Proceedings of the February 20th, 2008 meeting
Agenda
1) 5:45 FOOD (thanks Anwei!)
2) 6:00 Welcome with introductions (Kristina)
3) 6:05 Announcements (Kristina)
i. Please be aware that all meetings are recorded and will be made available on the GSC website.
ii. Approve minutes from the last meeting (2/13/07) with the following changes:
a. Add Matt McLaughlin to the attendance
b. Change that Michelle recruited people for formal from School of Ed, not Earth Sciences.
iii. Want GSC member to go to Student Leaders Working Lunch (part of Diversity Week) next Wednesday 2/27 from 11:30-1:30. Talk to Cullen if interested.
4) 6:10 Funding (Polina)
i. Undergraduate Product Design Student Association
ii. GSB Rugby Club
iii. Cultural Interactions Club
5) 6:20 Special Fees (Polina)
6) 7:00 Voting in new law rep (Kristina)
7) 7:05 ASSU Update (Mondaire)
8) 7:10 Programming update (Adam S. and Justin)
9) 7:15 Check-in about recruitment efforts (Kristina)
10) 7:25 New Business
Attendance
Voting members present:
At large 1: Maxim Afanasyev
At large 2: Hanna Muenke
At large 3: Kristina Keating
At large 5: Polina Segalova
Business: Rhyan Uy
Earth Sciences: Kyle Anderson (proxy Yinei Chen present)
Education: Michelle Brown
Engineering 1: Melahn Parker
Engineering 2: Zeng Fan (proxy Anwei Chai present)
Natural Sciences: Fen Zhao
Social Sciences: Euan Robertson
Voting members not present:
At large 4: Lan Wei
Law: Unfilled
Humanities: George Bloom
Medicine: Yana Hoy
Others in attendance: Alex Ene, Adam Beberg, Andrew Park, Adam Sciambi, Justin Brown, Jim Sinai, Nik deSceyes, Susana Montes, Matt McLaughlin, Matt Sprague, Danny Arbeiter, Chris Elmore, Matt McDonald, Kaanthi Kode, Maria Spletter
Minutes
1) 5:45 FOOD (thanks Anwei!)
2) 6:00 Welcome with introductions (Kristina)
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We list favorite songs, though some people have trouble coming up with one.
3) 6:05 Announcements (Kristina)
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i. Please be aware that all meetings are recorded and will be made available on the GSC website.
ii. Minutes from the last meeting (2/13/08) were approved by consensus with the following changes:
a. Add Matt McLaughlin to the attendance
b. Change that Michelle recruited people for formal from School of Ed, not Earth Sciences.
iii. Want GSC member to go to Student Leaders Working Lunch (part of Diversity Week) next Wednesday 2/27 from 11:30-1:30. Talk to Cullen if interested. Euan volunteers to go.
4) 6:10 Funding (Polina)
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i. GSB Rugby Club – 30 members come to practice regularly, have about 65 people on list total, many of whom come to games. Have two big tournaments each season, including travel needs, and also have some local matches. They come to the GSC today because they need money to run the lights they need to rent for the rugby pitch they’re using. The group is all grad students, and serves a different need from Club Sports rugby because that group practices much more frequently, and also even mixed Club Sports require that first-teams be just Undergrads. Despite the name, GSB Rugby Club is open to people from all schools, and is currently about 30% GSB people. This request for money should be temporary, because the Undergrad team bought lights, but didn’t have the money to turn them on. So, the current deal is that the Rugby Club is allowed to use the Undergrad pitch, which is nicer than other space, if they pay for rental lights for now. The future of this arrangement isn’t entirely clear, but the club does have a good relationship with the Undergrads, including a mentoring program. The club does have funding from GSB senate, which covers registration fees for tournaments, and also have some sponsorship. Current costs for running the lights (which are already on) are being paid out of pocket, but would like funding to cover the remainder of the year.
Requesting 4000, recommended 2500. Giving 2500 passes by consensus.
ii. Persian student association – Having a Winter gathering event, and expect about 125 students of their 200 members to attend. This event is about having a summary of the year so far, recognition of volunteers, and electing next year’s board. Recommended $1000. Giving $1000 passes by consensus.
5) 6:17 Voting in new law rep (Kristina)
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Andrew Park is interested in filling in the role of Representative from the Law School, at least for now. Hasn’t heard about the elections process yet, so doesn’t know about what filling the role next year entails. Sees this as a chance to get involved, and connect the Law School with the rest of the University. The Law School is feeling that disconnect and is working to address it. For example, will switch to quarter system in 2009. Also have made a lot of dual degree programs. Andrew is currently a 1st year law student, though was already here for Undergrad and a Masters before. Having Andrew as the new representative from the Law School passes by consensus. We will swear him in next week.
6) 6:21 SSE Update (Matt)
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Mondaire is not here, so we have an SSE update from Matt McLaughlin. As a follow-up last week on our question as to whether student fees could be reduced, he reports that we could change the allocation (prior to the elections) going to student group programming, our programming, etc, but that it would be difficult to lower the overall student fees for now, given that we would want it to be a temporary decrease only (and use some of the reserves to cover the overall budget, which would remain about the same either way).
SSE is looking more into babysitting thing. Issues like liability still remain, but are looking into it.
$32 per quarter is the current very rough estimate of grad fees for next year, based on amounts requested by groups, but as said, this is very rough, and will only go down. Was $29 per quarter this year.
7) 6:25 Programming update (Adam S. and Justin)
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Formal is looking good! They did a walkthrough of the venue recently to finalize some details. Ticket sales are approaching 1000, and they will hopefully get a few more in the next couple of days. The venue will be open to us as of noon, and the party starts at 9pm, so will be doing some set-up during that time. They may want some helpers to get signs up and such. Much of the work will be done by the caterers, light people, etc. Melahn has volunteered to help clean-up at the end, Fen has volunteered to come set-up, but more people could be good though. Get in touch with Adam S and Justin if you would like to be useful.
8) 6:28 Check-in about recruitment efforts (Kristina)
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We were all supposed to talk to two people about running for GSC next year. Listen to audio recording if you want specifics of what people accomplished. Not an easy task, but some potential interest. Melahn took some people out for lunch, which seemed successful. Challenge for older members whose main contacts are also older people who are also getting ready to graduate. Targeting younger students seems like a more effective strategy.
Discussion of how to make the running and voting process more clear. Suggestion to get screen shots of the voting process so that we can educate potential voters about the fact that people can vote for us within school and for an at-large seat. General suggestion to target people who are already student leaders to run for seats. Kristina thinks she has an email contact list for leaders of student groups that she could send an ad out to. Suggestion to have flyer that can be emailed around. Michelle suggests bullet point lists for potential candidates running, and for people voting, including basic steps and timelines.
9) 6:39 Special Fees (Polina)
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Background – We are looking at Joint Special Fee groups tonight, who are seeking to be put on the ballot to potentially receive money from both Grad and Undergrad special fees. Keep in mind that we’re voting to put these Special Fee requests on the ballot, where they will still need to get 50% yes of the overall vote (of people who vote), with at least 15% of the entire student body (even those who don’t vote) voting yes. When we vote whether to put something on the ballot, it will need a 3/5 majority to pass. If it does not pass by 3/5, then the group can petition to get on the ballot, by getting signatures from 15% of the grad and undergrad student body. For groups who have received Special Fees before, and whose budgets have not increased more than 10%, if we vote yes, then it gets on the ballot. The Funding Committee has also looked into whether these groups have excess reserves. For groups requesting Special Fees money for the first time, or old groups with a more than 10% increase, if we vote yes, they still need to petition for 10% of grad and undergrad student body’s signatures before they get on the ballot. The GSC will have another vote closer to the elections (after the petitions process is complete), and those votes will be posted (overall – individuals not singled out) with each Special Fee request, as an indication of whether or not the GSC supports it. Currently though, we are just voting about whether to make it a little easier for groups to get on the ballot in the first place.
Every requested amount we see, divided by about 14,000 will be the cost per year for each student for that group.
The fact that groups will need to get particular numbers of petitioning and votes from grads and undergrads separately is something that we passed previously, though it hasn’t been ratified by the University yet. However, it should be before the election.
i. ASSU legal counsel – provides legal services to students. Estimated 70-30 split for grad/undergrad students who use their help. Can be useful for a variety of things, such as rental cases. Adam B. describes this as legal insurance for students, such that if something comes up, you have them, rather than having to hire an expensive lawyer. Recommended budget is $117,440.
Rhyan would like them to do more promotion to make themselves more well known to students, as their services aren’t useful if nobody knows about them. Others point out that it is in Grad Events each week. The Legal Counsel does keep track of how people who use them find out, and there is a variety, including the ads, their promotional items, word of mouth… Kristina feels like they do a good job promoting, and that they probably do better than other groups in terms of reaching graduate students. If what you need is beyond their services (for example, they won’t represent anyone in court), they can also refer to lawyers who work at a discount if necessary, though mostly provide counsel about how to do things on your own.
Vote: 8 for, 2 against, 1 abstaining. Passes by 3/5.
ii. Comedy Club –Thinking about having weekly Comedy Nights for grads, as is currently the case, then having some bigger name acts come which would probably have more of a draw for the Undergraduate students. Recommended budget of $27,4000.
Vote: 9 for, 0 opposed, 2 abstaining. Passes. Now need to petition to get on the ballot by getting signatures from 10% of grads and undergrads, since they are applying for Special Fees for the first time.
iii. Club sports – Requested $202,631, recommended $198,071. The Undergrads pick up a higher percentage of this tab, given that many Club Sports are heavily Undergrad, or don’t even allow Grad students on their first-teams. Question again about why Club Sports doesn’t fund groups like the GSB Rugby (that we saw earlier in the meeting). This is because they do fund a Rugby team already, and the GSB Rugby team meets a different need (is lower key, all grads, different types of competitions, grads wouldn’t be allowed to be on first-team anyway). Many club sports are very highly competitive, so people may not have the option to do so recreationally, which is why other options also exist.
Votes: 9 for, 1 opposed, 1 abstaining. Passes.
iv. KZSU radio station. Requesting $79,345, also recommendation. We don’t know numbers or listeners because a survey would be very expensive. Over half their DJs are grad students. Also, the station is used to send out Stanford alerts if necessary.
Vote: 9 for, 1 opposed, 1 abstaining. Passes
v. Pacific Free Clinic. Run by Med students or PreMeds. Asking $35,000, also recommended. This clinic serves the general community. Gives the Med Students a good chance to work with students, which they might not otherwise have. The clinic does have some other sources of funding, though their total budget is $52,700, so we do provide a substantial chunk. Michelle reports that this is a recruiting tool for Med students, that they will have more of an opportunity to work with patients than they might at other schools.
Vote: 8 for, 3 opposed, 0 abstaining. Passes.
vi. Student Organizing Committee for the Arts
Puts on various Arts events on Stanford campus throughout the year. Recommended $41,700. The money goes to such things as renting tents for outdoor events, putting together a CD of Stanford music each year, advertising, etc. Have big Art Affair event in spring.
Vote: 9 for, 0 against, 2 abstaining. Passes.
vii. Speaker’s Bureau. Asking $161,643, also recommended. This group brings big speakers to campus. This year bringing the author of Satanic Verses, Dave Berry (comedic writer), Morgan Spurloch (maker of Supersize Me), and have others under negotiation. They also co-sponsor with other groups with somewhat smaller events/budgets, and help with the finances and logistics, such as booking venues or otherwise organize this type of event. Total budgeted amount includes a transfer from Reserves that’s bundled in, which is why it seems big. The transfer leaves 10-15K left in reserve.
Vote: 10 for, 0 opposed, 1 abstaining. Passes.
viii. Sunday Flicks. Have had a lot of trouble recently running smoothly, including a number of weeks in the fall where they didn’t show any movies. Originally asked for an amount that was more than the 10% budget increase allowed without needing to petition, so have decided to cut out some low-attendance movie times, such as during finals, in order to bring their budget within a 10% change. Went through 6 directors in a year and a half, are now starting to pay people to encourage longer duration, which has been an unbudgeted expense. Had some old debt, continue to have some, but are working on it and have a plan for paying it off, so this shouldn’t be a major concern going forward. Alex feels that past mismanaged warrants not voting for them, as new money would go towards fixing the past mistakes, such as the existing debt. Polina reports that they’ve expanded their leadership, and seem more stable now. Flicks now has an oversight board, which is necessary as an SSE service project, which will also help with continuity. Now have interns and pipeline, as evidence for good structure and continuation in the future. This cost is evenly split between grads and undergrads, ends up costing $5 per year for each grad student.
Vote: 7 for, 0 opposed, 4 abstaining. Passes.
ix. Stanford Outdoors. Are requesting Umbrella group status for the collection of outdoor groups that exist on campus. Has been around for 2 years now, serving as an unofficial umbrella group for the smaller groups, reducing overlapping events, etc. Feels there are a number of outdoor groups that are replicating events, and not sufficiently addressing risk management, etc, and that they could improve this as a central organizing force. Requested $145,228, recommended $30,911.50. The first number was their “wish list” budget, including some equipment replacement, but they agreed that they could work within the smaller recommendation. A good chunk of that budget goes towards training, because trips require individuals trained in the appropriate first-aid, which is different for say, wilderness hiking and kayaking. Also, some of the existing gear is old, and rental is expensive, so they would like to replace that and reduce costs for use.
Across the outdoor groups that would be served by this umbrella, there are 3500 people on lists, 500 or so active people, and many more who go once or twice a year. These trips are good opportunities to get some time for reflection, and gain a different perspective from classes. Would like to increase people attending these opportunities. This year, went from 600 to 2000 unique visits to the rock climbing wall, which is good evidence that people are getting some experience with outdoors, and looking to get more. They have been advertising Stanford Outdoors at the rock climbing wall to draw on the budding interest of that crowd.
Club sports is currently the only umbrella organization on Grad side. Need to decide whether to grant that status to Stanford Outdoors as well. Being an umbrella group means that we would give them a specified budget, and they then organize subgroups, and they distribute money to those subgroups, rather than those groups asking the GSC individually. By granting umbrella status, we give them a lot of authority. There is some evidence that they are reasonably prepared for that. Stanford Outdoors works with the coordinator of outdoor education, who is full time university staff, and have more of his time than club sports has of their staff member. Have a number of storage locations around campus that are secured, etc, allowing them to grow. Some of the sub-groups already have successfully run equipment rental programs for awhile, so although the overall Stanford Outdoors group is somewhat new, the subgroups have also demonstrated their responsibility. Not asking for money for climbing wall, which University has supported.
Currently, each club has own financial officers, who come to Stanford Outdoors meetings. There are currently 9 subgroups, with 600 total members, which is about half grad students. Chris points out that these trips are not just about outdoor fun, but have a strong education component as well.
Umbrella status implies more money, and also creates mandate for more outreach. Improves the cohesion of outdoor groups, for example, and would hopefully lead to a better system of sharing supplies. Many groups have high dues already, perhaps discouraging potentially interested people from joining, and umbrella status (increasing sharing, along with potential special fees money) would hopefully reduce this burden. Alex feels that having this organized umbrella organization would encourage growth.
Hanna asks about why Umbrella is more expensive than just giving what we would to the groups individually. This would be about $15,000 total for the grad fee, which is more than we’ve given to the subgroups so far, though theoretically, the groups could still ask us for more (we haven’t seen all the groups this year). Many groups are capital equipment intensive, more so than other sports, which GSC money would not be able to help with. Money difference we’re talking about is $10,000 if groups come request money under the general fee guidelines, or about $15,000 with the special fee application that the umbrella organization has submitted, if it is approved. It’s more about whether the group is ready to control the money, or whether the GSC would want to continue seeing the groups.
It’s potentially costly for groups to disband from the umbrella, given funding rules in place, but the groups have put a lot of work into preparing an overall budget, and are interested in being part of a cohesive umbrella unit.
Polina thinks that creating an umbrella organization would be good, because that reduces duplication of effort that’s currently happening. Adam thinks that the umbrella organization would be good, but potentially better to wait for a year for us to see more about what they’re up to, given that Stanford Outdoors as an overseeing group is fairly new. If we do approve the Umbrella, the group will still need 15% of both bodies to get onto the ballot with their proposed budget, and then 50% of voters plus 15% of total voters, so there are still plenty of hurdles.
If we don’t vote to approve umbrella, then each group comes to the GSC individually, or unofficially gets put to Outdoor club to organize financial requests.
2/3 role call to create umbrella group
Vote: 10 for, 0 opposed, 0 abstaining. Passes.
x. Reapprove Club Sports as umbrella group. Put this in now while we are fully aware of the meaning of umbrella groups. We need to vote each year to approve again each existing umbrella group. There is minimal discussion on this point, with general agreement that Club Sports is working well as an umbrella group.
Vote: 9 for, 0 opposed, 1 abstaining. Passes.
xi. Outdoor Club Special Fees request. Now talking about the special fee budget requested by the newly created Outdoor club umbrella group. Requested $145,228, recommended $30,911. See also the previous discussion about the creation of umbrella group for the difference between requested and recommended. Agreed with undergrads that 31,000 was a reasonable goal, especially for a new group, because that makes them more likely to get sufficient yes votes on the ballot (because some money is better than the no money they would get without sufficient support). Equipment and food and gas costs are what got cut from the original budget. The subgroups last year got about 12K collectively last year, so this is more. Because of the lower budget, will probably meet their costs by asking people going on trips for gas and food moneyor having “strongly recommended” dues, which is what Club Sports does.
Vote: 8 for, 0 opposed, 1 abstaining. Passes.
10) 8:01 New Business
No new business, adjourned.
