Resolutions

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Assembly Name: Graduate and Professional Student Assembly

Res. No. Resolution Status Abstract Last Updated Assembly Name Term
18 Adopting Standing Rules Tabled Indefinitely The GPSA adopts the appended Standing Rules, which lays out the administrative rules and ethical conventions in which meetings are conducted. 05/03/2021 5:30pm Graduate and Professional Student Assembly AY 2020-2021
17 Creating Campus-Aware Criteria for Byline Funded Organizations Submitted to the President This resolution amends Appendix B to change this funding arrangement in order to (1) include all graduate and professional students based at Tech, (2) explicitly specify the student organizations responsible for managing the returned funds, and (3) remove byline-funded organizations which serve the Tech campus from the amount returned. 05/18/2021 5:30pm Graduate and Professional Student Assembly AY 2020-2021
16 Conducting Open Elections for Voting Members for 2021-22 Term Acknowledged by the President While the GPSA Charter §4.05.A requires that voting members are elected in the second-to-last meeting of the semester, the pandemic has severely restricted the ability of the graduate and professional community to participate in elections. Therefore, the GPSA agrees to hold elections of voting members according to an alternative procedure than that which is outlined in the charter, as it is unable to fulfill these instructions as provided. 12/02/2021 5:00pm Graduate and Professional Student Assembly AY 2020-2021
15 Requesting a full, transparent, and ongoing accounting of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the funding of continuing graduate students Submitted to the President The COVID-19 pandemic, through delays of in-person research, reduced availability of grants, and possible delays in students’ graduation, will put additional pressure on all existing sources of funding. Continuing graduate students facing funding challenges and uncertainty need the support and leadership of the Graduate School to help mitigate the effects of the pandemic on their academic futures. This resolution asks for a periodic report on the state of graduate student funding, a plan for relief if that funding is insufficient in aggregate, and a yearly report on the state of the cohort affected by this pandemic. 05/18/2021 5:30pm Graduate and Professional Student Assembly AY 2020-2021
14 Instituting the GPSAFC Vice-Chair Position Acknowledged by the President This resolution amends the GPSA Bylaws to include the position of Vice-Chair within the GPSA Finance Commission. Vice-Chair responsibilities include organizing and scheduling FC meetings (including assigning commissioner budgets and taking attendance), assisting the Chair in writing new policies for the GPSA Bylaws and GPSAFC Funding Guidelines, and standing in for the Chair when the position is temporarily vacant. 12/02/2021 5:00pm Graduate and Professional Student Assembly AY 2020-2021
13 Donating GPSA Funds to the University Access Fund in Support of Ongoing Graduate and Professional Student Needs Acknowledged by the President This resolution donates $2,200 of GPSA internal funds toward the Access Fund in accordance with the GPSA Internal Budget 2020-21. 04/07/2021 4:30pm Graduate and Professional Student Assembly AY 2020-2021
12 Addressing the ITAP and University Policy 1.3 Acknowledged by the President This resolution aims to address and remedy the issues identified in Objective 2 of the International Students section of the Graduate and Professional Community Initiative (“GPCI”). As confirmed by a graduate and professional student-wide survey and in meetings of the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly (“GPSA”), certain demographics of students are targeted by a University-wide program called International TA Program (“ITAP”), which has consistently overstepped its authorities, interfered with funding and grants, and at times caused undue stress and pressure on students. The GPSA resolves to acknowledge these issues, and, in addition, demands that the University Provost and President form a working group involving stakeholders to reform the ITAP per the suggestions presented in this resolution. 12/02/2021 5:00pm Graduate and Professional Student Assembly AY 2020-2021
11 Revising and Formalizing the Procedures for the Consideration of Resolutions Acknowledged by the President The assembly resolves to amend the Bylaws in three ways to improve the procedure by which resolutions are adopted and conveyed: (1) The current Bylaws require that votes on any resolution must be postponed at least one meeting following its introduction, unless two-thirds vote to suspend the Bylaws. This resolution deletes that requirement and allows the Assembly to adopt resolutions in the meeting in which they are introduced. (2) This resolution replaces the absolute majority voting requirement of resolutions with that of a simple majority, as is recommended for deliberative assemblies. (3) This resolution requires the President to convey adopted resolutions to the President of the University and states the recourses in case the President fails to do so. 04/13/2021 2:00pm Graduate and Professional Student Assembly AY 2020-2021
10 Establishing Standing Rules for Spring Semester 2021 Acknowledged by the President In establishing Standing Rules for the spring 2021, the GPSA sets the dates and times for all subsequent meetings of the term. 04/13/2021 2:00pm Graduate and Professional Student Assembly AY 2020-2021
9 Extending Voting Membership to Standing Committee Chairpersons Accepted by the President The GPSA grants voting rights only to a subset of its members, the composition of which is proportional to the Assembly constituent divisions. This resolution amends the GPSA Charter to grant ex officio Voting Membership to the chairpersons of the GPSA standing committees, provided that the Chairpersons are democratically elected, and that no future amendment allows Chairpersonship to be granted without a general election. 03/05/2021 9:45am Graduate and Professional Student Assembly AY 2020-2021
8 Maintaining the University Assembly’s Jurisdiction Over the Code of Conduct Acknowledged by the President The GPSA re-affirms the University Assembly’s (UA) jurisdiction over the Codes and Procedures with consultation with the Student Assembly (SA) and GPSA. The GPSA asserts that the Code and Procedures must remain independent documents reviewed by an independent body, the UA, that does not oversee any office that makes decisions on student responsibility. The GPSA echoes the sentiments expressed by the SA, unanimously, in Resolution 19 on 12/05/2020. 04/13/2021 2:15pm Graduate and Professional Student Assembly AY 2020-2021
7 Urging for Graduate Teaching Assistants to Have the Right to Decide their Instruction Modality for Spring 2021 Acknowledged by the President In light of the global pandemic and Cornell University conducting instructions in a hybrid manner, graduate Teaching Assistants should be given the absolute autonomy to decide their mode of teaching instruction (online/in-person) without any form of coercion. 04/13/2021 2:15pm Graduate and Professional Student Assembly AY 2020-2021
6 On the Proposed Changes to the Student Code of Conduct Acknowledged by the President The GPSA expresses its dissatisfaction with the process of changing the Student Code of Conduct. The GPSA lists several concerns with the new proposed Student Code of Conduct and notes several changes it supports. 12/22/2020 4:45pm Graduate and Professional Student Assembly AY 2020-2021
5 Approving the GPSA Internal Budget for the 2020-2021 Term Submitted to the President This resolution provides the recommended internal budget for the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly for the 2020-2021 term. 05/18/2021 5:30pm Graduate and Professional Student Assembly AY 2020-2021
4 Enabling Prizes for Events to be Purchased with GPSAFC Funding Accepted by the President This resolution updates the GPSA Finance Commission Funding Guides to allow groups to give out prizes at Finance Commission-funded events. Gift card prizes and cash prizes are still prohibited. 11/17/2020 5:30pm Graduate and Professional Student Assembly AY 2020-2021
3 On the Proposed Changes to the Student Code of Conduct Tabled Indefinitely The GPSA expresses its dissatisfaction with the process of changing the Student Code of Conduct. The GPSA lists several concerns with the new proposed Student Code of Conduct and notes several changes it supports. 10/26/2020 6:45pm Graduate and Professional Student Assembly AY 2020-2021
2 Condemning the proposed DHS Ruling requiring a fixed period of stay for International students Acknowledged by the President The proposed DHS ruling limiting F1 and J1 visas to a fixed 4-year or 2-year term detrimentally affects international students. The GPSA states support for our international student community and calls on Cornell administration to oppose this ruling. 12/02/2020 1:45pm Graduate and Professional Student Assembly AY 2020-2021
1 Changes to the GPSA Finance Commission Funding Guidelines Accepted by the President This resolution proposes two sets of changes to the GPSA Finance Commission Funding Guidelines: a set of temporary policies that will apply during the 2020-2021 academic year only, and a set of permanent changes to the Funding Guidelines. 09/24/2020 5:15pm Graduate and Professional Student Assembly AY 2020-2021