EEB GSA Minutes 5 September 2013

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GSA meeting 9/5/13

Called to order

New Officers President- Nora Mitchell Treasurer- Brigette Zacharzcenko Secretary- Cera Fisher

Attendance 16: Tim Moore, Jon Velotta, Benedict Gagliardi, Holly Brown, Alyssa Borowske, Manette Sandor, Tanisha Williams, Michael Smircich, Kasey Pregler, Michael Hutson, James Mickle, Cera Fisher, Brigette Zacharczenko, Nora Mitchell, Pancho Concha Toro, Jessie Rack

Minutes from last meeting were passed unanimously

Budget reports Currently have $323.27 from last year $60 gone for refreshments today

Fundraising Ideas

  • Tote Bags rather than t-shirts again
  • Pint Glasses –Jon Velotta will find out where we got these before. They are etched, design must be simple.
  • James suggests doing mugs as well/instead – coffee mugs are printed, might be cheaper

Jessie knows a guy for pint glasses or mugs, she can hook us up, will report back to Treas.

  • Brigette has started investigating for canvas tote bags—will get a quote and send around messages.

And then we will solicit for some designs. Brigette is great at drawing but maintains that she needs help coming up with designs, so if anyone has a good idea but can’t produce it, get together with her.

  • Alyssa has come into possession of a large number of Darn Tough socks that she says are fantastic for fieldwork. Several people said they would buy them for $5. Brigette suggested bringing them to Barn Dance and selling them—general agreement ensued.

Committee assignments

Need new EEB Faculty Rep, Manette can not serve this semester. Responsibilities include:

  • Go to faculty meetings--These are once or twice a month, on Wednesdays, but frequency depends on how much faculty business there is.
  • Take any graduate student concerns to the faculty meetings, so send out email before meeting and ask if anyone has any such; also general information about faculty concerns back to grad students
  • Meetings are usually about an hour, Wednesday at 12:20 pm.
  • Meeting coming up September 11, then one coming up on the 18th at 2pm.
  • Cera quasi-volunteered, Michael Hutson would actually like to do this more than he would like to do Graduate Student Senate (see below)

Grad Invited Seminar Liasion: Jon and Tim. This involves soliciting nominations and sending out invitations for a seminar speaker chosen by the grads.

Grad Symposium: Johana, Cera, Kasey, Jessie and Jon

  • Remember, all paperwork has to go through Brigette
  • We all liked the Potluck Breakfast.
  • Can’t do that for lunch too, though, so we may consider using our fundraising money for some of this, depending on how the budget works out from GSS. Our budget will stay the same this year rather than be reduced, due to successful lobbying by Kasey and Brigette.

Tuesday Evening Seminar: Nora and Brigette will do this again this year

Welcome Committee: Jessie and Holly

  • Responsibilities
at Spring Symposium give a packet to new/prospie students
Over summer send out packet to all prospies that Anne St. Onge knows about and answer any questions they have

Agreed to remove position of undergraduate liaison.

Pre-seminar snackies Bamford room is still booked Thursdays for pre-seminar snacks, but this room is booked during lunch-time so we can’t do grad lunch here. We want to re-energize pre-seminar snacks, people need pressure to be social. (And being social is good for us!) Main problems with this: not actually a “fund” for snacks, possibly the PI of the hosting lab can or should pay for them, but James and Tim say that they generally paid out of pocket themselves. Some labs are sparsely populated. In the event that host lab’s grad is an Only Child, unanimously concur that they should ask for and receive help in setting up snack-time.

Barn Dance

Barn Dance is October 4th

  • Big Boss Leaders: Nora and Kasey with support from Jessie
  • Theme: Medieval
  • Food: Greg sends out a lab assignment list
  • Want to do pie-baking, hot-pepper eating, tends to be a chili theme (chili cook-off)
  • Decorating Sub-Committee: Cera, Tanisha, Brigette
  • Setup Committee: Ben G., Justin, Tim, James, Michael, Pancho, but we will need lots of other people. Have to get people to sign up.
  • Music: Jon has receiver and speakers, but setup is complicated. Cera says that she can probably hook it up (it is NBD)
  • DJ: This is mostly just making a playlist and putting it on an ipod. Michael Hutson says he has music, Cera will help
  • Photographer: Ellen Woods
  • Keg: Nora
  • Volleyball: Ben G. has a net that he will bring, and Manette has two volleyballs that just need air
  • Chairs: in past years have been provided by Wags/Janine/Greg, contact them again
  • Piñata: Brigette & Ben
  • Fireworks: Dave Wagner will do them, we shall all stand well back
  • Activities: Hot peppers – Louise? Tug of War rope – probably Greg has it. Cornhole—make a set? James - Croquet set


Possible future activities: Jon says that we used to have a Spring Gathering like Barn Dance (though not in a barn, and not a dance). There used to be a Crawfish boil thing. This sounds like a good idea, could probably do it at the EEB house, ie Jon and Jessie’s place If this could be kept under $200 probably possible, but otherwise not possible Jon will investigate and report back via email


Graduate Student Senate representative

This is the liaison between our department, the greater Grad senate, and the administration. We need 2 reps from EEB, one main and one backup.

  • Meet once every 2 weeks, Wed at 7pm, with free pizza.
  • Only one senator has to be there, but if someone doesn’t go we lose all the money for Symposium.
  • Meetings tend to last two, possibly three hours.
  • Everyone is charged with trying to recruit a senator. This can be an onerous job, but it is vital that someone do it, and we should consider sweetening the deal with freebies of whatever fundraising items we come up with.
  • The next meeting is in two weeks. Michael Hutson and Hayley did this previously, but Hayley is out.


Other business

Gene Likens is an advisor to the school on the environmental iniative, he would like to meet with us informally and talk. Possibly lunch in the Bamford? Jessie made us aware of Likens’ importance in environmental science and the environmental movement, and conveyed her admiration for him. Arrange to do this on a Teale lecture day—since we don’t usually have grad lunch then.

Additional social events:

  • B-movie night?
  • Afternoon teas
Michael will do a doodle poll for afternoon tea
  • Halloween party?
Hocus Pocus/ Rocky Horror Double Feature
  • Manette points out that there is a new ropes course down the road, and will get information to all of us regarding it.

Meeting adjourned