MINUTES-OF-THE-PLENARY-MEETING-11-18-2012-draft

MINUTES OF THE PLENARY MEETING OF THE UNIVERSITY STUDENT SENATE OF THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK HELD NOVEMBER 18th, 2012 AT BARUCH COLLEGE, VERTICAL CAMPUS, RM 2-125 AT 55 LEXINGTON AVENUE—BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN The Chairperson called the meeting to order at 1:28 P.M 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 Jeffrey Aikens, Vice Chair for Fiscal 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 2012-2013 Delegates & Alternates: Juan Mendez (Baruch College Delegate) Camille O’Brien (Baruch College Delegate) Natasha Afranie (Bronx Community College Delegate) Kafui Kouakou (Brooklyn College Graduate Delegate) Washieka Torres (Brooklyn College Graduate Alternate) Michelle Emokpae (City College Delegate) Kieshorne Dennie (City College Delegate) Sandra May Flowers (Hostos Community College Delegate) Ruth Romero (Hostos Community College Delegate) Victoria Lassen (Hunter College Delegate) Luis Gutierrez (Hunter College Graduate Delegate) Kyototshicharusu Tsukino (Kingsborough Community College Delegate) Roman Charnolusky (Kingsborough Community College Delegate) Mehak Kapor (John Jay Delegate) Peter Charnolusky (John Jay Delegate) Jeffrey Aikens (John Jay College Graduate Delegate) Yvanna Jack (Medgar Evers College Delegate) Natina McKessey (Medgar Evers College Delegate) Jeff Paul (Medgar Evers College First Alternate) Mahmudul Hasan (LaGuardia Community College Delegate) Donovan Borington (LaGuardia Community College First Alternate) Samantha Canty (Lehman College Delegate) Chardonnay McMillian (Lehman College Second Delegate) Charles Thomas (New York City College of Technology Second Alternate) Mohit Kumar (New York City College of Technology First Alternate) Preston Baker (Queensborough Community College Delegate) Karamvir Singh (Queens College Delegate) Peter Trojic (Queens College Delegate) Valerie Littleton (York College Delegate) Shaikh Amin (York College First Alternate) University Student Senate: Fernando Araujo, Acting Executive Director Jennifer Hernandez, Acting Executive Secretary Cruz Garcia, Acting Budget Director Robert Agyemang, Acting 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 I Roll Call With 25 voting members present, a quorum is established Chairperson Kouakou calls the meeting to order at 1:28 pm II Approval of the Agenda I Roll Call II Approval of the Agenda III Approval of Minutes -Minutes of October 14th, 2012 IV Chairpersons Report V Approval of Resolution on Sandy Effects VI USS Budget Approval VII USS Run-Off Elections VIII Announcements IX Adjournment Sen Littleton moves to approve the agenda; the motion is seconded by VC O’Brien The motion carries via unanimous voice vote (25 yes, no, abstentions) III Approval of Minutes from October 14th, 2012 VC O’Brien motions to approve the Minutes of October 14th, 2012 with grammatical corrections; VC Emokpae seconds the motion The motion carries unanimously {25 yes, no, abstentions} IV Chairperson’s Report Chairperson Kouakou begins by discussing the Student Government Presidents Meeting which occurred on November 9th in regards to CUNY’s Hurricane Sandy relief efforts Vice Chancellor Sanchez, who chaired the meeting, spoke on the resources that are available for affected students The University Student Senate joined forces with members of CCSD, the Malave Leadership Academy, and the United Leaders of CUNY to lend a helping hand to residents of the Staten Island community whom been affected by Hurricane Sandy Students helped distribute food and remove debris from devastated homes All in all, a brilliant display of solidarity The Chairperson briefly touches on a Resolution he drafted for students affected by Hurricane Sandy, which will be brought before the delegates after this segment of the agenda The Chairperson recommends more advisors and counselors for the students affected, as well as financial assistance for students and graduate students as part of his meeting with Associate Vice Chancellor Matthew Sapienza Chairperson Kouakou also met with Zak Ivkovic, Athletic Director of CUNY, to discuss CUNY wide intramurals This is an initiative from CUNY Athletics to bring engaging activities to students outside of the athletics department The primary component would be a series of tournaments in handball, soccer, volleyball, chess, and others sports designed specifically for students who are not competing within those domains at their campus The Chairperson, also remarks that Mr Ivkovic was gracious enough to promise CUNY Athletics sweaters for all USS Delegates They will hopefully be ready by the next plenary session The two also discussed extending gym hours and improving the quality of the equipment at different campuses The Chairperson thanks Hunter College for the election party that he recently attended at their campus The event was a great success As part of his report, Chairman Kouakou announced the following USS committee and staff appointments: USS Committees and Staff Appointments Bylaws Committee: Camille O’Brien (Chair) Donovan Borington Jeff Paul Ediberto Saldana Scholarship/Academic Committee: Jeffrey Aikens (Co Chair) Michelle Emokpae (Co chair) Shivly Ali Donovan Borington Natina McKessey Moshe Nathan Sandra Mayflowers Committee on sustainability at CUNY: Chardonnay McMillian (Chair) Tricia Warren Aleena Aslan Students Voter Awareness committee: Valerie Littleton (Chair) Alejandro Madi Washieka Torres Liliete Lopez Sandra May Flowers Tricia Warren Gloria Colon Yessenia Cardon Natasha Afranie USS Staff: Fernando Araujo (Acting Executive Director) Cruz Garcia (Business Director) Jennifer Fernandez (Executive Assistant) Robert Agyemang (Project Associate) Board of Trustees Committees: Committee on Facility, Planning and Management: 1st student: Karamvir Singh 2nd student: Nana Akuba Chinebuah Committee on Academic Policy, Program and Research: 1st student: Muhammad W Arshad 2nd student: Trevonna Pollard Committee on Faculty, Staff and Administration: 1st student: Michelle Emokpae 2nd student: Chardonnay McMillian Committee on Fiscal Affairs: 1st student: Jeffrey Aikens 2nd student: Jennifer Fernandez Committee on Student Affairs and Special Programs: 1st student: Ruth Romero 2nd student: Kafui Kouakou The Chairperson reminded delegates that if they wanted to join a committee, then they should inform him so that they could be assigned to a committee The only committees that are closed are the Board of Trustee committees Note: Sen Dennie joins the meeting at 2:27 pm Sen Trojic joins the meeting at 2:30 pm VC O’Brien motions to approve the Chairperson’s report with appointments; VC Gutierrez seconds the motion The motion carries unanimously {25 yes, no, abstentions—Sen Dennie and Sen Charnolusky} Plenary Dates for the Academic Calendar According to the USS constitution, plenary dates are scheduled for the “ Sunday prior to the fourth Monday of the month unless USS, by majority vote, establishes another date and time” Chairman Kouakou notes that because some of the future plenary dates will present scheduling conflicts for USS, we should amend them now He proposes that the next plenary meeting be held on December 9th or 16th because having it later would interfere with final exams There are another two dates that will present scheduling conflicts: March 24 th because of Somos El Futuro Legislative Caucus, and May 26th because of Memorial Weekend; the Chairman proposes to change to dates to March 17th and May 12th, respectively Sen Flowers, along with a few other delegates, suggests that December 9th is more preferable to the 16th because the 16th is also too close to final exams There are no objections to this suggestion The proposed dates for USS plenary sessions are as follows: December 9th, January 21st, February 24th, March 17th, April 21st, and May 12th Sen Amin motions to approve the new plenary dates; VC Gutierrez seconds the motion The motion carries unanimously {27 yes, no, abstentions} After the motion was approved, Chairman Kouakou concludes his report and yields the floor to Charmaine Worthy Charmaine Worthy thanks USS, CCSD, Dean Rosa, COSA, and the Malave Leadership Academy for the help and participation in the Hurricane relief efforts The groups worked with All Hands, a disaster relief organization, to help Staten Island residents affected by the Hurricane The home owners were appreciative and very grateful for all the support V Approval of Resolution on Sandy effects Chairperson Kouakou introduced a resolution titled “RESOLUTION FOR CUNY FACULTY TO CONSIDER THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF HURRICANE SANDY ON ACADEMIC PERFORMACE“ He cited that this resolution was worked on by the Chairperson and USS staff The purpose of this resolution is to give academic consideration to those students who were affected by Hurricane Sandy Shah Amanat, President of LaGuardia Community College, proposes to amend the resolution by adding the names of the deceased students and their schools Sen Charnolusky motions to approve the resolution as amended; Sen Torres seconds the motion The motion carries unanimously {26 yes, no, abstentions} VI USS Budget Approval Vice Chair Aikens begins by stating that this proposed budget is mainly similar to the budget approved last year The only line increased was the line for Co-sponsorships This line is available to student organizations throughout CUNY Chairperson Kouakou mentions that last year he had requested an audit from the budget office and created an ad hoc audit committee within USS The committee did make some suggestions on ways USS can become more fiscally efficient There has been an audit company that has accepted to start audit They will start from this current year and go backwards and will start shortly after contract signed There will be more information to come on the audit and will be dispersed as it is retrieved There has been money allocated for this audit that will not affect the proposed budget He is working with Vice Chair Aikens to create a formal proposal process for student organizations requesting co-sponsorship funding The scholarship line represents 10% of the budget as earmarked by Board of Trustees Last year, only $18,000 used and would like to find a way to use a portion for Sandy relief for the students affected The Chair answered questions and comments regarding the budget For the delegates who considered social activities money expendable to be distributed for relief, The Chair informed them that this line will also affect students trying to organize events and that there is enough money in the scholarship line to donate For delegates who wanted to pursue aggressive distribution, the Chair reminded them that it must go through the proper process For delegates who were interested in how transparency will work, the Chair stated that the Fiscal Chair will report quarterly and the USS website will have more information once completed For delegates who were interested in an increase to the students with disabilities line, the Chairperson yielded the floor to VC Aikens, who reminded the delegation that USS has to keep in mind all different student populations when creating the budget and that the students with disabilities line is the only line in the USS budget dedicated to one specific student population So as to avoid any misconception of favoritism, it would be best to keep that line as is and give the opportunity to any student with disability to also request funding just as any other student from the co-sponsorship line After brief discussion, Sen Borington moved to end discussion and Sen Afranie seconds VC Aikens motions to approve the USS Budget for the 2013 fiscal year as proposed; Sen Amin seconds the motion The motion carries :{ 24 yes, no—Sen Dennie and Sen Gutierrez, abstentions—Sen Charnolusky and Sen Tsucino} VII USS Run-off Elections Dean Rosa reminds delegation that there will be run-off elections for Vice Chair of Community College Affairs and for Vice Chair of Evening and Part-time Student Affairs 1st Run off Elections Elections for Vice Chair of Community College Affairs Votes for Natasha Afranie (20) Votes for Sandra May Flowers (7) No candidate is elected There will be a 2nd run-off election held for this position Election for Vice Chair of Evening and Part-Time Student Affairs Roman Charnolusky (7) Votes for Peter Trojic (20) No candidate is elected There will be a 2nd run-off election held for this position Dean Rosa announces that there has been no resolution to the elections and proposes a five minute caucus before the next round of run-off elections 2nd Run off Elections Elections for Vice Chair of Community College Affairs Votes for Natasha Afranie (20) Votes for Sandra May Flowers (7) No candidate is elected Election for Vice Chair of Evening and Part-Time Student Affairs Roman Charnolusky (7) Votes for Peter Trojic (20) No candidate is elected After the second runoff, USSERC concludes the elections, thanking all the delegates for their participation Dean Rosa turns the floor over to Chairman Kouakou for the Announcements VIII Announcements The Chairperson announces that the Yearly Dinner will be the first week of December where USS and other student leaders will meet with the Board of Trustees and the officially initiation will come to the listserv; and also if others are doing different things for Thanksgiving, please publish it on the listserv Sen May Flowers announces Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at Hostos and the Student Government Assembly Thanksgiving November 20th, 2012 Sen Gutierrez announces he’s working with graduate students specifically John Jay, as they are planning a plenary meeting November 26th; 2012 and will be sending out an e-mail to the listserv It’s an event to bring graduate students together as well as getting to know them better Sen Afranie announces collaboration with Medgar November 29 th, 2012 to feed the homeless and asks for volunteers between 12-4pm Sen Dennie announces on Dec 6th, 2012 City College will be having a $5 social gathering and also a holiday party for kids on December 12th, 2012 Sen Trojic announces that Queens College is having a water drive for our hurricane sandy victims and I will send the e-mail over the listserv USSERC Shah Amanat announces International Volunteer Day at LaGuardia and will be sending out an e-mail to the chair and to all delegates Sen Paul announces that Medgar Evers College will have an event on Dec th between 6-10 pm The Dance team will also have event on Nov 30th and on Dec 8th the Haitian Students Association will be having a red carpet affair dinner and party Sen Baker announces a CUNY wide leadership conference being planned for April and invites all other campuses to help plan The details will be sent over the listserv once the Chairman receives them Sen Singh announces that the Nov 14th comedy show that was postponed due to Hurricane Sandy will now take place on Dec 9th at pm, and on Dec 13th the SGA will be holding a going away/end of semester party IX Adjournment Sen Baker motions to adjourn and Sen McKessey seconds The meeting the officially adjourned at 4:13 pm Chairperson, Kafui Kouakou Secretary, Kareem Morales RESOLUTION FOR CUNY FACULTY TO CONSIDER THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF HURRICANE SANDY ON ACADEMIC PERFORMACE WHEREAS, on October 29th, 2012 Hurricane Sandy had a profound effect on the coastal areas of New York City and the tri-state region, indiscriminately causing harm to residents, their homes, neighborhoods, and way of life, WHEREAS, we, the CUNY community, are amongst the City and State institutions who suffered great losses; our losses can be counted in precious young life, property damage, and instructional time, WHEREAS, a total of at least 8850 members of the CUNY Community (7682 students and 1168 faculty and staff) were or are living in heavily impacted areas—what city officials call evacuation zone A, WHEREAS, those figures fail to capture the true impact of Hurricane Sandy's devastation, as they omit the people living in zone B and zone C that were also impacted; the figures also not include those living in Long Island or New Jersey, WHEREAS, many of our students, faculty and staff suffered physical, financial and emotional losses; chief among them the unfortunate death of CUNY Students—Jacob Vogelman, Brooklyn College; Jessie Streich-Kest, Hunter College; Lauren Abraham, LaGuardia Community College; John C Filipowicz, College of Staten Island, WHEREAS, the long term damages of Hurricane Sandy cannot be tabulated and will definitely last through this semester and probably for many years to come, RESOLVED, that the University Student Senate call upon Chancellor Goldstein and the Board of Trustees to take actions that will protect CUNY students and their ability to finish the current semester without being hindered academically because of Hurricane Sandy, RESOLVED, that the University Student Senate call upon the City University of New York Faculty members to be compassionate and take into consideration the direct and indirect factors that might have affected our students and their ability to properly focus in class and finish the semester in good academic standing, RESOLVED, that the University Student Senate call upon all University faculty members to take these facts into consideration and make the necessary accommodations for students who have been affected by Hurricane Sandy, making modifications to their curricular goals for this semester and creating avenues for students to make up lost work, ensuring that our students are not penalized for missing classes because of Hurricane Sandy 10