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November 17, 2004
GSAC Meeting Tuesday, October 19, 2004 In attendance: Abhijit Brahme (PHY) Gerard Brunick (MSC) Zeb Krahn (PHY) Allison Marciszyn (BSC) Violeta Marin (CMY) Sandra Zimmerman (BSC) Gregg Franklin Rea Freeland Katya Malkin Rick McCullough 1. Undergraduate Access to Mellon Institute after Hours Undergraduates do not have access to Mellon Institute after 11:00 PM and on weekends. Some of them work closely with graduate students and while it is understood that they should not be allowed to work in the labs alone, they may still need access to the library or need to get in to work on the weekend. When the issue of undergraduate access was initially raised, a decision was made not to give them access for several reasons. First, there was concern about them being in the labs alone and safety issues associated with this. Secondly, there has been some difficulty in getting their access cards back when they leave. This is a security issue in general but has been more of a problem with undergraduates. Suggestions for allowing access while dealing with these issues included cutting off everyone's access at the end of each semester (i.e., coding the system so that their cards no longer work) and requiring them to specifically request access at the beginning of the next semester, or requiring a special request from the department fro each undergraduate who needs to have access (since the majority of them do not). Rick will check with Sharon about this and bring these suggestions to her attention. He added that there might be insurance issues that we are unaware of. 2. Lack of Security in Mellon Institute Although everyone acknowledged that significant efforts have been made to improve security in Mellon, there are still some outstanding issues:
Suggestions for improvement included informing people by word of mouth that guards will check IDs and thus encouraging those who have proper ID to present it, posting informal sign in sheets so that if you are working late, you will know who else is in the building, and placing alarms on lab or office doors. One biology lab uses an alarm and although it does not alert campus police it will at least let someone working there know when someone else has come in and perhaps discourage someone from entering who should not be there. Finally, Gregg suggested making security pendants available to those who are working after 11:00 PM, which would alert campus police if activated. We would need to have a better idea of how may people are typically in the building at this time in order to determine the cost. Finally, campus police do perform walk throughs of the building from time to time, though less frequently now that security has been increased. Another option for increasing personal safety is to take the Escort Service home. One problem with this is that the service does not go to all local neighborhoods where students live. 3. Parking for Graduate Students This year, the parking lot assignment policy for graduate students was changed so that everyone was assigned a space based on a lottery system and those who had spaces the prior year did not have priority. While most felt that this was unfair, they also felt that it should have been better publicized so that people would have ample time to make alternate arrangements. Rick will follow up with Bill Elliot on this. 4. Computing Issues The overall quality of computers and computing services in Mellon Institute is very poor. A relatively small number of students use the Mellon cluster, but this is due in large part to the fact the computers there are often in poor condition and lacking updated software. The cluster is used primarily by first year graduate students who do not belong to a lab yet, but the group felt that other students would use it more often if the computers were in better condition. Printing is a problem and sharing computers in labs also makes having a functional cluster available important. Computing Services maintains this cluster, but is often reluctant to provide maintenance service. Rick suggested gathering statistics to see exactly how many students are using the cluster (or would like to use it if it were functional) and how many printers/computers each student has access to. It may be that he best solution is for MCS to simply purchase new equipment and take over management of the cluster. The college is already considering hiring additional computing services staff. A more short term solution is to ask Ken and Drew to put pressure on Computing Services to improve maintenance of the cluster. The Math and Physics Departments are satisfied with their computing resources and feel that computer administration for the departments is excellent. 5. Office Space in Math Although some effort has been made to improve the space problem in the Math Department, there is still a shortage of office space for graduate students. Students have a choice of sharing an office in Wean Hall (typically with three other people), which is closer to faculty and other resources they need to work, or having more space in Physical Plant Building, but in a less convenient location. The crowding in Wean Hall is particularly problematic if one of the four people in an office has office hours and several students show up. In this case, if everyone is actually in the office, it is always necessary to find another location to conduct office hours. 6. Graduate Curriculum in Physics There are some issues with the curriculum required for graduate students in Physics. Although most people are satisfied with their overall experience, some find the first few semesters too restrictive. Students are required to complete at least eight courses, which is a full load for three semesters. They also feel that the course choices available to them are fairly limited. The rigidity of the curriculum can also make it difficult for students to gain the exposure necessary to determine what their thesis research will be. The degree to which this is a problem is dependant on which area of physics a student is interested in. Other problems include an inconsistency in courses depending on who teaches them, which in turn leads to problems with qualifying exams. Passing qualifying exams also depends on the approval of a committee, which may also be inconsistent depending on the membership. Although there is an overall positive attitude about the department, the students feel that a more open dialog is needed. Several task forces, composed of faculty members, have been organized in the past few weeks to address these issues. Rick is meeting with Fred Gilman after our meeting today and will bring these issues to his attention and emphasize their importance. 7. Health Care There are several issues of concern regarding graduate student health care:
8. Lack of Food Vendor in Mellon Institute There is currently no food vendor in Mellon Institute, making it very inconvenient for those working there to get food, particularly during the winter. Rick is very supportive of bringing in a vendor and suggested bringing in an independent vendor. He was even willing to hire a delivery service in the mean time. |