Northeastern University International Relations Council
Fall Board of Directors Meeting #2
Date: October 14, 2014 6:30 PM
Location: Political Science Conference Room
Present: Rawan, Cam, Alex, Zach, Phil, Sarah, Katie, Evan, Jane Rudy, Elise, Brie,
Merlinda, Gavin
Absent: Muji, Will, Bridget
BoD Appointee
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BoD Appointee Eligible List
o Gavin, Jake, Muji, Jane, Kelsey, Steve, Chris, Jillian, Merlinda, Jane Rudy,
Brie, Will Joyce, Steph, Ryan Chaffin, Bridget,
o Out-of-State Eligible: Miranda, Jerry, Andrew Kaz
Cam: E-Board should refrain unless needed for a tie-breaker and urges BoD
select a non-HD member
Phil: BoD has no process for this yet; BoD should now shrink the large list
Merlinda: People can both try-out and be on selection committee
Katie: Must consider the person’s willingness
Sarah: E-board decided it be best to hand BoD a long, complete list
Voting procedure: motion to adopt Kelsey Sullivan by unanimous consent.
Passed!
Motion to seal minutes to discuss candidates for BoD Appointee both in and out
of the room. Passed!
Budget Approval
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Elise: It’s very fluid—travel arrangements are still being booked and worked out;
transit prices might change. CARMAL is proving to be very expensive.
Department Funding: PoliSci, $14,700; IAF, $1,700; Center for World Cultures,
$1,700
104 lab fees so far, more than we usually collect
NERMAL: Less schools coming; 10 delegations confirmed. Net gain: $3,700
CARMAL: Fly 18 people and back. Amtrak doesn’t do group rates for >20.
McMUN: Travelling by bus; housing bus driver; no delegation dinner
NATO: Airfare and train cost still pending, still working on getting actual
number.
NUMAL: Flights are a bit more expensive; we might bus down and fly up
BMAL: Two schools from the area might come
Summary: No left-over because of many changes i.e. CARMAL, McMUN, and
fewer people coming to NERMAL; estimation will be better next year because
we’ll have a better idea of these new changes
Vote to approve budget by unanimous consent pending travel cost changes:
Approved!
Involvement On-Campus
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Phil: IRC team is being asked to represent the organization in events around
campus; we need to better define the external roles of BoD members
o Question 1: Should Gavin’s position as Director of Mentorship sit on the
BoD as a voting member?
o Question 2: Team’s role in University oversight…should it be multiple or
single member? E-board or BoD?
 Example: Dean’s committee, undergrad curriculum committee;
academic or SGA positions
o Question 3: Some of those positions at the moment is those that have a
PoliSci major—how will we handle that?
Cam: Sometimes, in e-board, the two highest-ranking members are either on coop or not a PoliSci major and are not able to attend these events
Brie: Would PoliSci Minors be considered? Phil: Depends on the circumstances.
Alex: Create student rep committee, based on their availabilities and majors, they
can take up responsibilities.
Elise: Should not be a set BoD member.
Evan: A generic student rep position depending on availability and academic
backgrounds
Phil: This is the reason why the BoD exists
Brie: Alex has a good beginning to tackle this issue. When deciding who they are,
we would first ideally fill the position from e-board, then BoD, then general.
While flexibility is good, it’s better if we have a continuous presence and
commitment
Steph: A ranking of committees where it’s most important to have a presence in
Elise: These positions default to e-board or BoD
Rawan: Director of Branding, Recruitment, and Retention must be included in
conversation of ranking and appointment
Brie: In the less-ranked committees, put less veterans. Open to everybody but
preference to veterans to the top-ranked committees.
Phil: Sometimes we have very short notice; decision process must be swift; fine
with idea that e-board and BoD positions have preference
Katie: We need a list of go-to people with availability and accessibility
Merlinda: We need to broaden leadership capabilities of all of IRC beyond eboard and BoD
Evan: E-board is tasked at beginning to assign/appoint people on a needs basis,
probably most efficient way
Steph: In terms of language in constitution, if we can double up in BoD so we
don’t add extra voices to an already large body
Cam: Do we anticipate these vacancies occurring for the remainder of the
semester? We need to come up language for November BoD language.
Miscellaneous
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Phil: 49 people are trying-out and would like to see more experienced members
in each session to ensure balance of skill and keep debate moving
o People will find out the Wednesday before the try-out session topics and
randomly-assigned countries.
Cam: on Wednesday, try-out topics and rubric will be introduced
Next Meeting is November 11