Third Autumn Quarter Meeting
December 4, 1998
University Hall, Room 014
Present: Officers: Kathleen Carberry (presiding), Manisha Vijayaraghavan, Elizabeth Loentz. Voting Delegates: Paul Brenner (for Neeraj Thirumalai), Homero Cantu, Anin Challa, Christine Chen, Candace Cherrington, Shann D. Coleman, Sabiha Daudi, Janet Dean, Heather Edgar, Courtney Hopper, Raymond Hsaio, Siri Ibarguen, Orie Kristel, Susan Kulewicz, Ryan Landi, Stephanie Libbon, Karin Maresh, Jeffrey Mielke, Firooza Pavri, Lisa Perry, Laurie Reidmiller, Brian K. Rivera, Christine Wheatley. Non-Voting Delegates, Committee Representatives, Senators, CRGS Representatives and Guests: Kristin Best, Corey Ditslear, Michelle Field, Mark Garrett, David Inoue, Karry Kazial, Dustin Key, Scott King, Neesham Kranz, Cheng-Ta Li, Robin Vann Lynch, Nick Maul, John Shea, Hilary Walton, ** Wang, Keith Williams. Dean James M. Siddens, CGS Advisor.
The meeting was called to order at 3:32 p.m. December 4, 1998, with President Carberry presiding.
I. Approval of Minutes
Motion to approve the minutes of the meetings of October 2 and October 30, 1998 (Motion 98-4-46) made by Delegate Hopper, seconded by Delegate Rivera. The motion was passed by unanimous vote.
II. Officer Reports
A. President
President Carberry reiterated several items from her written report. She further notified Council that the CGS budget had been restored to last year's level plus several hundred dollars. She added that graduate student issues have been a focus of national news media recently. NPR aired a program on Ph.D.s, on which J.B. Lawton was among the callers. President Carberry was interviewed by USA Today for an article on graduate education written in response to the suicide of a Harvard graduate student.
B. Vice-President
Vice President Vijayaraghavan summarized her written report and reminded Council that the deadline for submission of abstracts for the Graduate Research Forum is on January 29, 1999.
C. Treasurer
Treasurer Paul presented an updated budget.
III. Committee Reports
A. Community Service and Service Learning Committee
Delegate Cherrington announced that the flu shot clinic served 71 persons.
B. Ad Hoc Professional Development Fund Committee
The draft for the CGS Professional Development Fund was distributed to Council. Delegate Daudi noted that she had received positive feedback on the draft from the School of Natural Resources, and suggested that the draft be distributed further.
Corey Ditslear is currently drafting an application and proposal.
President Carberry added that Dean Huntington may have some thoughts on the PDF based on the G-QUE report. She also clarified that "representation" does not entail that the individual applying for funds must be a delegate, but rather that the student's program must be "in good standing" with CGS. She added further that some individuals and groups are opposed to eligibility being tied in any way to representation on CGS.
Delegate Ibarguen asked whether need (i.e. whether a student's program offers funding) would be a consideration. Delegate Maresh queried whether the review process has been determined. President Carberry answered that both of the above were not yet determined, but that we may test-run the PDF this year. She added that we may also suggest that CGS run a PDF program under the auspices of the Graduate School.
Delegate Ibarguen asked whether the funds were restricted to students presenting at conferences or if students could receive funds to attend conferences at which they are not presenting. Corey Ditslear answered that we plan presently to award funds only to students presenting their research.
Delegate Kristel inquired how soon funds will be available. President Carberry answered that we currently have $4000 and that we may be ready to award funds by the end of Winter Quarter.
Mark Garrett asked whether the question of requiring representation on CGS for eligibility has been resolved. Corey Ditslear answered that it had not, and President Carberry added that the committee for the G-QUE report is not in favor of funds being tied to CGS representation.
Delegate Libbon asked whether the whole Council or only the Executive Committee would vote on the final proposal. President Carberry replied that a vote was not necessary but that we may have a full Council vote, as we are concerned about acting in the best interest of all graduate students. She added that there are a range of possibilities for defining "representation" in CGS.
Scott King cautioned that requiring representation may be unfair for large programs, and added that students out of the CGS "loop" would be disadvantaged.
IV. New Business
A. Elections for 1998-99 CRGS Positions
Keith Williams of Labor and Human Resources introduced himself to Council and was elected as the CRGS representative for the Administrative Sciences.
B. Caucus System
President Carberry informed Council that we would like to re-visit the possibility of a caucus system, which we tried to implement last year. Delegate Daudi asked for clarification. President Carberry explained that delegates from each of the 10 academic areas would meet in smaller groups to identify issues of concern to students in their areas.
Delegate Rivera noted that we are presently working on recruiting, as we need better representation for the caucus system to be successful.
President Carberry added that the governance section of the G-QUE report states the need for student organizations within colleges and programs.
C. Bills and Resolutions
1. Procedures for the Consideration of CGS Bills and Resolutions
Parliamentarian Brian Rivera offered to answer any questions concerning the Procedures for the Consideration of CGS Bills and Resolutions. President Carberry added that anyone may propose a bill or resolution.
2. Resolution in Support of the Library Task Force Report Recommendations
Janet Dean, the CGS Representative to the Library Council summarized the Library Task Force recommendations, adding that she hopes the university will consider the recommendations more seriously with student support. The final paragraph of the resolution was amended to read "Be it finally resolved..." Motion to approve the Resolution in Support of Library Task Force Recommendations (Motion 98-4-47) made by Delegate Rivera, seconded by Delegate Daudi. Resolution approved by unanimous vote.
3. Resolution Concerning Football Ticket Allocations
Neesham Kranz, the CGS Representative to the Athletic Council, summarized the history of the controversy surrounding football ticket allocations. She explained that the Athletic Council believed that because other campus groups (such as faculty) have ticket limits, student tickets should also be limited. She added that it was unlikely that our need would exceed the 25,000 limit, but that the three student governments agreed that as a matter of principle there should be no limit. Three minor amendments to the resolution were suggested: 1) in the fifth paragraph "and" was added; 2) in the seventh paragraph "resident" was changed to "residents;" 3) in the ninth paragraph the comma was removed from "ticket, and." Motion to approve the Resolution Concerning Football Ticket Allocations (Motion 98-4-48) made by Delegate Perry, seconded by Delegate Cantu. Resolution approved by unanimous vote.
VI. Delegate Issues and Concerns
Delegate Cantu stated that he understood that $250 were available from the university for the operating expenses of student organizations, but that a student organization in his area had been denied funding. President Carberry suggested that he consult Student Activities and the CSA Allocations Committee to establish why funding was denied. Vice-President Vijayaraghavan added that student groups must have a faculty advisor and that there are strict deadlines for funding applications.
Delegate Rivera expressed concern over a new parking policy effective in January, which would allow anyone (no permit necessary) to park in North Campus lots from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. He added that this would create problems for Jones Tower residents. Neesham Kranz observed that the Agriculture Campus had suffered similar problems because of the Schottenstein Center, and that Transportation and Parking had been very receptive to their complaints.
President Carberry noted that there is discussion of a new graduate/professional student housing complex (400-600 units) on South Campus.
Delegate Cantu asked if there was an updated list of delegate addresses available, and stated that he had not received the last CGS mailing. President Carberry explained that we are still working on our database and adapting to our new procedures and computers.
VII. Guest Speaker: Nick Maul, Office of Human Resources, "OSU Retirement Plan and Graduate Associates"
Mr. Maul informed Council that graduate associates are entitled to participate in the university retirement plan. In order to receive the university contribution (which is 1½ times the student's contribution) graduate associates must "opt in" to the retirement system. Students must remain in the state system for at least five years to receive the university contribution. It is possible to get into or out of the system after initially opting in or out. However, students opting in at a later date must buy back previous years, paying both their own and the university contributions. He added that a new alternative retirement plan is being implemented, but that this plan does not include students. He added further that students enrolled in the retirement plan may not contribute to an IRA.
Mr. Maul indicated that Human Resources is investigating the option of the pre-tax deduction of student health insurance payments. He noted, however, that students would have to enroll in the health insurance plan for the entire year rather than quarterly to benefit from the pre-tax deduction.
Several graduate students (including Hilary Walton, Karry Kazial, and John Shea) expressed concern that not all students were informed of their right to participate in the retirement system or were falsely informed that there was no retirement plan available to graduate students. They noted that this is a major problem, as many Ph.D. candidates would not be gainfully employed until their 30s. Some students were concerned that some departments might deliberately misinform students because of the perception that matching funds would come from departmental budgets.
Mr. Maul stated that while graduate associates are presently by default out of the system unless they opt in, in previous years graduate associates were by default in the system unless they expressly opted out. Therefore, students who have been at OSU for several years may still be able to make back payments and receive the university contribution. He invited students with concerns to contact him or Donna Fudge.
It was suggested that information about the retirement plan be included in the new graduate student orientation packet.
VIII. Announcements
Next Meeting: Friday, January 8, 1999, 3:30-5 p.m. Location TBA.
IX. Adjournment
Motion to adjourn (Motion 98-4-49) made by Delegate Rivera, seconded by Delegate Cherrington. Motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Elizabeth Loentz
CGS Secretary
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