Members Present:         Margaret Kuchenreuther (chair), Norrine Ostrowski, Maddy Maxeiner, Jim VanAlstine, Ken Crandall, Lowell Rasmussen, Bryan
                                                 Herrmann, Ferolyn Angell, Prince Amattoe

Absent:                              LeAnn Dean, Joe Timmerman, Pam Gades, Annie Olson, Bryan Welle, Mary Elizabeth Bezanson
 

(In these minutes:  questions from committee for VCF and discussion from MCSA meeting)
 

Rasmussen wanted to alert the committee that he may need to have a process in place regarding the issue of space for the Archives if it is to be included in the Capital Request.  Crandall noted that he is all for the idea of having an archives, but doesnít understand why it would need to be so costly.  Rasmussen suggested that perhaps Bert Ahern could give the committee a better of feel of dollar amounts needed.  Rasmussen will talk to Ahern and bring a proposal back to this committee regarding short-term space issues.  Kuchenreuther suggested a straw pole done by e-mail regarding the archives.

Kuchenreuther asked the committee for questions for Gary Strei, Interim Vice Chancellor for Finance, to address at the next meeting.  Some questions the committee would like Strei to address include:

- What portion of our resources is discretionary?
- What is his process in advising us about where money can be shifted around and what
   input does he want from us?
- Briefly describe the budget process.
- How do you change the budget?
- How is SE&E money allocated among divisions?
- Does he keep a shadow system?
- Address that fact that budgets have not increased but expenses have
- Address the status of campus deficit

Report from MCSA meeting

Here are the recommendations from the MCSA Forum and other submissions.

CRPC Recommendations  (Questions submitted ahead of time)

1. Are you satisfied with the recreational activities on campus and in the Morris community?  What can the campus do to improve recreational activities offered?  Are there specific areas that need improvement as far as recreation is concerned?  Some things already discussed by CRPC were opening the Morris bowling alley and updated movies at the Morris Theater.
2. In what ways can we improve diversity on our campus?  Are there specific improvements that you think will make a difference?

3. What are things we can be doing with facilities?  Which facilities do you feel are inadequate?
4. In what ways can we improve celebrations and traditions at UMM?  Where should the university be directing its resources for these events?
5. Is the priority given to UMM competitive and intramural athletics the level it deserves?
6. In & Outside Classroom environment; student-student interaction(s), student-
      faculty/staff interaction(s)

For Discussion: Discussion about Campus Climate
Bos:  Please have any comments directed to the questions on the sheet.
Herrman:  Focus on Solutions
Lacoursiere:  Edson, Jazz has to spend a few days building additional stage, so we need a better extension to help with Jazz fest.
Sandstad:  Statement from Behrens:  Gateway, non-white student need to feel comfortable.  Program for interest whites to learn to co-habit with non-white.
Soccer Club:  We have been trouble getting times to be together as a group. They won't let into the PE or the RFC.  We aren't getting enough time to participate.  We would like to play earlier or later so we can do it more regularly.
Chabel:  Recreational and intramural, when annex was torn down we lost an all night opportunity.  Can we make a building available that can be open 24 hours a day, for at least a couple of days.
Andre Ch:  Printers are dinosaurs, so we need to get better ones.
Sullivan:  Question 3, this fits in Trash cans in PO Boxes there seems to be a lot of recyclable paper that could be put in there.  and the cups we use at TMC, are not biodegradable.
Bos:  Intramural sports, found that level of professionalism in particularly volleyball we have terrible equipment, so I play in a city league.  We need to look at where the intramural budget is going.
Sandstad:  Move intercollegiate activity fee to more intramural that we all can play rather than intercollegiate.
Chabel:  intercollegiate athletic fee going to their budget.  Activities fee is a substantially larger budget.
Lebeau: Better parking in the loop, I have had about 40 parking tickets, something a little longer than 30 minutes
Herrman:  Improve graduation.  Move as a recruiting tool and make it more welcoming, a picnic.
Chrismon:  Instead of assuming we donít have issues, you should assume we don't want to discuss them.
Dunn:  Concerning #2 and stuff, I am not sure how to do it myself, itís a hard question.  That is more the concern Sandstad:  Women's resource center and the safety of women, we feel they are not safe, especially in the dorm.
Pine Hall: As a resident of Pine hall, its about 85 of us in there we only have two washers and dryers.  one dryer is now broke.
Funke: Being a freshman athlete, we don't get any sport, we lack in school spirit.  What we could do is facilitate, more advertisement.  Free stuff for going to games.
Bos:  Library issue, availability of resources for research.  How can we improve that, this is also in the interest of the staff as well.
Wobbema:  There aren't many Universities that close their libraries as early as we do.
Dressen:  In relation to 1 and 2, when there is an activity on campus it is usually sponsored by groups, then the activities are stigmatized.  Have events where they are sponsored by all groups rather than a particular.
Dunn:  Students have to pay for a lot of events, so it would be great if the U put on Events.  If we have to have student orgs do it, it becomes too burdensome
Johnson:  MSP needs to be renovated.  I would like to see the lounge look better.  I would like to see education in there own building, we should be able to have our own.  We shouldn't have to share.
Chrismon:  Going back to Jeremy, if you deny the opportunity for our groups to put on activities, this the groups chance to fund raise and show AFRC, we are fund raising.  If student leaders would help get people out to events, I think that would be a better idea.  If you take away the right to change, you are taking away their power.
Ami Ch:  I  represent ASA, next week I report to them, if they think of other issues, can we contact someone.
Funke:  when a group sponsors something it would be great if all groups came together.  But the body has to understand that sponsored activities are not just for the sponsoring group.

Other Submissions include:
Facilities
Painting the blue color on Gay Hall Maroon like Independence Hall, it would make it more appealing.

Building HFA phase III editorial submitted by Michael Schwerin:
A Performance Hall, Whatís in it for me?
        If any of you have ever been involved in music here at UMM, or had a friend that was, you have probably heard more than you care to about the infamous "Phase III" of HFA.  (HFA had a third phase in its construction that included a state of the art performance hall on the north side of the building.  But, the project was never funded).
        Almost every large performing group at UMM has outgrown the current facilities (the HFA Recital Hall), and has had to make accommodations.  The Concert Band has grown so large that it no longer fits on the stage, and has to settle for a make-shift stage that is not very sturdy and has looks very unprofessional.  The Concert Choir and Jazz Ensembles can fit onto the current stage, but does not have adequate seating for the audience, and has had to add on extra performances and move to other places on campus to allow everyone the chance to see them perform.  Also, the Jazz Ensembles must even build an extension in Edson for Jazz Fest.  The newest group, the Orchestra, is reaching a size that may require the use of the stage extensions.
Many of you may want to know, what's in it for me?  Well, having a performance hall would be a great resource for the UMM campus and the surrounding area.  There is no large performance hall within a 60-mile radius of Morris, and could be used by local groups as well other professional or collegiate groups (an instance this year was the Russian Piano Duo, in which over one hundred people were turned away because there werenít seats).  It would also be an excellent place to hold formal campus functions.  Other groups on campus could use it as well.  PAC, CAC and the dance ensemble would have an excellent place to hold their concerts and speakers, and the theater department would have a place to perform musicals with an adequate pit for the orchestra.
        So, the next time someone mentions the need for a performance hall I hope you realize what benefits it has to you as a student or faculty member here at UMM.
 
Diversity
Captions on the historical pictures**
**One thing has been bothering me, on the plaque outside of the student center between Humanities and TMC there is a caption stating, "A group of graduating minority students"  I think that the picture is great and belongs on the plaque as a celebration, but it bothers me that the caption has to specifically state that the graduates are minority students when it is obvious.  I think that it is this type of thing that is exclusionary to minority students, rather than inclusionary.
    There are many other examples administration going out of their way to advertise utopian diversity, like how most of the pictures in the residential life handbook are taken at the multicultural leadership retreat which shows racially diverse students all embracing, etc...  while I do not question that this is a goal of most every one on campus, it is an unfair representation of the actual picture, which does includes social segregation for whatever reason.  I would like to see this addressed, I think that people are tired of it.
I don't know how this may be addressed, other than expressing our concern to the faculty in charge of putting these publications together.  I would be interested to hear what people have to say on the topic. "Diversity" is such a complex issue on this campus.  I think that people are just bothered by the fact that there is so much advertising about how perfectly and harmoniously diverse we are, when many people may argue that it is not that.... harmonious.  We have already taken the first step by acknowledging there is a problem, maybe forum can help to decide what the next step is.

Amattoe believes enough has been said about diversity on this campus.   A concern from students is the portion of activity fee that goes to athletics whether or not they actually participate in a sport.  Currently, $15 goes to athletics and students have no say in how any of it is used.  Amattoe thinks if there was a degree of commitment from the institution to support competitive athletics, then students would support it.

Herrmann added that students would like to see the Library hours extended.  He has spoken to LeAnn Dean about this, and she said the hours set now are not set in stone and that they could possibly be changed.  He noted that during Finals Week, the Library closed at 4:30 on the last day of finals and was closed the day after finals.

Kuchenreuther was surprised at how few major comments there were and she was troubled by the refusal to talk about diversity.  VanAlstine added that campus climate is always a concern; however, this committee canÇt be everything.  If climate is a deeper issue and not a resource issue, he believes the committee would be spinning their wheels.   Angell added that if diversity is campus priority, maybe Rickey Hall should be invited to a future meeting so the committee could get his perspective.  It was also suggested that Sandy Olson-Loy could give information regarding the Campus of Difference initiative.  Kuchenreuther believes the committee should budget their time wisely to address the big picture issues and try to make an impact on where we go from here.

Meeting adjourned at 9:05 a.m.

Submitted by Carrie Grussing