Student Assembly Meeting

Thursday, March 19, 2026

• Term:
  2025-2026
• Assembly/Committee: Student Assembly
• Date & Time:
  Thu, Mar 19, 2026 - 4:45pm
  to
  6:30pm
• Location:
  Willard Straight Hall Memorial Room (WSH407)/Zoom
• Agenda:

  1. Call to Order
  2. Reading of the Land Acknowledgment
  3. Consent Calendar
  4. Reports of Officers, Committees, and Liaisons
  5. Announcements
  6. Presentations
  7. Public Comment
  8. Second Readings
        1. Resolution 73: Calling for Cornell to Improve its Land Acknowledgement and Recognize the Benefits Obtained through the Morrill Act of 1862 
              1. R73 Appendix & Notes
        2. Resolution 75: Reassessing the Financial Relationship Between Cornell University and the State of Qatar
        3. Resolution 76: Protecting the Student Assembly Reserves
        4. Resolution 77: Improving Communication from Housing & Residential Life to Students About Building-Wide Maintenance Issues
  9. Third Readings
        1. Resolution 57: Ensuring Equitable Evaluation of Special Projects Funding Request 
              1. R57 Appendix
        2. Resolution 60: Free Laundry
        3. Resolution 63: Recognizing September 25 and Establishing a “Survey Service Window” Administered by Student & Campus Life
        4. Resolution 69: Urging Cornell to Support Higher TCAT Funding
        5. Resolution 70: The Last Straw: Single-Use Plastic Phaseout
              1. R70 Appendix & Notes
        6. Resolution 71: Grade Transparency
        7. Resolution 72: Alleviating Preliminary Examination Overloads
        8. Resolution 74: Transparency in First-Year Program House Access and Placement Outcomes
  10.Appointments and Vacancies Calendar
  11.Adjournment

  StudentAssemblyMeetingAgendaMarch192026.pdf (121.38 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, J. Anand, D. Carson, M. Causey, A. Cekic, C. Cook, Z. deRham, G. Dorward, M. Ehrlich, A. Fard, C. Flournoy, E. Galperin, I. Gayle, L. Han, Y. Masoud, E. Porter, J. Purcell, H. Spector, J. Swavy, C. Tarala, T. Waguespack, A. Walters, H. Watkins, Z. Yabut, E. Yao, K. Young
       c. Members Absent: A. Aftab, L. Blum, V. Kakra, C. Kim, K. Krishtopa
       d. Also Present: E. Chaudhuri, I. Gilenson
  
  II. Reading of the Land Acknowledgment
       a. Z. deRham stated the land acknowledgement.
  
  III. Consent Calendar
       a. None.
  
  IV. Reports of Officers, Committees, and Liaisons
       a. E. Galperin shared that the April Dining Committee will not be at the beginning of the month due to Passover.
       b. T. Waguespack requested for members to reach out to him to put a resolution in the spotlight for next week’s resolution spotlight.
       c. C. Flournoy shared that the Executive Cabinet will be meeting this weekend at 11:30 at PSB401 to discuss any resolutions, updates to feedback, the Student Code of Conduct, and membership.
       d. D. Addoquaye shared that the Technology Committee is looking for members. He requested for people to join if they’re interested in working closely with IT or with the design team with the Technology Committee.
       e. E. Chaudhuri reported that the UA has been asked to fill in vacancies for the Student Code of Conduct Hearing Board. There are 7 open undergraduate seats that have to be filled with students who currently do not serve on the Student Assembly.
       f. H. Watkins motioned to amend the meeting agenda by putting Third Readings with Resolution 66 at the top of the Third Reading Calendar to after Public Comment, followed by Appointments and Vacancies and then Second Readings, no dissent.
       g. I. Gilenson shared that people can only sign petitions for schools that they are a part of, while the other seats are on the table. He added that the election process has been running smoothly and requested people to ask people from underrepresented schools who don’t typically run in these races to petition and run.
       h. E. Chaudhuri requested an update on attendance.
       i. Z. deRham shared that emails will be sent out for the call to be next week and how many absences each member were at.
            i. Z. deRham shared that she’ll be giving her speech to the Board of Trustees the next day.
  
  V. Announcements
       a. None.
  
  VI. Presentations
       a. None.
  
  VII. Public Comment
       a. M. Ehrlich shared that members who didn’t write any resolutions this year should not run for re-election for Student Assembly and disagreed with Z. deRham’s action of conveying resolutions at the request of Cornell administration.
       b. A few speakers spoke in opposition of the reduction of the Student Programming Council’s annual operating budget.
       c. A speaker spoke about steps the assembly could’ve taken in response to the rejection of the student activity fee and having someone to plan on how to use the reserve money.
       d. A speaker shared that as the upcoming Cornell Minds Matter liaison to Student Assembly, they are looking forward to working with the Student Assembly.
  
  VIII. Third Readings
       a. Resolution 66: Reassessing Resolution 21: Approving the Recommendation for the 2026-2028 Student Activity Fee
            i. H. Watkins shared that the Finance Committee took into consideration that SPC frames itself as a big umbrella for a lot of SPC organizations but a lot of other byline organizations are able to run without that umbrella. He added that as the committee got later into the student activity fee, they had a more concrete idea of what the fee would look like, resulting in suggested cuts for organizations. He further explained that the standard costs are set out in the Student Assembly Charter Appendix B, and though the process has received a lot of criticism, the only way to fix it is to approve the student activity fee first.
            ii. Z. deRham moved the assembly into a discussion period, where they discussed communication with byline organizations, specific budget allocations for ICC, SPC, and Slope Day, students waiting on financial aid packages, and the finance committee making adjustments to the final recommendation at the end.
            iii. Z. deRham ceded the chair to D. Addoquaye.
            iv. D. Addoquaye moved the assembly into a discussion period, where they discussed apathy against the Finance Committee, why SPC received a cut in the new recommendation, potentially defaulting to previous years, MGFC’s budget allocation, and other specific byline organizations.
            v. E. Galperin motioned to end debate, no dissent.
            vi. The resolution failed to pass by a vote of 12-7-6.
            vii. Z. deRham motioned to reconsider, dissent.
                 1. E. Galperin motioned to end debate, no dissent.
                 2. The motion to reconsider was granted.
            viii. A. Aftab called for a division on the vote on the motion to reconsider.
                 1. D. Addoquaye ceded the chair to A. Coleman.
                 2. The motion to reconsider passed by a majority vote.
   

  SA Minutes 3-19-26.docx.pdf (135.26 KB)