MINUTES OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING OF

THE YALE POLITICAL UNION

19th APRIL 2009

The Executive Board meeting of the Yale Political Union held on Sunday 19th April 2009 was called to order at 8:03 pm in the YPU Office, with the President, Mr. David Manners-Weber, presiding.

PRESENT (absences indicated in italics):

President, Mr. David Manners-Weber (Pres)

Vice President, Mr. Alexander Martone (VP)

Director of Campus Relations, Miss Leah Libresco (DCR)

Director of Development, Mr. Kevin Hu (DD)

Treasurer, Mr. Fernando Reyes (Treas)

Chair of the Liberal Party, Mr. David Porter (CLP)

Chair of the Party of the Left, Mr. Adam Stempel (CPL)

Chairman of the Progressive Party, Mr. Joshua Esquivel (CPP)

Proxy for the Chairman of the Independent Party, Miss Naomi Lisan (PCIP)

Chairman of the Conservative Party, Mr. Andrew Eberle (CCP)

Proxy for the Chairman of the Tory Party, Miss Brooke Willig (PCTP)

Chairman of the Party of the Right, Miss Nicola Karras (CPR)

Speaker, Mr. Adam Hirst (Speaker)

Floorleader of the Left, Miss Naomi Lisan (FLL)

Floorleader of the Right, Mr. Joshua Robbins (FLR)

Secretary, Mr. Gabriel Ellsworth (Sec)

VISITORS:

Miss April Lawson, Chairman of the Advisory Committee

Miss Laura Marcus, the Former Vice President

Miss Meredith Morrison, the Social Chair

Mr. Logan Mohs

Pres solicits feedback on the recent debate with Dr. Vint Cerf.

CPP liked it.

CCP thought that it was pretty good. He was disappointed that some student speeches talked past each other. The guest was great. The guest wanted to engage with us.

CPR thinks that it was probably the best debate this semester, certainly the best guest. It got a little silly, but that is fine.

DCR thought that he was an “absolute delight.” There was some silliness. DCR was excited for a debate on communities and is not sure if she got it, but she enjoyed what she got.

VP had a great time with the guest. In his view, the student portion of debate did not evolve as much as it could have. It was a different issue from what we normally tackle.

FLR thought that Dr. Cerf was great. There were good student speeches. FLR agrees that they did not necessarily flow as well as they could have. We had talked about avoiding discussions of Facebook and chat rooms, which are more like a telephone. Dr. Cerf brought those back a little bit, so we lost an exclusive focus on communities like Second Life.

FLL was excited at the number of new faces up speaking, including freshmen. She thanks Chairs and Chairmen. She also loved Dr. Cerf. We all got a pretty good laugh watching FLL and FLR walking up and down aisles with microphones. The debate got a bit off track and silly, but people had a good time. Our debates do not always have to be extremely serious. It is good to have a debate once in a while where people have energy.

Pres thanks the FL's for performing an unusual duty assiduously and without complaint. Dr. Cerf was able to engage with the debate because of that performance. It was a bit difficult to know what we were talking about all the time. Dr. Cerf may have been the most outstanding guest as a guest of the Union. Pres' favorite moment was a question from the Liberal Party about whether the ability to exit a community matters in terms of defining community. Dr. Cerf said, “I haven't thought about that before.” That sort of real, authentic engagement is exactly what we want. Pres thanks VP for bringing Dr. Cerf here. Silliness is fine on occasion. It was a fine debate. The bruise on Pres' knee from the table collapse is still there. Pres is starting to suspect that a member or more than one member of his E-Board may have something in for him (applause).

Pres solicits feedback on the HUS debate.

DCR was delighted and very proud. She heard excellent speeches from everyone. The style of the debate was different from what we are used to. Questions were used to disrupt people rather than to find answers. Our debaters blew the other side out of the water.

CPL's first reaction was, “can we do this every week?” We impressed HUS because our speakers were much better than theirs (applause), and CPL hopes to see people excited to do this again soon.

FLL had a great time. Our four debaters did so well. FLL was blown away by how well they worked together and crushed the other side. She would love to do this again.

CCP was not there but will pass on comments from his party. They enjoyed it a lot and saw it as a great way to add more cohesion to the Union when a lot of party strife can drive us apart a lot of times. We showed Oxonians that they really are not that smart.

Miss Marcus believes that the debate was “combative, punchy, humorous,” a lot of things that she would like to see incorporated more into Union debate. Miss Marcus would like to see us maintain our HUS relationship.

DCR says that we should invite them next semester to come here.

VP thought so too. Also, he spoke to a gentleman who was a member of the Oxford Union. They had not heard of the YPU during that gentleman's time at Oxford in the 80's.

Pres thanks Miss Meredith Morrison, the Social Chair (loud applause). Not including the debaters, the YPU brought roughly 20 members. None would have gotten a discount without Miss Morrison's organization. Pres was tearing his hair out, and she was cool as a cucumber. He thanks her for that. Pres knows that the debaters had a great time. They would like to see us doing more of these sorts of things. They may be trying to organize something of their own, perhaps an informal contest between their team and YDA seniors. If people are comfortable about some YPU members going and debating, that is a good thing. HUS is impressed and will be sending us a reimbursement check for travel expenses. The Union did not spend money on this, which is strong. HUS is giving one free year of trial membership in HUS to all YPU alumni. Also, Pres will be sending out a link to photos of the debate. The debate will also be published in video format.

Next, Pres would like to discuss honorary membership for Vint Cerf. He discussed this with VP and Speaker. They both agreed that it was a good idea. He was a model for what we want to look at in a guest. He came not just to pontificate but to respond and to think. This body gets to determine whether he gets honorary membership.

CPL asks how much precedent there is for this.

Pres says that in his time here, we have given Tom Palmer an honorary membership because he came to the Union twice and was engaging.

CPR says that we have given honorary memberships in the past to engaging guests. She sees no reason not to do this.

Pres will draft up a formal letter writing Dr. Cerf with our thanks and notification of his honorary membership.

Pres moves to a discussion of the Dawkins debate.

Miss Marcus would like to discuss three things relating to the Dawkins debate. We have decided that Tuesday 20th October is okay for this debate. That is the only day he can come. In the past, at various other locations, Dawkins has drawn massive crowds. They are pushing us very strongly to use Woolsey, which seats 2700 people. We have never used Woolsey in Miss Marcus's time at Yale. We have used it in the past, though. The only other possible location we could use is SSS, which they feel is too small. Miss Marcus feels that some people might be uncomfortable with it.

Miss Marcus would like feedback on which of these locations we should push for. Dawkins is picky and flaky, so she is not sure how hard we should push. The other point is that it is unclear what amount of Dawkins' travel we will have to pay for. He will be in America. It has never been brought to Miss Marcus that we will have to pay for his overseas travel. He will probably be in New York. Miss Marcus mentioned this to Joe Pascal, the president of HUS. He was very interested in getting involved in this debate and bringing HUS members to New Haven to see this, which would be great if we want to fill Woolsey. Also, they have a special relationship with British Airways which could bring Dawkins and one other person back for free from England. If they do require that we pay airfare, it might be productive to co-sponsor this with HUS.

Pres says that we could use the money saved on airfare to rent Woolsey.

CPR really does not want to see us debating in Woolsey. Woolsey is expensive. The Law School auditorium is also expensive, but it would be the ideal location. One suggestion that we might make is that HUS seems to have some money. We might suggest to them a co-sponsorship and having them put forward a substantial chunk of the rental fee for the auditorium.

Miss Marcus asks if the Law School Auditorium is substantially bigger than SSS.

CPR asks, on information, if it is not in fact the case that the Law School seats 650 and SSS 300. Pres is not sure.

Miss Lawson thinks that the Law School seats 500 and SSS 400.

VP says that the Law School seats 550 and SSS 325.

Pres says about 2700 can sit in Woolsey and 1000 in Battell.

Treas hopes that next year's Treasurer will apply for UOFC funding very specifically for this event. Union finances next year are going to be very hard. We will probably be $2,000 in the hole because of the economic downturn. As much as we like the idea of getting big, expensive rooms, this debate probably needs to be able to pay for itself without outside funding. A normal guest costs about $300. Dawkins will probably cost more than that. Just getting stuff outside of the hotel room will cost a lot. Treas does not like the idea of a very expensive debate.

Miss Marcus says that SSS seats 415 and Sterling 450 according to a website that she is viewing.

Pres was informed by people in the administration that SSS is smaller than that.

CCP thinks that Dawkins is a rather picky guest, but this is not a debate that we can pass up. He agrees with CPR. The Law School is the appropriate venue. It will be expensive, but UOFC is there to help. It is good that Treas is keeping us well-grounded. Treas has found a different hotel that will give us a better rate. If Dawkins already has a ticket, HUS could perhaps assist us.

VP has a question for Miss Lawson. We had Justice Scalia in SSS 114 during her semester as VP. How did that work?

Miss Lawson says that we had scheduled Scalia for the Law School, but they kicked us out less than 2 weeks ahead of time. We estimate that 600 people showed up, and almost half of them did not get in.

CPR says that if we could sell Dawkins on Battell Chapel, that might be a good compromise.

Miss Marcus has already told him about Battell. He is fine, but Miss Marcus's concern is the Chaplain's Office or other people who might get upset about the thought of having Dawkins there.

CPL understands that there is some precedent for using Battell for non-religious and even anti-religious activities. We could try to co-sponsor this with a department such as Religious Studies or the Chaplain's Office, which has an enormous budget.

DCR had dinner with the Chaplain this semester. She loves working with groups that do not like religion. DCR does not know why. They are thinking of setting up a Humanist Chaplain. The Chaplain's Office would see no problem with their using Battell Chapel.

CCP believes that Miss Marcus is right that it will offend some people that we will be in Battell. That is excellent, because we will get publicity.

Miss Marcus wants to mention a drawback. Dawkins wants to have a big reception and book-signing afterward. There is no space in Battell that is appropriate for that.

DCR believes that a cappella groups do have CD sales in Battell.

Pres thinks that is a small concern. It can be taken care of.

Pres would like to take a straw poll. There is not the antipathy towards using Battell that he might have been expecting. The administration might be okay with it as well. Pursuing Battell with HUS co-sponsorship might be our best option.

CPR suggests that we look into the Chaplain's Office for funding as well.

Treas asks if he should go look for funding as soon as possible.

Pres sees a lot of hands for Battell Chapel with outside funding. He thanks Miss Marcus. Hopefully, we can really push this, because it is proving productive already.

Miss Marcus gives an update on the 75th. This past week, we have done quite a bit. For some time, we have had a list that Paul Selker generously compiled of alumni from 1998 to 2008. After trying to get the AYA to give us all their contact information, which they are not doing, the 75th team has put together contact information for them using the AYA database. Miss Marcus thanks Meredith Startz for letting us use her login. We have that information, which we can use to send out invitations in mid-May. We are getting copies of the invitations drawn up this week. We are talking to AYA about invitations, online registration, and something else. We are meeting with them this week. We finally got our hotel contracts in order. Miss Marcus thanks Treas, who knows how to do this. We have reserved 15 rooms for Friday night at both the Study at Yale and the New Haven Hotel (which will each cost $189 and $139, respectively) and 30 rooms at each hotel for Saturday night.

Pres says that E-Board has traditionally signed off on this. We canceled at Omni because they were charging $249 a night. They would not negotiate after a certain point. The Study is as nice as the Omni or nicer.

CCP has had a bit of questioning from seniors in his party as to how they will be dealt with. There is room for them to get lost. Many of them will be in the metro area and would love to come. Will they be picked up by this initial mailing?

Miss Marcus replies that they probably will not be, which is a good thing for the Committee to consider. We will add them to the list. Miss Marcus asks if we can just e-mail them. We can e-mail them with information about registration. Smoke signals will be an option. We have gone to nearly all of those restaurants to see if they would be amenable to taking vouchers. Almost all of them have been receptive, which is great. Thai Taste's manager works elsewhere, so we have not gotten in touch with them. We have not heard back yet from Union League or Mory's.

DD invited Anderson Cooper to come speak.

Pres thanks Miss Marcus, DD, and the 75th Committee and Treas for doing great work. This has been a productive week. They deserve kudos. One last discussion: we need to talk about prices. Pres would like for this Executive Board to meet one last time, because he does not want the new E-Board to have to do this. Pres asks VP to set up a sheet of possible times.

DD set up a meeting with AYA.

Pres says that this meeting has to happen.

CPR was asking whether we are going to talk about prices.

Pres says that sadly, the last E-Board we will have will only have this item as a substantive item on the agenda.

CPR points out that we could still make the new E-Board meet with this E-Board's members attending. They could make us proxies.

Pres says, “this is my hope and dream.”

CLP thinks that parties are likely to have elections on Friday and Saturday. It is unlikely that those days will work. Monday and Tuesday will not work because of Bulldog Days. Pres will include Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. We have to work around AYA's schedule on this one.

Pres asks for a Morris update.

VP explains that Dick Morris is coming to campus at 3:30 on Tuesday. He has a book signing and conversation at the Yale Bookstore. It will be like a Master's Tea. Dick Morris will be there to talk. Dinner will be at Prime 16. We are giving him an ad hoc campus tour and chance to hang out with him until the debate starts at 8:30 in SSS.

Pres says that Mr. Morris is planning on drinking with us. Pres thinks that this should be great. He encourages people to come to the talk. He has a lot of experience working in government. Time magazine called him the most powerful private citizen in America.

DCR paraphrases a quote: “He knew what the issues were going in, but he wanted to hear the worst possible thing you could do ...” [the Secretary does not manage to record more of the quotation].

VP explains that the event will be from 4 to 5, right after the Bazaar.

Pres brings up the Bulldog Days bazaar. He expects Union officers to be at the event for some period of time. If others in this room would like to spend some time talking about the Union, that would be wonderful. He understands that we will have commitments to make sure that our parties are well-represented as well. Pres asks if there are questions or concerns about Bulldog Days.

Pres asks if Miss Lawson or Mr. Singer has the YPU poster. Do we know where the YPU poster is that we have used at the last several bazaar events?

Miss Lawson says that it should be in the office.

CPL says that it is in the office.

Pres moves to a discussion of UCAN.

VP went to a meeting on Friday. People always complain that they do not know about all the Master's Teas. They are developing a centralized system. They invited academically minded organizations to discuss monthly meetings to plan good events together. They were particularly fascinated by our “novel format.” These are people who are bringing in speakers and would love to work with us on that. We should consider attending this regularly if it gets off the ground in the fall so that we know who is coming to campus ahead of time.

Pres asks if YPU events will be advertised in their monthly mailings.

Pres explains that the system builds off Yale Station software, but you can tag your event for more specific interest.

DCR reminds us that we co-sponsored the Gaza discussion with them.

Pres gives an update on the American Conference of Collegiate Debating Societies. Two of the most interesting societies there were Georgetown and the University of Georgia, which works on more extemporaneous rhetoric. We should feel good that we probably have the best collegiate debating society in America from what Pres understands. A lot of problems were about things that we have figured out before, like a Freshman Prize debate. It looks like a lot of societies that were there are thinking of getting 501(c)(3) status and expanding relationships with alumni at the moment. We will see if we can learn from each other in terms of how we structure our financing. There seems to be general enthusiasm for collaboration. We can discuss this in the future. There seems to be no harm in it. The conference may be meeting again sometime next year or in two years.

Pres moves to an update on basketball and Competitive Games Night.

The Social Chair, Miss Meredith Morrison, says that basketball will be at 1:00 on Thursday, April 30, in the fifth floor courts in Payne Whitney. She will e-mail chairmen about this. She asks if every party will be fielding a team, which will be a 3-man team with substitutes.

Pres says, “no Rob Kerth (applause), he's a beast.” He will not be instituting executive rules other than 3-on-3. It is sports, after all, he says.

The Social Chair says that Competitive Games Night will be two days after that, which is Saturday 2nd May.

CPR comments, “that doesn't work for me.”

The Social Chair says, “oh, you. So cheeky!” (much laughter). She expects to see CPR there in fine form and challenges her to a duel.

CPR: “oh, snap.”

The Social Chair says that if people have suggestions for locations, she would be happy to take those.

Miss Lawson asks if we can see if the Prog house is open. We have had the event in Berkeley before. We should not try to have it in Branford.

Pres thinks that Berkeley may have cracked down a bit.

Mr. Mohs says, “they're not letting anyone use anything. They'll kill you.”

Pres thinks that it would be ideal if we could find something not on Park Street. The Prog house is on Park Street, and Pres was afraid his ping-pong balls were getting covered in asbestos.

CCP says, “you're going to die some day.”

PCTP exclaims, “YPU Beer Pong—that's how I want to go.”

Pres would like to do E-Board toasting as opposed to Thai Taste or Thali Too. He asks the Social Chair to e-mail a Doodle. If parties could lend cups, that would be appreciated. If we would be willing to volunteer, we should speak to the Social Chair. We fund this ourselves—no emergency pizza fund.

Pres says that Miss Morrison has done a lot of stuff above and beyond what we have asked of most Social Chairs. The HUS debate stands out specifically.

Pres asks for a motion on minutes. Withdrawn.

CPR asks if, since the minutes just came out, and since people have not had a chance to read them this week, people would mind postponing until people have had a chance to read them. No one minds.

CLP wonders if Speaker has any idea when we will be meeting to approve the list of voters.

Speaker says, “yes.” Elections are on Monday 27th April. Speaker encourages us to vote early and often. The short answer is that he will get back to us, but “you should run for Speaker” (laughter).

VP says that perhaps this could work for our next E-Board meeting.

Speaker says to VP, “you should run for President” (laughter).

Pres says that we can have E-Board and Rules Comm done at the same time. He asks Speaker to send out the Doodle poll. Rules Comm will meet first. It will be taken care of. This has to be 7 to 4 days before the election. That would put this at Wednesday or Thursday.

This meeting of the Executive Board of the Yale Political Union is adjourned at 8:50 pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Gabriel P. Ellsworth

Secretary of the Yale Political Union