Inside the Current Issue

Doctoral Students Council:
New Quorum Rules Spell Trouble for Grad Council

Are you a member of Graduate Council? Are you a member of a Grad Council Committee? Of the College Association or Auxiliary Enterprise Board? You may not be so for long, and you may be the last student to hold that position, if you don't act now.

A recent decision of the New York State Court of Appeals (Perez v. CUNY, 2005) held that CUNY college councils and faculty councils are public bodies, subject to the Open Meetings Law and General Construction Law. As a result, quorum rules for these bodies have been revised. According to the General Construction Law, quorum consists of a majority of the membership, including vacant positions. But it goes even further, stating that even when quorum has been attained, only a majority of the eligible membership can approve a motion.

What this means for academic bodies, where attendance is spotty at best, is that motions have just become very, very difficult to pass. For the Grad Council, approximately 71 "aye" votes will now be required to pass a motion, while the typical attendance tends to be between 50 and 60 (and many attendees may not even be voting members).

So what is Grad Council and why is it important? From the Provost's website: "Graduate Council is the academic governing body of The Graduate School and University Center ... Graduate Council is concerned with such matters as curriculum, degree requirements, standards of admission, academic performance, and program governance." Committees include Curriculum and Degree Requirements, Research, Student Services, Information Technology, Library, Student Academic Appeals, and others. The importance of student membership on these committees and on the full council should be self-explanatory.

Presently, faculty attendance at Grad Council is bad, but student attendance is worse. The committees, which are smaller, tend to be better attended, but no decisions of committees can take effect until ratified by the full council.

To solve this looming problem, one prominent faculty member of Grad Council has suggested the removal from college governance of "constituencies other than faculty." More explicitly, this professor states, "the governance bodies need reformation - trimming. And the main thing to be trimmed is significant representation of students, and others who routinely do not attend. Their non-attendence [sic] will now make the bodies difficult to operate."¹

On the one hand, this is scapegoating; faculty attendance is nearly as bad as that of students; but on the other hand, if we want to fight this, then we will need to start attending. So let's talk about student attendance.

If you are on Grad Council or a committee, the most important thing you can do is show up. This year's two remaining meetings of Grad Council are March 2 and May 11, both at 3:00 p.m. and both in room GC 9206/07 (committees set their own schedules). If you can't make the March meeting, you should resign now by informing your APO and push your program's Elections Committee for the quick designation of a replacement. If you will be at the March meeting but can't make the May meeting, you should resign as soon as possible after the March meeting.

If you are not currently on Grad Council, you can help in one of three ways:

• Push your Rep(s) to Attend. A list of the departmental reps appears below.
• Run for Grad Council. The student body needs committed reps who can attend meetings. Ask your APO for the names of the members of your program's Elections Committee and let them know you're interested in running the next time there's a vacancy. Often the program Elections Committee will simply name replacements to fill in until the next regular elections cycle, and that replacement could be you!
• Press for the Naming of Alternates to Represent Your Program in the Absence of the Member. In some programs this will require an amendment to the program's governance document; in others it may be as simple as the Elections Committee giving names of alternates to the APO.
• Just Show Up. Your presence will help show that students are interested in retaining representation in college governance. The remaining meetings this year will be held on March 2 and May 11, both at 3:00 p.m. and both in room GC 9206/07. Both are open to the public.

Graduate Council Student Reps

Anthropology: not represented
Art History: not represented
Biochemistry: Shi Ming
Biology: James Lysles, Ulyana Munoz-Acuna
Business: David Prottas
Chemistry: Gerson Aguirre, Francois LaForge
Classics: Gisela Rivera-Figueroa
Comparative Literature: Joanna Giuttari
Computer Science: Jinzhong Niu
Criminal Justice: Rebecca Bucht
Earth and Environmental Sciences: Michael Porter
Economics: Jennifer Tennant
Educational Psychology: Tara Twiste
Engineering: Stewart Russell, Huapei Wan
English: Lise Esdaile, Karin Kohlmeier
French: Paula Delbonis-Platt
Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Literatures and Languages: Ricardo Fernandez
History: Sheryl Gordon, Joseph Sramek
Liberal Studies: James Horne
Linguistics: Lydia Tornyova, Niesha White
Mathematics: Terence Swaine
Music: Stephanie Jensen-Moulton, Dan Partridge
Philosophy: Victor Crome, Keota Fields
Physics: Samil Ogun
Political Science: Robin Harper, Aleta Styers
Psychology: Angela Grotto, Henry Park, Sarah Weinberger, Yannie ten Broeke, Jason Birnbaum
Social Welfare: Raquel Warley
Sociology: Martine Hackett, Richard Ocejo
Speech and Hearing Sciences: Hia Datta
Theatre: Katherine Wilson
Urban Education: Daniel Walsh

DSC Calendar

The DSC has the following meetings scheduled. Guests are welcome.

Plenary Meetings (all plenary meetings are held in room GC 5414)

March 24. 6:00 p.m.
April 28, 6:00 p.m.
May 12, 5:00 p.m. (2005-6 reps)
May 12, 6:00 p.m. (2006-7 reps)

Steering Committee Meetings (all SC meetings are held in room GC 5489 except as noted)

March 10, 6:00 p.m.
April 7, 6:00 p.m.
May 5, 5:00 p.m.
May 19, 6:00 p.m., room 5409 (2005-6 and 2006-7 Steering Committee members)

Media Board Meeting

March 3, 6:00 p.m., room GC 5489

Other dates, including the Spring DSC party and meetings of the Health Issues Committee, will appear on the website as they are announced.

Steering Committee Office Hours

Come visit us for all your student government needs. Buy discounted movie tickets, make a room reservation, or just chew the fat about grad student life.

• Stephanie Domenici (Co-Chair for Student Affairs), Thursdays, 1:00-4:00 & 6:30-8:30, room 5493.
• Dave Golland (Co-Chair for Communications), Tuesdays, 2:30-5:00 & Fridays, 12:45-3:15, room 5491.
• Tina Lee (Co-Chair for Business), Tuesdays, 1:00-4:00 & Fridays, 2:00-4:00, room 5499.
• Celia Braxton (Office Coordinator and Health Committee Co-Chair), Mondays, 6:00-9:00, room 5495.
• Ericka Calton (Health Committee Co-Chair), Mondays, 3:00-600, room 5495.
• Lee Hachadoorian (Campus Outreach Coordinator), Tuesdays, 12:00-3:00, room 5495.
• Adriana Tomasino, Fridays, 4:00-7:00.
• Brenda Vollman (Disabled Students Coordinator), Thursdays, 10:00-1:00, room 5495.
• Chong Wojtkowski (International Students Coordinator), Tuesdays, 4:00-5:00 & Wednesdays, 2:00-4:00, room 5495.

Please visit us on the web at http://dsc.gc.cuny.edu, on the phone at (212)817-7888, via e-mail at dsc.steering.committee@gmail.com, or in person in rooms GC 5491, 5493, 5495, and 5499.

¹Prof. Stephan Baumrin, Chair, Graduate Council Committee on Structure, Re: Perez Decision, 12/20/05 e-mail to the University Faculty Senate listserv.