GSC Meeting Minutes

February 4th, 2004

Graduate Student Lounge

Minutes taken by Abhinav Bhandari, GSC Secretary

These minutes are intended to reflect the gist of discussion. Questions and statements have in general, been paraphrased, though in general their original meaning has been retained. If you have questions about or corrections to these minutes, please contact Abhinav_Bhandari@brown.edu

Summary: The newly elected GSC members introduced themselves and put forward their agenda for the year. Xiaofei He was elected as the Treasurer, GSC for the year 2004. It was decided that the Table Tennis Club will not be granted the requested funds at the present time and the issue can be taken up later on after more research is done about the Graduate Students interest and involvement in the club.

Present:

Officers

President Jeff Reingold

VP-Social John Raiti

VP-Administration Lei Wang

Technology Officer Daniel Ferrante

Treasurer Xiaofei He

Secretary Abhinav Bhandari

Representatives who attended the meeting:

Name

Dept.

Email



Marcus Faust

Chemistry

Marcus_Faust@brown.edu



Brian Luisi

Chemistry

Brian_Luisi@brown.edu



Jessica Levai

Egyptology

Jessica_Levai@brown.edu



Alyssa Mocharnuk-Macchia

Physics

mocharnuk@physics.brown.edu



Matthew Hirsch

Physics

Hirsch@physics.brown.edu



Kio Kim

Physics

kio@brown.edu



Lisa DeKeukelaere

Applied Math

Lisad@brown.edu



Akil Narayan

Applied Math

aky@brown.edu



Graeme Wilkin

Mathematics

graemew@math.brown.edu



Julia Finkelstein

Community Health

Julia_Finkelstein@brown.edu



Alicia Helion

Psychology

amh@brown.edu



Alec De Simone

MCB

Alec_Desimone@brown.edu



Jordan Rosenblum

Religious Studies

Jordan_Rosenblum@brown.edu



Heinrick Hock

Economics

hhock@brown.edu



Adrienne Lucas

Economics

alucas@brown.edu



Matt Lease

Comp.Sc.

ml@brown.edu



Alex Poole

History

Alexander_Poole@brown.edu



Elizabeth Gray

Education

Elizabeth_Gray@brown.edu



Sarah Noble 

Geo

Sarah_Noble@brown.edu



Kate Fishbaugh

Geo

Kathryn_Fishbaugh@brown.edu



Marcia Chatelain

Am.Civ.

Marcia_Chatelain@brown.edu



Brian Ballentine

Comp.Lit.

Brian_Ballentine@brown.edu



Sarah Moran

HAA

Sarah_Moran@brown.edu



Kristin Bishop

EEB

Kristin_Bishop@brown.edu



Kathryn Chenoweth



French

Kathryn_Chenoweth@brown.edu



1. Minutes and Minutiae

Minutes of December 10th, 2003 meeting approved unanimously.

1. Introductions

All the newly elected officers introduced themselves with a brief description of their agenda for the coming year.

1. Treasurer Search and Election

Jeff: As you all know we need a treasurer for GSC. If there is anyone in the audience that would like to take up the position please let us know.

Jeff: At this time I would like to nominate Xiaofei He for the post. Can you please introduce yourself to the audience and let us know why you are interested in the position.

Xiaofei He: I am 4th year Graduate student in Chemical Department. I am interested in the position and I am good at book keeping.

Jeff: Any questions from the audience?

From the audience: I would like to first Lisa DeKeukelaere for the post of the treasurer. She is a first year applied math student and a very organized and hardworking person.

Jeff asked for a second on this proposal and got it from the audience.

Jeff: Can we ask you (Lisa and Xiaofei He) to leave the room so that we can vote?

       The issue was discussed and voted on and Xiaofei He was elected as the treasurer for the year 2004.

1. Reports and announcements
   1. Executive Reports

Lei Wang, VP-Administration

• Wilson Deblois Award: Lie talked about the nominations for Wilson-Deblois Award. This award honors outstanding contributions to the graduate school. The award is named for the recipients of Brown's first two doctorates in 1889. The award is given out at the University Commencement. (Peder Estrup, dean of the Graduate School and Research, the Newport Rogers Professor of Chemistry, and professor of physics, received the Wilson-Deblois Award during Graduate School Commencement ceremonies May 27, 2002). The individual can be from the graduate school and does not necessarily have to be a professor. Dean Hansen and Bernard Bruce's names were suggested for the nominations but they were withdrawn, as they have already been awarded the honor. It was decided that the nominations could be thought about later and any suggestions could be emailed to Lei_Wang@brown.edu

• Graduate Commencement Speaker: The need to find a graduate student to speak at the commencement was brought up. Last year's nominations and selection process were discussed. The speaker has to be a graduating student.

• Vice-president of Campus Life & Student Service:  The University is looking for a vice-president of campus life, and wants to hear Graduate Student's expectations for this position. A representative has to go to these meetings. For any suggestions contact Lei.

                          

                          John Raiti, VP-Social

• Socials: It was discussed that the socials have been going well and there has been a big turn out of graduate students at the socials. It was pointed out that the liquor at the previous Friday's social ran out because of the unexpected larger turn out of students, being the first social. It was also brought to notice that a list of socials has been posted on the calendar at the GSC's website. 

• Salsa Classes: Announcement about the salsa classes for graduate students starting from 5th, February was made.

• Graduate Lounge Reservation: The issue was discussed and it was clarified that normally a two weeks notice would be enough for John to reserve the place but if the space is available it can be notice time can be flexible.

• Commencement Champagne Toast: It was decided that the toast to celebrate the students receiving the Ph.D. and Masters Degree will be held on Thursday May 27th.

• Spring Dance: It will be held on April 9th in the Leung gallery (Faunce Hall).

• Community Service: This is a new initiative and John brought it up in the meeting. It will be a way to create awareness about the Brown Graduate Community and show that we are giving back to the Providence Community at large. If you have any ideas and suggestions then you can contact him at John_Raiti@brown.edu. 

                       Jeff Reingold, President GSC

• Lecture Announcement: An announcement was made regarding the Lecture on February 10th in Sales Hall (4-5 pm).  The Brown University Graduate School will conclude its centennial celebration with the inaugural presentation of the Horace Mann Distinguished Graduate Alumni Award. Joel Scheraga, director of global change research at the Environmental Protection Agency, will receive the award and deliver the Horace Mann lecture, titled “Political Climate: The Role of Science in the Making of Climate Change Policy.” The event is free and open to the public.

• Department Rebates: The department representatives were made aware of the Department Rebates available.  To claim your $5 department rebate:
  • Elect a department representative to Graduate Student Council
  • Draw up a petition, which informs students in your department how the $5 rebate will be used (i.e. holiday party, spring picnic, etc).
  • Get signatures (neatly) of a majority (50% + 1 student) of the students in your department (if you need an official count, contact GSC Treasurer).
  • Have your department GSC representative turn in the petition to GSC Treasurer with a cover sheet (on department stationary), which indicates the department account number to which the funds should be transferred. For account number, contact your department secretary.

• Department Representatives: Jeff reiterated the importance of every department being represented. After the first meeting, every department that is not represented will be contacted and asked to look into the matter. Also he said that the current representatives should make the graduate students in their department more aware of the GSC.

1. External Committees

The list of all the external committees members had not been made until the last meeting due to communication lack with the last GSC council. Jeff said that he would look into the matter as soon as possible. There were two members of the different external committees present in the last meeting and they gave a brief introduction about their work.

Housing Committee: It deals with the quality of housing available to the students, the problems and solutions concerning housing and availability of safe clean housing for the students. The issue of housing lottery is also taken care of. A report will be issued by the end of semester.

Student Life Committee: Currently the focus is on improving the Student Center and the Recreation Lounge. The committee has studied a couple of student lounges and recreation centers in New England area and will make some suggestions. It was also brought to notice that the Bear's Lair hours are not online and it was proposed to fix it.

     

1. Steven Chan, representing the Table Tennis Club, Requesting Funds

Steven Chan made a request to the GSC for funds anywhere from $500 to $1000, for two tables that the Table Tennis Club needs. He also mentioned that the Graduate Students were actively involved in the club. The break up of the Table Tennis Club currently is 5 Graduate Students to 12 Undergraduate Students. He had sent emails to the graduate students advertising about the club but he has gotten 2-3 replies. Upon being asked if he has approached any other organization for funds, he mentioned the fact that the Club is still a category one club and therefore they can't approach the Undergrad Student Council for funds. When questioned about the timings for the use of the tables he said that the members could use them when the club meets. It was suggested that, if funded, tables be put in the Graduate Student Lounge, so that other Grad Students can use the table as well and arrangements be made to open the door at the required timings.  Steven Chan also informed that the club is currently using the tables in the Bear's Lair for practice. The issue of working with RITTA on this issue was also brought up.

The motion for gathering more information about the graduate student involvement and interest in the club and no funds currently was passed by the GSC and Steven Chan was informed about the same.

1. Miscellaneous

Some miscellaneous issues were discussed.

• Jeff brought up the issue about the head of “Women of Brown” head stepping down and them looking for another person to run the organization.  “Women at Brown” is a household leasing service, which rents furniture and household goods at very low cost to the Brown international students and visiting faculty. Recently it has started renting to all the graduate students. The work involves managing a budget of $8000 to $10,000 and the work hours are Tuesday-Friday 8-10 am by appointment.

Jeff said that he would forward the information to all the departments.

(Other info, if you are interested: It is located in the Metcalf Dormitory at the corner of Brown and Cushing Streets. Phone #: 272-8735).

• The issue of sounds from the Bear's Lair during the meeting was discussed and it was agreed that Jeff would look into the matter.
• Some one from the audience raised a doubt about the university policy about not funding the graduate students after the sixth year. It was pointed out that the issue was department specific and could be taken care of after a small amount of paperwork. It was decided that the issue would be further looked into. 
• The issue of conference money was discussed. Some one in the audience asked the question about the limit on the funding ($500) for a conference and it was made known that some paperwork needs to be done in order to take care of it.
• Jeff also suggested that the Department Events might be brought to GSC for funding.

Jeff forwarded the motion for meeting to be adjourned and got a second from the audience. Meeting Adjourned.