Minutes for Campus Affairs Committee Meeting #1

October 19, 2009 4pm

Members Attending: Jenny Novak, Kevin Wood, Sum-Yan Ng, Drew Ollero

1. Introductions
1. Brief introductions were made.
2. Discussion of primary focus of committee
1. Members were interested in housing, health and transportation primarily.
3. Transportation Survey
1. Ideas for questions for the transportation survey were discussed, Raabia volunteered to create a Google Doc for the survey so that committee members can access and edit it.  We will continue this conversation via the Google Doc
4. Transportation-DPS Joint Forum
1. Briefly discussed the transportation-DPS joint forum which will take place next week.
5. Other Advocacy Issues
1. Can we simplify the student Metro pass process so that the passes can be processed on campus the way they are for staff?
2. Health—Students are automatically assigned to the health center (HSC or UPC) for the campus on which they have enrolled for more units even if that health center is inconvenient for the student (ie a student that lives on UPC could be assigned to the HSC center if she is taking more units there), is there a way to fix this?  Jenny will add it to the agenda for speaking with a health representative
3. Housing—Graduate students are sometimes assigned to the Seaver Residence Hall even though they are UPC students and when they decline the housing assignment then they are not eligible to reapply, can we ensure that this does not happen to new graduate students next year? Jenny will meet with a housing representative and address this issue.
6. To-Do
1. The committee will work on finalizing questions for the transportation survey.
2. The next meeting will be in November

Notes from DPS-Transportation Joint Forum

Wednesday, October 28^th, 2009 7:00pm SGM 101

Administrators / Officers in Attendance: Chief Drayton, Captain Carlisle, Tony Mazza, Jeff Shields

Facilitated by Helen Moser, USG Campus Affairs Chair

1.       Patrol Boundaries

a.       DPS has patrol boundaries, inside of which they actively patrol as well as response boundaries where they don’t patrol but will respond to if a member of the USC family needs assistance

b.      Patrol & Response boundaries are based on where students live and the location of USC owned properties.

c.       These boundaries were expanded westward to Normandie in 2000.

2.       Campus Cruiser boundaries

a.       Designed to mirror DPS Patrol Boundaries to ensure the safety of student drivers

3.       Transportation after 2:45am

a.       Trams Routes C & D—have gained momentum and popularity among students since they were launched in Spring 2009

b.      Cruiser Express

c.       Yellow Cab

d.      DPS escort

e.      Leavey Library Shuttle 3am-7am

4.       DPS Escorts

a.       DPS provides escorts as a courtesy to students, but this is not the primary mission / responsibility of DPS.

5.       Why Does Campus Cruiser stop at 2:45am?

a.       Recruiting student drivers is very difficult between 2am-6am

6.       Tram to LA Live

a.       Officially begins on Friday, November 6^th, 2009

                                                               i.      Hours:

1.       Fridays 6pm-2am

2.       Saturdays 2pm-2am

3.       Sundays 4pm-10pm

                                                             ii.      Departs from the Lab and 28^th & Fig

b.      Special kick off tram on Thursday, November 5^th from 6pm-10pm for the Regal Cinema Opening

c.       LA Live and USC Transportation very excited about this, a safe opportunity for weekend off campus travel for students

7.       Parking Structures & Safety

a.       DPS officers regularly patrol parking structures on bicycle, T3 and foot patrol

b.       Captain Carlisle considers them quite safe with a low crime rate

c.       Primary crimes that occur in structures are vehicle robberies

d.      FMS patrols parking structures, repairing lights, etc.

e.      Security cameras in structures 1 & 2

f.        During special events structures may be more dangerous as they are open to general public parking

8.       Bikes

a.       Safety & theft issues

b.      Need to have fire line open North of Lyon Center, bikes are usually parked in this area excessively

c.       High number of pedestrian / bikes, skateboard / bikes, vehicles / bikes accidents

d.      DPS tried educational campaigns—Daily Trojan, website, officers handing out flyers

e.      Students continue to violate the rules unless LAPD is handing out tickets

f.        DPS & Transportation would love students to research how to control bike traffic & safety issues on campus, they would especially appreciate innovative ideas on how to control bike traffic flow on campus

g.       DPS is empowered to write citations but would prefer to use education

h.      Bike sharing programs

                                                               i.      Tony is not sure if it is a viable solution

                                                             ii.      Large investment required in hardware

9.       Zimride

a.       Online social network for ride sharing tied to Facebook

b.      1500 USC users have already registered, the most successful launch in the history of zimride

10.   Closing Comments

a.       DPS

                                                               i.      Sign up for Trojan Alerts, keep emergency numbers in your cell phone

                                                             ii.      Pay attention to DPS emails

                                                            iii.      Read safety related articles in the Daily Trojan

                                                           iv.      Pay attention to safety tips

                                                             v.      Trojans Care for Trojans (TC4T)

1.       An anonymous way for students to report crimes discreetly to DPS through texting, started as a way for people to report rude fans at games

2.       Text to 274637 and begin message with “TC4T” then write message

b.      Transportation

                                                               i.      Extended hours for trams to lower the wait times for Campus Cruiser

                                                             ii.      Zipcars, zimrides & yellow cab partnerships

                                                            iii.      If you feel you are in an unsafe area tell dispatcher and they will send a cruiser

11.   Student Questions

a.       Jeff Shields said that TAP cards will eventually be available on campus without having to go through Metro, this is coming down the road

b.      CSC ambassadors have been successful and will continue to be in place for the forseeable future, their main purpose is to be visible eyes & ears to deter criminals.  They are not currently looking at expanding into the West University Park area

c.       Transportation is looking at developing partnerships with companies that might provide options to go to other areas of interest around Los Angeles such as Venice, Santa Monica & Downtown

d.      50% of trams are using alternative fuel, biodiesel is available at the USC gas station

e.      There is currently no tram to Union Station on Sundays due to not enough demand, most users of the tram are USC faculty & staff

Notes by Jenny Novak, GPSS Campus Affairs Chair

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Notes from Meeting with Brian League & Mike Mostowitz, USC Real Estate & Asset Management

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 2:30pm

1.       HSC Gym should be constructed during the summer of 2011

2.       The Real Estate & Asset Management Office has developed a survey that is being sent out via email to graduate students regarding their housing preferences, they have agreed to share the results of this survey with GPSS, these results should be available within the next month.

3.       USC is committed to providing subsidized, affordable housing to first year graduate students

a.       University Village Revitalization will provide 5200 student beds, 60% of which will be for graduate students

b.      The Environmental Impact Report for this construction will be sent out in February 2010 and will probably be at City Hall until the fall of 2010

c.       In 2011 the design plan will be drafted and sent to city hall for approval around June 2011

d.      Hopefully, a permit for construction will be issued by late 2011 / early 2012

e.      Construction will commence during 2012-2013 Academic Year

f.        The current target is to have this housing available to students by fall 2013

4.       The Office of Real Estate & Asset Management will be presenting some of the initial sketches / designs for the University Village Revitalization at the USG hosted Forum on Housing & Master Plan on Thursday, November 5^th, 2009 at 6pm in TTH 101

5.       They are also working on a website with some of this information

6.       The President & Campus Affairs Chair requested a presentation on this information to the Senate for January of 2010

Notes by Jenny Novak, GPSS Campus Affairs Chair

DPS Student Advisory Committee Meeting Notes

October 22^nd, 2009: 12:30pm 

Officers in Attendance: Chief Thomas, Captain Carlisle, Shane Hapuarachy 

1. DPS & Bikes
1. Bike tickets
1. DPS has the authorization thru an MOU with the City to issue tickets, but have not utilized this power yet
2. DPS is optimistic that students will enforce themselves, but hasn’t seen any changes and Chief Drayton would like to proceed with issuing tickets
3. There will be an education campaign & an article in the Daily Trojan before DPS begins issuing tickets
4. DPS will likely focus on surrounding streets but could focus on campus too, on roadways these citations would go to traffic court, on campus they would go through the judiciary system on campus
5. Bikes can be impounded when they are parked blocking pathways (ie north of Lyon Center)
6. Restrictions to biking on Trousdale 12-2pm, signage coming
7. Parking on a handicap ramp, your bike will be impounded and will cost you $75
2. Bike racks
1. Proposals on the table for more bike racks
2. Looking at turning the parking lot NorthEast of the Lyon Center into an area for bike parking only, DPS unsure whether students would use it as it seems they want to park bikes as close to facility as possible
3. Is it aesthetically pleasing to have bikes everywhere?
4. Current bike racks have been around 20-30 years and the styles are not very practical, the University is looking at new styles of bike racks (Facilities & Planning)
3. Bike ramps / widening curb at Hoover / Jefferson to reduce congestion
1. Would be at least a 2 year process through the City of Los Angeles
2. Do we want to take something that was designed for disabled persons and make it into a bike thoroughfare?
2. Street lighting on University between Jefferson and 30^th
1. DPS can replace these light bulbs and will assess the lighting situation tonight
3. Blue Light Phones
1. Most emergency calls come from cell phones
2. Not used in many real emergency, people use them to call for directions
3. They do make people perceive a greater level of safety
4. Repairing & keeping visible is a priority, not looking at ordering more
5. DPS will put together a map of just blue light phones for their website
4. Game day Security & Policies
1. Arrive earlier to avoid congestion & long waits, everyone tries to arrive 30 minutes before kickoff
2. People hopping fences can be cited
3. Planning to stick with current system of wristbands for access to the sun deck, however if many people leave they should be able to let more in
5. West University Park
1. Held first meeting last week, next meeting might be on a Saturday in order to include more residents
2. Five reports of a Foot Fetish Fiend around 36^th & Catalina

Next Meeting November 19, 2009 at 12:30pm

Notes on Sustainability Leadership Committee Meeting #1

October 19^th, 2009 5:00pm 

Organizations Attending: CalPIRG, Ecolympics, Associated General Contractors, Marshall Net Impact, E1: Environment First, University Residential Student Community, GPSS, USG, Beyond Coal, Alive, Matt Oden 

1. Matt Oden, Sustainability Coordinator
1. Sustainability Steering Committee –11 administrative representatives, 1 USG & 1 GPSS representative
2. Approved recommendations, 2008-2009
1. Establish an Office of Sustainability
2. Establish a task force to further investigate sustainability as a core value at USC
3. Establish a task force to oversee completion of our greenhouse gas inventory
4. Make an official announcement that USC is committed to environmental sustainability (President Sample to announce at Leadership Retreat in November)
5. Establish a task force to guide efforts in establishing & tracking sustainability goals and performance indicators at USC
3. Report Card – C+ in 2009 & 2010
4. Greenhouse Gas Emissions
5. Recently Purchased Environmental Management System for USC
1. Launching 9 energy dashboards for buildings on UPC & HSC
6. Indigenous Landscaping
7. LEED Gold buildings: Ronald Tutor Campus Center & Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine (HSC)
1. Cost an extra $300,000 to attain LEED certification
8. Presenting a resolution that USC will only build LEED silver or higher to board of trustees
9. Green Office Certification Program
1. 42 have been trained, and 87 registered
10. Greening Transportation
1. Zimride (ride share within USC community)
2. Green Trams (24 new biodiesel trams)
11. Events calendar for Eco & Green events on website
2. CalPIRG’s Climate Change
1. Largest of 88 Global Warming Solutions campaigns across the US
2. Goals:
1. Get ACEs act passed
1. Call in days to senators Feinstein & Boxer
2. Letters to the editor on Sustainability & ACEs act
3. Creating video petitions to spread awareness
2. Green Business Database
1. Find companies willing to go green / ecofriendly businesses
2. Give these companies a ranking from Green à Lime Green àEmerald Green
3. Create online database for green businesses
3. Just Say No to Plastic
1. 11/23/09 bring in plastic bags to trade in
2. Green building tour
4. Powershift West Conference at University of Oregon 11/6-11/8—an environmental leadership conference for the Western region
3. Ecolympics
1. An IRB approved psychology research project
2. Investigates attitudes of students toward sustainability
3. Dorm vs. dorm competition
1. Highest participation rates on survey #1 which ended on 9/29
2. Energy reduction challenge now thru November 25^th
1. Electricity monitored by Facilities Management Services (Live Electricity Data)
3. Survey #2 will be issued in December
4. Winner gets a pizza party
4. Website to give students tips on how to win the competition
4. Associated General Contractors
1. LEED—certified, silver, gold, platinum
2. Buildings get certified, people get accredited
3. LEED competition with other schools
4. Construction Management Symposium focusing on Sustainability, 4/14/10 at the Galen Center
5. Marshall Net Impact
1. Global membership organization, 200 chapters with 15,000 members
2. ABC’s—Awareness, Business & Community, 09-10 Building an awareness of sustainability
3. Net Impact: Sustainability—education awareness, career development, activism & outreach
6. E1: Environment First
1. Clothing drive to sell used clothes & support sustainability in 3^rd world countries
2. Recycling
3. Farmer’s Market—Last Thursday of each month
4. Community garden on campus
5. Documentary series—11/15/09 My Own Two Feet
6. Tree Planting with Tree People
7. Beach Clean Ups with Heal the Bay
7. University Residential Student Community
1. Recycling analysis
1. Students unaware & uneducated about recycling
2. Trash bins filled with recyclables and recycling bins filled with trash
3. Recommends:
1. One accessible recycling bin per building
2. Recycling in lounges & lobbies
3. Each student one trash can
4. One recycling bin per apartment
2. Awareness Campaign
1. Targeting during move in
2. Recycling bins on a map
3. List of recyclables
4. Signage
5. RA’s to encourage
6. Promote bringing own mug
8. GPSS
1. Sustainability fund
1. Created in 2005
2. $9,000 to support sustainability focused events
2. Sustainability Sub-Committee 2008-2009
1. Energy competition in Earth Week
2. Sustainability Survey
1. Students are unaware of what the University does on most sustainability issues and are unsatisfied with the current recycling system
3. Sustainability Sub-Committee 2009-2010 Goals:
1. Coordinate with South Central Farmers Cooperative to deliver fresh vegetable boxes each week ($15)
2. Library advocacy issues—printing to double sided & computers left on too much
3. Event: Dinner catered by South Central Farmers and a screening of The Garden
4. Sustainability competition with UCLA
9. USG
1. Visibility of the program
2. Refillable mug program, discount at hospitality
3. Community Garden
4. Coursework in sustainability & internships
10. Beyond Coal with Sierra Club
1. Encourage renewable energy
2. LA gets 44% of energy from coal
3. 350 Initiative—10/24 talking to people at tailgate
4. BBQ 10/30/09 3-6pm on McCarthy Quad
5. Sustainability Sierra Club—Beyond Coal at USC (on Facebook)
6. DWP in Coal Contract until 2020 with plants in Colorado & Utah
1. Matt met with DWP rep on Tuesday
2. DWP does not allow Power Purchase Agreement (what allows Solar Energy developments)
3. Customers can sign up to have 100% green energy by paying $3-$4 more per month, the money goes toward breaking the contract
4. USC is the largest private sector consumer of electricity in LA (7^th largest supercomputer)
5. Solar Installations on parking structures, how to do it financially without double paying on electricity
11. Alive—Always Living in View of Environment
1. Spring 2009 Eco Friendly fashion show
2. Alternative Summer trip to Botswana, Africa—conservation coaches
3. Zuzuland, South Africa to help build a community garden
12. Committee Tasks / Goals
1. Matt will look into a sustainability retreat to Catalina in February
2. The committee will work toward planning events for Earthweek
3. The committee will meet again next month, Matt will schedule