Graduate students will have the opportunity to meet with Vice President/Dean of Students Kim Goff Crews in the afternoon/evening of May 19th.

The first meeting will take place from 12-1:30 in Social Sciences 122.

The second meeting, from 5-6 PM, will take place in the Business School Room 010 before that night’s Graduate Council Meeting.

Graduate Council Meeting
April 28th, 2008
Minutes

Attending: Rod Edwards, Anthony Green, Matt McFeeley, Jenn Gregory, Frank Bednarz, Kent Qian, Leso Munala, Jeff Schneider, Suzanne Sellers

I. GC Open Forum with Julie Peterson, VP of Communications
A. Overview of Communications
1. UChicago has less investment in communications than other universities – perhaps due to a mindset of emphasis on scholarship over publicity
2. However, the academic world is an increasingly competitive place; communication is important for supporting funding efforts and attracting new students and faculty

B. Goals/Projects
1. To develop a communications strategy – what messages to broadcast about the University, to whom and how
2. To re-structure and pull together the communications office, which until recently was small and decentralized
3. To create a new, modern website (first update in 10 years)
-web content with an emphasis on storytelling, communicating to people outside the university, relationship to the community/city of Chicago
4. To improve internal communications
5. To equip University students to be ‘brand ambassadors’
6. To expand communications in various areas – diversity, the arts, sciences, the new lobbying office in DC, international presence

C. Questions & Comments
1. Jenn: It’s somewhat confusing to navigate from the homepage to division pages
-NSIT is still working on shortcuts, academic index, etc
2. How do we motivate University people to be ‘brand ambassadors’?
-tying it to fundraising would be great incentive for grad students
3. How could communications support recruitment of students?
-dispel the image that all students do is study – sell other aspects such as life in Chicago, campus activities
-improve ease of access/visibility of student groups and programming for grad students
4. Matt: How do you find stories for the website’s front page?
-network of 200+ communications staff in charge of finding such stories
-five news writers on staff to cover different areas
-also just by asking students, organizations, staff
-people can submit ideas through the website
5. Matt: How do you work with department/division websites?
-NSIT is starting to work on re-designing those sites as requested, though resources are finite
6. Anthony: Do you have communications network include people involved with RSOs or ORCSA?
-not presently, but staff members and students can be added

II. GC Reports
A. Minutes
B. Board of Trustees
-Erica will be meeting with the board next week
C. Finance Committee
D. Activities
E. Issues

III. Old Business
A. White Sox Game
1. Ticket price was $5, sold via UBazaar
2. Had 29 leftover tickets; $145 lost
3. Net gain/loss for both games
+$500 for Cubs
-$295 for White Sox
total: +$205

IV. New Business
A. Cathy Cohen, Deputy Provost for Graduate Education
1. Graduate Teaching Committee
-We have gathered a lot of info, both good and confusing
-Goal: to get at least some of the recommendations about compensation implemented by next year – time crunch to get recommendations in before the budget is set
-Goal: to monitor what happens in classrooms (i.e., making sure student teachers aren’t given unreasonable workloads)
-Goal: to review and improve pedagogical training for grad students
-We would like to get written accounts from grad students about their experiences, both positive and negative
-We would also like to get 4-5 students to talk to administrators about their teaching experiences – Mondays 3-4pm
2. Advanced Residency Committee
-The committee is formed, but has yet to meet (priority was on GTC)
-Recommendations would probably not happen until next winter
-Goal: to re-evaluate programs and find a way to decrease residency time
3. Questions
-Is health insurance for grad students being considered?
-yes, possibly tied to teaching compensation
-Is there going to be some kind of built-in yearly raise in teaching salaries to account for rising living costs?
-maybe not a fixed rate, but there should be recommendations about periodic review of salaries
-Are the stipend/compensation systems at other institutions being considered in comparison?
-yes, and also the differences between divisions themselves, plus the New Graduate Aid Initiative

B. Council Liaison By-Law Changes
1. Rod is working on the full by-law wording changes
2. Opinions about liaison approval/removal process?
-should the processes be uniform for both councils?
-approval via majority vote or appointment?
-should the liaison have to be approved by the other council, or would having a removal procedure be sufficient?
-does this have to be such a formal process? — any problems could be resolved through communication
3. Motion to approve amendment to go before the Assembly: (11-0,0) PASSED

C. Student Activities Fee Distribution (Sharlene Holly)
1. Overview
-2008-2009 fee will be $70/quarter for undergrads, $47/quarter for grads
-100% of the undergrad fee goes to central funding
-48% of grad fees will go to divisions, 52% to central funding
2. Questions to Consider
-Centralized funding vs. dividing by group type (ie separate funding process for publications, cultural groups)
-Central SG or divided by undergrad/grad?
-Where should ‘new’ fee money be allocated?
-Thoughts on the Uncommon Fund, big speakers fund, other new bodies?
3. Discussion
-We could lower the GC budget if there were a separate fund for groups that don’t qualify for SGFC
-Should we have funding set apart for central grad student activities?
-mixers for just 2-3 divisions at a time, as well as general ones
-Over-regulation of Uncommon Fund eligibility would probably kill it
-Why doesn’t CC have its own budget like GC?
-GC began as a ‘graduate coordinating council’ to distribute money allocated by Bill Michel
-SG committees/councils can actually ask for money from SGFC
-It would be good to have a general guide to campus funding bodies

D. SG Elections
1. Elected: One Campus (Slate), Brian Cody & Aliza Levine (Liaisons)
2. Higher turnout than usual, but still a very low percentage of student body
E. GC BBQ
1. We currently have about $6000 allocated
-it will cost about $5000 for food, $700-$900 for drinks, $300 for decorations and such – will be slightly over current budget
-last year we ran out of food early, should we get more?
-better attendance was the goal, which will require more food

F. Retail Committee presentation
1. Please review/consider before we meet with Bill Michel next time
2. Goals: to evaluate student perceptions of amenities/retail, make recommendations on supporting stronger student community/quality of life, recommend short and long-term retail/amenities improvements, and encourage active student participation in community
3. Feedback goes to Kim Goff-Crews, CFO & other VPs

V. For the Good of the Council
During the course of the SG Elections, a highly unprofessional incident occurred. Due to this incident, GC will be proposing an amendment to the bylaws concerning the professional standards of SG Officers and Members.

VI. Next Meeting
A. SG Assembly Meeting: May 8th
B. GC Meeting: May 12th

It is with great pleasure that I would like to announce that One Campus has been elected as your new Executive Slate, and Brian Cody and Aliza Levine have been elected your new Liaisons to the Board of Trustees. In this election we had record turnout with 2,755 Students voted for Executive Slate and both Liaisons, of these 1,916 were Undergrads and 839 were Graduate Students (see breakout of divisions and historic turnout at the bottom of the post).

• One Campus - 1266
• Connect 4 - 629
• YEP - 393
• Moose - 261

• Aliza Lavine - 854
• Tex Dozier - 672
• Louis Potok - 342
• Nick Zhou - 261

• Nick Rodman - 196
• Kati Proctor - 166
• Christina Melander - 176
• Gabriel Gaster - 135
• David Grossman - 133
• Greg Gabrellas - 120
• Akshay Birla - 97

• Jarrod Wolf - 241
• Prerna Nadathur - 227
• Aaron Goggans - 224
• Jay Kim - 209
• Sam Feldman - 195
• Alison Feenstra - 178
• Nick Zhao - 95

Student Government will be hosting another Presidential Discussion, probably the last one of the year. Register for a spot by using the following form. You will only be considered if you fill out the form!

Students will be selected on the basis of their division and whether they have tried to attend one of these in the past. In the discussion on April 16th, all graduate students and all students who had tried to attend a previous meeting, where able to attend. So your odds are improving!

President Zimmer has really enjoyed these meetings so they should continue in the future.

Graduate Council Meeting
April 14th, 2008
Minutes

Attending: Rod Edwards (Humanities), Jenn Gregory (Humanities), Jeff Schneider (BSD), Meg Mass (SSD), Brian Cody (SSD), Frank Bednarz (Law), Cathy Yu (Law), Suzanne Sellers (Graham), Carl Laskowski (PSD), Jacqueline DeFoe (PSD), Harsh Kanda (GSB)

I. GC Open Forum on Busing and Transportation
A. Q & A with Brian Shaw, Director of Busing and Transportation
1. What is the status of buses going up and down the Midway Plaisance? Could it extend down to 67th? When would route changes go into effect?
-currently analyzing possibilities, working on it over the summer
-the new dorm opening and the shooting last quarter create a need for regular route service
-no concentrated area of student living in Woodlawn, harder to devise a good route south of campus
-fall of 2008  would be the absolute earliest implementation, but the University may decide to wait until the new dorm opens so that resources aren’t wasted by low ridership
2. Possible express buses to downtown or the north side?
-TSAB is investigating the possibilities, contact reps with interest
-it all comes down to funding – fares don’t nearly cover the costs
-fixed amount of funding available for buses; have to be realistic about what needs can and cannot be satisfied
3. Which bus routes are free for University students/staff?
-170,171, 172 (the ones that stay in Hyde Park)
4. Any plans to expand 173 route? (Graham school students mostly take classes at the Gleacher center)
-in the past, 173 return buses were very rarely used due to punctuality issues; not accomplishing the goal of getting students back to campus
-other options are the Red Line and #6 bus
5. Do non-University people use the University bus routes?
-yes, but not many
6. More info on the occasional parking option?
-if they don’t buy a permit, full-time students/employees of the University can get a pass to park for free 24 times a year at the Ellis garage
-sign up at the parking office
-passes don’t expire; can be rolled over
7. What’s going on with the 57th & University bus stop?
-it will stay where it currently is
8. Problems with SafeRide: signage on vans, waiting time, drivers’ lack of knowledge of the area
-new magnetic signs have been put in place for the vans
-will be phasing the vans out shortly, replaced by official buses
-make sure the van driver has an orange safety vest and ID badge
-trying to get drivers to wait for a minute or 2 before leaving
-haven’t had time to do in-depth training due to rapid expansion last quarter; hoping to remedy that this summer
9. Street parking situation on 61st?
-situation should stay mostly as it currently is, trying to minimize impact from construction
10. Is there a possibility of making 60th at least partly a one-way street, with parking on both sides?
-hired consultants to research the possibility, and it is viable
-will be presenting a report to the central administration and two aldermen (60th is the border between 2 districts)
-would probably have to put in meters or pay stations
11. Is there anything students can do to help transportation/busing department?
-unified support for changes would be helpful

II. GC Reports
A. Minutes
B. Board of Trustees
-committee meeting in 2 weeks, then big meeting on June 5
C. Finance Committee
D. Activities
E. Issues

III. Old Business
A. Baseball Games
1. Had problems switching to UBazaar
-glitches with buying multiple tickets
-accidentally oversold by 20 tickets
-may have to switch back to old lottery system

IV. New Business
A. SG Slate Introductions
1. Connect Four: Anthony Green, Kati Proctor, Amanda Steele
-goals: bring president & VPs to student body, rework RSO orientation, encourage grad-undergrad RSO relations, improve lighting on campus, pressure University to increase affordability (especially for grads and international students)
2. One Campus: Toussaint Losier, Julian Quintanilla, Matt Kennedy
-goals: graduate funding issues, graduate division unity, increase transparency of administration, provide more feedback mechanisms, represent both students and staff, increase support for students who live outside of Hyde Park, increase accessibility to Slate members
B. Presidential Discussion
-4:30pm, April 16th
-GC and CC members will get preference for seats
-email Scott if you are interested
C. GC BBQ
-sign up for a staffing slot or you’ll be assigned one!
-May 16th, 12:30-2:30 at Ida Noyes
D. GC Resolution on Graduate Funding Committee (see attached)
1. GC mandate that the committee start working on unresolved issues
2. Motion to accept the resolution: (9-0,0) PASSED
E. GC Resolution for the Board of Trustees (see attached)
1. Asking the Board of Trustees to take action on graduate aid issues
2. Discussion
-the stipend demand was raised to $20,000?
-specific numbers will be stricken
-can we even do this?
-it’s basically a document for the trustees’ information stating clearly what SG wants to see for graduate aid
-may want to reconsider the language
-the Board can’t necessarily ‘direct’ the administration
-what’s the exact purpose of this resolution?
-to go above individual administrative committees with
these requests
-concern that this resolution may undermine liaison influence
-should ask Erica to evaluate it again, make sure she approves

V. For the Good of the Council

VI. Next Meeting:
A. SG Assembly Meeting: April 17th
B. GC Meeting: April 28th
-meeting with VP of Communication Julie Peterson

Graduate Students:

Monday, April 28^th at 1:05 PM (note it is in the middle of the day)

Tickets are only $5 each!

Rules for buying tickets (please save this email so you can reference it for directions when it’s time to buy or pick up tickets):

1. Still using UBazaar this time. Starting at 9 am on Wednesday April 23rd, tickets will be available for sale on UBazaar and will be sold until they are sold out (please do not email me telling me that the website is down before Wed. at 9 am). This is the sale website where you need to go to buy tickets: http://ubazaar.uchicago.edu/store You will need to do two separate transactions if you wish to purchase two tickets because UBazaar only permits one ticket purchase at a time. Also, it’s best to have two different credit cards ready for the two transactions (UBazaar will sometimes give a duplicate payment error if you try to use the same credit card for two different transactions although we are trying to fix this before Wed).

2. Each student can only purchase up to 2 tickets, and as always, our events are open only to graduate students (and one guest per grad student). If anyone other than a graduate student buys tickets or buys more than 2 tickets, ticket pickup will simply not be allowed and no refunds will be given.

4. Ticket pickup will be from 9 am-noon at the law school (Green Lounge which is the main lounge to the right of the main entrance facing 60th St.) on Thursday April 24th. I’ll be at one of the tables in the middle of the lounge - probably with a sign. Bring your student ID.

If you are unable to get tickets on UBazaar, email Cathy at cyu57@gmail.com with your name and how many tickets you would like, and I will put you on a wait list.

Cancellation policy is that we will only give refunds if we are able to resell the tickets to someone else.

Good luck and feel free to email with any questions.

Cathy Yu

Grad. Council Activities Chair

Anthony Green

Graduate Council Chair

At last night’s community meeting in Hutch, the Alderwomen Leslie Hairston heard students and community members speak about whether there should be a bus stop on the SE Corner of University and 57th Street. In response to overwhelming community and student support for the stop, the Alderwomen agreed to keep the stop in place.

Recently, controversy flared when the stop’s existence was called into question when the Alderwomen threatened to move it because the CTA and University didn’t follow the proper steps in notifying her and allowing her to hold a community meeting on the issue (Maroon coverage here).

Student Government had a Townhall meeting last March to talk about the issue, where people mostly expressed their frustration and the move they felt was mostly arbitrary and capricious (coverage of the meeting here). Ironically, the Alderwomen’s response probably stemmed from a similar impression of the CTA and University’s actions which she saw as going around the the democratic process.

At the Community meeting yesterday people spoke about the need for more public transportation in Hyde Park and the concern that four parking spaces were worth more than 500 riders. Students spoke about the
vital link the stop provided to the Shoreland and Broadview. The Alderwomen, hearing the response from her constituents, agreed to keep the 171. Hooray!

The promised community meeting on the 171 Bus Stop will be held at 6 PM this Wednesday in Hutch Commons.

All are encouraged to attend and articulate to Alderman Hariston the need for this bus stop.

Statement from the Alderman:

You are invited to attend a community meeting to discuss the impact of the 171 bus stop at 57th Street and University Avenue.  This will be held on Wednesday, April 9 at 6pm in Hutchison Commons at the Reynolds
Club, 5706 South University.

I want to clarify the process for bus stops getting added or taken away. This is a diverse ward with sometimes competing needs for transit, parking and upkeep of adjacent property.  I promised no major changes would be undertaken without a public meeting to ascertain those needs. This meeting will provide such an opportunity.

If you were at GC’s Open Forum with the Provost on Graduate Funding on Monday, you know Provost Rosenbaum mentioned the University’s Annual Report. The latest Annual Report I could find was the 2005-2006 Report. If you scroll down towards the end, you can see the University Balance Sheets (pages 32-52) and other general financial information. I am looking for the 2006-2007 report and will get more information as soon as I get it.