DRAFT MINUTES 1
USG Senate Meeting
Thursday, September 20 th , 2012
Meeting called to order at 7:02 pm. Meeting held in SAC 302.
Agenda item 1.0: Attendance
The roll was called:
Senator Emily Alcott
Senator Anne Chau
Senator Brian Conway
Senator Andrew (Drew) Davis
Senator Brian Delgado
Senator Mario Ferone
Senator Daniela Galeano Valencia
Senator Miranda Guerriero
Senator Ryan Heslin
Senator William Kennelly
Senator Daniel Lai
Senator Kathryn Michaud
Senator Brian McIlvain
Present
Present
Present
Present
Present
Present
Present
Present
Present
Present
Present
Present
Present
Senator Ken Myers
Senator Konstantinos Plakas
Present by Proxy (Mr. Oscar Icochea)
Present
Senator Caterina Reed
Present
1 Typically, minutes should only contain the essentials of a meeting. This includes the meeting time and location, a list of those who attended, as well as a record of all motions made and their outcome. Debate (or a summary of debate) is usually not included. I include it here at the request of the Chair. Mistakes and omissions are likely, so
Senators are encouraged to e-‐mail the Secretary with corrections prior to the next Senate meeting, so that the record reflects what was actually said at the meeting and so corrections can be made efficiently.
Senator Mallory Rothstein
Senator Rebecca Safeer
Senator Peter Sheh
Senator Priya Sohi
Senator Ying Zhao
Senator Steven Zhu
President Anna Lubitz
Present
Absent
Present
Present
Absent
Present
Absent
Executive Vice President Aimee Pomeroy
Treasurer Allan Abraham
VP of Student Life Patrick (PJ) Abelein
VP of Clubs and Organizations Amanda Cohen
VP of Academic Affairs Derek Cope
VP of Communications Sophia Marsh
Senior Class Representative Tatiana Malebranche
Present
Absent
Absent
Present
Absent
Absent
Absent
Junior Class Representative Victoria Smith
A quorum exists.
Agenda item 2.0: Announcements
Absent
•
Chair had no announcements.
Agenda item 3.0: Approval of Last Meeting’s Minutes
•
Senator Plakas moved to approve last meeting’s minutes.
o Senator Guerriero moved to amend the minutes in order to reflect the correct spelling of the names of Senators and USG Officers:
§ Senator Guerriero
§ Senator Rothstein
§ Treasurer Allen Abraham o Motion approved by unanimous consent.
o Motion to approve the minutes, as amended, was approved by unanimous consent.
Agenda item 4.0: Teaching, Learning, Technology – Online Course Evaluations
•
A representative from TLT presented agenda item 4.0.
o Students can now see all faculty ratings for all Faculty serving in the East campus.
o There will be changes to the course evaluation questions, including questions that faculty can ask that are specific to their courses.
o We are holding focus groups and would love representation from student government officials.
§ We want to know what students need to know about a class and a professor before enrolling.
§ What factors are important to students?
o We need at least one participant on a task force to select a new vendor for the online system.
§ Current system is quite “clunky.”
§ There are other vendors that provide a more robust and user-‐friendly system.
§ We would love to have one or two students to help select a new vendor.
o Senator Davis: When will that task force meet?
§ The week of October 15 th .
§ We have two vendors who will present on one day.
o Senator Lai: I think this is a great idea.
o Senator Davis: How do we go about joining the task force?
§ Chair: I will send Patricia’s information to Senators, who can contact her if interested in participating.
o Presenter: We have a vision for a student-‐focused website that will provide you with a lot of information about courses, faculty ratings, syllabi, etc.
Agenda item 5.0: Google Apps for Education
•
Ms. Karen presented agenda item 5.0.
o How many people are logged into their new Stony Brook “Google Aps for Education” account? *Few raised their hands*.
o We have been reaching out to students via Earthstock and other events, as well as sending a mass e-‐mail to all students, in order to get everyone to separate their personal e-‐mail from the University e-‐mail accounts.
o You can begin logging in right now at stonybrook.edu/mycloud o You sign in with your NetID and password.
o As for October 1st, 2012, the University will get rid of “mysbmail” and forwarding all e-‐ mails to the new Google accounts.
o For most people, their e-‐mail accounts will be firstname.lastname@stonybrook.edu
or some variant thereof for students with common names.
o Google Apps for education is available for all students, except those in the Medical and
Dental school. They are using a Microsoft Exchange/Outlook system, in order to maintain compliance with HIPAA regulations.
o Please take this news back to your classmates and friends.
o To be able to use Google Docs when collaborating will make life much easier.
o There is a University Directory.
o University Admin and Departments are migrating to the new system on a gradual basis.
The project is ahead of schedule and on budget, and should be done by March 2013.
o We would like to get the word out. There are messages on SOLAR and Blackboard.
o We have ads in the Statesman.
o If you have any ideas, please e-‐mail me, and you can get my contact information through your EVP.
o For those people who have important e-‐mail in the @ic.sunysb.edu, we have instructions on how to migrate your information. We have screenshots and detailed instructions to help you.
•
Senator Chau: Do you know how to forward Lotus Notes?
o Presenter: Make sure that you let your supervisor know that you need to have your mail migrated.
•
Senator Rothstein: I don’t even know my current e-‐mail at all. I forward all my mail to Yahoo.
What will happen to my e-‐mails?
o Presenter: All of your e-‐mail will get sent to your Google account. You can use that new
Google account or forward your e-‐mail from there to your Yahoo account.
•
Senator Lai: If someone sends e-‐mail to our current addresses in the future, what happens to it?
o Presenter: For a limited time, it will be forwarded to your new address.
Agenda item 6.0: Approval of Samantha Dizon for the Elections Board
•
Senator Delgado (Vetting Committee): We approved Samantha Dizon. She is committed, passionate, and has time to fulfill her tasks. We feel confident that she will be able to do her job in the upcoming elections.
•
Senator Guerriero: What groups are you involved with on campus? o Ms. Samantha Dizon: I am part of PUSO. I go to events for other clubs too.
•
Senator Davis: Do you have any ideas for helping get the vote out? o Ms. Dizon: Not at the moment. I will come up with ideas in the future.
•
Senator Michaud: I would like to let the Senate know that the applicants were not completely aware of their responsibilities. Our main concern is to see that the candidate has a lot of time and is committed to learning.
•
Senator Heslin moved to confirm Samantha Dizon for the Elections Board position. o Motion approved by unanimous consent.
Agenda item 7.0: Approval of Bin Qiang for the Elections Board
•
Senator Delgado (Vetting Committee) delivered a short statement in support of the candidate’s confirmation.
•
Senator Heslin: It says in your resume that you pioneered an innovative technique for teaching.
Can you elaborate on that?
o Mr. Qiang: I am holding office hours for the course that I am TAing. I also do some grading of exams and other related tasks.
•
Senator Guerriero: What is your major?
o Mr. Qiang: Business and Economics.
•
Senator Heslin moved to approve Bin Qiang for the Elections Board position.
o Motion approved by unanimous consent.
Agenda item 8.0: SSC Budget Applications
•
VP Cohen presented the SSC Budget Applications and Line Budget Status requests.
•
VP Cohen: First off, we have Speech and Debate society. This club has fulfilled its SSC funding requirement. They used their allotted budget for events. They are requesting to be given line budget status. The details are in the SSC minutes. They are requesting line budget status.
•
Senator Ferone moved to grant “Speech and Debate Society” Line Budget Status.
o Motion approved by unanimous consent.
•
Senator Heslin: What is the status of the Printing Quota resolution?
o Chair: The resolution has been tabled until we hear back from the HSC.
•
VP Cohen: The next club is the Stony Brook Field Hockey club.
•
Senator Plakas moved to approve line budget status for the Stony Brook Field Hockey club.
o Motion approved by unanimous consent.
•
Senator Davis moved to approve the SBU Women’s Soccer budget request in the amount of
$1178.60.
o Senator Sohi: We need to look carefully at each budget as we have limited funds.
o Proxy Icochea: How much of a budget do we have at this time for SSC clubs?
§ VP Cohen: $15,000 is the total SSC budget, and it will decrease as the budget is allocated to these clubs. This is the budget for the entire year.
o Senator Ferone: How many clubs are you expecting to have this semester?
§ VP Cohen: I would expect 15 clubs this semester.
o Senator Lai: Can you explain what it means on the breakdown of “Price 1” and “Price
2”?
§ VP Cohen: Any asset must have at least two price quotes.
o Senator Sheh: For all the games you listed, is it in a hierarchy order, or do you play all these games?
§ Senator Michaud (representing the Women’s Soccer club): There are 7 or 8 games that we must play in order to qualify for regionals. We are going to play all the games on this list. o Senator Heslin: You are only allowed 11 people on the pitch at any one time. What is the reason for requesting 22 jerseys?
§ Senator Michaud: 18-‐22 players are allowed to dress for every game. o Senator Heslin moved to end debate.
§ Motion failed by a vote of 11-‐8-‐1. (2/3 majority required). (Roll Call #1).
•
Senator Sohi moved to amend the motion, in order to reduce the total number of jerseys from
22 to 18.
o Senator Rothstein: Is it reasonable to ask players to swap jerseys?
§ Senator Sohi: It is a team sport.
o Senator Michaud: The price will change per jersey if we reduce the total number ordered.
o Senator Conway: We also need to consider whether or not participants need to switch shorts on the field. Is that reasonable?
o VP Cohen: Many clubs buy their own equipment and jerseys. Just because you do not grant enough money for 22 jerseys does not mean that the club cannot spend money on its own to buy some extra jerseys.
o Senator Sohi: The team can still order 22 jerseys and pay for 4 out-‐of-‐pocket.
o Senator Davis: Is it unreasonable to ask club members to spend some money on jerseys?
§ Senator Michaud: We already pay for our own equipment. We have been paying for a number of items and expenses. Considering that many other clubs do not pay as much out of pocket, to the best of my knowledge, I do not think it is fair to keep asking people to chip in money when that $80 will not really affect the $15,000 SSC budget.
o Senator Guerriero: I do not think it is unreasonable to cut down the number of jerseys to 18.
o Senator Heslin: While I agree with Senator Davis’ suggestion that the club fundraise, I also agree with Senator Michaud’s point that we should not turn this club into a money pit for its members.
o Senator Michaud: We are not allowed to switch jerseys at regional or national tournaments, as each participant needs to have their own number.
o Proxy Icochea: If we want to send the full 22 members, we will not be able to do so if we have 18 jerseys.
o Senator Sohi: I do not think it is unrealistic to have the club chip in $80 out of pocket.
o On the motion to amend: Motion failed by a vote of 7-‐12-‐1. (Roll Call #2).
o Senator Ferone moved to end debate.
§ Motion approved by unanimous consent.
o On the motion to grant the club their budget request:
§ Motion approved by a vote of 17-‐2-‐0. (Roll Call #3).
•
Senator Rothstein: Do you expect that there will be a similar number of clubs applying for SSC funding this year as in previous years?
o VP Cohen: There are many factors to take into account, but as of right now, it appears that there will be a similar number of teams applying this year.
•
VP Cohen: Badminton club has a budget request of $384.16. We have a representative.
•
Senator Ferone moved to grant speaking privileges to the club representative.
o Motion approved by unanimous consent.
•
Senator Plakas: You gave only one price for the scoreboard?
o Ms. Amy Cheung (Badminton club representative): This is the only scoreboard available in this country. If we wanted to get another quote, we would have to get the scoreboard from overseas.
•
Proxy Icochea: Can you explain the requirement for the 3 scoreboards?
o Ms. Cheung: We are hoping to get three courts. Based on our discussions with the responsible authority, we are likely to get at least two.
•
Senator Delgado: Are the shipping and handling and other fees included in this price quote?
o Ms. Cheung: Correct.
•
Senator Reed moved to approve the Badminton Club budget request for the amount $336.21.
•
Proxy Icochea: I move to amend the budget request to have only 2 scoreboards instead of 3, making the new total $295.85.
o Senator Sohi: We just approved a budget request for more funds. What happens if the club gets all 3 courts?
o Senator Heslin: I think that we should give the club the opportunity to have all three scoreboards.
o Senator Davis: Three courts would allow 12 people to play at the same time. It is reasonable to expect that the club would need all three scoreboards.
o Senator Ferone: I want to point out that they are not requesting a budget for racquets or tournament fees. o Senator Ferone moved to grant the club representative speaking privileges to further address the Senate on the scoreboard question.
§ Motion approved without objection.
o Ms. Amy Cheung: About the scoreboards, we could have asked for 4 scoreboards. We also would be likely to get 3 courts on the weekends, for which we would use all three scoreboards. o Senator Lai: Do you need a scoreboard to have a game?
§ Ms. Cheung: It is much more professional to have a scoreboard.
o Senator Reed: We need to approve at least three scoreboards. People usually have 6-‐8 scoreboards. The game is very competitive and tough to play. The amount of birdies and scoreboards that the club is asking for is quite minimal. If I were them, I would ask for more. I think the club is being quite reasonable.
o Senator Michaud: I agree with Senator Reed. The club has 80 members. The more scoreboards the club has, the more games they can have at the same time.
o Senator Lai: I feel like having three scoreboards is not that much to ask for.
o Senator Plakas moved to end debate.
§ Motion approved by unanimous consent.
o Vote on the amendment: Motion failed by a vote of 1-‐18-‐0. (Roll Call #4).
o Vote on the budget request: Motion approved by a vote of 18-‐0-‐1. (Roll Call #5).
Agenda item 9.0: Open Agenda
•
Senator Heslin moved to adjourn.
o Motion failed for lack of second.
•
Mr. Ryan (NYPIRG): Voter registration deadline is in three weeks.
•
Senator Plakas moved to adjourn.
o Motion approved without objection.
•
Meeting adjourned at 8:13 pm.
Roll Call Votes
20-‐Sep-‐2012 Meeting / Roll Call Votes:
Senator Emily Alcott
Senator Anne Chau
Senator Brian Conway
Senator Andrew (Drew) Davis
Senator Brian Delgado
Senator Mario Ferone
Senator Daniela Galenao Valencia
Senator Miranda Guerriero
Senator Ryan Heslin
Senator William Kennelly
Senator Daniel Lai
Senator Kathryn Michaud
Senator Brian McIlvain
Proxy Oscar Icochea
Senator Konstantinos Plakas
Senator Caterina Reed
Senator Mallory Rothestein
Senator Rebecca Safeer
Senator Peter Sheh
Senator Priya Sohi
Senator Ying Zhao
Senator Steven Zhu
Total: (Yes-‐No-‐Abstain)
Outcome of Motion:
Y
Y
Y
Y
Absent
N
N
Absent
Y
11-‐8-‐1
Fails
Y
Y
N
#1
Y
N
N
Y
Y
#2
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
#3
Y
Y
Y
N
N
N
Y
N
Y
Y
N
N
Y
Y
Y
N
Y
Y N Y N
Abstain Abstain Absent N
N N Y N
N
N
N
N
N
#4
N
N
#5
Y
Y
N Y
Absent Absent
N Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
N
N
N
N
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
N
N
N
Abstain
Y
Y
Y
Absent Absent Absent Absent
N
Y
Y
N
N
N
Y
Y
Absent Absent Absent Absent
N Y N Y
7-‐12-‐1 17-‐2-‐0 1-‐18-‐0 18-‐0-‐1
Fails Passes Fails Fails