2011 10 31 Minutes
The New School
University Student Senate Minutes
Monday, October 31, 9-11 am
Location: Hirshon Suite, 55 W. 13th, 2nd floor
Present Melissa Holmes, Hajir Sailors, Bronwyn Lewis, Katherine Towell
Absent: Fernanda Ormeño, DivyaKhandelwal, Michael Kaplan, Rachel Housle, Chris Crews, Voltaire Veloso, Mimi Clitus, Kathy Litchfield, Santiago Posas, Christin Pettibone
Guests: Linda Reimer (VP for Student Services), Lia Gartner (VP for Design, Construction and Facilities Management), Di Mattison (Philosophy)
AGENDA
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 9:19 AM by co-chair Bronwyn Lewis, who facilitated the meeting.
Introductions
Guests were informally introduced before the start of the meeting.
Additions to Agenda
Discussion of upcoming event, “Occupy The Financial System”, and updating the budget proposal added to agenda.
Approval of past meeting minutes (from 10/20/2011)
Tabled due to lack of attendance at meeting.
Officer Reports (Co-chairs, Treasurer)
Co-Chairs
Melissa reported on a meeting she had with a student in regards to inviting People’s Institute to campus to hold an “Undoing Racism” workshop. The student is drafting a proposal that will engage wider student participation to begin exploring how workshops such as Undoing Racism may be integrated into orientation at TNS.
Melissa has organized a meeting for November 4th that will bring together students and administrators to discuss Gender Neutral/Inclusive Space on campus.
Bronwyn reported that her and Santiago will be attending the upcoming Leadership Retreat, sponsored by OSDA.
Treasurer
P-cards are in the process of being issued and Bronwyn, Hajir and Chris will be receiving them shortly.
NEW BUSINESS
Canon Proposal (Di Mattison)
Canon was historically The New School’s interdisciplinary student-run publication and now publishes the work of students at NSSR (http://www.facebook.com/canonmagazine, http://canononline.org/). In recent years, that have revamped the website and published past issues in a blog format, allowing for interaction from readers. Current editions are themed—this Fall, “Revolution”, to be followed by “Liberalism” in the Spring. Funding for this request totals $700 and includes the costs for printing, rights, and general meeting expenditures. Canon has received the right to publish an article by Hannah Arendt, as well as syllabi from past professors at TNS.
Presentation of New Building (Lia Gartner),
Lia presented a detailed overview of the new building during a PowerPoint Presentation. She would like to show this presentation to a wider audience.
The new building will have 3 addresses, which we believe to be 65 Fifth Ave. for the dorms, 67 Fifth for the retail component (see below) and 63 Fifth for the general admission. The building will include a library that overlooks a green roof, as well as an 800 person auditorium and cafeteria. The building is on track to become LEED Gold, with an opportunity to become LEED Platinum. Some components of the new design, including mobility via intricate stairways, add to LEED criteria.
We have the opportunity to make ours a specialized library. This is still under discussion.
Melissa asked about the mobility of students with disabilities, as the staircases are a major feature of the new building. Lia responded that in accordance to the Americans with Disabilities Act, students will have equal access to all locations within the new building via elevators.
Katherine inquired about the reorganization of space. Why are there so many classrooms, as opposed to a student union structure? Many decisions regarding the new building did not involve student input. However, there is still time for some suggestions to be made. A meeting about gender neutral bathrooms will take place this week. Melissa also asked about students having input about the new retail location. This location will be on the bottom level of the new building and will be rented out to the public, to provide a continuous revenue stream for the university, as it is prime retail location. Linda Reimer suggested that it was appropriate for the USS to speak with Frank Barletta, the VP for Finance to open up a wider discussion that would allow for student input in regards to making a decision about what third-party vendor might be invited into our space.
Dinner and a Discussion Report-Back (Melissa)
This was tabled until the next meeting. It was decided that this week we would focus our efforts on promoting two USS supported events instead of hosting another D&D during mid-terms week. This week the following events will occur: faculty member Carol Overby will host guest Ed McCartin, who will speak about OWS from his perspective. Ed has over 25 years’ experience in the financial services industry. Ed was most recently Managing Director, Head of Equity Derivatives, and a member of the Market Risk Committee at Robertson Stephens and Fleet Bank. The second USS supported event is “Occupy the Financial District: Your Banking Choices”. Milano alumna Elizabeth Freidrich attended last week’s D&D to understand students’ opinions and concerns about financial components of OWS and has organized a panel to provide students more information.
Town-Hall Report-Back (Melissa)
As many people were not present at this meeting, we might discuss this at a later time. It has been noted by the wider public that a question asked regarding diversity was not properly addressed and created tension throughout the town hall.
OWS Report-Back (Bronwyn)
Bronwyn discussed her and Chris Crews involvement in the day-long OWS teach-in at TNS. Approximately 100 people attended throughout the day. As there were no security incidents, we might be able to do impromptu events such as this more often—it has created a push for student programming.
Meeting adjourned, 11:30 AM.