Graduate Center, CUNY
Doctoral Students’ Council
Plenary Minutes

March 20, 2009—6pm

Members and Voting Alternates Present:

Anthropology: Andrew Brooks, Christine Pinnock
Art History: Monica Steinberg, Whitney Thompson
Biology: Armin Lahiji, Kathleen Schanaars Uvino (proxy: A. Ruck), Samantha Sheppard
Chemistry: Tony Perri, Yu Zhao
Classics: Jared Simard
Comparative Literature: Anick Boyd
Computer Science: Suzanne Tamang
Criminal Justice: Tasha Youstin
Earth and Environmental Sciences: Katie Gill
Economics: Junnan Zhao
English: Jill Belli, Allyson Foster, Taylor Kennamer
French: Chong Wojtkowski
History: Igor Draskovic, Anton Masterovoy
Music DMA: H. Roz Woll
Philosophy: Kyle Ferguson, Chris Sula
Political Science: Patricia Stapleton
Psychology: Dev: Vicky Barrios
Psychology: Forensic: Marsha Brown
Psychology: Learning Processes: Matthew Taylor
Public Health: Princess Fortin (proxy: N. Blangiardo)
Social Welfare: Larry Iannotti
Urban Education: Shana Henry, Liza Pappas

At-large Reps: Sari Altschuler, Kate Broad, Ericka Calton (proxy: P. McBreen), Karyn Collie, Boris Daussa Pastor, John DeCarlo, Rob Faunce, Ian Foster, Lindsey Freer, Charles Lieberman, Renee McGarry, Linda Neiberg, Pamela Proscia, Shawn Rice, Denise Torres

Guest: Anneliese Kamran

Members Absent:
Biochemistry: Richard Able (excused)
Comparative Literature: Anna Finkelstern (excused)
Computer Science: Jeremy Seideman (excused)
Criminal Justice: Julie Viollaz (excused)
Engineering Biomedical: Xiang (Ian) Gu (excused)
Engineering Chemical: Mehrdad Kheiripour
Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Lit: Teresa Berenice Darwich
Linguistics: Elizabeth Pratt (excused)
Music PhD: Rachel Lumsden (excused)
Political Science: Aaron Ibur,
Psychology: Bio: Preston Foerder
Psychology: Cog, Brain, Beh: Justin Ostrovsky (excused)
Psychology: Environmental: Stephanie Domenici Cabonargi
Psychology: Industrial and Organizational: Kimberly Iaffaldano (excused)
Psychology: Neurology: Olga Nikelshpur (excused)
Sociology: Colin Ashley
Speech & Hearing Sciences: Carol Tessel (excused)
Theatre: Frank Episale

At-Large Reps: Gregory Donovan (excused), Jesse Goldstein (excused), Malav Kanuga, Lauren Klein (excused), Philip Kopp, Neil Meyer (excused), Alison Powell (excused), Brenda Vollman

Members Present: 47; Members Absent: 26

Guest Speaker: Matt Schoengood, Student Affairs

Chair: Rob Faunce (RF) [RF is delayed, so Chris Sula (CS) chaired meeting until RF arrived]
Minutes: Allyson Foster (AF)
Meeting Called to Order: 6:29 pm

I. Approval of Agenda
CS asked for additions to agenda. There are none. Tony Perri (TP) motioned to approve
agenda; Shawn Rice (SR) seconded the motion; motion passed by unanimous consent.

II. Approval of Old Minutes
CS asked for corrections to draft of February 13, 2009 minutes. There are none. Anton
Masterovoy (AM) motioned to approve the old minutes; Linda Neiberg seconded the motion; motion passed by unanimous consent.

III. Old Business
a. Nominations. Today is the last day to accept nominations for the upcoming DSC elections.

b. NYSHIP Coverage. There was discussion from the floor about the current state of NYSHIP coverage. Chong Wojtkowski noted that the plan is quite limited, and that the previous welfare fund provided better coverage; for example, only 15 visits to the doctor are fully covered, which is problematic for those with chronic conditions. Samantha Sheppard noted that after 15 visits 80% of the cost is covered.

CW asked, given that classes are being cut at a number of campuses, what will
happen to your NYSHIP coverage if your teaching falls through? Renee McGarry (RM) noted that the teaching requirement is contractual. CS said that the Provost has been creating research assistant positions for incoming students with fellowships, so perhaps an option is to do something similar for adjuncts who lose their teaching assignment due to cutbacks. This is an issue that needs to be raised to the Provost’s Office.

Regarding summer appointments, RM asked if there will be a penalty if you think you’re going to be reappointed, then aren’t. CS said he doubts it will be a problem, but don’t know for sure. He noted that NYSHIP dues for the summer will be taken out of your spring paycheck. If you teach during the summer, they will continue to take the deduction, but if you teach in the fall you will be reimbursed for it. He also noted that you have to re-enroll in NYSHIP if you change teaching lines.

RM said it’s really important for students to inform Student Affairs of their problems.

Jill Belli (JB) noted that the Health Issues Committee is in the process of setting up a blog for students to post on.

CS said that the Health and Wellness Center must provide students with NYSHIP coverage info, and that hopefully they’ll put together a chart.

IV. New Business
a. Elections. CS reiterated the importance of confirming nominations.

b. GC Mission Statement. Annaliese Kamran, the student representative from Working Group One of the Middle States Commission, presented the proposed GC mission statement. She encouraged student feedback on the statement, noting that while the proposed statement cannot be changed at the moment, comments will be included in the report and may have an influence on future versions. She asked that students contact Laura Ciavarella-Sanchez in the Provost’s Office with their comments.

6:46 – RF arrives and begins to chair meeting

CS voiced his concern about the exclusive use of ”doctoral” in the statement, as it excludes Master’s students. Many programs are starting to grant Master’s, so something more inclusive is appropriate.

c. CUNY Equity Week. RM spoke about the upcoming CUNY Equity Week, March 30-April 3. She encouraged teachers to take 15-20 minutes of class time to talk about equity and working conditions at CUNY. If you aren’t comfortable doing it yourself, sign up and someone will come and talk to your class. See the website (http://opencuny.org/adjunctproject/cuny-equity-week/) to download a powerpoint presentation with info and notes/ talking points/ discussion questions, as well as a poster and flyers.

V. Student Affairs Report
a. Chartered organizations. CS reported that four groups are eligible for dechartering:
Association for Computer Machinery, The French Interdisciplinary Group for 17th Century Studies, The Future is Green Club, International Socialists' Organization

VI. Communications Report
RF discussed the state of ongoing issues with the medical reports system for the Wellness Center, and the ongoing issues with communicating effectively with HR over NYSHIP issues.

VII. Business Report

CS presented a draft of the 2009-10 budget.

Vicky Barrios asked how to get business cards. RF said that as the department representative, you have the discretion to spend your funds on business cards, but that the request must go through the DSC. Suzanne Tamang (ST) noted that the Provost’s Office website has a section where you can order business cards.

VIII. USS Report

AF reported that she had nothing to report.

IX: Committee Reports:
a. Constitution and Bylaws

1. Bylaw 2: RF asked for a motion to approve. AM motioned to approve; Lindsey Freer (LF) seconded the motion; motion passed by unanimous consent.
2. Bylaw 5 (changes bylaw on outside speakers to correspond with BOT language): RF asked for a motion to approve; JB motioned to approve; ST seconded the motion; motion passed by unanimous consent.
3. Bylaw 19 (defines a semester: A semester shall be defined as the first day of classes through 10 business days following the last day of classes, as set by the Graduate Center’s academic calendar): RF asked for a motion to approve. Andrew Brooks (AB) motioned to approve; Larry Iannotti (LI) seconded the motion; motion passed by unanimous consent.

4. Presentation to Plenary
a. Bylaw 8: PROPOSED: Each program with representation for a given semester is entitled to the greater of $180 or $3 per student enrolled in the program. Funds remaining after fall semester shall be made available during spring semester.
SA: is it possible to increase the number?
CS: straw poll –(people seem interested) – CS will present some options at next meeting
Paul McBreen: clarify wording on what “representation” means
Discussion about what happens if a rep doesn’t come to meetings? Still get money?
AB: possible to make a mandatory attendance? CS: would require a constitutional change – really difficult

b. Bylaw 15 – Proposed increase in stipend for USS rep from $250 to $500 per month
PB: what is the current stipend?,
CW: is there a list of peoples’ duties? USS not required to attend, or do office hours
CS: want an active USS rep
CL: didn’t have a stipend; why make as much of an effort as we do with USS?
RF: if it cycles that we get a USS rep that isn’t active, the plenary can rewrite the bylaw – fluid; position has been changing over the years, and the current situation has and demands a strong USS rep
CW: but it’s hard to get good candidates
RF: think we are all thrilled with the work AF has done over the last two years, and hope it sets precedent for what we expect of current and future reps in that position

b. Health Issues Committee JB reported that the Health Issues Committee blog has been created, but the content isn’t up yet. She encouraged everyone to sign up for an opencuny account. She noted that the committee will be asking people from the Adjunct Project and Student Affairs to come and speak about NYSHIP.

X. Announcements
Charles Lieberman announced that he had just successfully defended his dissertation.

XI. Adjournment
CW motioned to adjourn; AM seconded the motion; motion passed by unanimous consent.

Meeting adjourned at 7:52pm

Minutes respectfully submitted by Allyson Foster