Student Assembly Meeting
Thursday, October 15, 2026
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Term:
2026-2027
- Assembly/Committee: Student Assembly
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Date & Time:
Thu, Oct 15, 2026 - 4:45pmto6:30pm
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Location:
Robert Purcell Community Center 218 (RPC218ABC)/Zoom
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Agenda:
- Meeting Packet:
- Audio Recording:
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Minutes:
I. Call to Order
a. E. Chaudhuri called the meeting to order at 4:45 PM.
II. Call of the Roll
a. Members Present: D. Addoquaye, S. Agarwal, J. Anand, S. Augustin, T. Aye, A. Ayoola, L. Blum, E. Chaudhuri, J. Chung, S. Dunn, C. Flournoy, T. Japal, J. Kimball, K. Krishtopa, D. Lee, A. Lyons, Y. Masoud, J. Orief, E. Porter, A. Sendelbach, C. Tarala, A. Vink, A. Walters, H. Watkins, K. Young
b. Members Absent: None.
c. Also Present: Z. deRham, S. Trapani
III. Reading of the Land Acknowledgment
a. E. Chaudhuri stated the land acknowledgement.
IV. Approval of the October 8, 2026 Meeting Minutes
a. Y. Masoud motioned to amend line iii of section c of Resolution 21 to say “Cornellstudents” instead of “foreign students”, no dissent.
b. The motion to approve the October 8, 2026 minutes passed through unanimous consent.
V. Communications to the Student Assembly
a. E. Chaudhuri shared that various student governments from other institutions have passed resolutions in support of resolutions 15, 16, 17 along with other mechanisms to show support and solidarity.
b. E. Chaudhuri shared that the Executive Board met with Dean Love who was happy with the communication of resolutions with the administration.
c. E. Chaudhuri shared that the administration is aware of resolution 18 and is working on it, though there are issues with code compliances changing over time.
VI. Consent Calendar
a. None.
VII. Reports of Officers, Committees, and Liaisons
a. H. Watkins motioned to suspend the rules and move Resolution 19 to the bottom of the Third Reading Calendar, no dissent.
b. E. Porter motioned to suspend the rules and table resolution 25 for a week, no dissent.
c. J. Kimball shared that the Dining Committee had its meeting last week and discussed Cornell Dining working on Unity for Food with Student Assembly, which would consist of events such as cider donuts on ho plaza or handing out ice cream
with a silly hat.
d. A. Walters shared that there will be another meeting on Sunday morning at 12:30 in Goldwinsmith 156 and that they are finalizing an organizational column on the Cornell Daily Sun. He further reminded the assembly that the box has an engagement points tracker, to reach out, and to table.
e. S. Agarwal shared that SHAC will have its next meeting on Wednesday at 4:30-5:30 in Willard Straight Hall, where they will focus on nutrition information in dining halls, mental health resources, and transportation.
f. J. Orief shared that Tech Committee's next meeting will be this Sunday 11-12, where they plan to work with the Environmental Committee on a social meia campaign along with the Office of Assemblies to revamp the Student Assembly Website.
g. L. Blum reminded the assembly to schedule tabling and of the $20 allocation.
h. C. Tarala shared that Special Projects is now open, with an email sent to those who expressed interest in it. He further shared that the Finance Committee will be meeting this weekend and that the public events fund from SAFC is due tomorrow.
i. S. Trapani shared that the elections calendar is being finalized and they hope to host events like the representative roundtable and campaign kickoff, while the freshman candidate forum will be on election day right before voting period starts.
VIII. Announcements
a. E. Chaudhuri gave the elections director a shoutout, noted the email from President Kotlikoff, and reminded that homecoming will have a lot of press and that the members are representatives of the Student Assembly even outside of meetings.
IX. Presentations
a. None.
X. Appointments and Fillings of Vacancies
a. Attendance Review
i. E. Chaudhuri shared the count of unexcused absences for each member.
ii. J. Chung shared the reason behind the absences and the assembly moved into a discussion period afterwards.
iii. K. Young motioned to close debate, no dissent.
iv. The motion to unseat J. Chung failed by a vote of 0-0-27.
XI. Public Comment
a. None.
XII. Second Reading Calendar
a. Resolution 27: Condemning Aggressive Media and Business Conduct Towards the Cornell Student Body
i. E. Porter shared that media attention on campus has died down over break, but the resolution is still important to discuss what occurred on campus.
ii. J. Anand shared that the resolution would condemn the harassment and non-consensual recording, photographing, and pressuring of Cornell students by the media. The resolution would ask the university to create a form for students to report media outlets that are breaking rules and ask the university to reinforce its own media policy.
iii. The assembly discussed the administrations’ perspective on the resolution, suggestions to specify locations and legalities, the off-recording portion of public hearing, emails of people being offensive, resolution language, potentially censoring free speech and coverage of the case, guidelines and feasibly, giving media relations more power, students being aware that what they say can be public and broadcasted, potentially having Communications Committee send communications, and media manipulation.
iv. C. Flournoy motioned to table the resolution for a week, no dissent.
v. The resolution has been tabled for a week.
vi. E. Chaudhuri ceded the chair to H. Watkins.
b. Resolution 28: The Removal of Flock Cameras on Campus
i. E. Chaudhuri shared that Flock started as a data consultancy firm that moved to surveillance and has been taking pictures of people’s spaces, collaborating with the federal government, and providing data for ICE activity. He shared attempts to communicate with admin and the head of CUPD but failed, resulting in the last clause which condemns the administration for not speaking to the student body member. He further shared that he got an email today saying they wouldn’t renew their contract
with Flock once they expire, but the administration should acknowledge the harm it can do, especially for international students.
ii. The assembly discussed the people who are in change, when the contract would end, suggestions to physically cover the cameras with bags while they’re being physically removed and deactivated, inviting them to come to the Student Assembly meeting or have the conversation open to more members, misuse of the camera and its systems, potentially creating a timeline to keep Cornell accountable, and if the resolution were to be rejected then to create an ad hoc to publicize information.
iii. H. Watkins motioned to close debate, no dissent.
iv. The resolution moved to the Third Reading Calendar.
v. H. Watkins ceded the chair to E. Chaudhuri.
c. Third Reading Calendar
i. Resolution 18: Addressing the Delays and Lack of Transparency Surrounding the Risley Shops and Theater Repair Timeline
1. A. Vink motioned to close debate, no dissent.
2. The resolution passed by a vote of 27-0-0.
ii. H. Watkins motioned to move resolutions 19, 20 and 22 to the bottom, no dissent.
iii. Resolution 23: Transparency Regarding Cornell Administration Statements
1. L. Blum shared that the resolution addresses administration transparency with its statements, releasing it in a timely fashion, and communicating clearly with students. Various students expressed feeling like the administration wasn’t there and lacked direction and support.
2. The assembly discussed how the administration should be more proactive with student safety
3. K. Young motioned to amend to strike the word “serious”, dissent.
a. L. Blum motioned to end debate, no dissent.
b. The amendment passed by a vote of 26-0-1.
4. A. Vink motioned to replace lines 26-28 to more specific wording, no dissent.
5. The assembly discussed potentially adding a clause for the dean to communicate to students and the lack of personalized communication from the administration.
6. C. Flournoy motioned to close debate, withdrawn.
7. A. Vink motioned to amend line 22, withdrawn.
8. The assembly discussed potentially adding a timeline or context especially for issues that resurfaced on campus.
9. A. Vink motioned to add a whereas clause after line 23, no dissent.
10. K. Young motioned to table the resolution for a week, no dissent.
11. The resolution has been tabled for a week.
iv. Resolution 20: Protecting Minority-Based Programs at Cornell
1. The Chair smiled favorably upon a motion to extend the meeting to 6:45 PM, no dissent.
2. Y. Masoud shared that the resolution came out of the DEI committee which asks Cornell to protect students from the
proposed Trump regulations.
3. A. Ayoola motioned to close debate, no dissent.
4. The resolution passed by a vote of 26-0-1.
v. Resolution 22: Recommending Academic Flexibility During Campus Crises
1. Y. Masoud shared that the resolution came from student sentiment from around campus and during the town hall, where the resolution would ask Cornell to declare a period of campus crises to last at least a week. Within this week, deadlines, prelims, and attendance shouldn’t count, should receive leniency, or will ask for a 3 day extension. The resolution would further request the administration to correspond with the student assembly to see whether the period should be extended after the week is over.
2. The assembly discussed NYS law requiring college to have a certain amount of academic days, the process and making it explicit, and institution care.
3. H. Watkins motioned to close debate, no dissent.
4. The resolution passed by a vote of 27-0-0.
vi. Resolution 19: Supporting New York State Senate Bill S54A
1. Z. deRham noted that only clerical changes were made.
2. A. Ayoola motioned to close debate, no dissent.
3. The resolution passed by a vote of 27-0-0.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:26 PM by unanimous consent