The UNLV Graduate & Professional Student Association
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING
GPSA EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING 44-09
MINUTES
MONDAY, OCTOBER 14TH , 2024
10:15 AM
HYBRID PUBLIC MEETING:
IN PERSON: GRADUATE COMMONS CONFERENCE ROOM
LIED LIBRARY 2ND FLOOR
VIRTUAL: https://unlv.zoom.us/my/gpsa.meeting.room
PASSCODE: GPSAUNLV
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE AGENDA AND PUBLIC MEETING NOTE:
PERTAINING TO VIRTUAL MEETINGS:
This meeting will be held via teleconference only pursuant to Section 1 of the Declaration of Emergency Directive 006 (“Directive 006”) issued by the State of Nevada Executive Department. If a physical location is required for the meeting, participants may be able to access the livestream by visiting the Graduate Commons at the Lied Library 2nd floor.
Public Comment may be submitted via email to gpsapresident@unlv.edu.
Messages received by 9:00 AM on the Monday prior to the meeting may be entered into the record during the meeting. Any other public comment form submissions and/or voicemails received prior to the adjournment of the meeting will be transcribed and included in the permanent record.
Members of the public wishing to listen to the meeting may do so via: https://unlv.zoom.us/my/gpsa.meeting.room
CONTINUED:
Below is an agenda of all items scheduled to be presented and considered at the meeting. Notification is hereby provided that items on the agenda may be taken out of the order and presented, two or more agenda items may be combined for consideration, and an agenda item may be removed from the agenda or discussion relating to an item on the agenda may be delayed at any time.
Some agenda items are noted as having accompanying reference material. Copies of the reference materials that are distributed at the meeting may be requested by emailing the Executive Board at gpsa@unlv.edu.
This meeting’s agenda has been posted in accordance with NRS 241.020. Copies of the agenda and reference material will be made available as follows: 1. Digitally at the UNLV.edu/GPSA/Agendas and the Nevada Public Notice Website, 2. Physically located on the First Floor of the Lied Library at 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV, 3. Physically located in the Carol C. Harter Classroom Building Complex (CHB) at 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV.
Reasonable efforts will be made to assist and accommodate persons with a disability attending the meeting. Please email the GPSA Manager at gpsa@unlv.edu in advance so that arrangements may be made.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Public comment will be taken during this agenda item. No action may be taken on a matter raised under this item until the matter is included on an agenda as an item on which action may be taken. Comments will be limited to three minutes per person. Persons making comment will be asked to begin by stating their name for the record and to spell their last name. The Board Chair may elect to allow additional public comment on a specific agenda item when that agenda item is being considered. In accordance with Attorney General Opinion No. 00-047, as restated in the Attorney General’s Open Meeting Law Manual, the Chair may prohibit comment if the content of that comment is a topic that is not relevant to, or within the authority of, the Body, or if the content is willfully disruptive of the meeting by being irrelevant, repetitious, slanderous, offensive, inflammatory, irrational or amounting to personal attacks or interfering with the rights of other speakers.
EXECUTIVE BOARD
|
PRESIDENT |
VICE PRESIDENT |
TREASURER |
SECRETARY |
|
☑ Teresa Marie |
☑Aliciah Carr |
☑ Devin Lopez |
☑ David King |
PRESIDENT’S CABINET (EX-OFFICIO, NON-VOTING)
|
Engagement & Outreach Director |
Director of Operations |
Director of Communications & Marketing |
|
◻ Ariadna Gutierrez EXCUSED |
◻ VACANT |
☑ Delight Ejiaka Logged on 10:21am |
Members of the Public Present
☑Virginia Smercina – GPSA Business Manager
☑Bill Robinson – GPSA Faculty Advisor
☑John Colombo – GPSA Faculty Advisor
☑Valarie Burke – Graduate College
CALL TO ORDER
ROLL CALL
- PUBLIC COMMENT INFORMATION ONLY
(See foregoing notation regarding public comment)
Dr. John Colombo raised a concern about the potential use of the newly released space at the Shadow Lane campus by the dental school, and requested clarity on the intent for that space.
- APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR POSSIBLE ACTION
- The GPSA Executive Board will consider approval of the minutes from the September 2024 Executive Board Meetings (44-08) as posted to the public GPSA Agenda's Drive.
Moved by Treasurer Lopez, seconded by VP Carr. Passed unanimously.
- REPORTS & RECOMMENDATIONS INFORMATION ONLY
3a) GPSA Executive Board & Committees
-
- President
President Marie will report to the President Marie Executive Board concerning UNLV related issues or events important to the UNLV graduate student body.
President Marie expressed concerns about the proposed graduate housing, emphasizing the potential creation of more problems than solutions. They highlighted issues such as students being 16 miles away from resources, lack of community locations, and the potential for reduced access to mental and physical health services, safety, and police presence. President Marie also raised concerns about the retention and recruitment of officers, transportation challenges, and the impact of flight paths on the housing area. They suggested that the university should consider the compensation for noise impacts from the nearby Nellis Air Force base. Additionally, President Marie questioned the university's ability to provide resources and support to students in the proposed housing location, given their struggles with providing caps to a location just 3 miles away from the main campus.
-
- Vice President
Vice President Carr will report to the GPSA Executive Board concerning UNLV related issues or events important to the UNLV graduate student body.
VP Carr discussed that a correction was made to the denial letters sent out by TDX, ensuring that different letters were sent to those denied due to low scores versus lack of funding.
-
- Treasurer
Treasurer Lopez will report to the GPSA Executive Board concerning UNLV related issues or events important to the UNLV graduate Student body.
Treasurer Lopez discussed the process of consolidating the eight different GPSA accounts and the approval of a $200 budget for the Safety Town Hall.
-
- Secretary
Secretary King will report to the GPSA Executive Board concerning UNLV related issues or events important to the UNLV graduate Student body.
Secretary King is researching the potential of investing in a poster printer for future events.
3b) GPSA Business Manager & Advisor
Business Manager Smercina will report to the GPSA Executive Board concerning UNLV related issues or events important to the UNLV graduate student body.
Business Manager Smercina discussed the upcoming graduate appreciation event and the establishment of the GPSA Research Forum location.
3c) GPSA Faculty Advisor
Faculty Advisor Bill Robinson and John Colombo will report to the Executive Board concerning UNLV related issues or events important to the UNLV graduate student body.
No reports.
3d) GPSA President’s Cabinet
- Engagement & Outreach Director
- Director of Operations
- Director of Communications & Marketing
Delight reported on the upcoming homecoming event and the 1st gen event in November.
- Chief of Staff
- UNFINISHED BUSINESS FOR POSSIBLE ACTION
Unfinished Business is any motion or action item that was under discussion and was postponed or moved to this meeting at the discretion of the public body as approved by the chair.
- NEW BUSINESS FOR POSSIBLE ACTION
New business is any motion that is new to this meeting. All items will be for action unless otherwise stated.
5a) Town Hall for Campus Committee on Safety and Security FOR POSSIBLE ACTION
President Marie requests time for discussion and possible action on holding two town halls at the request of our student representative, Christopher Forepaugh, to discuss campus safety efforts and get graduate and professional feed back.
Moved by Secretary King, seconded by Treasurer Lopez.
Aliciah and President Marie discussed a topic, with President Marie offering the discussion to Dr. Bill Robinson, Dr. Colombo, and Dr. Burke for their input. Dr. Colombo raised concerns about general security around the campus, particularly at the School of Dental Medicine, and questioned who was funding the security guards. He also expressed concerns about recommending students to live in the new graduate student housing without addressing the concerns raised by President Marie. Bill Robinson echoed John's concerns about the shuttle service. Dr. Colombo also mentioned that the School of Dental Medicine pays for security guards and that it was unclear who was funding them. He suggested that this issue might impact GPSA’s interests.
President Marie led a meeting discussing the upcoming Town Hall for the Campus Committee on Safety and Security, scheduled for Thursday, the 17th, and Tuesday, the 22nd. The executive board unanimously supported the Town Hall, with President Marie agreeing to draft a memorandum in support. President Marie also announced a meeting on Halloween to prepare for the November council meeting and encouraged members to submit any new business items for the agenda. The conversation ended with President Marie expressing appreciation for the attendees' willingness to discuss campus safety concerns.
5h) Call for New Business Items INFORMATION ONLY
Items for consideration at future meetings may be suggested. Discussion is limited to description and
clarification of the subject matter of the item, including the reasons for the request; emergency items added at the discretion of the President (GPSA Bylaws Article IV, Sec.3).
- PUBLIC COMMENT INFORMATION ONLY
(See foregoing notation regarding public comment)
- ANNOUNCEMENTS INFORMATION ONLY
- ADJOURNMENT FOR POSSIBLE ACTION
Adjourned at 10:47 am.