COGS - Council of Graduate Students

Minutes
General Assembly of the Council of Graduate Students
University of Minnesota

President's Room, Coffman Memorial Union
Thursday, March 24, 2005

Minutes submitted by Isaac Kamola (Vice President for Communications).
Minutes approved by executive committee.

Meeting began at 5:15. Quorum was met.

Elections:
The following individuals were elected to COGS positions starting next June.

Executive Committee
President: Sara Kempner, Child Development
Executive Vice President: Shana Watters, Computer Science
Vice President for External Relations: Aeleah Soine, History
Vice President for Internal Relations: Meghan Warren, Epidemiology
Vice President for Communications: Isaac Kamola, Political Science

Senators
Nathan Gossett, Computer Science/Engineering
Britt Johnson, Philosophy
Tatiana Abatemarco, Philosophy
Eli Meyerhoff, Philosophy
Kris Houlton, Philosophy
Laurie Stone, Plant Biology

Policy and Review Council
Languages, Literature and Arts:
Amy Tarrell, Spanish and Portuguese
Biological Sciences:
Charlie Rohwer, Applied Plant Sciences
Health Sciences:
Denise Feda, Environmental Health Sciences
Engineering, Physical, and Mathematical Sciences:
Dan Drake, Math
Social Sciences:
Will Cremer, History
Education and Psychology:
--yet to be filled

Coalition for a Respectful U (Melissa F. Weiner)
The bias-related incidents that have occurred this school year targeted both undergraduate and graduate students. It is imperative that there are efforts to improve campus climate and that graduate students are involved. COGS and GAPSA are members of the Coalition for a Respectful U, a campus-wide partnership of student and administrative organizations to promote and directly involve graduate student input in such efforts. Graduate students have a unique dual role on campus. Not only can we be instrumental in the improvement of campus climate through our interactions with students and opportunities to create spaces committed to diversity in our classrooms, we are also subject to discrimination and intolerance ourselves. Graduate students are diverse, representing every state in the nation as well as hundreds of countries world-wide, in addition to a wide range of spiritual beliefs, sexual orientations, and life experiences. We must work to ensure that the University of Minnesota is a great place for us to live and work, free from discrimination based on any of our diverse characteristics. We can also be proactive in this effort by actively contributing to the improvement of campus climate for the good of ourselves and our undergraduate students.

The Coalition for a Respectful U is a campus-wide collaborative of organizations committed to progressive social change and ensuring that the University of Minnesota fosters a climate of inclusion and diversity for students and employees. The Coalition supports institutional social change that includes education, programming, training, campus climate assessment and improvement, support, crisis support and response, reporting, policy, and institutional commitment. Coalition efforts focus on education and programming that help others understand the devastating impact of bias, discrimination, and hate. Past and upcoming programming include Stop the Hate Training, an educational symposium featuring Judy Shepard in conjunction with the Theatre production of “The Laramie Project” and working with the Minnesota Daily to increase coverage and understanding around diversity issues. For more information about the Coalition for a Respectful U, please visit our website.

The COGS & GAPSA representative to the Coalition for 2004-05 is Melissa Weiner. If you have any questions about the Coalition, want to report an incident, or have any ideas or concerns (either related to grad student or any other issues) that you want to be addressed at a Coalition meeting, please contact Melissa either through email at weiner@atlas.socsci.umn.edu or by phone at 612-501-7572. To report a bias-related incident on campus, call 911 as soon as possible or report events at the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action’s website.

Communication on Campus (Britt Johnson)
Over spring break the University Administration published a list of the programs to be closed or merged in the Star Tribune (more info). This flies in the face of the resolution COGS, GAPSA, and MSA passed asking for transparency and communication with graduate students concerning program closure.

COGS is currently still following up on the resolution. This is important because departments might begin suspending admissions as de facto closing. This violates the process through which departments are closed or merged through democratic consultation within the Policy and Review Councils. This continued lack of consultation with graduate students has been frustrating. Furthermore, these mergers are not necessarily to save money as much as to provide a polished package to the legislature who have been complaining that the University is not focused enough in its mission. The Graduate School has also mandated that people in departments which are being closed will be allowed to finish their degree at the University.

Laurie Stone mentioned that College of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Sciences, College of Biological Sciences, and College of Natural Resources were being looked at for restructuring, with possible merger between CNR and COAFES.

Union Update (Kris Houlton)
On April 11th-15th there will be a University wide election to determine whether the graduate student union—GradTRAC/UE Local 1105—will be legally recognized as the body which can negotiate contracts for graduate employees. Currently we work without a legal contract which explains why every year the Administration changes our healthcare coverage without consulting us. It is also important to remember that this is not a vote for a specific contract but for union representation. If the majority of those voting vote “Yes” then all members of the union will select a negotiating committee which will hammer out a contract with the administration. Each member of the union will then be eligible to vote for or against the contract. However, such negotiation can only happen once we have a union.

All graduate employees with a position this semester are eligible to vote—this includes Research Assistants, Teaching Assistants, Graduate Assistants, and Graduate Instructors. It does not include those on fellowship. Click here to find a list of polling places.

Stadium Update (Keith Cunnien)
Currently the Administration is charging ahead with plans to build a stadium using student fees, despite the COGS resolution passed on February 5th. The fee, however, will not be charged through the Student Service Fee ($100/year of which already goes to pay off the Coffman Union over-run) but will instead be rolled into our University Fee. Those of us without funding or whose departments do not waive the University Fee will foot this bill. For the rest, the departments will be saddled with this fee. This administrative tactic amounts to a backdoor tax on our departments and could seriously impact the ability of departments to fund TAs and RAs. There is currently a petition being circulated what states that we oppose this plan and we pledge to withhold any future donations or charitable gifts to the University if it implements this plan.

It is really important that you take this issue to your DGS because they might not be aware of what is being planned. Also, it is important to know that this is a similar move that the Administration made when announcing the 10% increase in base pay last semester—they are forcing departments pay for it without providing extra funds to those departments.

The University Fee increase could range from $35-$75/semester. Furthermore, like with Coffman, there is a good chance that we would be forced to pay for over-run expenses which could push this amount even higher. They have not announced what the exact fee increase is going to be yet—this will depend on what kind of state and private funding they can manage to secure.

Education Affordability and Equity Act (Andy Warta)
The Education Abordability and Equity Act is out of committee and on the House floor. Betty McCollum has already endorsed it. We are going to do follow up emails for other Minnesota Representative urging them to support the bill.

McCollum will be on the St. Paul campus Thursday, March 31st at noon to discuss the Higher Education Act.

Resolution (Britt Johnson)
Please send comments and suggested amendments to cogs@umn.edu—this resolution will be discussed and voted on at the April GA meeting.


	Home About COGS Current Issues Meetings Publications Getting Involved Representatives The Endowment Resources and FAQs Contact COGS		Minutes General Assembly of the Council of Graduate Students University of Minnesota President's Room, Coffman Memorial Union Thursday, March 24, 2005 Minutes submitted by Isaac Kamola (Vice President for Communications). Minutes approved by executive committee. Meeting began at 5:15. Quorum was met. Elections: The following individuals were elected to COGS positions starting next June. *Executive Committee* President: Sara Kempner, Child Development Executive Vice President: Shana Watters, Computer Science Vice President for External Relations: Aeleah Soine, History Vice President for Internal Relations: Meghan Warren, Epidemiology Vice President for Communications: Isaac Kamola, Political Science *Senators* Nathan Gossett, Computer Science/Engineering Britt Johnson, Philosophy Tatiana Abatemarco, Philosophy Eli Meyerhoff, Philosophy Kris Houlton, Philosophy Laurie Stone, Plant Biology *Policy and Review Council* Languages, Literature and Arts: Amy Tarrell, Spanish and Portuguese Biological Sciences: Charlie Rohwer, Applied Plant Sciences Health Sciences: Denise Feda, Environmental Health Sciences Engineering, Physical, and Mathematical Sciences: Dan Drake, Math Social Sciences: Will Cremer, History Education and Psychology: --yet to be filled Coalition for a Respectful U (Melissa F. Weiner) The bias-related incidents that have occurred this school year targeted both undergraduate and graduate students. It is imperative that there are efforts to improve campus climate and that graduate students are involved. COGS and GAPSA are members of the Coalition for a Respectful U, a campus-wide partnership of student and administrative organizations to promote and directly involve graduate student input in such efforts. Graduate students have a unique dual role on campus. Not only can we be instrumental in the improvement of campus climate through our interactions with students and opportunities to create spaces committed to diversity in our classrooms, we are also subject to discrimination and intolerance ourselves. Graduate students are diverse, representing every state in the nation as well as hundreds of countries world-wide, in addition to a wide range of spiritual beliefs, sexual orientations, and life experiences. We must work to ensure that the University of Minnesota is a great place for us to live and work, free from discrimination based on any of our diverse characteristics. We can also be proactive in this effort by actively contributing to the improvement of campus climate for the good of ourselves and our undergraduate students. The Coalition for a Respectful U is a campus-wide collaborative of organizations committed to progressive social change and ensuring that the University of Minnesota fosters a climate of inclusion and diversity for students and employees. The Coalition supports institutional social change that includes education, programming, training, campus climate assessment and improvement, support, crisis support and response, reporting, policy, and institutional commitment. Coalition efforts focus on education and programming that help others understand the devastating impact of bias, discrimination, and hate. Past and upcoming programming include Stop the Hate Training, an educational symposium featuring Judy Shepard in conjunction with the Theatre production of “The Laramie Project” and working with the Minnesota Daily to increase coverage and understanding around diversity issues. For more information about the Coalition for a Respectful U, please visit our website. The COGS & GAPSA representative to the Coalition for 2004-05 is Melissa Weiner. If you have any questions about the Coalition, want to report an incident, or have any ideas or concerns (either related to grad student or any other issues) that you want to be addressed at a Coalition meeting, please contact Melissa either through email at weiner@atlas.socsci.umn.edu or by phone at 612-501-7572. To report a bias-related incident on campus, call 911 as soon as possible or report events at the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action’s website. Communication on Campus (Britt Johnson) Over spring break the University Administration published a list of the programs to be closed or merged in the Star Tribune (more info). This flies in the face of the resolution COGS, GAPSA, and MSA passed asking for transparency and communication with graduate students concerning program closure. COGS is currently still following up on the resolution. This is important because departments might begin suspending admissions as de facto closing. This violates the process through which departments are closed or merged through democratic consultation within the Policy and Review Councils. This continued lack of consultation with graduate students has been frustrating. Furthermore, these mergers are not necessarily to save money as much as to provide a polished package to the legislature who have been complaining that the University is not focused enough in its mission. The Graduate School has also mandated that people in departments which are being closed will be allowed to finish their degree at the University. Laurie Stone mentioned that College of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Sciences, College of Biological Sciences, and College of Natural Resources were being looked at for restructuring, with possible merger between CNR and COAFES. Union Update (Kris Houlton) On April 11th-15th there will be a University wide election to determine whether the graduate student union—GradTRAC/UE Local 1105—will be legally recognized as the body which can negotiate contracts for graduate employees. Currently we work without a legal contract which explains why every year the Administration changes our healthcare coverage without consulting us. It is also important to remember that this is not a vote for a specific contract but for union representation. If the majority of those voting vote “Yes” then all members of the union will select a negotiating committee which will hammer out a contract with the administration. Each member of the union will then be eligible to vote for or against the contract. However, such negotiation can only happen once we have a union. All graduate employees with a position this semester are eligible to vote—this includes Research Assistants, Teaching Assistants, Graduate Assistants, and Graduate Instructors. It does not include those on fellowship. Click here to find a list of polling places. Stadium Update (Keith Cunnien) Currently the Administration is charging ahead with plans to build a stadium using student fees, despite the COGS resolution passed on February 5th. The fee, however, will not be charged through the Student Service Fee ($100/year of which already goes to pay off the Coffman Union over-run) but will instead be rolled into our University Fee. Those of us without funding or whose departments do not waive the University Fee will foot this bill. For the rest, the departments will be saddled with this fee. This administrative tactic amounts to a backdoor tax on our departments and could seriously impact the ability of departments to fund TAs and RAs. There is currently a petition being circulated what states that we oppose this plan and we pledge to withhold any future donations or charitable gifts to the University if it implements this plan. It is really important that you take this issue to your DGS because they might not be aware of what is being planned. Also, it is important to know that this is a similar move that the Administration made when announcing the 10% increase in base pay last semester—they are forcing departments pay for it without providing extra funds to those departments. The University Fee increase could range from $35-$75/semester. Furthermore, like with Coffman, there is a good chance that we would be forced to pay for over-run expenses which could push this amount even higher. They have not announced what the exact fee increase is going to be yet—this will depend on what kind of state and private funding they can manage to secure. Education Affordability and Equity Act (Andy Warta) The Education Abordability and Equity Act is out of committee and on the House floor. Betty McCollum has already endorsed it. We are going to do follow up emails for other Minnesota Representative urging them to support the bill. McCollum will be on the St. Paul campus Thursday, March 31st at noon to discuss the Higher Education Act. Resolution (Britt Johnson) Please send comments and suggested amendments to cogs@umn.edu—this resolution will be discussed and voted on at the April GA meeting.