LAS Student Council Meeting Minutes

November 28, 2007
Members present:

• GSB - Reineke
• Economics
• English
• Physics
• GSB - Turk
• GDCB
• Psychology
• Criminal Justice
• Biology
• Mathematics
• Music
• BPMI
• Geo & AS
• Advisor
• GSB - Brady
• GSB - Engelstad
• Sociology
• Chemistry
• Political Science
• Pre-Professional Health Programs
• Philosophy

Excused: None
Guests: Dean Whiteford

Call to Order

Approval of Minutes from November 7, 2007
Approved

Reports

1. President
1. This is our last meeting - if you're not going to be here next semester, let Julie or Tim R. know.
2. Executive Council - GSB Constituency Council meeting (presidents of all of them were there, including residence halls) to talk about GSB and GSB Reps.  Our reps to a good job coming ot Council meetings - some other reps don't.  There are some vacancies including three Senate seets for Off-Campus, 2 for Campustown, and various other spots.  Talk to our GSB Reps about it.  Will be looking at how many Senators we get next year - depends on attendance figures, but will probably remain the same.
2. Treasurer
1. [Passes out budget]  Most clubs will receive $423.90 - prorate of person of $1.83 also factors in.  Total is $8289.61 for clubs - some special allocations to department representatives for Sociology, GAS, and Criminal Justice.  Sociology department - this person is going on a two conference in MO to present a paper - GAS going to New Orleans for a conference - Criminal Justice going on a field trip to a correctional facility in Iowa.
2. [President] If you have questions, let us know.
3. [Treasurer] To Pre-Professional Health - what is Pharmacy Club's account number?  [Rep] Don't know.  [President]  Let me or Treasurer Tim know.  Everyone's allocations should be done in a few weeks, but should definately be there by start of next semester.
3. Secretary
1. Please be sure both to sign in at the paper and to grab a placard on your way in.
4. GSB
1. New Election Commissioner; Speaker Krupicka/Speaker Keppy
2. Finance Committee at-large spot
3. [GSB - Engelstad] Winterfest - activities all night tonight; free ice-skating on Friday; sponsored by GSB; Clothing drive and there are various drop-off boxes around campus.  Tonight, they are lighting tree at 5:30, a jingle jog right now; tours of the Knoll from 4-7; refreshments in the MU; craftmaking stuff.
5. Advisor
1. There are people who can listen to cell phone conversations using illegal radios - especially now around Christmas, use a land-line instead to make these credit card calls.  (has nothing to do with Council, but...)

New Business

1. Phonebook Recycling
1. Collecting old phone books from various departments.
2. Saturday, December 8: 8-11 A.M.
3. Contact Norm Hill (nhill@iastate.edu or 294-5752)
2. VEISHEA Parade Information Meeting
1. Tomorrow, Thursday, November 29 - 7PM LeBaron 1210
2. Rob sent out info about this to everyone (Newsline) - if interested in being involved or being in parade for the meeting, go to the meeting.  President will go in case we decide to do something for parade.
3. ClubFest II
1. Tuesday, January 22
2. Register starting next week (http://www.sac.iastate.edu/clubfest/?at=register)
3. If looking to recruit members of the club, this is an excellent opportunity to do so.  :)
4. It usually fills up early.
4. ACCESS Boxes on Campus
1. Assault Care Center Extending Shelter and Support.
2. Catt 202 is LAS location for drop-off box.
3. Items needed include: household/personal care, non-perishable food, laundry detergent, toilet paper
5. Departmental Reports/Open Forum

Special Guest: Dean Whiteford

1. Please talk to me - conversation; I don't talk to students as often as I used to and you've had people talking at you all day.
2. Doing several things to increase communication - want to get a small leadership group going, drawing from this body and others to provide advice on Student Issues, work with Alumni events, etc. 
3. What's going well for you, what's not?  What issues do you have that may be college-based, some may be university-based?
4. [Political Science] Who are you, what do you do? 
1. Professor of Anthropology - Chair of the department for several years.  Taught Anthro 201 every fall for a long time, taught classes in anthro.  Did research in Latin America.
5. [BPMI] What do you do as a dean?
1. College has 23 departments; responsible for making sure courses are taught, majors well-handled, right combination of courses offered so you have a good undergraduate degree in meteorology.  We're the largest college by quite a bit.  about 55% of all student credit hours are taught by us.  80% of all first two year courses are taught by us.  College has grown in the last decade and a half w/o the same growth of resources.  "Mildly poor" college.  A lot of what we do is try to garner resources to put back into the departments.  If our college were to leave ISU, we would be the 5th largest university in the state of Iowa.  We offer about 45 majors, wide sweep of degree programs, over comprehensive subjects.  We would also have some of the best graduate programs in the country. 
6. [Recess for pizza].
7. [Chemistry] Those holes in 10-02, it would be nice id they would be fixed.  Are there any plans to fix the holes in the ceiling? 
1. Even better plans - will take a few years to build a new building/renovate Gilman Hall.  Holes not likely to be unique to that room.  Past budget cuts haven't allowed for maintainence as we would have liked.  Here in Bessey, this is relatively new compared to Gilman - 40-some years old, and has more problems than you can imagine.
8. [Chemistry] English 314 - Technical writing, a lot of students feel that it's not very technical and will not be useful to careers as scientists and engineers, some others say it was good.  What is the level of uniformity between sections?
1. Some sections are aimed at different groups.  For example, proposal writing.  When I was chair of Anthro, it was required.  Our students were clever at figuring out which section were useful and which were easiest.  It's an umbrella for a lot of different "courses".  No level of uniformity, just pick your section.  I imagine there is a difference by professors as well.
2. [Chemistry] First I've heard of how they were geared?  Part of course description?
3. [Advisor] Same description - some of it is the luck of the draw based on who teaches the course.  They will usually tailor based on who's in the course - this has been done after enrollment.  We have problems with it and can't get our Biology majors into it to complete their degrees with an appropriate course.  Working with chair and other people to develop a new course for Biology majors in advanced writing.
4. I can visit with chair and say that for 20 years I've heard this (from students, from others) and will carry comments on. 
5. [Chemistry] 309 open, but only 2 sections for non-English majors.
6. Every student will take 150/250 (former 104/105).  And will take an advanced course.  Need to remind department when there are problems with quality/unevenness.
9. [Political Science] Pre-law club - I'm not part of it, but know Bruce Allen is the advisor.  For pre-law needs, will usually go to Deam or Waggoner for pre-law stuff.  Wondering if a study group list can be gotten for pre-law students to get advising from someone with experience with law school or LSAT or something, outside of the Pre-Law club. 
1. You've identified the people I'd recommend.  They would probably be interested in a learning community or something that would be more advanced than the pre-law club.  Talk to Deam and see about maybe getting together to talk about specific issues
2. [Political Science] legal issues club or something
3. Yes, faculty often want to be involved in things like this.
4. [Advisor] Special topics courses - if you get a bunch of people together, can get a 1 or 2 credit course put together as a special options course in that area.
5. If you do that, you'll be meeting with a small group of serious people and would be in a position of getting good letters of recommendation.
10. [GSB - Brady] I'm psych major - we have adviser and 2 grad students (who change often); would have been useful if there were 2 advisors - because of personality conflicts, but mainly because grad students weren't all that effective as they turned over often. 
1. We have on Catt Hall, a series of advisers - open option advisers, pre-law advising, pre-professional advising, general advising.  Dep't advising handled differently, usually in-department.  I usually advised 15-20 undergrads on a regular basis.  The role of faculty in doing undergrad advising seems to be revisiting - lots of departments have a professional advisor instead.  These people usually know the rules very well; advising is more complicated, for better or worse, which means that faculty member involvement has decreased.
2. [GSB - Brady] - General advisors are better; but undergrad classes for psych are massive and it is hard to talk to professor in office hours.  Grad students were nearly as clueless than me b/c they weren't necessarily undergrads at ISU. 
3. [Psychology] Part of the reason it's problematic - my faculty advisor is a social psychologist, I"ve never tlaked to me b/c I"m interested in a different area of psych.
4. [GSB - Brady] I didn't even know until way too late that there was even a faculty adviser.
5. We should try to match up interests.  Even in anthropology, there were issues when interests didn't match between myself and people I'm advising.
11. The Board of Regents and legislature have been very supportive now about getting a new building, holes used to show them.  New building will be handsome - there are naming opportunities.
12. [Sociology] I feel like ISU wastes money - like the giant 100th Birthday Cake.  Why aren't we using the money to fix the buildings? 
1. Part of PR thing, (also out of a pool of money that couldn't be used for that anyway), this actually generates more money in donations than it costs.  Fundraising people say that to make money, you have to spend money.  It was probably a gift of some donors and if you had asked them to patch a hole or fix sidewalks, they'd probably have said "no".
13. [English] Money for chains?  Where does it come from?
1. Probably comes from FP&M's money that is dedicated to maintainance of the grounds, and part of the maintainance is that.  They'd probably argue that it's part of campus beautification and maintainance.
2. [English] Where does money for guns come from?
3. No idea - probably from general fund, they will prioritize.  Got guns in about 10 days.  Police were already trained and are getting additional funds.
4. Where do out-of-state dollars go?
5. Same place normal dollars go.  The difference is that the citizens of the state of Iowa are donating towards tuition, even out-of-state tuition.  Our out-of-state tuition is not much higher than in-state tuition in MN and IL. 
6. Plans for reciprocity (from WI)?
7. Not likely, because it has to go both ways and we've been burned in the past.
14. [President] Final questions?
15. [Chemistry]   Naming rights for students - we don't want to go to the Doritos building for chemistry.  What sort of rules do we have for naming things?
1. Committee for the naming of buildings and streets - has a student representative on it.  The whole notion of naming buildings has changed.  Up until Heady Hall, which was named in the late '80s, was probably the last building which was named after a distinguished (dead) faculty member because was a distinguished member of the ISU community. 
2. Durham Great Hall was named after Durham.  Probably the new chemistry facility will be named after an individual.  Departments at private schools are often named after rich people.
3. [Advisor] New policy being developed, I'm on that committee - generally not going to be named after benefactors, but if they endow a floor of things they donate, it will be permitted.  You will not see a Papa Johns department of chemistry.
4. I think it will happen.  They will be happy to name the building after something, floors & lecture halls will be named after this.  Gerdin building is an example - named after someone, auditorium named after a donor, etc.
5. New chem building will not be large enough to handle the 15-years-from-now chem department.  Old Gilman will be renovated within a year or two after finishing the new building.  Gilman is a "sacred name" in chemistry, would take several acts of god to change that.  :)  Floors and things and specific rooms will be named after individuals.  We now have a Martha Russel Student study hall. 

Before talking, we need to vote on funding.  Moved and seconded. 

Adjourn

Next Meeting: Wednesday, January 23 5:10 PM - Bessey 205