GPSC Conference Room at 7:00pm

I. Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 7:04 pm

II. Roll Call:

Dan Hechenberger (Curriculum and Instruction), Will Gillespie (Civil and Environmental Engineering), Mike Boggus (History), Kenny Ruzicka (Forestry), Branden McCullough (History), Elizabeth Janssen (Linguistics), Vinay Nagarajan (Plant Biology), Marinus van Kuilenburg (Political Science), Kevin Menken (Speech Communication) Aurora Strick (Theatre), Travis Smith (Philosophy), Jon Pressley (Anthropology), Jeff Specker (MCMA) Christopher Green ( Zoology), Abdel Mounaim Lahrech (Economics), Jason Branch (Speech Communication), (Art & Design), Chad Erpelding (Art & Design).

III. Approval of the Agenda

M. Vandenberg moved and W. Gillespie seconded a motion to approve the agenda. The agenda was approved without objection.

IV. Approval of the September 21, 2004 Minutes

Misspellings of names were corrected, after which M. van Kuilenburg moved and J. Branch seconded the approval of the minutes from September 21, 2004. The amended minutes was approved without objection.

V. Officer Reports

A. President: Amy Sileven

1. Committee Assignments: Assignments were distributed, and the need for volunteers for committees not yet assigned, such as Chartwell’s and Financial Aid, were noted. M. Vandenberg and J. Branch volunteered to be on the Fine Arts Activity Fee Committee, M. van Kuilenburg volunteered for the Mass Transit Authority, K. Menken signed on to represent GPSC on the Gay and Lesbian Task Force and C. Green volunteered for Financial Aid. Upcoming Committee meeting dates and times were reviewed.

2. Honorary Degree and Distinguished Service Committee: A call for nominations has gone out.

3. OIRS: The committee met, and materials regarding the chargeback from fees to the Chancellor were handed out to GPSC reps.

4. Computing Advisory Committee: CopySense, a program used by the University to monitor and regulate internet usage, was discussed.

5. Fine Arts Committee: The committee approved two funding requests, one for a theater event and another to support a photography exhibit at the Student Center. There was also discussion of modifying the operating papers to broaden student representation on the committee and allow non-arts students to serve.

6. Public Policy Institute: Mike Lawrence has been named the director of the Institute after serving as interim director.

B. Vice President of Administrative Affairs: Eric Waltmire

1. E. Waltmire noted that some members still need to get documentation from their departments/student groups verifying their appointment to GPSC.

C. Vice President of Graduate School Affairs: Angela St. Paul

1. Alumni Association: The association met, expressed dissatisfaction with student loyalty; A. St. Paul wishes to compile a report for the upcoming spring meeting to better convey student efforts as well as student issues with the University. A public event to publicize student activism and efforts was suggested.

2. Parking and Traffic: At the Parking and Traffic Committee meeting funding was approved to support a wetland near Communication Building in the amount of $5000.00 as well as $70,000 for paving a new road to the Safety Center.

3. Graduate Orientation: Fifty people attended the Graduate School orientation, and GPSC will be meeting with the Graduate School, others to help plan next year’s event, which needs feedback from graduate students.

4. WIDB: The board met today, made it known that staff positions are available.

5. Library Safety: An article about the GPSC meeting discussion of safety issues at the library and the library’s budget was published in the DE last Friday. A. St. Paul will be meeting with Dean Carlson next week where she will voice her concerns and questions about safety and technology at the library. It was suggested that GPSC could compile student experiences related to library safety for submission to Dean Carlson and other administrators.

VI. Old business

1. Fee Allocation Board: E. Waltmire introduced a funding request from the Student Environmental Center (SEC) for the Heartland Bioneers Conference. E. Waltmire stated that the Fee Allocation Board had meet and recommended funding the event in the amount of $584.00, which was the amount requested by the SEC. A representative from the SEC addressed GPSC and provided information about the upcoming conference, including speakers and the group’s origins. K. Menken moved to approve the allocation and A. Strick seconded the motion. 17 members voted yes, 4 abstained. The motion carried.

2. Domestic Partnerships: Suggestions for appropriate proof of domestic partnership for eligible students for University benefits were sought; sharing a lease was one suggestion, a notorized document and some form of evidence of commitment were others; problems of proof were discussed.

3. GPSC constitution: Proposed changes were handed out and will be voted on in the next meeting. A resolution regarding compensation for GPSC officers was reviewed and suggestions were made, including expanding allowed assistantship hours to 100% for all graduate students. Problems were indicated, including the possibilities that two 50% assistantships is too much work and too much funding for fewer rather than a greater number of students and the fact that international students are limited to 50% assistantship. Additional consideration was given to whether the compensation resolution should be for a one-time change or a permanent one. The separate issue of differences in departmental workloads and the inability to regulate that was also brought up. A. Sileven will check on issues brought up, and will reformulate the resolution for the next meeting.

4. FY 06-07 Fees: Research is in progress, and more information about fees at peer and aspirational institutions is being gathered.

5. Non-Resident Tuition: Discussed decrease in international student enrollment and resolution in opposition to FY 05 increase in non-resident tuition, also in expanding this opposition to future increases in the multiplier in an effort to increase international student enrollment. A. Mounaim Lahrech made a motion to approve the resolution; B. McCullough seconded the motion. A. St. Paul asked for the resolution to be reworked, M. van Kuilenburg moved that an amendment to the resolution be written such that it ask that the FY 05 non-resident student tuition multiplier increase be rescinded; the motion was seconded by E. Janssen. 11 voted in favor, 5 voted against; the amendment passed. The amended resolution was voted to a vote, 20 in favor, 0 against, 1 abstention. The amended resolution passed.

VII Roundtable Discussion

1. Announcement – A. St. Paul reminded Graduate Council members of the October 7^th meeting at 8:00am.

VIII. Adjournment

The motion to adjourn the meeting was moved and seconded. A. Sileven adjourned the meeting at 8:45.