MINUTES OF THE GSAS COUNCIL FEBRUARY 2, 1994 MEETING o Called to order, 6:35 p.m. o Minutes of the 12/6/93 meeting approved. o Bob Stacey, GSAS Treasurer, reported that fall semester summary financial information and spring semester revenue information is not yet available from the University, but the expected 93-94 revenue from the GSAS student activity fee is roughly $4400. o Brian Menard and Phil Gates described the new mandatory jury orientation policy recently enacted by the Honor Committee. o John Dinan had no Judiciary Committee news, but mentioned upcoming GSAS elections and the need to have people run for positions. o Pat deNoia and Ted Zoller raised student self-governance and city/county auto registration as Student Council issues, leading to extended discussion. o Brian Menard, GSAS President, updated the Council on developments in electronic communications for the Council during the winter break: -- There is now a GSAS Council group e-mail account to facilitate communication between reps between meetings. Messages sent to "gsas-grads@Virginia.edu" will go to all reps with addresses on the account list. To add/subtract names from the account list, or to make other requests, address messages to "gsas-grads-request@Virginia.edu" and the changes will be made. -- The GSAS Council has obtained space on the GWIS (groundswide information system). Anyone may connect to this space from a university-networked computer by selecting the "Organizations and Publications" option on the top GWIS menu, then choosing the "GSAS Council" option from that "Organizations" menu. The space will provide background on the GSAS Council; a roster of reps; current and past meeting agenda and minutes; news and announcements (including the date, time, and location of the next meeting); a search function so reads do not need to look through every file to find what they want; and other information relevant to GSAS students. Address any news/announcements to be listed or other messages for GSAS Council attention to "gsascncl@gwis.virginia.edu". o Brian Menard also raised the subject of a graduate student reception, suggested by Dean Canevari in the wake of the President's Graduate Student Retreat held in January, to bring together graduate students from different departments. Discussion followed to consider the merit of the idea, and how best to carry it out (i.e., where to hold it, whom to invite, how formal/informal it should be, what to emphasize in publicizing the event). The subject was tabled until the 2/16/94 meeting when reps will provide initial reactions to the idea from students in their departments as to its feasibility and likelihood of drawing attendees. o Finally, Brian Menard echoed John Dinan's comments about impending elections, and noted the list of offices open to/necessary for GSAS students to fill. Phil Gates spoke briefly on the need for broad participation and the benefit to individuals who do get more involved in the affairs of the GSAS Council or University-wide organizations. Positions to be filled include: -- GSAS Council President -- GSAS Council Secretary -- GSAS Council Treasurer -- Honor Committee GSAS Reps (2) -- Judiciary Committee GSAS Reps (2) -- Student Council GSAS Reps (2 of 3) -- Student Council President -- Student Council VP for Organizations -- Student Council VP for Finances Students interested in running for these positions should contact Brian Menard at 296-4716 or brm2d, or Jay Martin (StudCo Elections Cmt Chair) at 924-3454, by February 10, 1994. o The Council revisted the matter of summer tuition differentials, tabled at the 12/6/93 meeting, and decided to adopt the issue to pursue further with the adminstration. Allison Guidette, French Dept. rep, agreed to lead the effort. Reps or other students interested in assisting her should contact her at amg2k or 977-1687. Laura Kohn suggested also looking into extending the fall/spring tuition differential to course graders. o Department Concerns: -- Allison Guidette announced a forum on gender issues, particularly sexual harassment, to take place Monday, February 21 at 7:00 p.m. in Wilson Hall #215. The program is sponsored by the Women's Center, and cosponsored by the Black Student Alliance and SCHEV. -- Monique Dull, English Dept. rep, suggested pooling information on TA financial and other compensation to create an interdepartmental resource. The Council agreed to bring to the 2/16/94 meeting information in accord with questions to be developed by Monique and sent to reps via e-mail. o The Council revisted the matter of how to allot the surplus funds raised from the $1/semester student activity fee initiated this year. The Council tabled discussion on the matter at the 12/6/93 meeting, requesting that the Executive Board draw up a proposal for consideration at this meeting. Accordingly, Brian Menard submitted a bylaws proposal that included guidelines and a procedure for appropriating these funds. Phil Gates raised the question of whether BOV funding guidelines applied to Student Council appropriations also apply to GSAS Council appropriations. Brian Menard believed they did, given the GSAS Council's existence as a "special status" organization. Brian will follow up on this. Various reps expressed a desire not to limit appropriations only to department organzations, and the Council removed potentially limiting language from the proposal. Due to the outstanding question of BOV spending guidelines, the Council tabled further discussion and final vote until the 2/16/94 meeting. Meanwhile, reps are encouraged to convey issues and conerns regarding the proposal via the Council e-mail group account. o Phil Gates thanked Jeff Roberts and Bruce Willis for coming. Jeff is the new University Union Grad Committee Chair and will serve as an ex officio member of the Grad Council. Bruce attended the President's Graduate Student Retreat and is leading a new graduate group on spouses, families and partners that grew out of a panel discussion on the topic at the Retreat. o Adjourned, 7:50 p.m.