Student Assembly Meeting

Thursday, October 23, 2025

• Term:
  2025-2026
• Assembly/Committee: Student Assembly
• Date & Time:
  Thu, Oct 23, 2025 - 4:45pm
  to
  6:30pm
• Location:
  Robert Purcell Community Center 101/Zoom
• Agenda:
  1. Call to Order
  2. Reading of the Land Acknowledgment
  3. Approval of the October 16th, 2025 Meeting Minutes
  4. Consent Calendar
  5. Reports of Officers, Committees, and Liaisons
     1. Finance Committee Recommendations
  6. Announcements
  7. Presentations
  8. Open Microphone
  9. Second Readings
     1. Resolution 6: Making Meal Plans Equitable for South Campus Program Houses
  10. Third Readings
      1. Resolution 12: Approving Special Projects Funding Request for the Finance Club at Cornell
         1. Appendix A: Finance Club Campus Groups Application
      2. Resolution 13: Required Transfer of Excess Funds from SAFC to Student Assembly Reserves
  11. Appointments and Vacancies Calendar

  12. Adjournment

       

  Student Assembly Meeting Agenda 10_23_2025.pdf (162.32 KB)
• Meeting Packet:
• Audio Recording:
• Minutes:

  I. Call to Order
       a. Z. deRham called the meeting to order at 4:45 PM.
       b. Members Present: D. Addoquaye, S. Agarwal, L. Blum, D. Carson, A. Cekic, C. Cook, Z. deRham, G. Dorward, M. Ehrlich, C. Flournoy, E. Galperin, I. Gayle, L. Han, Y. Masoud, J. Mui, J. Purcell, H. Spector, C. Tarala, A. Vallecillo, T. Waguespack, H. Watkins, J. Wu, E. Yao, K. Young
       c. Members Absent: A. Aftab, C. Kim (excused), K. Krishtopa, J. Swavy
       d. Also Present: None.

  
  II. Reading of the Land Acknowledgment
       a. Z. deRham stated the land acknowledgement.
       b. The meeting began with the swearing-in of the Student Assembly’s new members.

  
  III. Approval of the October 16th, 2025 Meeting Minutes
       a. The chair would smile favorably upon a motion to approve by unanimous consent. The motion to approve the minutes passes through unanimous consent.
       b. Communications to the Student Assembly - This week, President Kalikoff approved Resolution 1, the Standing Rules Resolution, Resolution 2, the Operating Budget, and Resolution 3, the Vacancies Committee, Resolution 5, the Technology Committee, and Resolution 7, the Student Employment Policy Committee. The two new committees are now active.

  
  IV. Consent Calendar
       a. None.

  
  V. Presentations
       a. None.
       b. Z. deRham moves to move Reports of Officers, Committees, and Liaisons to the bottom of the agenda, no dissent. 
  
  VI. Announcements
       a. Z. deRham announces that she conveyed Resolutions 10 and 11 to President Kalikoff and that updates on any resolution can be found on the Student Assembly website. She also announces for the members to check their emails about SUNY Student Assembly, and for new members especially to check and respond to her emails.
       b. C. Flournoy reminds all committee chairs to host committee meetings. If possible, send an email to him by Saturday night with an update on when the next committee meeting is and a blurb about what the committee has been doing.
       c. Z. deRham adds that when committee meetings are scheduled, inform Christian and Jinzhou so that they can put together an assembly GCal.

  
  VII. Open Microphone
       a. SAFC speakers speak in opposition to Resolution 13. They state that they have been transparent and do not understand line 20. They add that no formal spot the funding is going to and inquires for clarity on what the Student Assembly is going to do with the money. Their main concern was that any withdrawal must be formally communicated to the SAFC at least 5 business days before a resolution is made, yet SAFC was not indicated of this despite the constitution being approved by the Student Assembly. They further ask to add whose responsibility it is to oversee such a large amount of money and what that money is going towards. They emphasize for the Assembly to do it for the students and not just say they're doing something.
       b. A speaker on the Elections Committee addresses that they have opened the valid registration forms to allow first-years to run for positions on the Student Assembly. He notes that Student Assembly members in the past have talked to clubs and professors to talk to these first-years and transfers. The forms will be open until next Wednesday. Next Thursday after the end of the Student Assembly meeting, there will be a mandatory meeting for the elections committee and invites the
  Student Assembly members to show up and give the first-year reps feedback.
  
  VIII. Second Readings
       a. Resolution 6
            i. E. Galperin brings attention to the final two clauses, “Be it therefore resolved, residents of the Veterans House and the Equity and Engagement Community shall be eligible for the College Town Meal Plan and House Meal Plan.” that the Dining Committee added “House Meal Plan” towards the end because the places were near West Campus. The Dining Committee feels there's more work to be done and wants to move the Resolution to the Third Reading Calendar for the most practical solution.
          ii. H. Watkins adds that he wants to implement this resolution but might need another week in order to do so effectively.
          iii. M. Ehrlich asks if they considered other parts of South Campus.
              1. E. Galperin responds that he hasn’t thought about it, it may fit better as a separate resolution, and he is open to the idea.
              2. H. Watkins adds that the point of this resolution is to address program houses that don't have access to either a program house dinner or South Campus Meal Plan, and Schuyler House did have access to South Campus Meal Plan.
          iv. D. Carson asks if the Veterans house and the EEC can be part of the West dining meal plan despite being a part of South Campus.
            1. E. Galperin responds that they came to these amendments based on where the houses are classified and that the Veterans house is across the street from Keeton.
            2. H. Watkins states that the Veterans House and the Equity and Engagement House aren’t a part of the West Campus Meal Plan. Rather, their options are the unlimited meal plan or the Bear Traditional Meal Plan, which is the same that's offered to upperclassmen on North Campus, even though these places are not on North Campus.
       v. D. Carson asks if it needs to change the classification.
            1. E. Galperin responds that Dining would have to change something in its system.
       vi. The Chair smiles favorably upon a motion to consider the resolution read, no dissent. Resolution 6 has been read.

  
  IX. Third Readings
       a. Resolution 12: Appendix A: Finance Club Campus Groups Application
            i. Cornell Finance Club pitches its opportunity for members to go to NYC to visit firms, visit alumni, and harness connections. Many schools such NYU and Columbia have constant access to network with these firms but Cornell is in Ithaca. Their goal is for their members to visit alumni and get those connections. The club highlights placement from the opportunities as well as their diversity initiatives. They add that their alumni gave opportunities to visit these firms and they plan to meet them by hosting alumni dinners and private networking sessions over zoom. They add that this benefits underclassmen to meet with interviewers ahead of time and upperclassmen to obtain by-side roles. They outline their costs and state that the club has done fundraisers, but need more money to make it accessible. They add that they have downscaled this event before, but now they are more ambitious.
            ii. E. Galperin believes that the presentation shows the club is successful and is confident in approving the Resolution.
            iii. M. Ehrlich asks where the contributions from members that fund some of the trip come from? Voluntary or dues?
                 1. CFC answers that they are not dues and will not have any dues. The club asks members to pay a certain amount and if they can't then they figure out a way through fundraisers. If a member is not in a situation to pay then they do not have to–it’s a recommendation.
            iv. A. Cekic is unsure if CFC is really the oldest and largest club. He wants them to expand on this and asks how many people apply, get into it, the club’s acceptance rate, funding routes, and if the club has received funding elsewhere like alumni or school so why the Student Assembly.
                 1. CFC responds that finance clubs being competitive for any club on campus is not something they can control. They add that resources are limited and they are trying their best to make sure everyone has the opportunity. They had 200-300 applicants in fall, and 90-100 applicants in the spring, and they typically have 10 new members per semester. The club tries to create a direct alumni-member program and have the best and equal opportunity. They add that in previous semesters, there was no clear quota and the number is typically fluid. Regarding its history and past, CFC is not the biggest or the oldest and has been around for 12-13 years. They add that last semester, during the Goldman Sachs invite-only event for their SuperDay Candidates, 6 Goldman Sachs alumni came and 3 were from CFC. This was a pivotal moment for their careers and seeing alumni was  great psychologically. They admit that one of the largest parts of the funding goes towards the alumni dinner, which could be partially funded by the alumni Board. The club came to the Student Assembly because the Student Assembly is understanding and they’d
  like to try every venue possible.
                 2. H. Watkins adds that if the Student Assembly were to reject this proposal due to the club’s competitiveness, then it’d be hypocritical because not everybody who runs for the Student Assembly gets in.
            v. S. Agarwal states that she saw CFC’s Krispy Kreme fundraiser last week for the trip. She asks for the fundraiser’s profit whether all of it is going towards the trip.
                 1. CFC missed its profitability target. The club had 3 locations across the school with its inventory priced at 700 and made just a little over 3k. This amount covers the alumni event, however the main cost is the hotel. They called numerous hotels to see if there's an organizational discount but the hotels were unwilling to negotiate.
            vi. C. Flournoy asks if the cost for alumni dinner covers just the CFC members or if it includes alumni.
                 1. CFC states there are some rollovers from last semester (around $200 to $300) and the fundraiser money, which if needed, the club will do a second fundraiser to cover the outstanding cost.
            vii. L. Han asks how the trip benefits anyone not in CFC? He asks if the club will bring these companies to Cornell so other Cornellians can network.
                 1. CFC noticed the importance of alumni engagement. Alumni are super busy so they can’t expect them to come to campus on a regular basis to provide resources. CFC hosted a stock pitch competition, worked to build alumni relationships, summer social a big part of it, and in the long-term plans to host more competitions for firms to
  come over. They also represent not just CFC, but Cornell, and hope that leaving a good impression results in a good feedback loop.
                 2. H. Watkin adds that a few weeks ago, they funded a career opportunity for 6 people. Yet, this one has 40 so this would also be a wonderful opportunity.
                 3. CFC adds 40 is not a capped number and is still growing. Everyone in CFC will have a chance to be on the trip.
            viii. J. Mui asks if it would be possible to find cheaper accommodation that’s not Times Square? Or get alumni to fund accommodation or even the company to fund accommodation.
                 1. CFC chose this hotel because if it were elsewhere, they would be passing on transportation costs to the members. They add that since they're doing an alumni dinner and 4-5 firms, it's hard for transportation so they're trying to maximize transportation and to be closer with alumni.
                 2. H. Watkins emphasizes that the goal of special projects application is to decrease the cost for students out of pocket, increase equity within the CFC, and give CFC opportunities to a lot of their members.
            ix. C. Tarala noted that CFC made 600 on the slide and wondered if it came from the Krispy Kreme fundraiser. He also added that SAFC gave the club 4,000, but the club only allocated 2,000, and was wondering if the club was willing to use the full 4,000. He further adds that the club has a great range of alumni, yet wondered why they weren’t willing to contribute giving back
  to the organization. While the amount of money is nothing to them, it was a huge deal to the club. He further inquires how the trip was funded in the past. Given the club can spend that 4,000, he wants to amend the resolution to 3,500 instead, but wants to hear what they say first.
                 1. CFC responds that sophomores recruiting is in the spring, but the trip is in the fall. The club is saving that 2,000 for the sophomores. They add that the 600 was from the fundraiser. The club did a lot of outreach. Did not end up raising a lot on Giving Day. Alumni are dealing with their own things and are less willing to help out. The current trip is also more expensive because they're visiting triple the amount of firms.
            x. M. Erlich moves to amend line 34 to say “a $740.20 disbursement to Student Assembly Special Projects Funding, as the club only accepts 10% of the student body and the Student Assembly should only fund 10% of the requested amount.
                 1. E. Galperin argues that the club isn’t going out of their way to exclude people and that there is no rule for it to include every last person. Furthermore, this is the one group asking for funding. Approving will not take away from anyone else.
                 2. T. Waguespack adds that clubs shouldn’t be knocked based on exclusivity considering clubs emulate firms, which are exclusive. Furthermore, experience in this club was transformational, largely because of the NYC trip.
                 3. A. Vallecillo agrees there is no stipulation to include everyone, but on the first page of the Special Projects Funding Request Survey, it says “to fund any project that it deems to improve the quality of undergraduate student life”. He argues that trips do not improve the quality of undergraduate student life, but the enjoyment of a few students.
                 4. M. Erlich clarifies that the amendment is not to get rid of the funding request, but to make it proportional to selectivity.
                 5. K. Young argues that giving students a chance to network and receive opportunities improves undergraduate lives. Leaders go gain knowledge and share. The club’s Instagram showed they do public sessions.
                 6. A. Cekic notes that they shouldn’t pay for the alumni dinner.
                 7. Z. DeRham states that the dinner cannot be reimbursed for special projects funding, because non-current Cornell students can not be funded by special project funding.
            xi. M. Ehrlich moves to amend line 34 from $5000 to $3500. Moves to vote on this amendment, passed by a vote of 14-10-1.
            xii. The amendment passes by a vote of 19-3-3.
            xiii. E. Galerpin moves to vote on resolution. Passes.
       xiv. The resolution passes by a vote of 19-1-4.
  
      b. Resolution 13
           i. C. Tarala addresses SAFC’s concerns, stating that it is not a resolution to reprimand them or say they did anything wrong, but is an information clause to inform people of why this is happening. This is a clawback, which is why the 5 days SAFC mentioned didn't happen, as the Student Assembly charter supersedes their charter. The clawback moves the money into the Student Assembly’s reserve account. He has several uses in mind but won’t say  because it’s not an amendment. SAFC has a gross excess amount of funds because of COVID.
          ii. H. Watkins adds that SAFC is the designated financial arm of the Student Assembly and it was made in its charter.
          iii. Z. deRham shares that the funding clawback clause is in line 689 in the Charter, under Section 2, Student Assembly's Role and Obligations with relation to the funds. Since SAFC exceeded $500,000 in its reserve account, that money will be transferred, and this requirement is applied to all byline organizations. Furthermore, all of their staff members were notified of this change in the charter when it was approved by President Kalikoff at the end of last year. Resolution 10 from 2019 has some context of how the Assembly treated it prior to COVID.
          iv. M. Ehrilich asks how much money is in their reserves.
              1. Z. deRham answers it is over $1.5 million. The university amount manager stated it’s $1.6 million.
          v. A. Vallecillo believes it’s silly how a resolution is done over a charter/right. He wants to consider what the SAFC co-president said and asks where the funding is going. He brings up the summer experience grant account which provides funding for students who are doing underpaid experience. He proposes an amendment to insert, after line 28, “be it finally resolved that
  half, 50% of the excess funds, or $23,800, whichever is less, transferred from SAFC to the Student Assembly Reserve accounts be placed in the Summer Experience Grant account for FY26”.
              1. E. Galperin doesn’t oppose the idea, but believes they should take time to consider what they're going to do with that money with more numbers. He moves to end debate on the amendment, no dissent.
              2. Chair smiles favorably upon motion to vote on the amendment, no dissent.
              3. The amendment fails, the majority was in denial.
          vi. L. Blum asks for a spreadsheet to see where the money goes.
              1. Z. deRham responds that the money is going into the Student Assembly account and they have subaccounts so that they can move it. It is the assembly making the decisions and they’re not going to parse out all the money in one year.
              2. H Watkins - There is nothing finalized, but some ideas include: helping Alana get out of their financial situation, an airport shuttle for breaks, fundraisers to revitalize Willard Straight Hall, etc.
              3. C. Tarala emphasizes that this is just the first step and any future money will be decided by the Student Assembly.
              4. E. Galerpin moves to end debate, no dissent.
          vii. The resolution passes by a vote of 23-0-0.

  
  X. Reports of Officers, Committees, and Liaisons
      a. The chair smiles upon a motion to extend the meeting time to 7PM, no dissent.
      b. Finance Committee Recommendations
          i. Athletics and physical education to be raised to $8.00. H. Watkins moves to
  approve by unanimous consent, dissent.
              1. M. Ehrlich states there’s going to be cutting of organizations because of money allocated to slope day and doesn’t understand why money is going into this. Moves to go into executive session, no dissent.
              2. E. Galperin moves to vote on the recommendation, no dissent.
              3. Approved by vote of 14-2-5.
          ii. Emergency Medical Services at Cornell University to be raised to $5.20. Approved by unanimous consent.
          iii. Student Assembly to be raised to $3.00. Approved by a vote of 20-0-0.
          iv. Haven to maintain $5.40. Approved by unanimous consent.
          v. Tatkon Center to maintain $13.86. H. Watkin moves to approve by unanimous consent, dissent.
              1. A. Cekic questions if Tatkon really pays for student housing during o-week?
              2. It’s a Cornell housing policy.
              3. A. Cekic moves to close debate, no dissent.
              4. Approved by a vote of 20-0-0.
          vi. Student Club insurance to be raised to $5.80. Approved by unanimous consent.
      c. Officer Reports
          i. C. Tarala reports that the Finance Committee puts in a lot of effort (10 hours of meetings per week) and has open seats for Student Assembly members.
          ii. H Watkins reports the Finance Committee’s 8 hours of meetings this week. 106 RPCC at 10 AM with Class Councils, 11 AM with Cornell Minds Matter, 12:30 with Gender Justice Advocacy Coalition, and 1:30 with CPFB. On the 26th at 106 RPCC at 10 AM with CU Tonight, 11 AM with EARS, 12:30 with Outdoor Odyssey, and 1:30 over Collegiate Readership Program.
          iii. E. Galperin reports that the Dining Committee’s next meeting is on November 4 and encourages people to join.
          iv. S. Agarwal reports the first Student Health Advisory Committee meeting in the past week with Cornell Health. The meeting was successful and Cornell Health is open to ideas like more medication vending machines in North, South, and West campuses.
          v. L. Bloom reports the Environmental Committee still meeting Sundays at 5-6 in Mann 100. In the upcoming meeting, there may be some dining committee and someone in sustainability as they try to put composting back in dining halls and residential halls.
          vi. H. Watkins reports they were going to meet with MGCF but not anymore. Meeting with ALANA at 11 AM on November 2nd, and then ISA at 11:30.
          vii. Z. deRham reports as the SUNY Student Assembly voting representative that she went to the October EC at Adirondack Community College. She shares that the fall conference is next month and that Advocacy Day will be in February.
          viii. A. Vacellio reports that the Employment Policy Committee has been working on drafting a resolution for the neutrality agreement. This allows students now or in the future to create a union without the University campaigning against them. He also reports that the Campus Codes Committee had a meeting and discussed that they wanted to see a return of the judicial system to elected assemblies.
          ix. G. Dorward reports that the Infrastructure Funds Commission has been following up on some projects and resolutions from last year that never came into fruition, like the kiosk. She also mentions a crosswalk on West Campus that’s there despite being rejected. There are two projects that are going to be discussed soon. Weekly meetings will start hopefully on
  Saturdays or Mondays.
          x. The liaison for the Student Library Advisory Council reports that they haven't met yet so there are no updates.
          xi. M. Ehrlich reports that the Academic Policy Committee is meeting next Saturday. He is thinking of making a credit limit.
          xii. The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee reports its attempt to get the committee started. Submitted 25 lines for rooms, sessions in 626 talking to leaders of diverse clubs and organizations, trying to get room approval, and potentially starting next Wednesday.
          xiii. D. Addoquaye reports that the Policy Committee has been emailing and contacting about policies.
          xiv. J. Purcell reports that the Communications Committee has been working on increasing output. Tomorrow they will post the transfer and freshman running for Student Assembly. This weekend they will post their first edition of This Week in the Assembly. They are also finalizing tabling.
          xv. J. Wu reports that the International Students Affairs Committee haven’t officially met but made a phone call to two new members once they sign up. They don't have any initiatives in mind but are scheduling a meeting with the VP of advocacy to discuss what resolutions or ideas international students have in mind.
  
  The meeting was adjourned at 6:51 PM by unanimous consent. 
  
  Respectfully Submitted, 
  Sophia Lin 
  Clerk of the Assembly
  
   

  SA Minutes 10_23_2025.pdf (3).pdf (245.83 KB)