Graduate and Professional Student Assembly Meeting

Monday, November 18, 2024

• Term:
  2024-2025
• Assembly/Committee: Graduate and Professional Student Assembly
• Date & Time:
  Mon, Nov 18, 2024 - 5:00pm
  to
  6:30pm
• Location:
  401 Physical Sciences Building/Zoom
• Agenda:
• Meeting Packet:
• Audio Recording:
• Minutes:

  I. Call to Order
  a. O. Karim called the meeting to order at 5:04 p.m.
  i. Members Present: F. Aclan, S. Bluhm, N. Brennan, C. Chappel, J. Chobirko, A.
  Garcia-Ortiz, I. Gatimi, A. George, D. Ghimire, S. Hampi, M. James, S.K.
  Karaikal, O. Karim, A. Koyyada, A. LaGressa, A. Lando, Z. Liu, Z. Lynch,
  S. Matan, C. Meffert, T. Nguyen, K. Patel, A. Puder, S. Sepp, Y. Wu, I. Yaya
  ii. Members Absent: D.A. Browne, C. Douglas, E. Gatz, A. Kapoor, C. Wang,
  iii. Also Present: M. Benda, C. Berry, S. De Leon Sautu, M. Dorf, M. El-Walid,
  M. Heeney, J. Lamey, M. Matthews, M. Pacheco, J. Withers
  II. Approval of the November 4tht Meeting Minutes
  a. Z. Lynch moved to approve the minutes. The motion passed by unanimous
  consent.
  III. Reports of Officers and Committee Updates
  a. Executive Committee
  i. N. Brennan reported that the Executive Committee voted to approve $1K
  of surplus funding for Day of Dialogue: Communication and Self-Support
  in a Polarized World.
  b. Operations and Staffing
  i. Z. Lynch encouraged members to join the Big Red Barn Steering
  Committee. He also announced upcoming elections for Finance Committee
  chair.
  c. Appropriations
  i. None.
  d. Communications
  i. A. Garcia-Ortiz stated that Communications Committee members would
  photograph upcoming GPSA meetings.
  e. Finance
  i. A. Koyyada stated that draft updates to field funding would come out soon.
  f. Student Advocacy
  i. I. Gatimi encouraged members to voice their opinions on the Expressive
  Activity Policy draft.
  g. Diversity and International Students
  i. F. Aclan reported that the committee is gathering feedback from diverse and
  international students to prepare upcoming initiatives.
  h. Programming
  i. A. LaGressa stated that the committee gave $3K to the Graduate and
  Professional Students Diversity Council for an upcoming Renaissance Ball.
  i. Faculty Teaching, Advising, and Mentorship Award
  i. J. Chobirko announced the upcoming annual committee meeting.
  j. Graduate School
  i. J. Lamey stated that the Graduate School’s Career Services and Professional
  Development Office is hoping to hire a new career development specialist.
  IV. Presentation
  a. C. Barry, M. Dorf, A. LaGressa, M. Benda, and M. Matthews gave a presentation on
  the Expressive Activity Policy draft, offering a brief summary of the draft and other
  recommendations in the committee’s report before fielding questions from
  members.
  V. Legislation
  a. Resolution 4: Recommendations Regarding the CCEA Expressive Activity Policy
  Draft (Sponsors: S. Hampi, N. Brennan, I. Gatimi, C. Chappel, M. El-Walid, M.
  Pacheco)
  i. N. Brennan and S. Hampi presented on Resolution 4, introducing
  recommendations for the CCEA on the Expressive Activity Policy draft.
  The speakers acknowledged the difficulty of the CCEA’s job but highlighted
  a general “disappointment and regret” towards the draft policy.
  ii. O. Karim moved on to a Q-and-A period and a discussion period.
  iii. N. Brennan moved to table Resolution 4 to the December 2nd meeting. The
  motion passed by unanimous consent.
  b. Resolution 5: GPSA Recommendations on Cornell University's Disciplinary Actions
  Towards Graduate Student Worker Sriram Parasurama. (Sponsors: S. Sepp, S.
  Karaikal, Z. Liu)
  i. S. Sepp yielded his time to S. De Leon Sautu, M. El-Walid, and M. Heeney
  who addressed the body.
  ii. O. Karim moved on to a Q-and-A period, during which members asked
  about Parasurama’s case, the inclusion of context on divestment in the
  resolution, and the documents attached to the resolution.
  iii. O. Karim moved on to a discussion period, during which members raised
  more concerns about the inclusion of a list of named signatories and
  potential confidentiality issues.
  iv. Z. Lynch moved to extend the meeting by ten minutes. The motion passed
  by unanimous consent.
  v. N. Brennan proposed an amendment to the resolution reordering whereas
  clauses and including new clause. The sponsors took the amendment as
  friendly. The motion to amend passed by unanimous consent.
  vi. S. Sepp proposed an amendment to redact the names of the signatories. M.
  James dissented, proposing to redact the companies’ names as well. The
  sponsors did not take the redaction of the companies’ names as friendly. M.
  James called for a division of house, leading to a vote on the amendment
  asking for a redaction of both students’ and companies’ names, as opposed
  to a redaction of only the students’ names.
  vii. The motion to redact both students’ and companies’ names failed by a vote
  of 0-20-3. The motion to redact students’ names and information passed.
  viii. A. Garcia-Ortiz moved to the previous question. Resolution 5 passed by a
  vote of 16-2-4.
  VI. External Vacancies
  a. Z. Lynch moved to extend the meeting by five minutes. The motion passed by
  unanimous consent.
  b. Z. Lynch introduced three vacancies in the Big Red Barn Steering Committee. N.
  Brennan nominated himself for the position and was elected a GPSA representative
  to the Big Red Barn Steering Committee by unanimous consent.
  VII. New Business
  a. None.
  b. M. James moved to extend the meeting by ten minutes. O. Karim ruled the motion
  dilatory and the meeting continued without extension.
  VIII. Open Forum
  a. Y. Wu requested GPSA assistance with the Day of Dialogue event, specifically with
  scheduling using 25Live and sending out a communication to graduate and
  professional students.
  The meeting was adjourned at 6:54 p.m.
  Respectfully Submitted,
  Anthony Wang
  Clerk of the Assembly

  GPSA-Minutes-Nov18v2.pdf (200.26 KB)