Graduate and Professional Student Assembly Meeting

Monday, December 2, 2024

• Term:
  2024-2025
• Assembly/Committee: Graduate and Professional Student Assembly
• Date & Time:
  Mon, Dec 2, 2024 - 5:00pm
  to
  6:30pm
• Location:
  401 Physical Sciences Building/Zoom
• Agenda:
• Meeting Packet:
• Audio Recording:
• Minutes:
  1. Call to Order
     1. O. Karim called the meeting to order at 5:04 p.m.

        1. Members Present: F. Aclan, S. Bluhm, N. Brennan, C. Chappel, J. Chobirko, I. Gatimi, E. Gatz, A. George, D. Ghimire, S. Hampi, M. James, S.K. Karaikal,

           O. Karim, A. Koyyada, A. LaGressa, A. Lando, Z. Liu, Z. Lynch, T.

           Nguyen, A. Puder, S. Sepp, Y. Wu

        2. Members Absent: D.A. Browne, C. Douglas, A. Garcia-Ortiz, A. Kapoor, S.

           Matan, C. Meffert, K. Patel, C. Wang, I. Yaya

        3. Also Present: K. Boor, Z. deRham, I. Kashyap, M. Kotlikoff, M. Pacheco, J. Withers

   

  2. Approval of the November 14th 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 acknowledged the Day of Dialogue: Communication and Self- Support in a Polarized World and thanked Y. Wu for organizing the event.
     2. Operations and Staffing
        1. Z. Lynch stated that he is trying to fill remaining external committee vacancies, plus the GPSA’s Finance Chair, an internal one.
     3. Appropriations
        1. None.
     4. Communications
        1. None.
     5. Finance
        1. A. Koyyada announced funding information for those interested in starting a new club.
     6. Student Advocacy
        1. S. Hampi stated that the committee will continue to discuss the EAP.
     7. Diversity and International Students
        1. None.

  
   

   

   

  1. Programming
     1. A. LaGressa announced updates to Gala planning and that the theme would be old Hollywood.
  2. Faculty Teaching, Advising, and Mentorship Award
     1. J. Chobirko stated that award nominations are out.
     2. Graduate School
        1. None.

   

  4. Presentation
     1. Remarks from Cornell University Interim President Michael I. Kotlikoff, accompanied by Dean of the Graduate School Kathryn J. Boor.
        1. The Interim President gave remarks on Cornell’s graduate and professional schools and students and the state of the University before fielding questions from members on infrastructure, freedom of expression, graduate student life, and more.

   

  5. Legislation
     1. Resolution 4: Recommendations Regarding the CCEA Expressive Activity Policy Draft (Sponsors: N. Brennan, C. Chappel, M. El-Walid, I. Gatimi, M. Pacheco, S. Hampi)
        1. The sponsors presented on Resolution 4, outlining the reasons for their disapproval of the draft Expressive Activity Policy and encouraging members to read the legislation’s line-by-line suggestions.
        2. Members asked questions of the sponsors.
        3. The GPSA moved on to discussion of Resolution 4. Members focused on concerns about rules on masking, the University’s authority, and policies on “special settings” and audio and visual disruptions.
        4. Resolution 4 passed by a vote of 16-1-2.

   

  6. External Vacancies
     1. Finance Commission Chair
        1. A. Koyyada was re-elected as GPSA Finance Commission Chair by unanimous consent.
     2. Big Red Barn Planning Committee
        1. Z. Lynch was elected to be one of two GPSA representatives to the Big Red Barn Planning Committee.

   

  7. New Business

  
   

  2. None.
  3. Open Forum
     1. M. Jones requested that the GPSA create more social channels for members (i.e., a WhatsApp or Slack group). N. Brennan responded that there is a new GPSA Slack and asked members to join.

  The meeting was adjourned at 6:56 p.m. 

  Respectfully Submitted,

  Anthony Wang

  Clerk of the Assembly

  GPSA-Minutes-Dec2.pdf (192.7 KB)