Student Assembly Meeting

Thursday, August 27, 2026

• Term:
  2026-2027
• Assembly/Committee: Student Assembly
• Date & Time:
  Thu, Aug 27, 2026 - 4:45pm
  to
  6:30pm
• Location:
  Willard Straight Hall Memorial Room (WSH407)/Zoom
• Agenda:

  1. Call to Order
  2. Call of the Roll
  3. Reading of the Land Acknowledgment 
  4. Approval of the April 30, 2026 Meeting Minutes
  5. Communications to the Student Assembly
  6. Consent Calendar
        a. Student Assembly Meeting Schedule 2026-2027
  7. Reports of Officers, Committees, and Liaisons
  8. Announcements
  9. Presentations
  10. Public Comment  
  11. Public Hearings
  12. Third Reading Calendar
        a. Resolution 1: Adopting the Standing Rules of the 2026-2027 Term of the Student Assembly
               i. Appendix A: The Standing Rules of the Cornell University Student Assembly
  13. Second Reading Calendar
  14. Appointments and Filling of Vacancies
        a. Appointment of the Director of the Office of Student Government       
            Relations
        b. Appointments of Committee Chairs
               i. Chair of the Dining Services Committee
              ii. Co-Chair of the Student Health Advisory Committee
             iii. Chair of the Environmental Policy Committee
             iv. Chair of the Academic Policy Committee
              v. Chair of the Technology Committee & IT Governance Liasion
             vi. Chair of the Financial Aid Review Committee
            vii. Chair of the Infrastructure Fund Commission 
           viii. Chair of the International Student Affairs Committee
              ix. Chair of the Campus Pulse Committee
        c. Appointment of University Assembly Committee Seats
               i. Campus Codes Committee (2 vacancies)
              ii. Campus Pulse Committee (2 vacancies)
             iii. Committee on Infrastructure, Technology, and the Environment
                     (2 vacancies) 
        d. Appointments of Departmental Liasions
              i. Liasion to the Student Health Fee Advisory Committee
             ii. Liasion to the Student Health Plan Advisory Committee
        e. Confirmations of Independent Committee Membership
              i. Office of Elections Confirmation
             ii. Office of Ethics Confirmation
  15. Adjournment

  StudentAssemblyMeetingAgendaAugust272026 (2).pdf (44.54 KB)
• Meeting Packet:
• Audio Recording:
  August 27, 2026 SA recording.m4a (58.07 MB)
• Minutes:

  I. Call to Order
       a. E. Chaudhuri called the meeting to order at 4:46 PM.
  
  II. Call of the Roll
       a. Members Present: D. Addoquaye, S. Agarwal, J. Anand, S. Augustin, T. Aye, L. Blum, M. Causey, E. Chaudhuri, J. Chung, S. Dunn, C. Flournoy, T. Japal, J. Kimball, K. Krishtopa, D. Lee, A. Lyons, Y. Masoud, J. Orief, E. Porter, A. Sendelbach, J. Swavy, C. Tarala, A. Vink, A. Walters, H. Watkins
       b. Members Absent: A. Ayoola, A. Fard, K. Young
       c. Also Present: C. Carpenter, Z. deRham, S. Trapani
  
  III. Reading of the Land Acknowledgment
       a. E. Chaudhuri stated the land acknowledgement.
  
  IV. Approval of the April 30th, 2026 Meeting Minutes
       a. The motion to approve the minutes passed through unanimous consent.
  
  V. Communications to the Student Assembly
       a. E. Chaudhuri shared a short welcoming statement and encouraged members to grab coffee together.
  
  VI. Consent Calendar
      a. Student Assembly Meeting Schedule 2026-2027
          i. The motion to approve the meeting schedule passed through unanimous consent.
  
  VII. Reports of Officers, Committees, and Liaisons
      a. H. Watkins thanked those who joined the NME and requested members to fill out the committee form.
      b. A. Walters informed the assembly to let him know about anything related to communications and that there is now a GroupMe. He introduced an engagement point system drawn based on the charter where voting members must accrue a set amount of points through any form of engagement.
          i. E. Chaudhuri shared that this was required in the charter but historically
  members haven’t been doing so.
  
  VIII. Announcements
      a. None.
  
  IX. Presentations
      a. None.
  
  X. Public Comment
      a. None.
  
  XI. Public Hearings
      a. None.
  
  XII. Third Reading Calendar
      a. Resolution 1: Adopting the Standing Rules of the 2026-2027 Term of the Student Assembly
          i. Appendix A: The Standing Rules of the Cornell University Student Assembly
          ii. E. Chaudhuri ceded the chair to H. Watkins.
          iii. E. Chaudhuri shared that standing rules are the governing document that details how the assembly should function and this resolution must pass before the student assembly can do anything else. Some changes were made since last year, including an increase in required committee participation from 1 to 2, any absences from the Executive Committee to be counted towards the 3 excused absences rule, pronoun changes to “they”, and updated language to reflect name changes.
          iv. L. Blum motioned to close debate by unanimous consent, no dissent.
          v. The resolution passed by a vote of 23-0-0.
          vi. H. Watkins ceded the chair to E. Chaudhuri.
  
  XIII. Appointments and Filling of Vacancies
      a. Appointment of the Director of the Office of Student Government Relations
          i. Frank shared their pitch and a little more about what the office does.
              1. E. Chaudhuri moved the assembly into a brief Q&A session.
              2. E. Chaudhuri motioned to approve Frank as the director of the Office of Student Government Relations, passed by a vote of 23-0-0.
              3. Frank has been appointed as the director of the Office of Student Government Relations.
      b. Appointments of Committee Chairs
          i. E. Chaudhuri ceded the chair to H. Watkins.
          ii. Chair of the Dining Services Committee
              1. A. Vink nominated J. Kimball.
              2. J. Kimball shared their pitch to the assembly. The assembly entered a short Q&A session.
              3. C. Tarala motioned to end debate, ended by a majority vote.
              4. J. Kimball has been appointed as the Chair of the Dining Services Committee.
          iii. Co-Chair of the Student Health Advisory Committee
              1. S. Agarwal shared their pitch to the assembly. The assembly entered a short Q&A session.
              2. A. Vink motioned to end debate.
              3. S. Agarwal has been appointed as the Co-Chair of the Student Health Advisory Committee.
          iv. Chair of the Environmental Policy Committee
              1. A. Walters nominated L. Blum.
                  a. L. Blum rejected the nomination.
              2. J. Kimball nominated J. Anand.
                  a. J. Anand shared their pitch to the assembly. The assembly entered a short Q&A session.
                  b. E. Chaudhuri motioned to end debate, passed by a majority vote.
              3. J. Anand has been appointed as the Chair of the Environmental Policy Committee.
          v. Chair of the Academic Policy Committee
              1. A. Walters accepted the nomination, no dissent.
              2. A. Walters shared their pitch to the assembly. The assembly entered a short Q&A session.
              3. M. Causey motioned to end debate, no dissent.
              4. A. Walters has been appointed as the Chair of the Academic Policy Committee.
          vi. Chair of the Technology Committee & IT Governance Liaison
              1. J. Orief accepted the nomination.
              2. C. Flournoy nominated D. Addoquaye.
              3. A. Vink motioned for the candidates to leave the room, passed by majority vote.
              4. J. Orief shared their pitch to the assembly. The assembly entered a short Q&A session.
              5. D. Addoquaye shared their pitch to the assembly. The assembly entered a short Q&A session.
              6. J. Orief has been appointed as the Chair of the Technology Committee & IT Governance Liaison.
          vii. Chair of the Financial Aid Review Committee
              1. J. Swavy nominated S. Augustin.
                  a. S. Augustin accepted the nomination.
                  b. S. Augustin shared their pitch to the assembly. The assembly entered a short Q&A session.
                  c. A. Vink motioned to end debate, passed by a majority vote
              2. S. Augustin has been appointed as the Chair of the Financial Aid Review Committee.
          viii. Chair of the Infrastructure Fund Commission
              1. M. Causey accepted the nomination.
              2. C. Tarala nominated himself.
              3. E. Porter nominated A. Lyons.
              4. A. Lyons accepted the nomination.
              5. S. Augustin nominated J. Swavy.
              6. J. Swavy accepted the nomination.
              7. C. Tarala withdrew his nomination.
              8. M. Causey shared their pitch to the assembly. The assembly entered a
  short Q&A session.
              9. A. Lyons shared their pitch to the assembly. The assembly entered a short Q&A session.
              10. J. Swavy shared their pitch to the assembly. The assembly entered a short Q&A session.
              11. E. Chaudhuri motioned to add a 5-minute discussion time before the assembly enters voting, passed by a majority vote.
              12. H. Watkins moved the assembly into a discussion period, where they discussed the three candidates.
              13. L. Blum motioned to end debate, passed by a majority vote.
              14. A. Lyons has been appointed as the Chair of the Infrastructure Fund Commission.
              15. The chair smiled upon a motion to extend the meeting time.
              16. J. Chung motioned to extend the meeting time to 7PM, passed by a majority vote.
          ix. Chair of the International Student Affairs Committee
              1. D. Lee accepted their nomination.
              2. D. Lee shared their pitch to the assembly. The assembly entered a short Q&A session.
              3. J. Kimball motioned to end debate, passed by a majority vote.
              4. D. Lee has been appointed as the Chair of the International Student Affairs Committee.
              5. H. Watkins ceded the chair back to E. Chaudhuri.
          x. Chair of the Campus Pulse Committee
              1. H. Watkins accepted the nomination.
              2. H. Watkins shared their pitch to the assembly. The assembly entered
  a short Q&A session.
              3. J. Chung motioned to end debate, dissent.
              4. The assembly re-entered the Q&A session.
              5. Y. Masoud motioned to end debate, passed by a majority vote.
              6. H. Watkins has been appointed as the Chair of the Campus Pulse Committee.
      c. Appointment of University Assembly Committee Seats
          i. Campus Codes Committee (2 vacancies)
              1. S. Dunn and J. Chung were appointed to the University Assembly Campus Codes Committee Seats.
          ii. Campus Pulse Committee (2 vacancies)
              1. J. Swavy and A. Walters were appointed to the University Assembly Campus Pulse Committee Seats.
          iii. Committee on Infrastructure, Technology, and the Environment (2 vacancies)
              1. J. Kimball and L. Blum were appointed to the University Assembly Committee on Infrastructure, Technology, and the Environment Seats.
      d. Appointments of Departmental Liaisons
          i. Liaison to the Student Health Fee Advisory Committee
              1. C. Flournoy has been appointed as the liaison to the Student Health Fee Advisory Committee.
          ii. Liaison to the Student Health Plan Advisory Committee
              1. C. Flournoy has been appointed as the liaison to the Student Health Plan Advisory Committee.
      e. Confirmations of Independent Committee Membership
          i. Office of Elections Confirmation
              1. S. Trapani nominated X. Rolston to be Deputy of Elections.
                  a. X. Rolston shared their pitch to the assembly.
                  b. The motion to approve X. Rolston to be Deputy of Elections passed by a vote of 23-0-0.
  
  The meeting was adjourned at 6:38 PM by unanimous consent.

  AmendedStudentAssemblyMeetingMinutesAug272026.pdf (162.49 KB)