University Life Council
Minutes of Meeting
Oct. 29, 2007
Terrace Lounge
Present: John Dias, Philip Erner, Michele Forte, Lily Garcia, Tremaine Harris,
Daniel Komorowski, Candace Merbler, Joan Savitt (Chair), Brenda
Seckerson, Dan Smith, Dan Truchin, Robert Yagelski, Adam Zonder
Regrets: John Murphy, and Julia Filippone.
Meeting Commenced at 3:30pm.
Chair Savitt asked Dan Truchin from the Student Association to expand on the comments he had made in the Senate regarding the administration of intramural athletics at the Oct.
22 nd meeting.
Dan Truchin mentioned that the individual who had been hired to fill the intramurals role has since resigned. The Student Senate sent out a mass email to students to get them to sign up for intramural activities and they recorded an increase in student involvement in intramurals.
Dan Truchin then asked when the University Life Council thought the position would be filled and if the individual be in place for the Spring semester.
Dan Smith mentioned that he believed the position has been filled and that the students should speak with Mike Jaromin, Director of Student Involvement and Leadership, about who this individual is who has filled the role.
Chair Savitt was glad to hear that students had stepped in to help fellow students.
Dan Truchin thanked the council for inviting him to speak.
New Student Members
Chair Savitt then mentioned that 3 student representatives had joined the group and were serving on various committees. Lily Garcia will be serving on the Residential Life committee. John Dias will be serving on the Health, Safety and Well-being committee and Dan Komorowski will be serving on the athletics committee.
Minutes from the Oct. 1, 2007 meeting were approved.
Chair’s Report
Chair Savitt stated that Reed Hoyt, Chair of the Faculty Senate, would like to see the committees up and running, and urged the conveners to move their groups to elect chairs.

After mentioning the Senate Executive Committee’s participation in the naming of an interim President Chair Savitt said that there is no news on a Provost, but there is strong sentiment that the individual who fills this role should be from the academic side.
Committee Updates
Chair Savitt transitioned into discussing the current happenings of the 3 committees of the ULC.
(1) John Murphy sent the following information regarding the progress of the
Residential Life committee.
- The committee had an initial meeting on Oct. 23 rd
. They considered quality of life issues, including the impact of triples on recruitment and retention as well as the overall quality of the residential experience. They decided to reschedule the meeting for mid-November to allow for more members to attend and also elect a committee chair.
(2) Brenda Seckerson invited Tremaine Harris to join the Health, Safety and Well-
Being committee. Chair Savitt added that Dr. Peter Vellis, Director, University
Health Center is also a member of this committee.
(3) Dan Smith then discussed the Athletics committee and said that the most important topic at this time is the status of the intramural position. Dan mentioned that he would be calling Michael Christakis, who is on the interview committee, regarding the status of this position.
Brenda Seckerson added that she has a link on the EAP website for information on pool hours and other athletics-related information, but she has not been receiving updates since there is nobody currently serving in this role.
Dan Smith mentioned that Cara White in athletics has been handling the pool schedule.
Chair Savitt added that she was very concerned about the status of this position as it affects the entire university.
University Faculty Senate
Chair Savitt then invited Dan Smith to speak about the University Faculty Senate and the recent meeting he attended at SUNY Cortland.
Dan Smith mentioned that he is a member of the Student Life Committee and shared some of the topics they covered during their Fall planning meeting which included.

1.
Positive Traditions – The Committee agreed to make an additional attempt to collect data from campuses concerning “Positive Traditions”. As soon as the data is collected, the subcommittee will draft a report for its December meeting to be delivered to the faculty senate at the Spring Plenary.
2.
Service Learning – The Committee agreed to develop a “how to” guide with resources for campuses to implement programs in Service Learning. The guide could include student success stories.
3.
Student Medical Insurance – The Committee continued to discuss the problem of medical insurance for students on campus which appears to be the same as the problems for the rest of society in regards to medical insurance. While it is beyond the Committee to make specific recommendations, they did agree to articulate the concerns in a white paper to present to the Senate and Chancellor.
4.
Mental Health – The Committee discussed the recommendations of the
Chancellor’s Critical Incident Task Force which included prevention, enforcement, and communication, should an incident similar to Virginia Tech occur in New York. The recommendations can be seen on the SUNY Senate website. The task force recommended there be a mental health counselor to student ratio of 1:1000. Ed Engelbride reported that the current statewide ratio is roughly 1:1700.
Chair Savitt asked if we knew ratio of student to mental health counselor at the
University at Albany.
Dan Smith mentioned he would ask Estela Rivero, Director, Counseling Center.
The Committee will meet again on Friday, November, 30, 2007 at 11 a.m. at System
Administration in Albany.
Dan Smith also mentioned that the University at Albany is currently under-represented on the Senate.
Workplace Violence Meeting
Candace Merbler added that she has been invited as the UUP President to attend the
Workplace Violence meeting on Nov. 8 th
which will discuss issues related to workplace bullying and abuse.
Brenda Seckerson added that she will also be in attendance at the meeting.
FIRE – “Foundation for Individual Rights in Education”
Chair Savitt then revisited the information that Dr. James Anderson had shared with the council previously regarding FIRE - “Foundation for Individual Rights in Education”.
Chair Savitt mentioned that on the “Spotlight” section of FIRE’s website, you can locate the University at Albany. She then mentioned that the concerns or issues associated with the University that are found on the “Spotlight” section are not addressed through the

University Life Council. Chair Savitt added that we should be mindful of these issues, as we create legislation or revise policies.
Chair Savitt then opened up the floor to any other issues or topics.
Voting
Candace Merbler addressed the issue of students in certain dorms having difficulty with the Board of Elections and registering.
Lily Garcia mentioned that this issue came up during the student senate meeting and the problem was occurring in Dutch quad with individuals not putting a specific mailbox number on their mail. The problem has been addressed and fixed.
Chair Savitt then mentioned how the University Life Council has not been asked to look at any specific issues, but have been asked not to look at the health insurance issue.
Next Meeting is November 19, 2007 at 3:30 in the Terrace Lounge.
Meeting was adjourned at 4:15 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Noah Simon, Recording Secretary