STUDENT SENATE Meeting of 26 February 1998 Unofficial Meeting was called to order at 5:40 PM. Roll was taken at 5:40 PM. Senators Present: Ablak (SIA) - 0, Betz (SCS) -0, Brown (HSS) -0, Butler (CIT) - 0, Candela (CFA) - 0, Chang (MCS) - 0, Cina (CFA) - 0, Devine (HSS) - 0, Falso (SAL) - 1, Go (SIA) - 1, Gray (HSS) - 0, Gross (HSS) - 1, Guerra (CIT) - 0, Hardjanto (SCS) - 0, Hutsko (MCS) - 0, Joshi (CIT) - 0, Lu (HSS) -0, McCartin (CIT) - 1, Meier (CIT) - 0, Merry (SAL) - 1, Mingo (SIA) - 0, Muir (HSS) - 0, Ng (CIT) - 0, Rothschild (CIT) - 0, Rumpf (CIT) - 0, Schneider (CIT) - 0.5, Sinnamohadeen (SAL) -1, Shah (SIA) - 0, Stovall (MCS) - 0, Tham (SIA) -0, You (SIA) - 1. Senators Absent: Christoforatos (MISC) - 1.5, Ditterline (CIT) - 1, Guzy (HSS) - 1, Hanrahan (CFA) - 1.5, Hunt (CIT) - 1, Jones (CFA) - 1, Phelps (SCS) - 1. Approval of the Minutes: Minutes from February 5, 1998 were approved by acclamation. Minutes from February 12, 1998 were approved by acclamation. Ex-Officio Reports: Activities Board (Shubo Mookerjee): No report. Graduate Student Assembly (Grant Bromhal): If you recall from the last meeting, I mentioned that the office of GSA Treasurer was vacant. We will be voting on a new, joint positioned, Treasurer at our next meeting. We will also be voting on the Fiscal Policy Amendment at our next meeting and I will let Senate know the outcome. GSA is also setting up a committee to look into summer hours for campus facilities. Lastly, the teaching center is creating new TA evaluations which will have better questions and feedback. Greek Council (Rita Bosch): Not present. Division of Student Affairs (Barbara Prevost): The second annual Mosaic will be held on March 7. Sign up in the UC or e-mail Christina Lopez. UCAB applications are available in the Student Activities Office. Applications are due on March 6. Student Dormitory Council (Brian Bluth): If Senate has any questions regarding SDC (buggy, finances, etc.), please ask Brian directly. There are some inaccurate information circulating on Senate~s bboard. We will be holding elections next Wednesday. On March 11, there will be an inauguration for the new President in the UC at 7:30pm. Student Body President (given by Matt Phelps): CEO members are Will Guzy, Eric Grant, Justin Cina, Van Butler, Margo Bloomstein, Will Torasson, Ryan Schilling, Keith Rothschild, Eryca Lipshutz and Ike Harjanto. Ben Kutler is the Chair. Student Body Treasurer (Avinash Jain): Budgets are due next Monday at midnight. Please spread the word. Committee Reports: Academic Affairs (Amy Ng): AA discussed an extended version of the course guide book, On-Line Registration, advising systems, and Spring Break dates. AA is looking into the current advising models of the different colleges. Issues include defining the role of an advisor, assessing student expectations, and developing a structured academic advising system. Some of the improvements to On-Line Registration that will be in place for this semester include: an on-line human coordinator, and a more efficient pre-requisite checking system and reservation process (by college and major). In regards to the Spring Break date issue, next year's Spring Break will be held during Mid-Semester, two weeks earlier than before. If Senate has any input on where to put Mid-Semester Break, please contact Amy or AA. In addition, as a note of clarification, only afternoon classes are cancelled on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Evening classes will still be held. Campus Affairs (Sarah Gross): CA had a meeting yesterday, but there was a low turn-out due to the short notice. Our next meeting is on Monday at 5pm at PHI bar. We will be making a game plan for the rest of the semester. CA is also contacting people about changes in UC hours. Funding and Recognition (Drew Stovall): Two meetings were held. There are five recogntions and a special allocation. We are also working on cleaning up student organizations by only recognizing currently active clubs. F&R is also working on accesses to the Web. Human Resources (Jamie Chang): HR met last Tuesday. We have set the permanent meeting time to Tuesdays at 5:00. We worked on revisions to the Election Rules. The current changes are available. Senate should be debating them at the next meeting. A brief synopsis has been posted to the bboard. Please send questions, comments, and ideas to cmu.student.government. We will next be tackling revisions of the Bylaws. If you have ideas or thought on this, please e-mail me. I have updated the Senate dlist. There is also a new Senators list available. Direct any questions concerning the Human Resources Committee to me at pet@cmu.edu or call x2-3593. Public Relations (Michelle Brown): The WRCT show is tomorrow from 6-7pm. Our topic is the JFC. Please come. Chair (Jen Gray): My office hours are Wednesday 3:30-4:30pm in the Senate office, or by appointment. Meeting dates, times, and places are on the bboard. March 12 is our next meeting and will most likely be held in the Adamson Wing. If you have any meeting room preferences, please e-mail me. New Business From Committee: S98-005 - Recognition of Pittsburgh Culture Club. The purpose of this club is to promote interest in the city of Pittsburgh, the historic sites of Pittsburgh, and the cultural activities of Pittsburgh. Approved by voice vote. S98-006 - Recognition of Carnegie Steel. The purpose of this club shall be to perform Steelband music for the Carnegie Mellon campus and the Pittsburgh communities. Approved by vice vote. S98-007 - Recognition of Tzu Chi. This club will participate in local community services, help enrich one another in mind and spirit, and assist the Tzu Chi Pittsburgh Chapter. Approved by voice vote. S98-008 - Recognition of cmuRight. This group intends to provide social and educational activities and awareness for the conservative members of CMU and their friends. Approved by voice vote. S98-009 - Recognition of Persian Student Organization. The purpose of this club is to promote an understanding of Persian culture. Approved by voice vote. S98-010 - Special Allocation: Carnegie Steel requests $5000 towards the purchase of steel drums. It should be noted that steel drums purchased through special allocation are subject to Article V, Section V, subsection U. Approved by voice vote. Points of Discussion: Sen. Ng: Please e-mail me any suggestions or imputs on the Mid-Semester Break issue. Announcements: Sen. Brown: Please come to the talk show at 5:45pm. Sen. Chang: Remember to pick up both sheets of the election rules. Sen. Betz: I~d like to commend Senate for this semester~s short meetings. Meeting adjourned at 7:00 PM by voice vote. Respectfully Submitted, Lori Lee