The sixth meeting of the Student Senate for 2004-05 was convened in Studio C, Rarig Center, Minneapolis campus, on Thursday, May 5, 2005, at 11:37 a.m. Coordinate campuses were linked by ITV. Checking or signing the roll as present were 29 voting student. Chair Nathan Wanderman presided.

MOTION:

To approve the Student Senate minutes, which are available on the Web at the following URLs. A simple majority is required for approval.

http://www1.umn.edu/usenate/ssen/050407stu.html

DISCUSSION:

This item was tabled until the first meeting in fall semester since the minutes were not available on the web for senators to review prior to the meeting.

Nathan Wanderman, Student Senate Consultative Committee (SSCC) Chair, said that the student release questions were debated at the last University Senate meeting. The questions were referred to the Educational Policy Committee (SCEP) for final approval after a pilot of the questions is done this summer. Hopefully, the questions will be in place for fall 2005, but at the latest they will be used spring 2006. He is still working on changes to the Student One-Stop site.

He reported that the student leadership conference had low attendance but it had a successful discussion with representatives from the Twin Cities and Morris about the role of the Student Senate and the student associations/assemblies.

Lastly, SSCC met with the President regarding strategic planning. A few recommendations presented were: to continue with a commitment to a more comprehensive and qualitative admissions process, to change the University’s policy on awarding all-campus contracts to include more consultation, and to improve student services such as transportation. The Shared Governance Resolution was also discussed at the meeting; he reacted favorably which should help with student consultation on future issues

Duluth – Josh Breyfogle reported that elections have been completed and positions have been filled for 2005-06. A program has also been approved to offer $2.00 taxi rides in Duluth from 9 pm to 6 am.

Morris – Jared Warren said that MCSA approved the Shared Governance Resolution as written.

GAPSA - Jamie Larson said that GAPSA has elected new officers. Many student boards, including the Council of Graduate Students, has been pushing for no mandated student fee to support the stadium.

MSA - Rick Orr said that MSA elected new board members and SSCC representatives and discussed position statements on the stadium.

This resolution was withdrawn from the agenda.

MOTION:

The Student Senate Stipend Review Committee has reviewed the performance of the following stipend-receiving students: Nathan Wanderman, SSCC/Student Senate Chair; Kristen Denzer, Student Affairs Committee Chair. The recommendation from the committee is that Nathan Wanderman receive $1250.00 of the $1250.00 spring semester portion of his stipend and that Kristen Denzer receive $500.00 of the $500.00 spring semester portion of her stipend.

The Student Senate Stipend Review Committee is also supposed to review the performance of the SSCC/Student Senate Vice Chair. This position was held by Tom Pielow fall semester, but he resigned from the position in December. Since a new Vice Chair, Seyon Nyanwleh, was not named until March 2005, the review committee did not have enough time or information to review Seyon, he was given a prorated stipend of $500.00 for the months of service in the position.

DISCUSSION:

Jamie Larson said that each position was asked to complete a few questions. The review committee then read the responses and were fully satisfied with them. The committee therefore proposes to allot the full remaining stipend amounts to each position. With no discussion a vote was taken and the motion was approved.

As an amendment to the Student Senate Bylaws, a motion majority of all voting members of the Student Senate at a regular or special meeting (25), or by a majority of all members of the Student Senate present and voting at each of two meetings. This is the second meeting that the motion is being presented. It received 26 affirmative votes on April 7, so a majority vote is needed at this meeting for approval.

MOTION:

To amend the Student Senate Bylaws, Article V, Sections 1 as follows (language to be deleted is struck out):

ARTICLE V. STUDENT SENATE MEMBERSHIP, ELECTIONS, AND OFFICERS (Changes to this article are subject to vote only by the Student Senate)

1. Membership

For the purpose of electing representatives and alternate representatives, if any, to the Student Senate, qualified students shall vote within each of the following units of the University:

TWIN CITIES: Agricultural, Food, & Environmental Sciences: Architecture and Landscape Architecture; Biological Sciences; Continuing Education; Dentistry; Education and Human Development; General College; Graduate School; Human Ecology; Law; Liberal Arts; Management; Medical School; Natural Resources; Nursing; Pharmacy; Public Health; Technology; Veterinary Medicine

CROOKSTON

DULUTH: Business and Economics; Education and Human Service Professions; Fine Arts; Liberal Arts; Medicine; Pharmacy; Science and Engineering;

MORRIS

...

COMMENT:

It has come to the attention of the Student Consultative Committee that the application process for the Duluth and Twin Cities Medical School and Pharmacy programs have been merged into one process for each program. As collegiate representation in the Student Senate has been based on the admitting college and since there is no longer a separate entry for the Duluth programs, the motion is to remove separate representation from these units and combine their students with the students enrolled in the Twin Cities colleges.

DISCUSSION:

A senator noted that there are two separate Medical Schools, separate curriculums, deans, and classes. Duluth Medical School students are not associated with the Twin Cities until they enter their third year.

Another student said that Duluth is working with Karen Buhr to have Duluth represented in GAPSA. They proposed that this proposal be deferred for one year until this other representation can be established, otherwise students in these colleges will not have a voice in the Senate, GAPSA, or their merged colleges.

It was noted that confirmation about the merging of the schools was confirmed by Dr. Cerra, Senior Vice President of the Academic Health Center.

A senator then noted that GAPSA representation is separate from Senate representation, so the Senate proposal should not be tied to changes in GAPSA.

Another senator noted that there is no separate senator from the Rochester Nursing program. Instead, the one senator represents students in the program at both sites. This arrangement provides for better communication at the college board level, which might be considered for the Medical School and Pharmacy.

A senator noted that there is a different focus and objective between students in the Twin Cities and Duluth programs.

Another senator noted that there are always different opinions, even within groups, but a representation needs to represent all these different views.

A motion was made and seconded to table the motion. A vote was taken and the motion was approved with 14 in favor, 6 opposed, and 2 abstentions.

As an amendment to the Student Senate Bylaws, a motion majority of all voting members of the Student Senate at a regular or special meeting (25), or by a majority of all members of the Student Senate present and voting at each of two meetings. This is the second meeting that the motion is being presented. It received 30 affirmative votes on April 7, so a majority vote is needed at this meeting for approval.

MOTION:

To amend the Student Senate Bylaws, Article V, Sections 3(a) as follows (language to be deleted is struck out):

ARTICLE V. STUDENT SENATE MEMBERSHIP, ELECTIONS, AND OFFICERS (Changes to this article are subject to vote only by the Student Senate)

...

3. Election and Duties of Officers

a. Election

The chair and vice chair shall be elected by the Student Senate at a special spring semester session of the Student Senate attended only by student senators elected for the following year. The vice chair shall be elected by the Student Consultative Committee at a spring semester meeting of the Student Consultative Committee. The outgoing chair shall preside over the elections. Non-senators and outgoing student senators may not be candidates for these positions. The chair and vice chair should not be from the same campus. In the event that no one is nominated for the vice chair position from a separate campus, the position will be open to all qualified members of the Student Senate. Terms of office shall be July 1 to June 30, and the person holding office is eligible for re-election.

...

COMMENT:

When revising the Student Senate Bylaws, it was realized that old language was used regarding who elects the vice chair that is in opposition to the election procedures stipulated in the charge for the Student Consultative Committee. The proposed motion removes the opposition, leaving the Student Senate to elect the chair position and the Student Consultative Committee to elect the vice chair position.

DISCUSSION:

Q: What are the duty differences in the positions?

A: The vice chair serves in place of the chair and does work delegated by the chair.

With no further discussion a vote was taken and the motion was approved with 15 in favor, 6 opposed, and 1 abstention.

As an amendment to the Student Senate Bylaws, a motion majority of all voting members of the Student Senate at a regular or special meeting (32), or by a majority of all members of the Student Senate present and voting at each of two meetings (25). This is the first meeting that the motion is being presented, so 32 affirmative votes are needed at this meeting for approval.

MOTION:

To amend the University Senate Bylaws, Article VI, Section 5 as follows (language to be added is underlined; language to be deleted is struck out):

UNIVERSITY SENATE BYLAWS

...

ARTICLE VI. COMMITTEES OF THE STUDENT SENATE (Changes to this article are subject to vote only by the Student Senate)

...

5. Committee Charges

A. ACADEMIC HEALTH CENTER STUDENT CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE

The Academic Health Center Student Consultative Committee (AHC SCC) shall represent the graduate, professional, and undergraduate students and not the individual institutes, colleges, schools, or departments within the Academic Health Center.

Membership:

The Academic Health Center Student Consultative Committee shall be composed of 8 15 student members [2 from the Medical School-Twin Cities, and 1 each from Dental Hygiene, Dentistry, the Medical School-Duluth, Medical Technology, Mortuary Science, Nursing-Rochester, Nursing-Twin Cities, Occupational Therapy, Pharmacy-Duluth, Pharmacy-Twin Cities, Physical Therapy, Public Health, and Veterinary Medicine.]. Each member is elected/appointed by his/her respective student board if one exists. Otherwise appointments shall be made by a program advisor.

The Academic Health Center Student Consultative Committee shall elect its chair from amongst its members for a one year term of office. The chair shall be eligible for re-election to that position.

Duties and Responsibilities

a. To meet at least monthly to discuss matters of concern to students.

b. To meet regularly with the Senior Vice President for the Health Sciences, the Assistant Vice President for Education, and other academic officers to represent the viewpoints of students.

c. The chair shall meet each semester with the chair of the AHC Faculty Consultative Committee to discuss issues of concern to both faculty and students, and the two committees shall meet jointly as deemed necessary by the chairs.

d. The chair shall meet each semester with the chair of CHIP to discuss issues of concern to both groups.

e. Each representative shall report to his/her student board/class at least once each semester.

f. To meet and report to the Student Senate Consultative Committee/Twin Cities Campus Student Assembly Steering Committee each semester as needed.


B. STUDENT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

The Student Affairs Committee is concerned with all issues dealing with the social welfare of students at the University of Minnesota, including services such as the operation of student/staff health service facilities, and special needs pertaining to international students.

Membership

The Student Affairs Committee shall be composed of 6 faculty/academic professional members, 9 students, one civil service staff member, one alumni representative, and ex officio representation as specified by vote of the Senate. Student members shall exceed by at least one the total of other voting members.  Faculty/academic professional and student members shall be nominated by the Committee on Committees with the approval of the Senate. Civil service members shall be appointed by the Civil Service Committee. The alumni member shall be appointed by the president in consultation with the director of alumni relations.

Duties and Responsibilities

a. To formulate and recommend to the Senate policies pertaining to all student affairs and all University-registered student organizations that are not within the control or supervision of any other committee of the Senate.

b. To provide a comprehensive link between the University and all University student organizations in accordance with the defined relationship between the student organization and the University as described in the Policy on Registration and Classification of Student Groups for the Twin Cities campus and as defined by coordinate campuses.

c. To be concerned with the general welfare of international students and the services and affairs that pertain to them.

d. To provide a link between Health Service staffs and the University community and to address problems in providing effective and efficient health care.

e. To provide for a Student Services Fee Subcommittee composed of two faculty representatives, five student representatives (one each from Crookston, Duluth, Morris, Twin Cities graduate/professional, and Twin Cities undergraduate), and four voting ex officio staff members (one each from Crookston, Duluth, Morris, and Twin Cities with the coordinate campus representatives appointed by the Vice Chancellor of each campus and the Twin Cities representative appointed by the Office of Student Development). The student and faculty membership of the Subcommittee shall be taken from the membership of the Senate Committee on Student Affairs unless there is no representative meeting the designated criteria. In such case, the seat in question shall be filled by a member of the Senate Consultative Committee, or their designee, meeting the designated criteria. The chair of the Student Affairs Committee shall serve as the chair of the Subcommittee and will fill one of the designated seats as appropriate. Staff support for the Subcommittee will be provided by the Senate Office. Duties and Responsibilities of the Subcommittee include:

f. To recommend to the Senate Consultative Committee such actions or policies as it deems appropriate.


C. STUDENT COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES

The Student Committee on Committees appoints students members of certain committees of the University Senate, Faculty Senate, and Student Senate, and advises the Student Consultative Committee on the committee structure of the Student Senate.

Membership

The Senate Committee on Committees shall be composed of at least 13 and no more than 15 elected tenured or tenure-track faculty members, at least 2 and no more than 4 elected academic professional members, 6 elected undergraduate students, and one elected graduate/professional student.

Of the faculty/academic professional members, 12 shall be from the Twin Cities campus. There shall also be one member each from the Crookston, Duluth, and Morris campuses. All faculty/academic professional members shall be elected for three-year terms by the faculty/academic professional members of the Senate from these respective campuses. In case of a faculty/academic professional vacancy, the remaining faculty/academic professional members, by majority vote, shall fill the vacancy by interim appointment until the next general election.

Of the undergraduate student members, 3 shall be elected from the Twin Cities campus, and one each from the Crookston, Duluth, and Morris campuses. The Twin Cities undergraduate members shall be elected by the Twin Cities undergraduate Student Senate members from among their number. The graduate/professional student shall be elected by the graduate and professional Student Senate members from among their number. Crookston, Duluth, and Morris members shall be elected by their campus assemblies. Elections shall be held during spring semester. Terms of membership shall be for one year. Any student committee position that cannot be filled by October 1 will become a Student Senate at-large position and may be filled by the Student Senate Consultative Committee on an interim basis until the next general election. Student vacancies shall be filled in accordance with the preceding procedures for the balance of any unexpired term until the next general election.

The Student Committee on Committees shall elect its chair from amongst its members for a one-year term of office. The chair is eligible for re-election to that position


Duties and Responsibilities

a. To furnish the full committee a slate of student committee nominees for review and recommendations. Consideration shall be given To forward annually to the Student Senate for approval names of undergraduate students, graduate/professional students, and chairs it recommends for appointment to those committees of the Student Senate specified in the Bylaws of the Student Senate. The committee shall give consideration to 1) representation from the various campuses and units when appropriate; 2) the number of committees on which the undergraduate student or graduate/professional student member currently is serving; 3) the recommendations of the respective committee chairs, faculty, academic professional, undergraduate student and graduate/professional student members, and the presidents of the respective student associations; and 4) expressions of interest in committee service offered by undergraduate students and graduate/professional students. In addition, the committee shall select student senators for committee membership when appropriate to encourage communication between the Student Senate and the committees and shall strive to assure full and adequate representation by race, gender, and class rank in constituting committees.

b. To solicit annually from each newly elected member of the Student Senate a list of Senate committees on which the senator is serving or has an interest in serving.

c. To request annually from student association presidents a list of students whom they believe have the requisite interest and experience to serve on specific committees.

b. To review annually the committees of the Student Senate and recommend to the Student Consultative Committee any changes in committee structure, charge, or membership which it deems appropriate.

d. To recommend to the Senate Committee on Committees, the Faculty Senate Committee on Committees, the Student Consultative Committee, and the Senate Consultative Committee such actions or policies as it deems appropriate.

e. To submit to the Clerk of the Senate an annual budget request for the Student Committee on Committees.


D. STUDENT CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE

The Student Consultative Committee shall represent the students at large and not the individual campuses, institutes, colleges, schools, or departments of the University.

The Student Consultative Committee shall serve as the consulting body to the president and as the executive committee of the Student Senate.

Membership

The Student Consultative Committee shall be composed of:

- one student from the Crookston campus
- one student from the Duluth campus
- one student from the Morris campus
- five students from the Twin Cities campus, as follows:
In 1998-99 2004-05, and every other year thereafter, there shall be three
undergraduate students and two graduate/professional students. In 1999-2000
2005-06, and every other year thereafter, there shall be four undergraduate
students and one graduate/professional student.
- the chair and vice chair of the Student Senate

Student members, except for the vice chair, shall be elected in accordance with procedures determined by the respective campuses' student constituencies, subject to the following provisions:

- At the time of their election, students shall be members of the University Senate (except for Crookston).

Student members shall be elected and/or appointed in accordance with procedures determined by the respective campuses’ student constituencies, subject to the following provision: at the time of their election, Twin Cities undergraduate students shall be members of the University Senate. A student member will relinquish their seat in the University Senate upon election to the Student Senate Consultative Committee.

Student vacancies shall be filled in accordance with procedures determined by the respective campuses for the balance of any unexpired term until the next regular election.

Articles II, Section 2(f), Article IV, Section 2(f) and Article VI, Section 2(e) of the Rules governing absences from committee meetings and Article I, Section 4 and Article V, Section 4 of Bylaws governing absences from Senate meetings apply to the Student Consultative Committee.

The chair of the Student Senate shall also serve as the chair of the Student Consultative Committee. The vice chair of the Student Senate shall also serve as the vice chair of the Student Consultative Committee. Chair and vice chair elections should be subject to the following provisions:

Duties and Responsibilities

a. To meet separately, when necessary, to discuss with the president, or others, matters of concern to the student body.

b. To serve as the executive and steering committee of the Student Senate.

c. To act on behalf of the Student Senate when a decision is required prior to the next scheduled meeting of the Student Senate and when a decision is required when it would not be possible to convene a special meeting of the Student Senate in a timely fashion; such actions will be reported to the Student Senate at its next meeting and the Student Senate may then overrule the Student Senate Consultative Committee.

Consultative

a. To meet separately from the Senate Consultative Committee as a consultative body, when necessary, to discuss with the president, or others, matters of concern to the student body.

b. To initiate whatever studies it deems necessary and appropriate or to request such studies from the president or senior academic officers or from committees of the Senate.

c. To advise the president on procedures for making major administrative appointments and to participate in the selection process.

d. To receive from any student notification of concerns which may require consultation with the president or senior academic officers.

Steering

a. To superintend and direct all committees reporting to the Student Senate, which includes the authority to require that any committee reporting to the Student Senate report on any matter within its jurisdiction within 30 days.

b. To receive recommendations of any student who wishes to present a proposal to the Student Senate and to refer or act upon such recommendations as it deems appropriate.

c. To serve as a coordinating body between the president and the Student Senate or a committee reporting to the Senate.

d. To prepare and approve the agenda for each meeting of the Student Senate in accordance with the Constitution, Bylaws, and Rules of the University Senate.

Executive

a. To serve as a deliberative body of the Student Senate on all major items the Student Senate deems necessary and appropriate.

b. To act on behalf of the Student Senate when a decision is required prior to the next scheduled meeting of the Student Senate and when a decision is required when it would not be possible to convene a special meeting of the Student Senate in a timely fashion; such actions will be reported to the Student Senate at its next meeting and the Student Senate may then overrule the Student Senate Consultative Committee.

c. To examine any action taken affecting students by the Board of Regents, the central administration, or by another individual or body having any relationship with the University.

d. To report regularly on any matters which, in its judgment, should be brought to the attention of the University at large or specifically to the attention and consideration of the Student Senate.

e. To appoint or assist in appointing, when requested, members of non-Senate committees.

f. To appoint special committees or subcommittees or to employ other devices which it deems necessary and appropriate.

g. To dispose of business which appears to be not germane to the purposes of the Student Senate.

...

COMMENT:

With the approval of the new Constitution, Bylaws, and Rules, all committees were asked to review their committee charges and make any changes. The charges listed are under the purview of the Student Senate and therefore need its approval to be part of the new structure.

DISCUSSION:

Q: Is there the possibility of amending the motion before approval?

A: The motion can be amended, but the committees themselves reviewed their charges and made the changes proposed in the motion.

With no further discussion, a vote was taken and the motion was approved with 27 in favor, 1 opposed, and 1 abstention.

Joshua Breyfogle, a student senator from the College of Education and Human Service Professions in Duluth, was elected Student Senate Chair.

Joshua Beiningen and Rick Orr were elected 2005-06 Twin Cities undergraduate Committee on Committees members. The final position will be elected at the first fall meeting.

A senator made a motion that the rules be suspended to consider the following resolution:

Whereas, non violent sit-ins are a peaceful expression of speech that is protected under the first amendment, therefore

Be it decided that, the Student Senate recognizes a student’s right to non-violent sit-ins in public buildings, including those on our campuses.

The motion was seconded and a vote was taken. The motion to suspend the rules was approved with 17 in favor, none opposed, and 3 abstentions to consider the resolution.

Q: Are campus buildings considered public or private buildings?

A: Campus buildings are considered public, but they also have a closing time, For health and safety reasons, only authorized people are allowed in the buildings past closing time.

A senator noted that while this resolution discusses sit-ins, it shows interest in the proposed closing of General College.

Another senator stated that the spirit of this resolution is simply that the University has public buildings and that students should be able to occupy them during normal hours of business.

A senator noted that the Student Senate has no authority to allow protests to take place.

Another senator said that the resolution is just a general statement in support of student rights, and does not condone the actions of students yesterday.

A senator questioned whether the resolution should be tabled until next fall since it is close to the end of the year and it has been repeatedly stated that the resolution has nothing to do with the proposed closing of General College.

A senator then asked why the resolution does not refer to hours of operation for buildings, only public buildings.

Another senator responded that hours of operation are a different concept from public and private. Hours refer to how to manage a building. It would be a violation of public access rights if there were not reasonable hours of access.

A senator then proposed that the resolution be amended to include, during normal hours of operation, in the second line. This amendment was considered friendly and incorporated into the resolution.

Another senator noted that it would be more rational to postpone a final vote until next fall since it addresses a tense issue on campus at this time.

A senator then noted that this is not the first campus sit-in and it will not be last, so a student opinion on the topic is needed now and in the future. The U.S. Constitution gives students these rights, not the resolution, but it is a reminder for the University.

A motion was then made and seconded to move the following motion, as proposed and amended, to a vote:

Whereas, non violent sit-ins are a peaceful expression of speech that is protected under the first amendment, therefore

Be it decided that, the Student Senate recognizes a student’s right to non-violent sit-ins in public buildings, during normal hours of business, including those on our campuses.

The resolution was approved with 12 in favor, 5 opposed, and 2 abstentions.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:10 p.m.