Student Assembly Meeting

Thursday, October 22, 2026

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Term:
2026-2027
Assembly/Committee: Student Assembly
Date & Time:
Thu, Oct 22, 2026 - 4:45pm
to
6:30pm
Location:
Willard Straight Hall Memorial Room (WSH407)/Zoom
Agenda:
1. Call to Order
2. Call of the Roll
3. Reading of the Land Acknowledgment
4. Approval of the October 15, 2026 Meeting Minutes
5. Communications to the Student Assembly
6. Consent Calendar
7. Reports of Officers, Committees, and Liaisons
8. Announcements
9. Presentations
10. Appointments and Fillings of Vacancies
11. Public Comment
12. Second Reading Calendar
1. Resolution 29: Encouraging Advance Posting and Reasonable Cancellation Notice for TA and CA Office Hours
2. Resolution 30: An Expression of Grievances and Request for Inquiry Regarding the Proposal to Amend Enrollment Deadlines
13. Third Reading Calendar
1. Resolution 23: Transparency Regarding Cornell Administration Statements
2. Resolution 28: The Removal of Flock Cameras on Campus
14. Adjournment
Meeting Packet:
Audio Recording:
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 (proxied), S. Agarwal (proxied), J. Anand, S. Augustin, T. Aye, A. Ayoola, L. Blum, M. Causey (proxied), E. Chaudhuri, J. Chung, S. Dunn, C. Flournoy, T. Japal, J. Kimball, D. Lee, A. Lyons, Y. Masoud, E. Porter, A. Sendelbach, C. Tarala, A. Vink, A. Walters, H. Watkins, K. Young
b. Members Absent: K. Krishtopa, J. Orief
c. Also Present: C. Carpenter, S. Trapani

III. Reading of the Land Acknowledgment
a. E. Chaudhuri stated the land acknowledgement.

IV. Approval of the October 15, 2026 Meeting Minutes
a. The motion to approve the October 15, 2026 minutes passed through unanimous consent.

V. Communications to the Student Assembly
a. E. Chaudhuri shared that some resolutions were accepted immediately, while the resolutions regarding not allowing professors to require doctor’s notes and not allowing professors to advertise classes as free when they have associated costs have been approved by the Faculty Senate Educational Policy Committee, with an amendment to the Faculty handbook. The administration also communicated that they’re doing their best to stay within the 30 day timeline, plan to announce a positive response to resolution 15, and plan on hosting a student town hall soon.

VI. Consent Calendar
a. None.

VII. Reports of Officers, Committees, and Liaisons
a. Y. Masoud shared that the DEI committee will be meeting this Saturday at 4:15 virtually to discuss their next project.
b. S. Trapani shared that many freshmen have not been receiving communication emails and requested a list of non-student assembly members in committees. She further shared that communications have been going to freshmen with questions
about elections, and expressed interest in elections, but this is another way to get the word out. The Representative Roundtable is also scheduled for tomorrow, but considering many students do not know about elections happening, she expressed interest in a straw poll to determine whether or not to push it.
c. E. Chaudhuri motioned to suspend the rules and add resolution 31 to the Second Reading Calendar, dissent.
i. The motion passed by a vote of 15-5-4.
d. A. Walters shared that the Communications Committee had a productive meeting, where they started setting a tentative consistent outreach schedule, with a lot of content on Instagram. There were plans to send out a newsletter tomorrow
morning, but there’s the issue with the listserv.
e. A. Walters shared that the Academic Policy Committee had a productive meeting, with resolution 30 addressing the drop deadline.
f. L. Blum shared that every committee has met and is running. Any questions with recruitment or other issues can go to her.
g. C. Tarala shared that they have been receiving Special Projects requests and listed the 4 that have been submitted so far. He is also considering cancelling the Finance Committee meeting this week.

VIII. Appointments and Fillings of Vacancies
a. A. Lyons shared that she’ll be resigning from the SAIFC Chair. She appointed Franklin Berry as the Infrastructure Fund Commission Chair.
i. The nomination passed by a vote of 24-0-0.
ii. Franklin has been appointed as the Student Assembly Infrastructure Fund Commission Chair.

IX. Public Comment
a. A speaker shared that the athletics department wanted to do more engagement related things for the undergraduate community, such as spending money on BBQ, transportation, etc.

X. Second Reading Calendar
a. Resolution 29: Encouraging Advance Posting and Reasonable Cancellation Notice for TA and CA Office Hours
i. T. Aye shared that the resolution would encourage TAs and CAs to be better at communicating with students.
ii. T. Japal motioned to end debate, withdrawn.
iii. The assembly discussed consulting with the Cornell Graduate Students United, suggestions, getting in touch with people, and potentially imposing restrictions on graduate students.
iv. C. Flournoy motioned to table the resolution for a week, dissent.
1. The assembly discussed changing the language of the resolution and benefits of tabling.
2. Y. Masoud motioned to close debate, no dissent.
3. The motion to table the resolution for a week passed by a vote of 11-5-4.
v. The resolution has been tabled for a week.
b. Resolution 30: An Expression of Grievances and Request for Inquiry Regarding the Proposal to Amend Enrollment Deadlines
i. A. Walters shared that the resolution was drawn up based on complaints from the student body regarding the proposal from the Faculty Senate to move the drop deadline up.
ii. The assembly discussed why the resolution moved it to the 5th, reasons the timeline was sped up, properly expressing grievances, inviting someone from the Faculty Senate to defend the resolution, other institutions, professors setting deadlines, requiring at least an assignment grade back, extenuating circumstances, and keeping drops internally.
iii. A. Walters motioned to close debate, no dissent.
iv. The resolution has moved to the Third Reading Calendar.
v. E. Chaudhuri ceded the chair to H. Watkins.
c. Resolution 31: Authorizing the Director of Elections to Waive Candidate Petitioning Requirements
i. S. Trapani shared that the resolution would allow the elections director to decide to waive petitioning requirements, which would only be for this election cycle due to communication issues.
ii. The members discussed setting a precedent, reimagining how petitions look, and the turnout rate.
iii. The Chair smiled favorably upon a motion to extend the meeting time to 7PM, no dissent.
iv. D. Lee motioned to end debate, dissent.
1. The motion to end debate failed by a vote of 10-12-0.
v. L. Blum motioned to close debate, no dissent.
vi. The resolution moved to the Third Reading Calendar.
vii. H. Watkins ceded the chair to E. Chaudhuri.

XI. Third Reading Calendar
a. Resolution 23: Transparency Regarding Cornell Administration Statements
i. L. Blum shared that concerns and amendments from last week were made.
ii. A. Vink motioned to close debate, no dissent.
iii. The resolution passed by a vote of 23-0-0.
b. Resolution 24: Bi-Semesterly Updates on Participation Grades
i. E. Porter shared that no changes were made to the resolution.
ii. A. Vink motioned to close debate, no dissent.
iii. The resolution passed by a vote of 23-0-0.
iv. E. Chaudhuri ceded the chair to H. Watkins.
c. Resolution 28: The Removal of Flock Cameras on Campus
i. E. Chaudhuri shared that the resolution now asks for a sped up timeline of the removal of flock cameras along with additional whereas clauses and the suggestion of covering up the cameras.
ii. Y. Masoud motioned to close debate, no dissent.
iii. The resolution passed by a vote of 22-0-0.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:51 PM by unanimous consent.

StudentAssemblyMeetingMinutesOctober222026.pdf (146.31 KB)