraid of a war of words between this organization and any other student organization. I don't think we should police the left or right.
Bach: I agree with everybody to some extent. You can criticize things that may not be factual.
Huckelberry: If we had the power to, I think everyone here would agree it would be wrong to censor the press.
Robinson: The response the Black Studies department made to the Horowitz ad was a well-researched piece. As a political body, we have to represent our constituents. As a person form Columbus who was raised in a tight Bible Belt community. I can help write up a rebuttal.
Huckelberry: I think it was a relevant topic even though it probably wouldn't have passed.
Budget Amendment
Yoon: We would like to amend the budget to allow for the publishing of proceedings from the Hayes Graduate Research Forum.
Moved by [Unknown]. Seconded by Cantu.
Beck: Where will the other money come from?
Meyers: It's already been budgeted.
Huckelberry: Who will the copies be distributed to?
Yoon: Department chairs.
Passed unanimously by affirmation.
Committee Reports
Scrogham: The orientation will be September 17 at University Hall. We will use it as an opportunity to recruit the incoming students. As the events get closer I will be emailing to get organization together.
Meyers: July 6th is the next deadline for PDF apps.
Gade: Thanks for those who came to the picnic.
Meyers: She deserves a round of applause. (Applause.) Anil Challa did a wonderful job with the International Students' Concerns Forum.
Announcements
Summer meetings will be held July 13th and August 10th.
Senate and RGC elections will be held at the next meeting.
Lowe: I want to present gifts to the outgoing officers: Yoon, Cope, and Meyers.
Meyers: It's been my pleasure.
Kerns motioned to adjourn. Huckelberry seconded. Passed unanimously by affirmation
Adjournment
Adjourned at 5:50pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kevin Cope and Mike Daniels
Outgoing and Incoming CGS Secretary
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