Graduate Center, CUNY
Doctoral Students’ Council
Plenary Minutes

April 11, 2008—6pm

Members and Voting Alternates Present:

Anthropology: Javiela Evangelista (proxy: Chris Caruso), Mariya Radeva
Art History: Whitney Thompson
Biology: Lisa Offringa
Comparative Literature: Adele Kudish
Computer Science: Omer Demir (proxy: Mehmet Bicer)
Criminal Justice: Crystal Rodriguez
English: Kerdiana Chez, Allyson Foster
French: Chong Wojtkowski
Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Lit: Teresa Darwich
History: Carl Lindskoog
Liberal Studies: Christopher Ian Foster
Mathematics: Micah Miller
Music DMA: Judy Woo
Philosophy: Chris Sula
Political Science: Aaron Ibur
Psychology: Cognition, Brain, Behavior: Karla Felix
Psychology: Educational: Astrid Rodriguez
Psychology: Environmental: Stephanie Domenici Cabonargi
Psychology: Learning Processes: Matthew Taylor
Psychology: Neuro: Jenny Ly
Psychology: Social Personality: Rachel Verni
Social Welfare: Denise Torres
Speech & Hearing Sciences: Kristen Maul
Theatre: Ana Martinez
Urban Education: Pamela Proscia

At-large Reps: Jill Belli , Randy Cota, Gregory Donovan, Rob Faunce, Taylor Kennamer, Fiona Lee, Charles Lieberman, Anton Masterovoy, Neil Meyer, Amy Meyers, Amanda Springs, Brenda Vollman, Kate Wilson, Danielle Wu

Members Absent:
Art History: Monica Steinberg
Audiology: Allison Shapiro (excused)
Biology: Kathleen Schnaars Uvino
Chemistry: Nancy Medina (excused)
Classics: Michael Broder (excused)
Comparative Literature: Andrea Efthymiou (excused)
Computer Science: Deniz Sarioz (excused)
Criminal Justice: Alissa Ackerman
Engineering Biomedical: Xiang (Ian) Gu (excused)
Engineering Chemical: Mehrdad Kheiripour
Engineering Civil: Rouzbeh Nazari
Engineering Electrical: Rex Wong
English: Cori Gabbard (excused)
History: Jameel Haque (excused)
Linguistics: Elizabeth Pratt (excused)
Music PhD: Roberto Barnard
Political Science: April Henning
Public Health: Lauren Evans
Psychology: Bio: Maria Maust (excused)
Psychology: Forensic: Elizabeth Arias
Psychology: Industrial and Organizational: Jessica Anderson (excused)
Sociology: Jesse Goldstein

At-Large Reps: Nazreen Bacchus (excused), Ericka Calton, Larry Ianotti (excused), Geoff Rab (excused), Meghan Sacks, Aya Shohat,

Members Present: 41; Members Absent: 28

Chair: Brenda Vollman (BV)
Minutes: Allyson Foster (AF)

Guest Speaker:

Stephen Brier (SB), the Vice President for IT and External Programs, spoke about the ongoing effort to obtain health insurance for GC students employed within the CUNY system. He said that the best solution at this point is to seek coverage under NYSHIP, the institution that currently provides health insurance to SUNY students and other NY State employees.

To be eligible under NYSHIP, a GC student would have to earn a minimum of $4000 annually from CUNY. This would apply to those who teach (at least one course per semester), as well as Grad A, B, and Cs, and college assistants. Under NYSHIP, 90% of healthcare costs would be covered for a single user, and 75% for a family. NYSHIP requires a minimum 50% contribution from employers.

The GC has made an official inquiry about our eligibility for NYSHIP. City employees are not eligible for coverage under NYSHIP, but GC students are paid by the state. Once our eligibility is officially determined, the next step is securing the necessary funds from the State. It would cost approximately $2.6 million to provide coverage for approximately 2300 students.

For further information on NYSHIP, see http://www.cs.state.ny.us/nyship/nyship.cfm

Adele Kudish (AK) asked if the NYSHIP program has a time limit, and SB said that as it is based on income, students would be covered for as long as they are earning the minimum amount required. AK also asked if the initial coverage would start in the fall semester, or in the spring semester, and SB said he would look into it.

Kate Wilson (KW) pointed out that adjuncts at some community colleges get paid by the city rather than the state, and wondered if that would complicate their eligibility for NYSHIP. SB said he would look into it.

Carl Lindskoog (CL) said that even if we get covered under NYSHIP, only 50 – 60% of GC students will be eligible. He asked if they are looking into other options that would include more students. SB said that progress will need to be incremental, and that to get insurance for everyone would probably require a national program.

At 6:26 the meeting was called to order by BV

I. Approval of Agenda

Chong Wojtkowski (CW) notes agenda need to say Draft.

Gregory Donovan (GD) requested the following changes:
Under III. Old Business, add item h. Eastern European Studies Group
Under IV. Old Business add item d. Food List

BV: Approve
KW: 2nd
Unanimous consent

II. Approval of Minutes

Rob Faunce (RF): Approve
GD: 2nd
Unanimous consent

III. Old Business

a. Nurse Practitioner
RF: The situation is hopeful. We probably won’t have a nurse practitioner by the end of the semester, but we might have one by mid- to late May.

b. Bylaws
Voting took place to approve the bylaw amendments that were presented for consideration at the March Plenary.

Bylaw 1.6: Advertising and Outside Funding
There was a typo in the amendment: the strikethrough in the word “funding” needs to be removed.

The typo was fixed.

GD: Motion to approve
Danielle Wu (DW): 2nd
Unanimous consent

3.6: Grants
RF: Motion
Adele Kudish: 2nd
Unanimous Consent

5: Use of Student Activity Fees in Payment of “Outside” Performer or Speaker
GD: Motion
Judy Woo (JW): 2nd
Unanimous Consent

9: USS Delegate DSC Responsibilities
Crystal Rodriguez (CR): Motion
AK: 2nd
Unanimous

13: Health Issues Committee
CR: Motion
Chris Sula (CS): 2nd
Unanimous

15: DSO Wage and Stipend Schedule
CL noted that increasing the Adjunct Project Coordinator stipend had been discussed at the last Constitution and Bylaw Committee meeting, and while the stipend has been increased from $350/month to $425/month in the proposed 2008/2009 budget, the bylaw still reads $350/month.

RF said that we could table this bylaw and present it again for ratification once the Constitution and Bylaw Committee had met.

Charles Lieberman (CL): Motion to table
Chong Wojtkowski (CW): 2nd
Majority to table

18: Compliance with New York State Laws

KW asked if there was any way in which the addition of this bylaw could be detrimental to the operation of the DSC, and CL asked if this amendment had been run past anyone in Student Affairs and CUNY Legal. RF said that this underscores what is already in the NYS Open Meetings Law, and that Sharon Lerner in Student Affairs had been consulted.

Anton Masterovoy (AM): Motion
RF: 2nd
Majority in favor

c. Budget

Concerns were expressed over the discrepancy between the Adjunct Project Coordinator salary in the proposed 2008-9 budget and the proposed amendment to Bylaw 15 (see above). People were reluctant to pass the proposed budget until the discrepancy had been cleared up. BV pointed out that if we pass the proposed budget now, it can always be re-presented in the fall, and Denise Torres (DT) added that we have a large discretionary budget that money can be pulled from. Jill Belli (JB) asked if there was a way to clear everything up now rather than having to wait until the fall.

RF moved to suspend the Plenary so the Constitution and Bylaw Committee could meet to correct the proposed amendment to Bylaw 15.
KW: 2nd
Majority in favor

Plenary Suspended at 6:58pm
Plenary resumed at 7:01

Re-presentation of the amendment of Bylaw 15 to the Plenary.
CR: Motion
AM: 2nd
Unanimous consent, with 4 abstentions

Discussion about the proposed budget continued.

GD: Motion
AM: 2nd
1 abstention
Majority in favor

d. Elections
RF reported that the online voting is going really well. As of this morning (only a week into voting), as many people had voted (roughly 5%) as had in total in the last election. GD noted that the default feature that requires you to vote for every position has been fixed for the most part; if you encounter it just put “N/A.”

e. Wellness Center Monies

As per the discussion at the April Plenary, DT distributed the ballot on what to do with the surplus monies we have to spend on health-related issues. Extensive discussion took place in which many concerns about the various options were brought to light, and no agreement seemed within reach. KW suggested a straw poll to see how many people cared about deciding definitively how the money should be spent, and how many didn’t mind if it just went back en masse to the Wellness Center.

GD: Motion to take a straw poll
16 don’t mind if the money reverts back to the Wellness Center
6 want to make specific recommendations

RF suggested that we could let the money revert to the Wellness Center, but that we could do a resolution to make a recommendation to the WC as to how we would like the money spent (e.g. on EMR)

RF: Motion to postpone until next meeting
GD: 2nd
Unanimous Consent

DT said that she would do some more research into Electronic Medical Records (which many people were interested in purchasing for the Wellness Center), and bring the information to the next meeting for further discussion.

f. Email Task Force

GD reported that he had met with Bob Campbell, who is committed to email forwarding and alumni email. GD is optimistic about the email situation, and hopes to have something more to report at the next meeting.

g. Health Insurance

CL said that even though the State Budget is closed, students should keep up the pressure on their Representatives. He suggested that we contact the Chancellor to thank him for his letter of support, and ask for more details about proposed timelines, etc. The Adjunct Project is in the process of organizing another public event at 80th Street.

h. Eastern European Studies Group

A: Motion to charter the group
DT: 2nd
Unanimous

IV. New Business

a. Leadership Accountability

Kery Chez [KC] expressed concern over the time it is taking to process grant requests and the lack of accountability protocols in the DSC structure. KC noted that the Feminist Studies Group has been having some trouble with unresponsiveness, receiving accurate information, and delays in the grant process and the accurate processing of Chartered Org and grant monies.
BV and DT wondered if it was a general issue, or one for specific groups, and whether the issue was leadership accountability or a problem with information flow. KC named two other Chartered Orgs (the Cinema Studies Group and the French Interdisciplinary Group for 17th-Century Studies) that have expressed similar concerns, and added that the issue of accountability relates to unresponsiveness especially where discrepancies in monies arise, because Chartered Orgs rely on the monies to effectively plan their events. Fiona Lee (FL) noted that the Postcolonial Studies Group has also experienced problems.
GD acknowledged that the process can be slow, but that it is often due to factors such as COs not submitting rosters before requesting money. Also, grants must be approved by committee, which slows things down, especially when the same few people are being tapped to do the work. Randy Cota noted that in the case of professional development or cultural grant monies, missing rosters are not relevant.
BV said that the grants have a one-month turn around time. DT presented a chart that broke down the processing times, which averaged 7-14 days.
CW and several others discussed setting specific response times for confirmation of receipt of grant applications, updates, and the final response. GD said that setting shorter response times would not help if things were already not being accomplished within a longer time frame.
GD said that the Steering Committee would welcome input and participation on this issue, and BV proposed that we form an Ad Hoc Information Flow Committee to discuss grant info and processing, etc. Other names, such as Protocols Committee or Oversight Committee, were suggested.

RF motioned to form the committee
KW: 2nd
1 opposed
Majority in favor

b. Travel and Research Funds

A discussion took place regarding the high demand for Travel and Research Grants, and the fact that students who apply for monies in the Spring semester are often turned down. GD suggested that we keep applying in order to indicate that there is a demand, and that we continue to alert APOs and Student Affairs about our concerns.

c. Middle States Working Groups

Student committee members are still needed. Email GD if you are interested in participating.

d. Food List.

GD suggested that we ask the Dining Commons to provide lists of ingredients for their menu items.

A straw poll was taken to see how many people were interested in pursuing this issue, and the majority approved.

V. Student Affairs Report

a. Chartered Orgs

Nothing to report

b. DSC RSS

Research Computing will install the necessary software, most likely starting in the fall. If interested in the process, email GD.

VI. Communications Report

a. Communications with Administration

RF reported that President Kelly will be speaking at the May Plenary, hopefully in the transition between the two meetings. The next BOT is meeting on April 28, so contact RF if you want to get on the docket (e.g. if you want to speak about Health Insurance, etc.)

b. Report on External Meetings

The last Steering Committee meeting approved $1000 for the Adjunct Project health insurance campaign; Plenary approval is needed for $500 of that to be allocated.

DT: Motion
KW: 2nd
Unanimous

VII. Business Report

DT reported that the USS has approved a request for $2500 for the Child Care Center. We still need to decide what to do with the $10,000 that the USS has offered to the GC: should we put $5000 into the Travel and Research Fund? Do we still want sofas?

DT also reported that $1000 has been dedicated from health monies for the Wellness Center Festival.

VIII. USS Report

AF reported that as she was not informed of the date of the March meeting, she had nothing to report. She will, however, be attending the meeting on April 13.

IX. Committee Reports

a. Health Issues:
DW encouraged us to attend the Wellness Festival, and noted that they are working to prioritize students. There will be a staff and student sign-in.

b. Community Building:
DW asked that we brainstorm about what to do with money from USS.

c. Library:
AM reported that we may be getting better lights in the library.

X. Announcements

No announcements

XI. Adjournment

RF: Motion to adjourn
DT: 2nd
Unanimous Consent at 8:42 pm.

Minutes respectfully submitted by Allyson Foster