[In these minutes: Coordinate campus visits, Ex Officio members to SSCC,
Relinquishing Student Senate seats, SSCC charge, Alcohol Policy Task Force,
Student Senate attendance, definition, and effectiveness]
STUDENT
SENATE CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE (SSCC) MINUTES
NOVEMBER 6,
2003
[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: Scott LeBlanc, (chair), Sean Bell,
Derek Brunsberg, Joshua Colburn, James Kanten, Levi Kary, Charles Stech, Jeremy
Steil, Adam VanWagner, Dan Weiske.
REGRETS: Jeff Dahl, Ryan
Osero.
1. FINALIZING COORDINATE CAMPUS VISITS
It was
determined that there was not enough time left this semester to travel to each
campus. It was decided that the Morris trip would take place on Monday,
December 1, while the Crookston and Duluth trips would be held until next
semester. More details about the trip would be sent via email.
2.
FINALIZING EX OFFICIO MEMBERS TO SSCC
From the email that was sent to
all students on Educational Policy (SCEP) and Finance and Planning (SCFP), only
one student responded that they wanted to serve as an ex officio member of SSCC.
The committee voted to ask Roxanne Beauclair to serve as the SCEP
representative.
3. RELINQUISHING STUDENT SENATE SEATS
Dan
Weiske said that since the amendment to merge the Student Senate and SSCC Chair
positions had been approved by the University Senate and the President, SSCC
members who also hold a college Senate seat should consider relinquishing that
seat so other students can be appointed and student votes are not
lost.
4. FINALIZING CHANGES TO THE SSCC CHARGE
Dan Weiske
presented the amended SSCC charge. With no comments, the charge was approved as
amended.
5. ALCOHOL POLICY TASK FORCE DISCUSSION
Scott
LeBlanc said that the issue of researching the different campus alcohol policies
might be better handled by creating an SSCC task force with one or two members
from each campus.
Q: Who would serve on the task force?
A: Only
students would serve, but other people would be brought in to provide
information.
Q: What is the purpose of the task force?
A: It would
be to review the policies and recommend how the policies should be
interpreted.
Members made the following comments:
- Regents will be reviewing this issue in February
- Residence hall debate should be included
- Formal recommendation should be presented to the President and the
Regents
- Task force should focus on the broader issue, not just whether alcohol
should be served in the unions
- Issues from each campus should be examined to determine if a coherent policy
for the system can be created
The committee then asked Charles
Stech to chair the task force, and he agreed. Two members would be Cameron
Brauer from Crookston and Dan Hartman from Duluth. The Morris and Twin Cities
representatives would be appointed shortly.
The task force charge, as
follows, was approved:
The Alcohol Policy Task Force will explore the alcohol
policies on each campus and recommend the feasibility of a University-wide
policy and the implementation of appropriate changes to current policies. A
progress report will be presented to SSCC at its first meeting spring
semester.
6. STUDENT SENATE ATTENDANCE, DEFINITION, AND EFFECTIVENESS
DISCUSSION
Scott LeBlanc said that while there was two-thirds
attendance from the appointed senators at the last Student Senate meeting, he
would like to ask what could be done to increase attendance and/or make the
Student Senate more proactive?
Members then made the following
comments:
- Why should students attend Student Senate meeting when there is no common
vision?
- Student Senate needs hot issues to discuss
- Does the Student Senate have its own business and therefore need to meet
even when the University Senate does not?
- Student Senate gives students a separate voice
- Each committee could provide reports to the Student Senate
- Most reports should be provided in writing
- Campus assembly/association minutes could be circulated to all senators
- Student Senate is a central vehicle for communication across all campuses,
and should have closer ties to lobbying and Student Reps to Regents
- Assemblies and the Student Senate might have the same scope
- Campus-wide issues should be discussed by the Student Senate, but it should
not be gun-shy about dealing with an issue that only affects one campus
- Should the goal be to increase people at Student Senate meetings?
- Students want to attend something that is worthwhile
- Students do not have time for more commitments, such as Student Senate
subcommittees
- Student Senate should not be based on a faculty model
- Could SLC be transplanted into the Student Senate?
- It is hard to coordinate SLC efforts since each campus does things
differently. The new SLC model was just put into place less than a year ago,
and it should be given some time to see how things work.
- Student Senate is the voice of the students, so if SLC lobbies on behalf of
the students, it should be integrated into the Student Senate
- Student Senate should fix its responsibilities first before bringing in more
groups
- SSCC should review the University Senate agenda before it approves the
Student Senate agenda
- SSCC should also meet twice a month to produce more agenda items
- There should be long-distance planning for the Student Senate to engage
members who already attend
- Students need tangible results. Currently they are detached from the
decision-making process, but they should be able to follow-up on issues
- Senators could be assigned follow-up responsibilities
- Are assemblies more effective for approving policies?
- Student Senate can take a formal position on a policy, but it cannot
influence assemblies or the University Senate on the same issue
- The number of senators does not matter since the Student Senate does not
have any power; what is important is that the student voice is heard
- Students have good influence in committees
- Committees are the heart of Senate work as this is where most consultation
takes place
- Should more senators be involved in committees?
- SSCC should communicate with student committee members
- Each committee should have one student coordinator who provides a link to
SSCC, and thereby the Student Senate
Scott LeBlanc said that
this topic would likely be discussed again at a future meeting.
7.
OTHER BUSINESS
Dan Weiske said that the reorganization task force has
not met since the last Student Senate meeting, but each coordinate campus will
now be represented by one student and one faculty member. The hope is to have
this larger group meet within the next few weeks. He then asked each coordinate
campus if they had someone in mind to serve on this task force. Duluth
nominated Geoffrey Meisner. Both Crookston and Morris said that they would find
someone and send that name to the Senate Office.
Members then decided to
hold the next meeting on November 20, from 2-3 pm and discuss the upcoming
Student Senate agenda, committee reports, and engaging committee members who are
not senators.
A member asked if the committee would like an electronic
discussion board to continue topics outside of the meeting. The response was
positive, so the member said that it would be created.
With no further
business, Scott LeBlanc thanked all members for attending and adjourned the
meeting.
Becky Hippert
University Senate