Minutes

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GSC Minutes: July 5, 2006: 6:00-8:00
Graduate Community Center - Nairobi Room
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Quorum for this meeting is 8 members

1. Introductions (Paul)
2. Announcements (Paul):
a. June 21st Minutes: passed by consensus.
b. July 4th BBQ : Thanks to volunteers!! The event was a success, it was a beautiful day. Fen was taken to the hospital in the middle of the day though.
3. Summer graduate institute (Paul):
The summer graduate institue is looking for feedback:
Are people hearing about it?
Are people interested in it?
Adam: What is it?
Paul: This summer B-school, bio, and design school had (bio, design sept; b-school summer).
B-school 4-week class full time. too much work, probably not ok with advisors
too basic, to get you need a recommendation if easier access maybe people would use it more.
Steven: was preference given to Stanford students?
Dirk: It was subsidized for stanford students.
Paul: If advisors told to students it was good and asked students to attend it would they get more support?
Maria: Yup.
Paul: who hasn’t heard about it?
George: Me.
Paul: best way to contact arts students?
George: Grad events, most live at rains.
Paul: Maybe more posters.
Steven: Maybe coordinate all programs and advertise them all instead of just one to people.
Paul: There was a sense that they were hurrying program along.
What areas would people be interested in learning about?
Alex: Environment?
Dirk: Media, communication skills. Something similar to I-write but more including multimedia.

4. Comedy night (Melahn)
Melahn is look for funding from the GSC for comedy night at the 750 Pub. So far the night has been funded with by the 750, the GSPB funded the first comedy night but there was a letter to the editor in the stanford daily (Feb) questioning the apropriateness of the content of comedy night and so the GSPB opted not to continue funding the night. Since then there have been no complaints. 750 will no longer fund comedy night. At the second last shows ~60 people showed up. Melahn collected ~40 signatures saying they would like comedy to continue. At the last show ~55 people less people showed up because of the fireworks and because the night had previously started late. The Pube has offered to fund half the comedy nights if the GSC funds the other half. It be great if the GSC could pay $200 each show for 6 shows (a total of $1200). There are 12 more shows left for the season. until sept 29th. Food coupons are also an option but the most convenient thing for Melahn would be to have cash to give comedians. The comedians are all arranged the only thing left to do is find the money to pay them.

Steven: for historical reference, GSC did fund some comedy nights. They did it through a monthly “entertainment” bill from the pub. The amount previously approved for that event has come and gone. The previous money was for entertainment, now asking for money specifically for comedy night.
Adam: You should have a student group.
Melahn: I’m working on it but it won’t come together until november.
Adam: Problem is it seems like we are subsidizing the pub; why not do it at tressider, parking more space etc.
Melahn: The PA system is at the 750.
Donna: Pub subsidy (food subsidy) was suggested because if there were complaints, it would not be that the GSC was supporting inappropriate comments.
Steven: Let’s not be chicken about supporting things for fear of censorship. One letter is just an opinion and not a call for what we need to do.
Paul: For the record, Chris Griffith of the GSPB chose not to continue funding comedy night, not because it offended one person but because it had the potential to offend. Comedy night seemed to be the antithesis of what the GSPB is about.
Paul: I like the idea of a food subsidy to try and foster better relationship with pub. This would allow us to get some good statistics. If we supported 6 nights with subsidy and 6 nights with no food coupons we could get an interesting statistical distribution.
Melahn: The pub may not be ok with that option.
Steven: We are not going to be able to brand it with GSC sponsored event. If we sponsor food coupons we may not be able to brand the whole things with GSC.
George: why not do the coupon thing separate. Do coupons for 3 nights and then no coupons for 3 nights and get the similar stats
Melahn : On thurday nights there is grad night where there are coupons and a band.
Paul: Melahn what do you think about having coupons some nights and paying for comics some nights?
Melahn: it might just be confusing.
Paul: Can we vote on Melahn’s original plan (200x6 nights). Maxim do you have comments?
Melahn: If we are worried about offending the community we can make it PG 13?
Paul: If there are lots of complaints we will worry about it then.
Maxim: second issue: attracting more people? third issues: pub relations. Program coord supports.
Me: Are there opportunities to allow Stanford students to join in?
Alex: best thing just to pay for the comics: if people are coming to the pub for an event they will be more likely to order from the pub.
Dirk: I support it but why is it so cheap?
Melahn: hierarchy: headliner getting more money then the others. features versus headliners.
Dirk: Do off-campus people attend?
Melahn: sometimes the headliners will send info out but it’s mostly grad students.
Steven: Has the GSC filled the PR position?
Paul: not yet
Paul: Any objections to funding 12 events for $100 each total of $1200? [No objections] Passes by concensus.

5. New business:
a. Alana (world cup final pre party July 8th 5-8pm)
Earlier a petition was sent to encourage pub to show world cup events. In the last one, in the havana room standing room only. ie supported. Now we want to have a pre-game bash with the theme being italian/french. The goal is to host it at the back estimating a conservative attendance of 500 people (conservative). Previous games have drawn upwards of 600 people. Are hoping that people will be enspired by the earlier game to hang out or swing back for the pre-game entertainment. Previously invited a flamenco group to preform would like to invite them to come again. Food/entertainment/music.

Because of time constraints could not register as a group.

Donna: the best way to do it is through the pub.
Alanna: the pub has offered to do the food prep at cost.
Maxim: we can donate some hamburgers from the 4th of July BBQ.
Alanna: Will buns last until the weekend? We were concerned that they would not last. Will they still be edible for Sunday? Do we have condiments as well?
Maxim: no condiments
Donna: We have cheese
Alanna: This would cut budget down by 300. Do you have soda still?
Maxim: Yes. We have three flats.
Paul: Isn’t it $825 for the burgers? Can we move on to the request: given that there is some number between 3200 and 4000 what is the request? This is the first I’ve heard of this Donna, did you know about this?
Donna: At the last meeting we thought we should do something for the final game.
Paul: Where would this come from?
Donna: discretionary fund?
Adam: This will spend almost all of our discretionary funds.
Alanna: This event would allow for more bonding because of national solidarity.
Adam: I disagree: korean event in havana room, another group in the other room there was no intermingling.
Alanna: I think that was an anomoly.
Dirk: Would this be a subsidy to the pub?
Alanna: no subsidy
Paul: main issue that we are running out of money. It was an oversight on the part of GSC for not planning for world cup.
Adam: We funded some earlier event from last years budget.
Donna: We gave money for food tickets but the GSC was not recognized at the previous events. This is a way for GSC to get more branding out there. We could bring food costs down by just subsidizing burgers
Alanna: but that misses the cultural diversity of Stanford. That would just make it a BBQ rather then something that grasps the cultural diversity of this event. We want to have themes that are cross national and pay tribute to teams that have made it to finals.
Donna: we want to do this but we need to compromise on the costs because we can’t blow the entire budget on this one.
Maxim: This is a lot of money and food.
Alanna: we are open to downsizing i.e. 75 instead of 100.
Paul: what if we provided free alcohol and free entertainment. rather then food as well. Then people can by free food from pub as well.
Adam: What about meal tickets at the game? It’s Saturday night will it overlap with other peoples plans?
Alanna: That is why it’s a pre event.
Adam: We say no to a lot of groups what if people showed up during the game rather then having something the night before?
Donna: What if we funded something on the day of the game?
Adam: would people stay after if it was on a Sunday afternoon. How about shifting it to 10:30 in the morning the day of the game.
Alanna: We noticed that after spain lose depressed people left and were not in a festive mood.
Donna: We could have something before and after.
Paul: Let’s bring this to a close:
Donna: Can we vote on a ceiling?
Paul: Donna: what do you think an appropriate number would be?
Donna: food alchohol, plus some drinks (3 kegs), soda for the kids +$75 for other drinks. $$ for fixings and labour ($600).
Alanna: What about the soccertinis etc? We want to provide something that will improve grad student quality of life and that grad students are not normally able to afford.
Adam: I think that is off the table.
Paul: Let’s authorize $600 now and then have $250 flexibility. Donna will you do that?
Donna: yes.
Alanna: What about the entertainment? Can we still get Flamenco dancers?
Paul: Are there any objections to funding a pre-soccer final part for $700? [No Objections] Passes