Meeting Minutes

Tuesday, October 15, 2002
4:00-6:00pm
33 W. 11th Avenue, Room 101

The meeting was called to order at 4:02pm by Chair Cormier.

Members in Attendance: Kelli Barker, John Berry, J. Briggs Cormier, Theresa Early, Ann Farrelly, Bill Hall, Kerry Hodak, Rich Hollingsworth, Janet Laster, Lauren Loughrey, Elizabeth Marschall, Rebecca Price, Melissa Rocco, Tracy Stuck, Harmon Vredeveld, Karen Weise.

Members Absent: Raul Herrera, H.G. Parsa, W. Maurice Shipley, Rick Prescott, Tammy Maltzan, Katrina Liebst, Todd Armen.

Guests in Attendance: Eric Busch, Don Stenta, Diane Whitbeck, Tim Keegstra, Sheila Judge.

Presentation – Campus Food Service Vision

Diane Whitbeck and Tim Keegstra introduced their presentation and the three main topics of their presentation: meal plan changes, the proposed vision for food service and the new food service venues at the new housing at 10th and Neil Avenue.

Tim Keegstra began with an overview of the changes to the meal plans. The changes are a result of research by independent consultants, focus groups and advisory group feedback from last year. A handout was distributed that details the changes in the meal plans entitled "New Flexibility in Meal Plans for 2002-2003." Late hour meal options are a new addition with Mirror Lake being open until 2am. Also, efforts such as midnight breakfasts during finals week is an option for late night dining. Multiple meal swipes is a new addition that will allow students to increase the number of times that they receive at any time. This was also added to offer students more flexibility in eating times and also break down the barriers between the pre-set meal times of dining. Many other dining locations have extended hours and seen an increase in the usage during the extra hours. Oxleys and Woody’s in the Ohio Union are open until 9am and Viewpoint in the Drake is open until 7pm two days a week. Buckeye Express is now the only location for Breakfast. Dining Services has hired an executive chef and there are plans to hire a sous chef. This has added credibility and quality to the food service. Also, managers are being moved from civil service classification to A/P managers to increase the flexibility in their service.

Diane Whitbeck discussed the Vision for Campus Dining as outlined in the handout named "Vision for Campus Dining." This document is a draft and has been put together with the assistance of a consulting firm. A main theme of the vision is that students want fresh, high quality food and also flexibility in their dining options. The proposed vision includes 5 recommendations. The first recommendation is to renovate the Dining Commons. All of the Commons have been updated, but they all needed to be brought up to date again. Also, the trend is food service is to create a "marketplace" concept in which food is prepared at stations in front of the students. All Commons would have three stations: home cooking, sandwiches, and soup and salad and then the other stations would vary at each Commons. Also, with the marketplace concept, it is easier to keep the food service up to date with trends when structured like a marketplace. The second recommendation is to close Baker Commons. The reasoning behind this is that Dining Services would eventually like to have three locations in the Ohio Union and therefore students who currently use Baker Commons would have options in the Ohio Union and Buckeye Express. The third recommendation is to increase the stand-alone venues such as Oxley’s and Woody’s in the Ohio Union. One potential option would be for a restaurant and possible themed options as outlined in the handout. The fourth recommendation is for later hours at the food venues. Part of the later hours would be to add programming like is currently being offered at Woody’s. The overall intent is to make the dining experience more social for students. The fifth recommendation is to redevelop the staffing patterns in dining services by adding Sous Chef positions and also changing managers to A/P classification.

Harmon Vredeveld asked about the option of offering free soda instead of juice and wonders if that is punishing students who opt for a healthier drink option. Tim Keegstra responded that it is not a punishment at all and simply soda is the most popular beverage option. Also, students can still use a food item to get juice. Vredeveld also asked about limiting breakfast only to Buckeye Express and Keegstra responded that the usage was not high in the Commons and students are still able to get breakfast, but the operation for Dining Services is more efficient.

Rich Hollingsworth asked if Dining Services is meeting the needs of Professional Students. Diane Whitbeck replied and suggested that the new venue at 10th and Neil will be a great outlet for Graduate and Professional students. Whitbeck then introduced the concept that is being considered for 10th and Neil. Dining Services is thinking about having a marketplace style dining service, but then offering grocery type options for students to pick up grocery items along with the prepared food. All of the units in the new housing will have a kitchen, so there is a need for grocery items.

Keegstra and Whitbeck opened up the floor for questions and feedback about the items discussed. Harmon Vredeveld responded positively for the 10th and Neil concept and also suggested an ice cream parlor somewhere on campus. Lauren Loughrey likes the marketplace concept and has seen it on other campuses and thinks there is a need for it here at Ohio State. Melissa Rocco also likes the 10th and Neil concept and recognizes the need for grocery options for students even in the Dorms. Karen Weise asked about options for Professional students. Whitbeck responded that they are trying to increase the cart options and looking to put one in the Veterinary school. Briggs Cormier asked about the cart in the Drake Union and whether they were still experiencing food shortages during the days. Whitbeck ensured that they should no longer be doing so and that the usage is monitored and food stocked accordingly. Also, Cormier suggested that Morrill Commons and Buckeye Express should be able to accommodate 20 dollar bills and they have not been able to in the past. Kelli Barker suggested that Dining Services continue to seek out healthy food options, especially for Vegetarian students. Whitbeck pointed out that the new Woody’s menu has several Vegetarian options for students and that they are always looking for suggestions and recipes.

Further comments, suggestions and questions can be sent directly to Diane Whitbeck at whitbeck.1@osu.edu, Tim Keegstra at keegstra.1@osu.edu or food.osu.edu.

Approval of Minutes: Hodak moved to approve the minutes from October 1, 2002 and Loughrey seconded the motion. Minutes were approved by the full Council.

New Business

1. Student Life Enrichment Grants – Chair Cormier introduced this agenda item. In the past Coca-Cola dollars were used for grants that were called the Coke 450 grants. The money from Coca-Cola is no longer available, but Student Life saw the value in this grant process and therefore Vice President Hall allocated $150,000 into a fund for a similar process to be implemented. The committee must decide how to administer and maintain this grant process. Bill Hall discussed the value of the process and introduces Eric Busch and Sheila Judge who have maintained the process this past year. Busch discussed the grant process. The applications were online last year and there was a 9 member committee that reviewed the requests. The online process allowed for categorization of request by areas such as arts, wellness, social, etc. There was 1.58 million in requests last year. Consideration was given to one time and future use requests and a balance was sought between those types of funding when granting requests. Also, money was allocated last year for use through this winter quarter. Sheila Judge discussed the need for more accountability with the organizations that receive funding, as receiving prompt audit of the funds was a challenge in the past.
   
   Rich Hollingsworth asked if this process should be a function of the CSA Allocations subcommittee. Chair Cormier responded that currently Allocations is very busy and consumed with the current allocations process. While yes, it makes sense to be a part of the Allocations subcommittee; it is too much logistically at this point. John Berry asked if regional campuses would be eligible for funding. Hall replied that they would not be eligible for this year due to the source of the funding, but that may be an issue to investigate for the future. Janet Laster asked how this is different than the Allocations process. Chair Cormier responded that the Coke 450 grants were available for campus offices as well as student groups and being a registered student organization was not a requirement for funding. Also, there were no limits on the grants unlike the travel and activity funds which are limited. Bill Hall brought up the point and a question for the future as to whether these two separate processes should be combined. Kerry Hodak suggested that for the time being, the two processes need to remain separate because the CSA Allocations activity and travel funds are very restrictive and limited. Rich Hollingsworth added that CSA Allocations is looking to revise the allocations procedures this year and that the new grant process can be a consideration in that revision process. Sheila Judge suggested that perhaps their can be an umbrella group that is formed to manage both processes and therefore information can be shared about how much any given group is or has received from these two funds. Chair Cormier suggested that CSA Allocations will review the proposed Process and will discuss long-term management of the funding at a future meeting. Tracy Stuck pointed out that the Coke 450 process funded departmental initiatives if it was supporting the greater good of the students. Eric Busch agreed that the funds supported departments and that he will work to bring the tentative guidelines back to CSA.
2. FY03 Allocations – Chair Cormier introduced the FY03 Allocations document. There are several items that need to be approved by the full CSA Committee to allow the Allocations committee to begin reviewing requests. First, the IPC Secretary Support, which is an expense by rule, needs to be approved and also the percent breakdown between the travel, activity, and operating funds needs to be approved and the Allocations committee will be breaking the funding into thirds to accommodate activity and travel through all three quarters.
   
   Price moved to approve the CSA FY03 Allocations, Hodak seconded and all approved.
3. Code of Student Conduct Review Committee – Chair Cormier introduced the handout on the Oversight Committee on Application of Revised Student Code of Conduct. Cormier will be putting together this committee and anyone interested in serving on the committee should inform Cormier.
   
   Bill Hall asked if there would be a timeline given to the committee and Chair Cormier suggested that the committee should report no later than the first CSA meeting in Winter quarter.

Reports

1. Chair Cormier – No Report
2. Student Life, by Bill Hall – Congratulations to the Homecoming Queen; Rebecca Price! The student government presidents of IPC, CGS, and USG met with President Holbrook and she was very impressed with the students. Holbrook also met with students who had attended the diversity retreats and was also impressed with the students and said that she has never seen such student cooperation. Also, Hall discussed a report from Student Life Assessment about African American males that focuses on various issues such as retention. The report will likely be discussed at CSA.
3. Student Governments
   1. IPC, by Karen Weise – IPC is joining forces with the University Health Center to give Flu shots to all professional students who interact with patients. Also, IPC has held a successful event with Big Brothers and Big Sisters. Finally, Todd Armen is not present because he is getting married.
   2. CGS, by Kerry Hodak – CGS passed its annual resolution supporting domestic partner benefits. Also, CSA allocated 6500 dollars for their professional development fund. The next meeting is on October 25.
   3. USG, by Rebecca Price – USG is sponsoring a Walk Against Rape, called W.A.R., on Saturday evening from 12am to 2am and will begin at the intersection of 15th and High. Also, for the past two years the Homecoming King and Queen have been from USG.

Announcements

Tracy Stuck announced that there is a focus group for the Ohio Union feasibility study for CSA Members on Thursday at 8am. Breakfast will be provided and you will receive 10 dollars on a Buck ID.

Last modified on: Monday, June 30, 2008 1:11:07 PM

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