[In these minutes: 1. Bylaw Amendments, 2. Student Senate Docket Draft, 3. Student for HPTF, 4. Trip to Duluth]

STUDENT SENATE CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE (SSCC) MINUTES

JANUARY 27, 2000

[These minutes reflect discussion and debate at a committee of the University of Minnesota Senate or Twin Cities Campus Assembly; none of the comments, conclusions, or actions reported in these minutes represent the views of, nor are they binding on, the Senate or Assembly, the Administration, or the Board of Regents.]

PRESENT: Jason Reed (chair), Sabeen Altaf, Reid LeBeau, Tiffany Stedman, Aaron Street, Mark Uszenski.

REGRETS: Meggan Ellingboe, Jed Ipsen, Lori Lucken, Chaz Rice.

GUESTS: Ben Bowman.

1. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES

The December 9, 1999, minutes were approved.

2. REPORTS

CHAIR

Jason Reed reported that he has been contacted by the CLA Committee on Second Language Education regarding the GPT letter that was sent. The committee wanted to meet with him in February, before the Senate meeting. He would keep SSCC informed of what happened at the meeting.

STUDENT SENATE CHAIR

Reid LeBeau reminded members that February 23 is the University Lobby Day and asked for everyone's support at this event. He then said that two student lobbyists has been hired, Meggan Ellingboe and John Kooney, to work during this session. Reid is also trying to arrange a meeting between SLC, the Governor, and some legislators.

Another issue involves a report from the Minnesota Higher Education Service which listed the minimum wage across all campuses in the state. From the report it shows that the University is low compared to other campuses. In terms of the four University campuses, Morris has the lowest minimum wage while the Twin Cities has the highest. This is a topic that the committee should investigate.

CROOKSTON

Since the Crookston representative could not be at the meeting, Jason Reed announced that there has been some leadership changes at Crookston. Kerstin Trimble and Shon Naslund were removed from their positions and Lori Lucken was named the new SSCC representative.

DULUTH

Mark Uszenski announced that UMD and St. Scholastica are starting their February Food drive. Last year UMD collected the most food and has to defend its title this year.

On February 8, the campus assembly will be meeting to discuss the computer proposal presented last fall. From the survey done last December, students voted that they would rather have a choice between basic and full service rather than pay a flat fee for all services.

Other items included Crookston representatives visiting last weekend, UMDSA meetings set for Wednesdays at 4 p.m., and four Senate positions having been filled.

Reid LeBeau congratulated Mark on the progress being made.

MORRIS

Reid LeBeau reported that housing codes have been a major issue this year. A meeting is being scheduled between the tenants, landlords, and city council members to discuss the issue. Buildings walk-throughs are also taking place. The city taking this issue seriously has been a coop for student renters.

Morris is also working on raising enrollment and a decision on a new chancellor is expected in a few weeks. President Yudof is making his final determination now. Lastly, Morris students are upset over being snubbed by Governor Ventura regarding this year's bonding bill. The only projects that were funded are for graduate students on the Twin Cities campus.

MSA

The All-Campus Election Commission (ACEC) needs Forum to approve rules for this year's elections. Because of the e-mail messages that were sent to students last year, the rules were revised to not allow e-mail communications during the two days of elections. Some students have stated that this is a violation of the First Amendment. Another problem is that rule changes were made without the approval of the ACEC. Elections might need to be postponed until this problem is solved.

GAPSA

GAPSA's first spring meeting is February 7. Issues to discuss include professional and graduate school distinction so that students pay the appropriate fees for their enrollment, health care programs comparing Boynton to individual services, and a fees task force to meet with MSA.

3. DISCUSS TCCA BYLAW AMENDMENTS

Jason Reed said that the bylaw changes involved changing president to presidents under ex officio members of the Twin Cities Campus Assembly and removing the Arts, Sciences, and Engineering and Professional Studies Provostal Consultative Committees and leaving the Academic Health Center (AHC SCC) as the remaining committee. The AHC SCC will be meeting this afternoon, and will discuss any additional changes. These two amendments will then be approved at next week's meeting.

4. DISCUSS STUDENT SENATE DOCKET DRAFT

Jason Reed presented the draft docket, which includes report from all colleges and campuses. He asked for members to forward any other items to Becky and Reid before next week's meeting, at which point the docket would be approved.

5. DISCUSS UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT FOR HEALTH PLAN TASK FORCE (HPTF)

Mark Uszenski said that he checked with students at Duluth, but those who did carry the health insurance were not free to attend the meetings. Jason Reed said that the Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC), from the Twin Cities, would then be consulted to find a student.

6. DISCUSS TRIP TO DULUTH

Mark Uszenski said that UMDSA meets Wednesdays at 4, but that the meeting date could be changed. After reviewing schedules, the committee asked Mark if a meeting could be held on Thursday, March 23 at 5 p.m.

7. OTHER BUSINESS

A member asked about the fee structure for Carlson classes. Since they are only seven or eight weeks, are students being charged more for shorter classes?

Ben Bowman, a Carlson student, was asked to answer. He said that students are charged for the number of credits that they take, not the number of classes. Therefore, Carlson students pay the same amount for credits, but classes are just more condensed. The Carlson curriculum committee is meeting tomorrow to discuss lengthening the classes to ten weeks and making them three credits. Students will be there to testify that the current timeframe is too short for the subject matter.

Jason Reed then spoke about the accommodations for the Student Legislative Coalition (SLC) which is housed in one small room and a hallway in Northrop. He would like to write a resolution to move the SLC to Morrill Hall. Committee members said that they would support this effort, so Jason said that a resolution would be presented at next week's meeting.

With no further business, Jason Reed thanked the members for attending and adjourned the meeting at 2:45.

Rebecca Hippert
University Senate