Student Government of Seattle University

Representative Assembly Meeting

Meeting Minutes
October 8, 2014 ADAL Community Room at 6:00 p.m.
I.

Call to Order
Raquel calls the meeting to order at 6:01 PM

II.

Roll Call (initial on the line)

Eric Sype, President _________
Raquel Davalos, Executive Vice President _________
Matthew Kelly, Vice President of Finance _________
Meggie Green, Vice President of University Affairs _________
Luke Larson, Senior Representative _________
Palmyra Jackson, Sophomore Representative _________
Owen Goetze, At-Large Representative _________
Monica Chan, Multicultural Representative _________
Nichole Robison, Advisor _________
Kayla Zobel, Advisor _________
Kelsey Nerland, Advisor _________

III.

Approval of the Minutes

Motion passes to approve the minutes unanimously.

IV.

Public Comment - None

V.

Guest Speakers Michelle Murray, Vice President for Student Development

- Michelle: How is everyone?
- Everyone: Good!
- Michelle: Good! Its such a pleasure for me to be here with you all. Raquel, we can
talk about this later, but should we do this once a quarter?
- Raquel: Yes! Well have a full team, next week. Would you like to do that next
quarter?
- Michelle: Lovely. Lets do introductions.
- *All go around and introduce themselves*
- Michelle: Ive divulged to you all that Im terrible with names? Great. Lets talk
about what I want to do with you today. Updates will be first and then theres some
things that you all need to know and then there are some things that you can do and
then there are some discussion items as well. Starting with updates University
budget! You all will be receiving an email from Fr. Steve explaining that the
university is taking a 4% shortfall this year. Ill be explaining how that pertains to
Student Development. Back in the day, when an institution had this kind of problem
they would just raise tuition to compensate. Nowadays, we cant just raise tuition like
that because it will not be tolerated by our students or our culture. Additionally, thats
true for all institutions. Some of the institutions we compete with have done things

that we cannot do financially with regard to financial aid and things like that.
Unfortunately we could not predict this. We live in an era where education is a
private good and people are still skeptical of the value of a degree. How have we
made changes in Student Development? Weve made as many changes as we can, as
weve gone along so that we cant ask departments for 4% of their budgets. We have
new positions that were open that we are now closing so as to fill that gap. No new
people for student health, only one to CAPS (a case manager), only one to UREC (a
risk manager), and no new people for the OMA office. The travel budgets have been
consolidated as well because the open positions didnt quite push us to the 4% and
because if I dipped into those funds then I could fund a case manager for CAPS. Its
hard and I feel responsible to you all for sharing this information because those were
so heavily advocated for by students. Were going to do those things, just not yet.
Michelle: Tobacco-Free campus: Were waiting for SGSU to go before Academic
Senate so that they can throw in their two cents. The faculty-staff survey showed
support.
Michelle: Orca Passes: Metro has changed the way they do these passes and how
theyre funded. No longer done by flat rate, done by swipe. Weve overspent in that
way by a lot of dollars. Im bringing this to you because students are going to react.
Were going to work with you and the CAC to figure out a really good solution that
fits both the needs of the students and our finances. We need to brainstorm about this.
Michelle: Gender-neutral restrooms: The city group has made many suggestions
regarding our transgender population. They suggested we do gender-neutral
restrooms. Theres a city ordinance that is standing between us and that project. Lots
of municipal tape. We have some in the Casey that could easily be converted.
Michelle: Housing: Why is housing at 110% occupancy if enrollment is down? When
we approved housing in the spring, it looked like there werent as many new students
looking to live on campus so we approved more beds for upperclassmen. However,
the incoming class took a dip in local students by 4% because UW opened more seats
late in the game. Those are all of my updates. Questions?
Matthew: 4% deficit across the university or specifically to student development?
Michelle: Across the university. The provost has a plan that varies between 4-6%
across departments to compensate for this change. Does that help?
Matthew: Yes.
Michelle: Theres no net loss within Student Development with regard to the impact
of your experience. The staff is sad that we cant live up to the standard we were
hoping to cultivate.
Raquel: Are the orca passes cut right now?
Michelle: No. Its just not a sustainable operation and we need to develop an
alternative.
Izzy: Whats the timeline that youre looking at for figuring out the Orca passes?
Michelle: It would be best if we could make a decision by December because they
run a calendar year. This is an unsustainable system we have, so we need to make a
permanent change which means that we need to make an articulate decision.
Matthew: How are you going about the survey?
Michelle: Through the CAC with the students.
Matthew: Digital or hard copy?

Michelle: Hard copy, because our hand-held devices are too old.
Izzy: I understand that you cant disclose information about finances exactly, but I
think there could be a variety of ways we could solve this problem. What about a
bike-share program?
Michelle: Thats a great idea! *discussion about finances of both programs*
Michelle: SGSUs critical role: In the past two years Ive seen the most student
interest in whats happening on campus and I think one of the things that we have not
utilized very well is the leadership that SGSU can contribute. I think we can bring
voices together to create a forum and cultivate some consistency from our student
voices. We havent asked this of SGSU in the past because there really hasnt been a
need. What are your thoughts?
Izzy: My role with SGSU is that our communication exists. The biggest tension Ive
observed is between students and administration due to misinformation or lack of
information. It feels like were stuck in a bunch of silos.
Michelle: Its a fine line between vetting concerns and gate-keeping concerns. I feel
like SGSU is more on the vetting side. Determining things like whether or not an
issue is worthy of our consideration. Izzy, I think youre right.
Matthew: In our spring meeting, we talked about the We the Redhawks initiative and
I think that could use that as a tool to cultivate that communication.
Michelle: I see what youre saying. What do you want me to do when someone
comes to me with a problem?
Eric: Its great when the administration wants to have a conversation. Its the best
feeling, but I think it would be useful if we interacted with them as well.
Michelle: A referral system?
Eric: Of sorts. Continuing the conversation in a bigger way. *didnt catch the
complete comment*
Michelle: If I understand your point, the systematic method that weve been using
isnt working as well?
Eric: Not necessarily. When SGSU isnt involved, its sort of discredited in the eyes
of the student body. We need to work together
Michelle: If the communication flows both ways, then we could do great things.
Monica: Reignite the Mission is very radical and SGSU could mitigate things like
that to make it more conducive to conversation.
Michelle: I love the passion with Reignite the Mission. My concern is that there is so
much misinformation and disinformation. Folks are unhappy about problems that
dont actually exist. When I talked with some people who are involved with Reignite
the Mission last spring, we discussed some issues and it was intriguing. They
presented a timeline and a problem and demanded the university fix it, according to
their timeline. Also, only three issues were based in fact. The rest were confusing and
not factual. There are many things that need to be addressed and fixed, but these ones
arent real!
Raquel: Were invented concerns a problem in the past?
Michelle: No. Students want to be involved. Its very interesting to me. I need your
help with something What avenues or venues would be helpful for students to

raise the concerns they have and also get some credible responses? How do I
communicate with them? People dont check their email anymore!
Meg: Informational forums are the best way for SGSU to aid that communication.
Michelle: Face to face communication. Got it.
Luke: Yes, forums are great. Also, social media. An official forum through the
website/Canvas could be very useful.
Michelle: Thats an incredible idea!
Luke: Everyone should look into this. Beyond SGSU and Student Development.
Michelle: We just need a moderator of sorts
Izzy: You can do that!
Michelle: Maybe thats something I could do with SGSU and we could co-moderate.
Luke: Its an official type of social media.
Kristen: It could be helpful to use Canvas to also make people aware of who is
actually in charge of whatever issues.
Michelle: Thats brilliant.
Kristen: It would also aid in the confusion regarding what happens to where issues
disappear.
Michelle: I see, I see.
Matthew: A face-to-face meet and greet would be fantastic as well.
Michelle: The two could work together, it seems.
Raquel: It is important to centralize the resources for some of this information.
Example, the unionization issue from last spring. We need to communicate that to
students clearly. That could be done on Canvas as well.
Luke: Thats what I was thinking about the forum thing. Its important to
communicate solid information before the forum begins. We could consolidate
information that way.
Michelle: Ive also seen that its hard for people find information. I dont want to
duplicate efforts from my office, so could we meet? A few people? We could map out
what this looks like and then I am happy to do my part.
Monica: Campus is a very compact space and because everyone is advertising so
many events its hard to get a decent turnout. How do we get the word out?
Michelle: Youre raising the question of over-programing.
Izzy: Send out an email. Begin the communication. Start talking with the students
about things now. Example: Sky Bridge.
Michelle: Sky Bridge is a slow process because of the city.
Raquel: Stat about email is wrong, at least at SU.
Michelle: How exciting!
Raquel: Any questions?
Izzy: Is the cabinet in favor of going tobacco-free?
Michelle: Well find out after academic-senate meets. If I was a betting person, I
would bet on it.
Raquel: If it goes to the cabinet, then what?
Michelle: Eric and Ryan would then go talk to the cabinet about the July 15th
implementation. There will be all sorts of questions. They will have answers and
suggestions as to slowly move forward to cause the least ripples. Anything else?

Raquel: Food for thought: I agree about having conversations with students. When
students go to the administration, they think you can fix their problem immediately.
When they come to us, we are viewed as a way to empower people and make their
changes as students.
Michelle: Thats exactly right. Everything is way more complex than it seems on the
surface. Im working with different SGSU members to find solutions problems they
have presented. Theyre willing to wrestle with the problem. I havent seen an issue
that the students care about that isnt complex. Thank you for your brainstorming and
good advisements. How are we following up with things?
Meg: Ill send you an email with students interested.
Raquel: How do you want to follow up with Orcas?
Michelle: Well come to you with something. Yall have a good night.

VI.

Old Business - None

VII.

New Business
REPA 20141008 Elections Code (Owen Goetze) Discussion
- Owen: Recently we have someone who wanted to run for Athletic Rep., but were
concerned about the conflicting time. In the future well be voting on some changes
to the elections code in general.
- Raquel: How are we handling the code not being update?
- Owen: Well be bringing that to you soon.
- Raquel: So the physical changes just havent been made, but the code itself had been
changed?
- Owen: Yes.
REPA 20141008 #fixitSGSU PollEverwhere.com (Luke Larsen) Discussion
- Luke: Ive been researching a way to fix #fixitSGSU to make it more applicable. This
is what I have come up with. *presents program* Addresses past privacy issues with
Instagram and twitter, provides an anonymous message board, and people love
texting. Theres a paid version and a free version. The paid version allows for 400
responses per poll and there are open-ended polls with word-cloud, and there are
custom keywords. Its $349/semester. We could use this program for a variety of
things. Free version is not so great because theres only 40 responses per poll and
theres only one keyword for all polls. Thoughts?
- Owen: How many people used #fixitSGSU last year?
- Izzy: Under 30. Including jokes.
- Matthew: With the paid platform we can do other polls? Can we respond with it?
- Luke: Yes. And we can send stuff out and they will respond. Additional perks: they
clear out vulgar language.
- Matthew: Can we only get 400 responses for #fixitSGSU?
- Luke: Yes, but then we just open a new poll.
- Raquel: Point of information, it was 27 posts on Instagram.
- Meg: We dont need to market a change from Instagram and Facebook.
- Kristen: Did we contribute to the poll?
- Luke: Yes, the response is you texting in.

VIII.

Kristen: *clarifies information about wordcloud*

Luke: The biggest issue is the different key words. Its just something to think about.
Not an action item.
Monica: Point of information, when you create a new poll do you have to create a
new keyword?
Luke: *Explains process.*
Izzy: Qualtrics also does SMS surveys. Luke and I should work together to find out
how that would benefit SGSU.
Raquel: Anything else?
Matthew: What would be your next step?
Luke: Looking at the other options and discussing it more with you all.
Meg: I think we should work with Izzy first and figure out where to go next.
Matthew: I like the idea of exploring a free version first.
Raquel: Thank you, Luke!

Officer Reports:
A) Eric Sype-President:
a. Board of Regents was last Friday. It was focused on the Capital Campaign
which will be presented to us next quarter.
b. Met with Athletics and Javi to discuss Red Zone finances.
c. Met with Tiffany Gray this morning. Shes fabulous. Began conversation
about how OMA and SGSU could work together this year.
d. Met with Tim Mirren. Well begin meeting weekly to discuss issues with
Public Safety on campus.
e. I might be writing a weekly column for The Spectator.
f. I am meeting with Fr. Steve this Friday.
g. I am meeting with the co-founder of Reignite the Mission on Friday.
B) Raquel Davalos- Executive Vice President
a. Started to map out a calendar of activities for Rep Assembly.
b. Candidate meet and greet is on Thursday.
C) Matthew Kelly- Vice President of Finance
a. Setting up a meeting with Connie Kanter
b. Working with Monica and Owen.
c. Thank you to Monica, Owen, and Margaret for Saturday.
D) Meg Green- Vice President of University Affairs
a. Applications are due on Friday. Interviews are next week.
b. Ill get back to Michelle soon. Ill send out an email.

E) Representatives
a. Luke Larsen, Senior Representative:
i. Nothing to report.

IX.

X.

b. Owen Goetze, At-Large Representative:

i. Working on the SPF
c. Monica Chan, Multicultural Representative:
i. Working on the MPF
F) Advisors
a. Nichole Robison:
i. Yall should have your scholarships. Let me know if you dont have
them.
ii. Well be building the ballot later this week. Its going to look different
because of Qualtrics, but its saving SGSU a bunch of money.
iii. If people want their campaign materials approved, then send them to
the advisors or a commission member.
b. Kayla Zobel:
i. Nothing to report.
c. Kelsey Nerland:
i. Nothing to report.
G) Cabinet
a. Izzy Gardon, External Chief of Staff
i. Working on stickers and banners.
b. Margaret Quartararo, Internal Chief of Staff
i. Nothing to report.
c. Kristen Wieliczka, Civic Engagement Director
i. Monday concluded voter registration. 186 registrations!
ii. Working on a pamphlet.
Committee Reports
A. PAB:
a. Forum with Bob has been moved to Casey Commons.
b. Community Project: similar to the drop the appeal program from last year.
*explains what the program entails*
c. Kristen has officially joined PAB!
d. Presidential update video, possibly.
B. Steering:
a. Events list Doodle.
b. Myra worked on sites for winter retreat.
c. FQ training.
C. Finance:
a. Rep binder for Appropriations.
b. Appropriations details.
c. Budget is live on the T drive!
D. University Affairs:
a. Interview Doodle will be sent out by Sunday.
Announcements
Eric: Izzy left early because hes and RA.
Nikki: May I meet with Kelsey, Matt, and Monica afterward?

XI.

Matthew: Shout out to Kristen for voter registration!

Adjournment at 7:59 PM