UA R24 (2017-2018): Finalizing Housekeeping Amendments to the Campus Code of Conduct

Conveyed to the President

• Resolution:
  UA R24 (2017-2018): Finalizing Housekeeping Amendments to the Campus Code of Conduct
• Day:
  May 31, 2018
• Action:
  Conveyed to the President
• Summary / Notes:

  Dear President Pollack,

  It is my pleasure to convey the University Assembly's final resolution from the AY 2018 Session, "Finalizing Housekeeping Amendments to the Campus Code of Conduct." This resolution is sponsored by Matthew Battaglia and can be found here: /resolutions/ua-r24-finalizing-housekeeping-amendments-campus-code-conduct

  This compilation of proposed Code amendments is the Assembly's response to your recommendations from October 2017 regarding our proposed code language. Since that time, the Codes and Judicial Committee has met every week to discuss your recommendations, to amend the language to fit the recommendations, and to produce housekeeping code changes that meet the requirements for approval. 

  In addition to extensive deliberation amongst the representatives on the Codes and Judicial Committee and the University Assembly, these proposals have been presented to the relevant stakeholders. The University Assembly, through the Office of the Assemblies, exercised the community comment feature on the Office of the Assemblies website. Also, if one opens the Assemblies website at assembly.cornell.edu, as of the writing of this email, the proposed code changes are the one and only update listed under "News and Updates." This indicates our heightened priority of soliciting community feedback. 

  Moreover, to guarantee beyond a reasonable doubt that the Code changes are not objected to by the campus community, the Assemblies website precisely delineated each of the proposed changes and the language associated it. You can view that specific comment feature here: /%3Cfront%3E/public-comment-open-referenda-and-community-issues/proposed-amendments-campus-code-conduct

  Furthermore, not only did we provide multiple opportunities for in-person comments, we also advertised meetings where the Assembly discussed the Code changes in the Cornell Daily Sun so that its hundreds (if not, thousands) of daily readers would be appraised of the pending code changes. Finally, we waited to vote on this resolution until essentially last possible day to maximize opportunities for community input and feedback.

  In essence, we exercised every tool at our disposal to 'get the word out' on the pending code changes. Personally, I believe these proposals are extremely well-considered and have been subject to an extraordinary amount of public vetting and transparency. They are the result of years of discussion, and a similar amount of time for community feedback.

  The Assembly discussed these code changes over multiple meetings, gave provisional unofficial approval to the proposals at our final meeting, but then, we re-confirmed our vote in an email vote over the past couple of days. The final vote count is 14-1-0, so it is clear that an overwhelming majority of the Assembly supports these code changes and also that an overwhelming majority of the campus community supports (or at least, has no strong opinion concerning) the proposed language. In sum, in my opinion, these code changes have undergone the most extensive public vetting process that we have performed in recent memory. 

  Thank you very much for your valuable feedback from last semester. The Assembly has spent the balance of our time since then doing our very best to comply with that feedback and to represent the interests of the campus community. We sincerely hope that our efforts towards these ends are met with equal enthusiasm by your office and that these code changes can be accepted and adopted as soon as practicable. 

  Please let me (or my successor as Chair, Matthew Battaglia) know if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or hesitations regarding these proposed amendments. I greatly appreciate your time and your continued patience. Thank you again. 

  Best,

  Gabe

  -- 

  Gabriel D. Kaufman

  Chair, University Assembly

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