MINUTES OF THE PLENARY MEETING OF THE UNIVERSITY STUDENT SENATE OF THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK HELD MARCH 17th, 2013 AT THE NEW COMMUNITY COLLEGE, ROOM 401 AT 50 WEST 40TH STREET—BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN There were present: USS Steering Members: Kafui Kouakou, Chairperson Camille O’Brien, Vice Chair for Legislative Affairs Luis Gutierrez, Vice Chair for Graduate Student Affairs Michelle Emokpae, Vice Chair for Senior College Affairs Washieka Torres, Vice Chair for Disabled Student Affairs Natina McKessey, Vice Chair for International Student Affairs Mahmudul Hasan, Vice Chair for Technology Fees Peter Trojic, Vice Chair for Evening and Part-time Student Affairs 2012-2013 Delegates & Alternates: Camille O’Brien (Baruch College Delegate) Martina Adams (Borough of Manhattan Community College Delegate) Ruqayah Zuhair (Bronx Community College Delegate) Natasha Afranie (Bronx Community College Delegate) Rashaan Chambers (Brooklyn College Delegate) Kafui Kouakou (Brooklyn College Graduate Delegate) Washieka Torres (Brooklyn College Graduate Alternate) Michelle Emokpae (City College Delegate) Ramdat Singh (City College Delegate) Francisca Villar (City College Graduate Delegate) Sandra-May Flowers (Hostos Community College Delegate) Ruth Romero (Hostos Community College Delegate) Christina Chase (Hunter College Alternate) Luis Gutierrez (Hunter College Graduate Delegate) Kyototshicharusu Tsukino (Kingsborough Community College Delegate) Roman Charnolusky (Kingsborough Community College Delegate) Peter Kowalewska (John Jay Delegate) John Clarke (John Jay College Graduate Alternate) Natina Smith-McKessey (Medgar Evers College Delegate) Jeff Paul (Medgar Evers College First Alternate) Mahmudul Hasan (LaGuardia Community College Delegate) Dan Campbell (LaGuardia Community College Delegate) Donavan Borington (LaGuardia Community College First Alternate) Charles Thomas (New York City College of Technology Second Alternate) Karamvir Singh (Queens College Delegate) Peter Trojic (Queens College Delegate) Preston Baker (Queensborough Community College Delegate) Monica Sibri (College of Staten Island Second Alternate) Valerie Littleton (York College Delegate) Shaikh Amin (York College First Alternate) Garrett Kaske (CUNY Law Graduate Delegate) Paloma Cruz (New Community College Delegate) Stephen Icaza (New Community College Delegate) University Student Senate: Fernando Araujo, Interim Executive Director Jennifer Hernandez, Executive Secretary Cruz Garcia, Budget Director Robert Agyemang, Project Coordinator Office of Student Affairs: Dr Christopher Rosa, Dean of Student Affairs Charmaine Worthy, University Coordinator of Student Activities USSERC Members Dr Christopher Rosa, Chairperson Dan Simonett, USERC Member Melissa Kirk, USERC Member Shah Amanat, SGA President Student Member Guest: Ray Rogers Shirley Irous Ian Chardonnay McMillian (Lehman College Second Delegate) Samantha Carty (former Lehman College USS Delegate) Kenroy Cherrington, (Former City College USS Delegate) Charles Harding (Former Bronx Community College USS AlterDelegate) I Roll Call Chairperson Kouakou announced that the meeting will be recorded in an effort to enhance the accuracy of our minutes and to create an audio archive of our meetings Members are asked to state their names and the college they represent before they speak With 25 voting members present, a quorum is established Chairperson Kouakou called the meeting to order at1:00 PM II Approval of the Agenda I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX Roll Call Approval of the Agenda Approval of Minutes -Minutes of February 24th, 2013 Chairpersons Report Vice Chairs Report USS By-Laws Proposed Amendment Vote USS Scholarship Proposal USS Run-off Election Announcements X Adjournment Sen Littleton motioned to approve the agenda; the motion was seconded by Sen Charnolusky The motion carries unanimously: {25 yes, no, abstentions} III Approval of Minutes from February 24th, 2013 VC Trojic motioned to approve the Minutes of February 24th, 2013 with corrections; the motion was seconded by VC Gutierrez The motion carries unanimously: {25 yes, no, abstentions} IV Chairperson’s Report Chairperson Kouakou began by stating that he was recently approached by Killer Coke organization whom was interested in addressing the plenary He yields the floor to Ray Rogers., title? Ray Rogers began by stating that he is a part of a campaign to stop “killer coke” Coca-Cola, he continued, is responsible for the murders and capture of union leaders in Columbia; they adhere to racially discriminatory policies; and they also promote beverages that they know help cause obesity, diabetes, and other issues that are damaging to children; Coke has also been linked to rape and kidnapping in Guatemala; further, Coca-Cola is being banned off other college campuses throughout the United States Mr Rogers asked for the students’ to support a ban Coke from CUNY campuses He yields the floor to Shirley Irous Shirley Irous, also with the campaign, stated that Dr King called for a boycott of Coca Cola in 1968 She mentioned two specific cases of discrimination where women working at plants in New York where discriminated against Complaints were made and ignored, and then they began harassing the two women After they were fired, they were stripped of their benefits and were not able to collect unemployment One of the women was a graduate of New York City College of Technology Ian Hoffman, a John Jay College graduate, read about the campaign some years ago and decided to get involved He urges the delegation to watch the DVD “the Coca Cola case.” He mentioned that Cal Berkeley and Rutgers University kicked Coca Cola off of their campuses due to their practices CUNY Law also kicked them off and other CUNY campuses He urged the delegates to bring this message back to their respective campuses Chairperson Kouakou opened the floor for questions Sen Kaske mentioned that in 2006 CUNY Law banned Coca Cola, and supporting this initiative shows sign of solidarity with PSC Sen Villar mentions that each campus does individual contracts with vendors and questions whether this body has power to denounce the company on behalf of every campus Chairperson Kouakou states that USS can make a resolution and send it to the Board of Trustees, and then it will be up to the Board to decide Sen Charnolusky mentioned that Pepsi and other large corporations have similar offenses, questioning whether this body should propose a full ban on all exclusive contracts Ray Rogers stated that he would personally like to ban all exclusive contracts, but the key is to put the heat on Coca-Cola at a very critical time He also mentioned that he has been in contact with the Trustees and the Chancellor VC Trojic stated that his campus, Queens College, has a contract with Coca Cola, and the Murphy Institute banned Coca Cola Chairperson Kouakou reminded the delegates that any resolution only sends a message, but it is the Board of Trustees who ultimately decides Sen Kaske recognizes that the Board of Trustees has the deciding vote, but the delegates can bring back resolution to our individual Student Government Associations this way if the Board of Trustees not approve the resolution, we still have our own ways to exercise some power against Coca-Cola and their practices Chairperson Kouakou agreed with Sen Kaske and urges the delegates to get their Student Government Associations to pass the resolution and send an even more powerful message There must be a consensus to craft and pass this resolution Sen Baker mentions that at beginning of the year, the Board of Trustees tried to get the power back to decide for all campuses He states that this issue must be brought to the hearings Chairperson Kouakou states that ledge will craft any resolution that body decides to pass VC O’Brien questions whether the resolution should be just to ban Coca-Cola or should there be a portion about the Board of Trustees power to decide for all of CUNY Sen Kaske suggested crafting separate resolutions VC Smith-McKessey agrees Sen Campbell questionsed if we ban Coca-Cola we now support Pepsi Sen Kaske states that any large corporation is probably guilty of something and we shouldn't allow our campuses to put money into those companies Sen Charnolusky stated that we should support a resolution that demands no exclusive contract with any organization with human rights violations Sen Littleton stated that all suggestions should go to the committee Sen Adams moves to approve the crafting of a USS resolution to ban Coca-Cola; the motion is seconded by Sen Zuhair The motion carries: {25 yes, no, abstentions: VC Emokpae, Sen Romero, Sen Villar, Sen Nieves, Sen Charnolusky} Chairperson Kouakou reminds delegates that the resolution will be crafted, and suggestions should be sent over the listserv Executive Director Araujo announces that Quorum has now reached 30 Chairperson Kouakou states that he and the USS staff have been working on the Somos El Futuro weekend The deadline has passed to RSVP Please confirm your attendance with staff so they can make the proper arrangements Chairperson Kouakou yields floor to Sen Charnolusky Sen Charnolusky mentions that he attended Councilman Wills Community Violence Prevention Act press conference and saw a few other students such as Brandon Clarke This Act includes programs with youth and community watch He also mentions that Councilman Wills is looking for more student involvement, please contact him if interested Chairperson Kouakou thanks everyone who attended Lobby Day He also attended the Queens College formal and had a really good time He thanks all the Queens College delegates The Chair mentions that the report is out about Baruch College and was discussed at the Board of Trustee meeting According to the report, CUNY Peace Officers did their job The Chair is currently working with Dean Rosa to set up meetings with VC Dobrin and VC Sanchez to get full debriefing of the report Sen Chaise asks whether delegates can attend the meeting because the findings of the report are false and will work to gather more student testimonials Sen Villar mentions that she was one of students who were arrested No student input given for the investigation and is in favor of USS forming its own investigation Chairperson Kouakou mentions that crawl did reach out to some students but didn't hear back from all the students He also reminds the delegation that conducting the investigation costs money and the plenary has to decide if this is something that we want to pursue Sen Borington offers to testify if they are still accepting testimonials V Vice Chair Reports VC O’Brien began by discussing the annual USS Lobby Day This is the first time working with labor unions and the feedback was well received VC Trojic reported on his meeting with VC Sanchez about student advising and finding better services at our campuses So far, he has only heard from three schools from his initial email sent over the listserv Please get all information to him as soon as possible He will send the email over the Listserv again VC Gutierrez reported on a speech he delivered at a press conference in Albany, in which he highlighted the Dream Act, CUNY Leads and TAP for graduate students VC Smith-McKessey reported on DACA event she was planning She got a confirmation for the townhall and workshops It will be on April 13 10am to 5pm at Medgar Evers College VC Smith-McKessey met with Charmaine last Tuesday and met James McGovern and was advised to get a list of students who really need these actions She stated that community members don't come out for events like this usually because the people giving the information don't look like themselves She continues, if a person is under 15 and came to the US before 2006 they are eligible It’s important for people to be prepared beforehand then come to get help at the event There is a waiver for the application process; the 490$ fee can be waived in the form of a loan Please get this information back to those who can use it Sen Villar commends Sen Smith-McKessey for her great work on behalf of International students Sen Sibri states that she works with DACA and believes there hasn’t been enough advertising for this event Chairperson Kouakou asks that if anybody knows any member of the dream club please send that information Sen Sibri states that there is a dream club at 10 colleges and there will be a meeting Tuesday, March 19 th Sen Chaise asks whether it is a waiver or loan VC Smith-McKessey affirms that it is a no interest loan Sen Villar states that there is a waiver and low income and undocumented persons can be waived VC Hasan attended the LaGuardia Community College technology meeting He was also in communication with other student technology committee Also, he is working with Chairperson Kouakou and Charmaine to work with the VC for Technology Affairs to help with more resources VC Hasan is working to get USS a new copy machine with color and heavy duty printing Chairperson Kouakou mentioned that the website has changed and there is a new logo VC Emokpae begian with the proposed CUNY wide career fair She got in contact with Jacob Javits Center and they gave days of availability June 7th, June 13th, June 14th or June 15th She will meet with VC Sanchez to discuss it further VC Emokpae and Executive Director Araujo had a meeting with Hunter College and Queens College to discuss a campus unity event called “CUNY got talent” They are looking to have it at Webster Hall and winners can get something toward their tuition VI USS Scholarship Proposal VC Emokpae discussed the recommended increases to current scholarships The Ernesto Malave Merit scholarship is proposed to increase to $1500; The Donald and Ellen Passantino International and Student with Disabilities Scholarships is proposed to increase to $750 Sen Chaise moved to approve the USS Scholarship resolution to amend the USS scholarship; the motion was seconded by Sen Villar The motion carried unanimously: {30 yes, no, abstentions} VC Emokpae proposed two new scholarships: a “I am CUNY” scholarship with the purpose of highlighting the creativity of CUNY students who display different ways of showing CUNY spirit and the “Peer Mentoring” scholarship for graduate students After brief discussion, Sen Villar moved to approve the USS Scholarship resolution to adopt the “I Am CUNY” and the “Peer Mentoring” USS scholarships; the motion was seconded by Sen Singh The motion carried: {29 yes, no, abstention: Sen Zuhair} Chairperson Kouakou commended the scholarship committee for their work so far He went on to state that the extension for receiving all scholarship applications has been moved to April rd VII USS Run-off Elections Chairperson Kouakou yielded the floor to Dean Rosa Dean Rosa offered a reminder to the delegation that there will be a run-off election for Vice Chair of Community College Affairs This would have been the last chance to resolve this last position A winning candidate would need 24 votes to attain the position 1st Run off Elections Elections for Vice Chair for Community College Affairs Votes for Natasha Afranie (21) Votes for Sandra May Flowers (9) No candidate was elected A 10 minute caucus was called 2nd Run off Elections Elections for Vice Chair for Community College Affairs Votes for Natasha Afranie (27) Votes for Sandra May Flowers (4) Sen Afranie was elected the Vice Chair for Community College Affairs for the University Student Senate Congratulations Vice Chair Afranie! VIII USS By-Laws Proposed Amendment Vote After confirming with Executive Director Araujo, the Chairman announced that there are 31 voting members present, and that he we would proceed with the by-laws vote VC Smith-McKessey moved to approve the USS By-Laws Amendment as presented at the previous meeting; the motion was seconded by Sen Sibri The motion carried unanimously: {31 yes, no, abstentions} IX Announcements Executive Director Araujo made a quick note about the event mentioned earlier It is a CUNY wide talent show and Steering Committee is looking to create and ad-hoc committee for the event If you are interested please reach out to the USS office Also, Somos El Futuro conference is this coming Friday Charmaine Worthy mentioned that a member of the CUNY community has been diagnosed with leukemia and is in dire need of a bone marrow transplant The Central Office of Student Affairs is assisting in a bone marrow drive that has been extended to next Wednesday, March 20th, 2013 She goes on to expressed her gratitude to those delegates who have been volunteering their time Sen Littleton asked those who are still interested in the Voter Awareness Committee to join her after the plenary meeting for a brief committee meeting Sen Flowers announced that Hostos will host Cheryl Wills, April 7th , 2013 from 5-7pm Sen Chaise announced that on Wednesday, March 20th, 2013 from 5-7pm “What is Woman” event will take place at Hunter College Sen Afranie announced that Bronx Community College will be having a Pathways discussion April th, 2013 from 12-2pm VC McKessey announced “Cultures Week” at Medgar Evers College from April th - April 13th Sen Kaske announced that the legal challenge to stop and frisk is going to bench trial this Monday, March 18 th It will last 5-6 weeks VC Torres announced that April is Disabilities Awareness Month and she will update the plenary about different events throughout the month Sen Sibri announced that there will be a “Relay for Life” at College of Staten Island on May rd from 3pm – 12am Charmaine announced that on April 1st there will be an acceptable housing conference Samantha Carty announced that this Thursday March 21st from 4-6pm Lehman College will host a “Women Empowering Women” event Sen Afranie announced that Bronx Community College will be having a Hall of Fame event The prices are 5$ for CUNY students, 15$ for Bronx residents This event will happen on May th Sen Singh (Queens College) announced that Queens College will be hosting a “Relay for Life” on April 25th X Adjournment Sen Baker motions to adjourn and Sen Adams seconds The meeting the officially adjourned at 4:07 pm Chairperson, Kafui Kouakou Secretary, Robert Agyemang