EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY FOR WOMEN

[In these minutes: 2002-03 Chair Election, Students for ACA, 2002-03 Meeting Schedule, Reports, Statement on Roles and Responsibilities, Student Union Governance and Operations, Faculty Advisor, Credit for Committee Service, and 2002-03 Student Senate Budget]

STUDENT SENATE CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE (SSCC) MINUTES

MAY 2, 2002

[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: Khaled Dajani (chair), Judy Berning, Ryan Brux, Nick Cecconi, Christina Frazier, Yev Garif, Kelsi Holland, Shawn Lavelle, Kari Lindeman, Matt McBlair, Ryan Osero, Nate Saete, Eric Steinhoff, Jason Stingl, Tom Walsh.

REGRETS: Scott Ferguson.

ABSENT: Trevor Ewanochko, Anthony Heryla.

GUESTS: Denny Olsen.

1. 2002-03 SSCC CHAIR ELECTIONS

Judy Berning was elected SSCC Chair for 2002-03.

2. SELECTION OF STUDENTS FOR THE 2002-03 ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON ATHLETICS

The committee voted to approve Lindsey Hillesheim for one position on next year’s committee. Another interested student will be found to fill the other position.

3. 2002-03 MEETING SCHEDULE

Khaled Dajani said that next year’s schedule was developed after taking several factors into consideration:

Because of the number of questions, it was decided that the meeting schedule would be discussed with SCC before a final SSCC schedule is set.

4. REPORTS

CHAIR
Khaled Dajani thanked the members for a productive year. Issues for next year will include: stadium, search procedures, withdrawals, tuition, election timelines, and transition procedures for Student Senate leaders.

STUDENT SENATE CHAIR
Chris Frazier said that she attended last week’s SLC meeting and voiced the concerns from the Student Senate meeting. A unanimous vote was then made to change the Student Senate Chair to a member of the advisory board for consultation on SLC matters.

SSCC/STUDENT SENATE VICE CHAIR
No report.

CROOKSTON
Matt McBlair said that Crookston students are watching the legislature regarding the Bede Hall renovation; funding has been see-sawing between inclusion and removal from the final project list.

DULUTH
Shawn Lavelle said that Duluth passed its bylaws and constitution. Next year’s focus will be on governance for the student union. The 2002-03 SSCC representative will be elected May 5.

MORRIS
Ryan Brux reported that Morris will be moving to Division III athletics after a five year transition period. The impact of this change on the multiculturalism of the campus will need to be studied.

Last week there was a GLBT hate crime on campus. Some high school kids tried to run over a student. Charges were filed. This case will be brought to the city officials for resolution since it is a public relations problem.

Lastly, there is a protest from the recent elections. Many blank ballots were submitted and one student only won by one vote over a write-in candidate. The election commission has asked Student Services to overthrow the election decision and ask for a re-vote. The head of Student Services has forwarded the decision back to the election commission.

MSA
Judy Berning said that MSA is forming its committees for next year. The budget has been approved and Anthony was re-elected to SSCC for next year.

GAPSA
Chris Frazier said that GAPSA elections will be finished May 6. Next year’s goal is to build a community for graduate and professional students.

SCSA
Jason Stingl reported that the SCSA held its last meeting of the year yesterday. Issues for next year will include: Coffman, hockey riots, student conduct code, health issues, a junior year experience, and international students. He said that there were problems with attendance this year and no one has been identified as next year’s chair.

The Student Services Fee Subcommittee will also be meeting to discuss the controversies that arose on the Twin Cities campus during this year’s fees process. No actions taken this year were against the rules, but some people felt that some practices were unethical. A code of conduct is being developed to govern this process.

SCSA
Scott Ferguson submitted the following report by e-mail:
1) W's are coming back. There are many options right now, but Craig Swan and his delegates feel that W's are a big part of graduation rates. SCEP is voting about what to do about them next week. The current sentiment is that there is good support for not doing anything about the W's until the 13 credit policy has been enforced.
2) International programs are doing well, butthey did mention that there were more woman than men participating. They are currently looking at different insurance plans for the faculty that are leading the expeditions.
3) There is currently some arguments about campus computing. Apparently, there has been a drastic raise in the price of the software.

5. STATEMENT ON ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The proposed statement, revised following comments from members at the April meeting, was read.

Q: How can members serve a dual role?

A: First, members should voice the opinions that were expressed at their assembly, but the member does not solely represent that assembly. Members should also express minority opinions from the assembly or from under-represented groups.

Several friendly amendments were accepted and the statement was approved as amended.

6. DISCUSSION OF STUDENT UNION GOVERNANCE AND OPERATIONS

Shawn Lavelle said that UMD is having problems with its student union and wanted to collect some information from this committee. Currently in Duluth, there is a director and a student board for the union. The director reports jointly to the student board and the Vice Chancellor, although the student board has no direct relationship to the Vice Chancellor. Does the system at the Twin Cities work well? What is the structure at the other coordinate campuses?

Matt McBlair said that Pam Holsinger-Fuchs runs Bede Hall and she reports to Vice Chancellor Bob Nelson. Any student concerns are forwarded to CSA for resolution.

Ryan Brux said that Vice Chancellor Sandy Olson-Loy is head of the Morris union. She has an advisory board, but it is mainly composed of faculty members, although she and the board are always open to student concerns.

Q: Is the union funded by student fees or by at-large funding?

A; Crookston’s union receives some student fees money; Morris was not sure about funding.

Denny Olsen, Associate Director of the Twin Cities Student Unions, said that Maggie Towle, Director of the Twin Cities Student Unions, reports to the Assistant Vice Provost, who then reports to Vice President Robert Jones. The unions also have a Board of Governors to develop programming, budgets, and policies. This board works with the director and appoints advisory committees to further assist the director. Personnel and management issues are the responsibility of the director, not the board. Most students feel that they have significant input into this process at the Twin Cities.

Shawn Lavelle said that the Duluth union is fully-funded by the students, but students do not have any authority in how it is run. Nick Cecconi said that the issue is not the staff, but the current structure.

Denny Olsen then invited UMD students to attend a Board of Governors meeting next year.

7. FACULTY ADVISOR FOR THE STUDENT SENATE

Chris Frazier said that from her experience this year, she realized that students are not in governance long enough to learn the process and procedures to be effective. She felt that it was not the Senate staff’s role to teach, advocate, or advise the students on how to be an effective leader for the system. Therefore, she proposed that an advisor be identified for next year’s Student Senate.

Committee members made the following comments: