I. Call to Order

II. Additions to the Agenda

III. Departmental Meeting Reminder

• Department reps are responsible for holding one departmental GSA meeting per semester.
• Reps should discuss what the GSA does and find out what constituents' concerns are.
• It is possible to do a joint meeting with another department (MCDB & MB&B) if a reasonable number of people from both departments attend (attendance must be taken at these meetings and submitted to the treasurer).
• Each department has $200 per rep per year to be divided as you see fit per semester.
• A p-card (the GSA credit card) can be obtained by signing it out in HGS (I believe it is room 129 or 130 - Jennifer Brinley or Susan Wrzosek's finance offices.  Here is a map http://www.yale.edu/graduateschool/offices/#).
• This card can be used at any liquor store, grocery store, or restaurant.
• If getting food from or going to Yorkside or GPSCY, please invoice them.
• You can get packages at GPSCY (drink tickets, etc...).
  
• Jeremy will send out info regarding departmental meeting policy (might already be on website).
  

IV. Heads-up: Conference with Columbia

• An interdisciplinary conference with Columbia will be coming up in the Spring.
• This is not an official GSA event, but it will involve topics re: interdisciplinary interests, i.e. pop culture, scholarship, etc...
• Ask Bobbi for more details.
• More info will become available as it gets closer.
  

V. Introduce idea of changing division arrangement - not open for debate this evening

• This will be officially discussed/debated at a later meeting.
• The way in which reps are divided amongst divisions is up to us.
• i.e. If we think Epidemiology and Public Health has more to do with SS than NS, we could switch their designation.
• This might provide more reps for the H & SS divisions.
• We could also split NS into Physical Sciences and Biological Sciences.
• Different people within departments could go one way or the other - but we think, for the sake of simplicity, we should have all of the reps from one department be in the same division (we may, however, switch the overal department's division).
• Some divisions are currently underrepresented.
• This is not so much to abide by quorum rules as it is to ensure that people with different points of view are getting onto committees.

VI. Health Care Update - Julie Button

• The Yale Health Plan Member Advisory Committee consists of members from various student and staff groups (i.e. GSA, GPSS, YCC, Local 34 and 35).
• An introductory meeting was held in September.
• The user-friendly revisions to Yale Health On-Line were discussed - they want you to use YHOL for e-mailing clinicians, prescription refills, referrals, and scheduling appointments, and they also solicited suggestions for how to make the website better.
• If a member forgets his/her password, there is no easy way of retrieving it - they should make a way to "re-sign-up" if this happens.
• The on-line system worked for a referral, but the wait-time for a referral was still long.
• Doctors involved in referrals should use the on-line set-up to enable them to communicate with each other better, but this may be a problem with the US Health care system of referrals and not Yale itself.  A forwarding tool for patient referrals amongst doctors would be useful (then patients do not have to "re-explain" the problem once they are referred).
• Ask Health Plan permission to use Google Health system, where all health records can be posted on-line, i.e. immunization records, etc... can just be uploaded.
• If a pre-existing condition is documented - do we have to use a referral system?  Can patients go straight to specialist?
• Not all specialists require a referral (gynecology).
• The development of an automated telephone appt reminder was discussed (call between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m.).
• Prescription coverage and birth control costs were mentioned.
• Dental care is outside of the YHP scope.
• Quicker/better access to mental health appointments was discussed.
• YHP created a task force to look into Rx coverage.
• The consultant presented what Yale does in comparison to other Ivy's (Liz Williams did this last year!).
• We do not pay fees for doctor visits but we have no Rx coverage without buying into the Rx plan.
• We have a $15000 cap, which is much higher than other institutions.  Yale is an out lier.
• Survey of how many people buy Rx Plus?
• Unnecessary for departments to pay for people who do not want it?
• Look at how numbers play out - examine this in the internal health care committee.
• Baseline prescription cost before coverage kicks in is $100 and there is a $20 copay after that.
• We are paying premiums based on $15,000 dollars-worth of coverage.
• Julie has a copy of the presentation that can be scanned and posted on-line.
• A "multi-level" Rx plan might be useful - make gradations of coverage - GPSS and GSA have a survey out.
• Re: comparisons with different schools - don't just pick best of the litter - design the "ultimate plan".
• Our health plan is great except for Rx coverage.
• Can get free eye exam for glasses but there is a 4-5 month wait.
• Get a YHP person to come to a general GSA meeting - get their contact info to Bobbi.
  

VII. Issue at Whitehall Apartments - Noel Aloysius

• 12 families have been asked to vacate their Whitehall Apartments in six-months' time.
• We recently all received an e-mail from the Provost outlining that the apartments will be used to house new childcare facilities.
• Currently, a childcare facility occupies 4 units in Whitehall - they want to expand this to 12 units + courtyards.
• They will be doing renovations next year and moving in in the Spring of 2010.
• All of the families who have been asked to move have children except one and, on average, have 2 kids per family.
• These families have formed a committee and are meeting with Dean Butler today.
• As of now, they have to move by Spring 2009.
• Even now, in the evenings, certain parts of Whitehall experience heavy traffic due to the daycare, and the augmentations to the current facility will increase this traffic further.  This is disrupting life in the community in general.
• The families will be given preference in other apartments once they move out, but no guarantees.
• Whitehall is also one of the only on-campus living facilities that is well-equipped to house families with children.
• The daycare facilities that will be built are too expensive to benefit many grad students.  The daycare is open to Yale employees as well as people outside of the Yale community.
• In the past we have pushed for "daycare scholarships" for grad students with children.
• We/they should speak with George Longyear.
• It is unclear how the GSA can get involved at this time (they haven't spoken with the Dean yet).
• There is not a rule that children cannot live in other facilities, it is just that Whitehall is preferable.
• The families are not being asked to leave until after their lease has lapsed.
• The University has mentioned building a new childcare center in the past - is this it?  It is unclear.
• What is the committee asking for in terms of resolution?
• Is this housing less expensive than living in a non-Yale apartment?
• The families were not informed before they moved in (some recently) and were never consulted.
• Some of the people who will be asked to move haven't been told yet.
• If the 12 families were guaranteed housing elsewhere, would that be OK?  This change affects the entire community, not just those families.
• The GSA should wait to hear from the Dean and George Longyear.
  

VIII. Division Caucuses

• Will post Bobbi's notes from this...
  

IX. Motion to Adjourn - Second.