The first meeting of the Student Senate for 1998-99 was convened in 2-101 Basic Science Building, Minneapolis campus, on Thursday, October 15, 1998, at 12:00 p.m. Coordinate campuses were linked by telephone. Checking or signing the roll as present were 28 voting student members. Mr. Jesse Berglund, Student Senate Chair, presided.

President Yudof said that one question he received in advance dealt with salaries for graduate students teaching or engaged in research. In the State of the University Address later today, it states that we are ninth in the Big Ten and 13% below the national average in compensation. This is a very serious matter, and will be dealt with once we receive an improved budget from the legislature. Christine Maziar, Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School, and Carol Carrier, Vice President for Human Resources, will be putting together a plan to alleviate this problem. Also, there was some improvement in the medical coverage; it is now possible to cover dependents.

Every person at the University was appalled by the death of Matthew Shepard. I have talked with Rusty Barcelo, Vice President for Minority Affairs, and fortunately the University has very good leadership in this area. The University offers extensive workshops, speeches, and consultation services, but in light of this incident, I have asked for an expansion of these activities to sensitize people to these issues. There is nothing that the University can do to undo this tragedy, but this is not a problem limited to Wyoming or any other state of population in this country.

The budget request will be close to $200 million. There will be a major initiative for undergraduate education. The request will include adding 100 professors system-wide so that every freshmen can have the opportunity for a small seminar, a writing experience, and better mentoring with a regular professor. It will also include funds for technology in the library and increasing the number of advisors on campus. Other items are faculty and staff compensation, funding the Academic Health Center, infrastructure support, and outreach for agricultural emergencies and experiment stations' support.

He then opened the floor for questions.

Q: The proposed tuition increase for the 1999-2000 academic year is 3%. Does this still take into account equalizing upper and lower division tuition rates? How much longer will equalization continue?

A: Last year we did not make much progress on equalizing tuition because we felt that tuition increases would have been too high. There are two polices at odds with each other. One is to keep tuition as low as possible and the other is to equalize tuition rates. Students would like to see tuition increases lower, although the Big Ten average was over 4% last year. The basket of services offered to students will increase with the rise in tuition. I will not be proposing a figure to the Regents until April or May, once the legislative budget has been finalized.

Q: How will increases in faculty and advisors help to facilitate experiences such as service learning, internship opportunities, and career building skills?

A: More money will be allotted for career counseling, but we are willing to work with the students to determine what this program should look like. There is a significant increase in undergraduate research to give more students this opportunity. There is also $1 million in the current budget for study abroad, but many students are not able to take advantage of this opportunity for financial reasons.

Morris reported that the foundation is in for the new Math and Science building, and the students are awaiting its completion.

Q: There is a housing problem across college campuses. The University is discussing building a new dormitory, but for students in temporary housing, would the administration support compensating these students during their temporary housing stay.

A: I do not think so. While it is a problem, many students living in the hotel do not feel oppressed. We have apologized and hosted a party. We have been forced to spend a considerable amount on renting the Days Inn, and in order to compensate students we would need to take the money from academic funds.

Q: What are your thoughts about adding Notre Dame to the Big Ten? How will this affect the University academically and athletically?

A: I have not been called upon to vote on this matter. My attitude is positive since it is an academically strong university both at the undergraduate and graduate level. I would be inclined to support its addition.

Q: What are the plans to encourage collaboration between departments, both in terms of research and teaching?

A: The last time the University received $36 million in supplemental appropriations, five new programs were created. Four of the five were interdisciplinary. I see a growth in interdisciplinary relationships on campus. There is an idea that IMG suppresses the incentives to cooperate, but it is not true. There is now a high budget priority for interdisciplinary cooperation. At some point the University will need to examine the disciplinary boundaries because they are quickly disappearing.

Q: In CLA, once students have taken six quarters of a language they are required to pass a proficiency test. Many students are not in favor of this test because if the University has passed them for six quarters, they should not be required to take a test to prove that they are at the sixth quarter level. They have questioned whether the University is doing its job by passing them for six quarters and then failing them on the proficiency test. What is your opinion on this proficiency test?

A: I do not know enough about this test to know what the pass rate is and how much of a burden it is for the students. If an e-mail was sent to me, I could get some more information and give a more informed answer.

Q: What is the status of the recently disbanded U-Pass Task Force?

A: The task force is being reformed. In the past, the Office of Transportation has come forward with plans that involved some consultation with students but not enough. Therefore, students have vehemently opposed it. This particular task force got off to a bad start since they wanted to borrow the money to provide the service in the first year. They then hoped that by year two it could be phased in. I was concerned that it would never be phased in, and the University would be left with a huge expenditure that would need to paid from the academic side. My position is that the students need to become very involved in this process; otherwise the University will never be able to solve this problem. The University needs to know if there is a student fee amount that the body in general would support as being reasonable. If there is no support, the University might not be able to solve this problem.

APPROVED

It was also announced that a University Senate meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, November 5, 1998.

The Student Senate minutes are available on the Web at the following URL:

APPROVED

The Student Legislative Coalition (SLC) supports the University of Minnesota's Biennial Budget Request.

The SLC supports decoupling any increase in the Pell Grant to improve access to higher education for lower income students. This position is in full support of the University of Minnesota's commitment to connecting with the community-at-large.

The SLC supports improvements to student financial aid consistent with the 1998-1999 SLC legislative agenda.

The SLC will monitor the following issues:

The Regent Selection Process

Any action taken concerning student services fees

CHERYL JORGENSEN, President
STUDENT LEGISLATIVE COALITION

DISCUSSION:

Cheryl Jorgensen, president of the Student Legislative Coalition (SLC), reported that SLC lobbies on behalf of all University of Minnesota students at the state and federal levels. SLC is a standing committee of the Student Senate, so the agenda needs Student Senate approval before SLC can lobby on an issue. She then read through the agenda and opened the floor to questions.

A senator said that Morris was originally a school for Native Americans. When Morris became a part of the University system, it mandated tuition waivers to Native American students attending the college. This is an unfunded mandate. The legislature approved funds in the last biennium, but this was a one-time revenue source. Morris would like permanent funding to be included on the SLC agenda.

Ms. Jorgensen said that SLC was not aware of this mandate. She said that if the SLC agenda is approved, this would be covered by the third agenda item. She then asked the SLC representative from Morris to be prepared to discuss this issue at the next SLC meeting.

With no further questions, a vote was taken and the agenda was unanimously approved.

APPROVED

Deanne Nordberg, the Student Senate Vice Chair from Morris, reported that construction is progressing on the new Science Building and Regional Fitness Center. A candlelight vigil will be held on October 19 for Matthew Shepard. Two days ago, there was a fire in one of the residence halls, although only smoke damage was reported. Homecoming Weekend also starts tonight. One of the main concerns at Morris is the poor housing situation off campus. Students are attending city meetings regarding this issue.

Ben Bowman, an MSA representative, said that all MSA committees have been formed. A tuition resolution was recently passed. The other issue MSA is looking at is housing. MSA is also considering passing a resolution regarding housing.

J. P. Maier, the president of GAPSA, stated that one of GAPSA's agenda items has been inclusion in the University-wide pay increase program. Many faculty and staff have been supportive of this measure. The new health care and insurance package is also on-line. There are several improvements, one of which is optional dependent coverage. The national conference is scheduled for next month.

There were no reports from Crookston or Duluth.

Ryan Falk, chair of the Student Senate Consultative Committee (SSCC), said that SSCC is looking for issues for this year. Also, at the University Senate meeting today is a constitutional amendment changing the credit requirement for student senators. He asked everyone to attend the meeting and vote in support of the amendment.

Jesse Berglund, Student Senate Chair, thanked the Student Senate for re-electing him last spring. After last year, he has noticed a change in how the Student Senate is being viewed by administrators and faculty members. One contribution last year was Becky Hippert being promoted to the position of Student Senate Liaison. This addition to the Senate Office was a great step forward for him, Ryan Falk, as well as every other student in governance.

A few years ago, many administrators did not know what the Student Senate was because of lack of leadership in the Twin Cities. Now, the Student Senate is recognized within the Office of Student Development and Athletics and the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost. Last year, Vice Provost Craig Swan did not know that the Student Senate existed before he was asked to speak at a Student Senate mating. Since that time, he has become pro-active towards the Student Senate by asking the Student Senate to appointment members to various committees and task forces.

The last area of improvement has been the Faculty Consultative Committee (FCC). Sara Evans, the new FCC chair, is impressed with the student effort over the past few years in issues such as Student Access to Teaching Evaluations.

Now, the weight falls on each student senator. Students need to keep their numbers up, attend every meeting, and attend their respective college boards meetings. Issues need to be brought from these boards to the Student Senate.

A senator made a motion to nominate a Parliamentarian for the Student Senate and request that President Yudof approve and appoint the nominee for a one year term.

Since this was not on the approved agenda, it required a suspension of the rules. A vote was taken and approved to suspend the rules to consider the motion.

Cheryl Jorgensen was nominated for the position. The motion was then seconded and approved unanimously.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:20 p.m.

Rebecca Hippert
Abstractor