Two changes to the agenda were considered during this meeting. At the start, a motion to remove Resolution 71-09 was proposed but did not garner enough votes, and a motion to reopen the agenda to add the confirmation of a presidential appointment was done for Ian Tennison’s nomination to be Associate Justice.
Executive Board Reports
In Executive Board reports, President Schönn Franklin shared the meetings he has had since the Assembly last met, among which included the Student Leader Scholarship committee, a presentation to the Student Fee Board on the GPSA and candidate interviews for a new Assistant Graduate Director for Student Life. He also noted a few important additional meetings, including with Zack Moore to set up conversations with the Governor’s office and leading candidates for Governor of Pennsylvania to discuss appointing a graduate and professional student to one of the gubernatorial trustee appointments, a Student Insurance Advisory Board meeting where serious discussion around a likely health insurance premium hike is coming for those on the Student Health Insurance Plan, and efforts around hiring a development office for the Graduate School.
Vice President Jalen Jeter discussed his meetings with the Legal and Compliance Committee of the Board of Trustees, wherein they discussed a new system for notifying individuals about Timely Warnings, and with the Office of Sexual Misconduct Prevent and Response advisory board to better market what the office does and what programs it provides.
Treasurer Matt Billups shared that the available funds from the Student Fee Board are now approximately $27,000. He also shared that the ASA will not be processing any more personal checks until January, and the deadline to submit invoices is December 10th. He also said to reach out to him with questions about purchasing on behalf of GPSA, and event planning.
Secretary Alex Zhao asked committee chairs to please send him attendance records after each committee meeting and to please let someone know if you are not coming to the meeting. He also said that tomorrow’s newswire is the last one of the year so please submit any event announcements or graphics by noon tomorrow.
Faculty Senator Lillian Schaeffer said that during the Educational Equity committee’s meeting there were discussions around concerns in switching away from SRTEs towards a new course evaluation system. She then shared how they have been working on how Penn State can acknowledge that itself and other universities were created through profits from the sale of indigenous lands and they went over the history of it. Suggestions for remedies that were suggested included offering free or in-state tuition rates for indigenous students.
Graduate Council Student Caucus Chair Claire Kelling shared that the next Graduate Council meeting will occur next Wednesday, where if Resolution 71-09 passed it will have an impact on the vote for changes to policies around graduate minors. Speaker of the Assembly Sandeep Krishnakumar said thank you to the committees and that it has been an exhausting semester with coming back in-person but he thanks everyone for their efforts. Chief Justice Sam Altland informed all delegates that on Friday an electronic vote on Bill 71-18 (Co-sponsorship for Iranian Student Association) would open and reminded them all to vote in a timely fashion on the legislation.
Presidential Appointments
- Ian Tennison, a first year student in the School of International Affairs, explained why he wants to be Associate Justice and his experience in student government. Voting took place and he was confirmed by the Assembly.
New Business
The first piece of new business discussed were changes to GPSA’s structure proposed by President Schönn Franklin. The biggest part would be changing the executive branch of GPSA from more of a board structure to a branch structure, where there would be five proposed departments (Communications, Finance, Environmental Sustainability, Equity and Diversity, and Graduate and Professional Wellness) that report to the Vice President, who reports to the President. The Departments of Communications and Finance would be headed by people in similar roles to the current Secretary and Treasurer, respectively, while the three new departments would each have a director and staff that are responsible for maintaining various relationships with offices and organizations at Penn State and helping Assembly committees with their plans. The second part of the proposed changes involved combining the Programming and Community Outreach committees into the Student Engagement Committee and adding Academic Affairs to the name of the current Professional Development Committee.
The first piece of legislation considered was Bill 71-16 (GPSA Contribution to the Wellness Fund), which would contribute $3000 to the UPUA/UHS Wellness Fund. The fund’s purpose is to cover healthcare costs for students that do not have insurance or have a gap in insurance, and is available to all students at University Park, including graduate and professional students. Voting took place and the bill was passed.
Next was Bill 71-17 (GWIS Empower Conference Co-Sponsorship), which would contribute money towards co-sponsoring the GWIS Empower Conference by paying for the speaker fees for Dr. Mona Minkara. This conference is a professional development event held each year and it has around 100-150 graduate, undergraduate, and professional students attend. The conference will be held on February 5, 2022 on Zoom. After an amendment to increase the amount of the co-sponsorship to $2500, voting took place and the bill passed.
Afterwards was Resolution 71-09 (Denouncement of Overlapping Credit Change to Graduate School’s Academic Policy GCAC 611 on Graduate Minors), which detailed GPSA opposition to changes proposed by the Graduate Council around graduate minor policies. Specifically, the resolution strongly recommended that the policies, including one limiting the number of credits that can overlap between a graduate major and minor to 3, not be passed, not be retroactive if passed, and not be implemented prior to benchmarking and justification from a variety of sources. After extended discussion, including a failed motion to table the resolution, voting was conducted and the resolution passed.
Finally was Resolution 71-10 (Designating Election Days as University Non-Instructional Days), which calls upon the Penn State administration to mandate that local, state and federal election days be designed as University non-instructional days via a University Faculty Senate Approach. After discussing additional concerns around graduate and professional students who might need additional accommodation (due to only conducting research), voting was conducted and the resolution passed.
Committee Reports
- Advocacy and Human Diversity: Chair Megan Minnich mentioned that they had just heard from Libby Jones from the Office for Off-Campus Student Support, and that they are working on the Pride Brunch scheduled for January 16.
- Professional Development: Chair Niladri Sekhar Mandal shared that this Friday they are meeting and will talk about the wrap-up of this semester and plan for the next semester.
- Programming: Chair Ama Agyapong said that the committee was wrapping up this semester with one final virtual coffee hour event next week that will be advertised soon.
- Community Outreach: Chair Ram Neupane mentioned that the committee’s planned legislation for Lyft coupons for COVID-19 booster shots will be delayed until next semester after a survey to determine what sites worked best for graduate and professional students.
- Internal Development: Nothing to report
Liaison Reports
- Travis Russell, State College Borough Council Graduate Student Representative, said that the State College Borough Council wants to make sure that graduate and professional students staying in town for the holidays should feel free to reach out if they need any resources, as they are valued members of the State College community
- Alex Zhao, liaison to the Graduate Exhibition Committee, mentioned that after their most recent meeting the Graduate Exhibition is moving forward as an online conference similar to last year, but that they will incorporate additional live feedback through the use of Gather.town
- Alex Zhao, liaison to the Student Transportation Advisory Board, said that after their most recent meeting RIDEPass is not looking to change prices until the 2023-2024 academic year and that working on a policy for case-by-case exemptions to the RIDEPass distance exclusion policy would begin. Difficulties for graduate and professional students due to recent CATA cutbacks were conveyed to this board as part of a larger presentation.