Graduate and Professional Student Assembly Meeting

Monday, February 24, 2025

• Term:
  2024-2025
• Assembly/Committee: Graduate and Professional Student Assembly
• Date & Time:
  Mon, Feb 24, 2025 - 5:00pm
  to
  6:30pm
• Location:
  401 Physical Sciences Building/Zoom
• Agenda:
• Meeting Packet:
• Audio Recording:
  GPSA-20250324-1.MP3 (46.53 MB)
• Minutes:

  I. Call to Order
  a. O. Karim called the meeting to order at 5:04 p.m.
  i. Members Present: A. Basquiat, N. Brennan, D. Browne, J. Chobirko, C.
  Douglas, A. Garcia-Ortiz, I. Gatimi, A. George, D. Ghimire, M. James, S.
  Karaikal, O. Karim, A. Koyyada, A. LaGressa, A. Lando, Z. Liu, Z. Lynch,
  S. Matan, C. Meffert, T. Nguyen, K. Patel, A. Puder, S. Raimondi, S. Sepp,
  Y. Wu, J. Xiao I. Yaya
  ii. Members Absent: C. Chappel, S. Hampi, C. Wang
  iii. Also Present: K. Boor, J. Withers
  II. Approval of the January 27th Meeting Minutes
  a. A. Puder moved to approve the minutes. The motion passed by unanimous consent.
  III. Reports of Officers and Committee Updates
  a. Executive Committee
  i. N. Brennan announced that the GPSA plans to allocate grant money to
  improve the graduate and professional student experience and asked for
  feedback on criteria for grant approval and kinds of projects the GPSA
  could fund.
  ii. N. Brennan stated that a new ballot memo on divestment would be
  discussed during the meeting.
  b. Operations and Staffing
  i. Z. Lynch stated that there would be a review and potential vote on
  Resolution 7 on the GPSA’s bylaws and encouraged members to read
  through the resolution and offer feedback.
  c. Appropriations
  i. None.
  d. Communications
  i. None.
  e. Finance
  i. A. Koyyada reiterated N. Brennan’s call for suggestions on GPSA grant
  allocations and asked members to reach out.
  f. Student Advocacy
  i. None.
  g. Diversity and International Students
  i. A. George announced that DISC is planning focus groups for graduate and
  professional students to share feedback on their well-being and experiences.
  ii. DISC and the Office of Global Learning are collaborating on creating more
  resources for international students’ tax filings. There will also be a webinar
  in March on visa statuses, changes to federal law, and advice for postgraduation.
  iii. A. George announced an upcoming diversity and cultural festival and
  requested support for organizing the event.
  h. Programming
  i. None.
  i. Faculty Teaching, Advising, and Mentorship Award
  i. J. Chobirko stated that nominations are open both for faculty awards and
  for a faculty speaker at the graduate recognition ceremony.
  j. Graduate School
  i. None.
  IV. Presentation
  a. Prof. Bruce Lewenstein, Cornell University Ombuds Office
  i. Prof. Lewenstein gave an overview of the Ombuds Office, its staff, and its
  services (informal conflict resolution, counseling, and mediation for a broad
  range of situations), and tenets, most importantly confidentiality. Prof.
  Lewenstein provided data on the office, noting increases to services
  provided due to tensions on campus.
  ii. Prof. Lewenstein fielded questions from members.
  V. Legislation
  a. Resolution 7: Revision of Graduate and Professional Student Assembly Bylaws
  (Sponsor: Z. Lynch)
  i. Z. Lynch reintroduced the key bylaw revisions contained in Resolution 7,
  including an expansion of the Executive Committee to include other
  committee chairs, an overall simplification of the bylaws, language changes
  to avoid overlap with Graduate Students United, and election procedure
  changes to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
  ii. O. Karim moved on to question and discussion periods.
  iii. Z. Lynch moved to the previous question. The motion to pass Resolution 7
  passed by a vote of 22-0-4. (Yeas: A. Basquiat, N. Brennan, J. Chobirko, C.
  Douglas, A. Garcia-Ortiz, I. Gatimi, A. George, D. Ghimire, M. James, A.
  Koyyada, A. LaGressa, A. Lando, Z. Liu, C. Meffert, T. Nguyen, K. Patel, A.
  Puder, S. Raimondi, S. Sepp, Y. Wu, J. Xiao I. Yaya) (Abstentions: S. Karaikal,
  O. Karim, Z. Lynch, S. Matan)
  VI. New Business
  a. Ballot Memo
  i. Sponsor O. Karim introduced the proposed ballot memo, a referendum for
  graduate and professional students on Cornell University divestment.
  ii. O. Karim moved on to a question period, answering questions from
  members on the language and procedure of the referendum.
  iii. O. Karim moved on to a discussion period.
  iv. N. Brennan moved to put the language of the referendum on the table. The
  motion passed by unanimous consent.
  v. Z. Lynch moved to extend the meeting by ten minutes for a new end time
  of 6:40pm. The motion passed by unanimous consent.
  vi. N. Brennan moved to sponsor an amendment to the language of the
  referendum to include “and the West Bank” to Gaza.
  vii. M. James moved to move language edits to the Student Advocacy
  Committee, to be presented during the next meeting. The motion passed by
  unanimous consent.
  viii. N. Brennan moved to close the floor on discussion of the ballot question,
  leaving a vote on including the ballot question itself for next meeting.
  b. O. Karim called for nominations for a GPSA representative to the Cornell Dining
  Committee.
  i. A. Puder nominated herself and was confirmed as GPSA Representative to
  the Cornell Dining Committee.
  VII. Open Forum
  a. M. James announced the upcoming Melanin Mixer at the Big Red Barn.
  b. Z. Lynch invited members to come to GPSA socials on Wednesdays at the Big Red
  Barn.
  c. M. James announced an upcoming Cornell Cinema Oscars trivia night, also at the
  Big Red Barn.
  d. There will be an upcoming “Stand up for Science” rally in front of Mann Library to
  protest the defunding of science research.
  e. There will be a mutual aid meeting in the Tompkins County public library.
  The meeting was adjourned at 6:40 p.m.
  Respectfully Submitted,
  Anthony Wang
  Clerk of the Assembly

  GPSA-Minutes-Feb24-3.pdf (200.27 KB)