Graduate and Professional Student Assembly Meeting

Monday, October 21, 2024

• Term:
  2024-2025
• Assembly/Committee: Graduate and Professional Student Assembly
• Date & Time:
  Mon, Oct 21, 2024 - 5:00pm
  to
  6:30pm
• Location:
  401 Physical Sciences Building/Zoom
• Agenda:
• Meeting Packet:
• Audio Recording:
  GPSA-10212024.MP3 (83.22 MB)
• Minutes:
  1. Call to Order
     1. O. Karim called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m.

        1. Members Present: F. Aclan, S. Bluhm, N. Brennan, C. Chappel, C. Douglas, I. Gatimi, A. George, S. Hampi, M. James, S.K. Karaikal, O. Karim, A. Koyyada, A. LaGressa, A. Lando, Z. Liu, Z. Lynch, S. Matan, C. Meffert, K.

           Patel, A. Puder, S. Sepp, C. Wang, Y. Wu, I. Yaya

        2. Members Absent: D.A. Browne, A. Garcia-Ortiz, E. Gatz, D. Ghimire, A.

           Kapoor, T. Nguyen

        3. Also Present: K. Boor, K. King, D. Obisie-Orlu, J. Withers

   

  2. Approval of the October 7th Meeting Minutes
     1. N. Brennan moved to approve the minutes. The motion passed by unanimous consent.

   

  3. Reports of Officers and Committee Updates
     1. Executive Committee
        1. N. Brennan reported that guests would present at upcoming meetings, including K. King, presentations on campus transportation, the draft Expressive Activity Policy, and a potential presentation on TCAT.
     2. Operations and Staffing
        1. Z. Lynch stated that he is trying to fill more external committee vacancies. He also called for those interested in improving or analyzing graduate student transportation to reach out to him.
     3. Appropriations
        1. None.
     4. Communications
        1. None.
     5. Finance
        1. None.
     6. Student Advocacy
        1. S. Hampi stated that the committee is in the process of revising its bylaws and open to suggestions.
     7. Diversity and International Students

  
   

   

   

  1. Standing in for A. Kapoor, F. Aclan announced an upcoming public meeting on October 30th.
     1. Programming
     2. A. LaGressa shared updates on the Gala feedback form and programming board logistics.
  2. Faculty Teaching, Advising, and Mentorship Award
     1. J. Chobirko announced an upcoming public meeting.
     2. Graduate School
        1. K. Boor shared news of a recent successful event, during which graduate students presented to trustees and alumni. She also stated that the Graduate School received permission to make a hire in career development.

   

  4. Presentation
     1. K. King, Associate Vice President for Institutional Equity and Title IX, gave a presentation on Policy 6.4 – Prohibited Bias, Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual and Related Misconduct and fielded questions from members.

   

  5. Legislation
     1. Resolution 3: A resolution to update the student organization funding process
        1. A. Koyyada restated Resolution 3’s proposed updates to student organization funding.
        2. Z. Lynch moved to amend the resolution to clarify the rules on field funding, specifically the definition of a field organization.
        3. O. Karim waived a vote to consider the amendment, citing the clear relevance of the issue. He then moved the body on to a discussion period.
        4. A. Lando asked about the reason for the removal of field funding. Z. Lynch responded, explaining the difference between field funding and field organizations in a given field.
        5. N. Brennan asked A. Koyyada to give the body more information on the previous uses of field funding. N. Brennan also gave information on the resolution’s removal of certain requirements for field-funded organizations.
        6. M. James and J. Chobirko asked about how the proposed list of field-funded organizations would be updated and its accessibility.
        7. O. Karim moved on to a vote on the amendment. Seeing no objections, O. Karim amended the resolution.
        8. Resolution 3 passed unanimously.

   

  6. External Committee Vacancies

  
   

   

   

  1. Z. Lynch introduced the external committees and spoke to the importance of GPSA participation in the committees, noting the value of community engagement.
     1. Student Health Benefits Advisory Council
        1. A. Puder was elected representative to the Student Health Benefits Advisory Council by unanimous consent.
     2. Student Library Council
        1. No nominations.
     3. Transportation Hearing and Appeals Board
        1. No nominations.
     4. Family Life Advisory
        1. No nominations.

   

  7. New Business
     1. O. Karim stated that the University’s president is expected to be a part of one meeting of each assembly every semester but that the President has been unable to come for the past two semesters. He then proposed that, although the President would be unable to attend any of the scheduled meetings this semester, the GPSA could vote to call an additional meeting on December 2nd and host the President.
     2. N. Brennan moved to adopt the new business. The motion passed by unanimous consent.
     3. O. Karim moved into a vote on calling an extra meeting. The motion passed by a vote of 20-0-2, creating a new GPSA meeting on December 2nd.

   

  8. General Announcements
     1. None.

   

  9. Open Forum
     1. None.

  The meeting was adjourned at 6:36 p.m. 

  Respectfully Submitted,

  Anthony Wang

  Clerk of the Assembly

  GPSA-Minutes-Oct21.pdf (196.52 KB)