Section
IV.3(c) of the Council Bylaws provides that a University
Council meeting "shall incorporate
an open forum to which all members of the University community
are invited and during which
any member of the University community can direct questions
to the Council."
All members of the University community are
invited to bring their concerns to the
University Council Open Forum
Wednesday, December 3, 2003, 4-6 p.m.
Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall
Persons who wish to speak at Council must inform
the Office of the Secretary (215-898-7457) by Tuesday, November
25, 2003.
Topics may
include issues such as the following: Admissions & Financial
Aid, Bookstores, Communications, Community Relations, Facilities,
International Programs, the
Libraries, Pluralism concerns, Recreation and Intercollegiate
Athletics, Safety and Security, Student Affairs, Open Expression,
etc.
Please see the format given below. Questions
may be directed to the Office of the Secretary at (215) 898-7457.
-- Office of the Secretary
Format
for University Council's Open Forum
December
3, 2003
The University Council will devote a substantial
portion of its December 3, 2003 meeting to a public
forum, in accordance with the terms of the University Council
Bylaws (Almanac September 23, 2003). The purpose
of the Open Forum is to inform Council of issues important
to the University's general welfare and of the range of views
held by members of the University. The forum is open to all
members of the University community under the conditions set
by the Bylaws, following guidelines established by the Steering
Committee of Council:
1. Any member of the University Community
who wishes to do so may attend the Council meeting. Persons
who wish to speak to Council, however, must inform the Office
of the Secretary (898-7457) by Tuesday, November 25, 2003 indicating
briefly the subject of their remarks. Those who have not so
informed the Office of the Secretary will be permitted to speak
only at the discretion of the moderator of University Council
and in the event that time remains after the scheduled speakers.
2. Speakers
should expect to be limited to three minutes with the possibility
of additional time in
cases where members of Council engage the speakers with follow-up
questions or remarks. The moderator may restrict repetition
of views. Speakers are encouraged to provide Council with supporting
materials and/or written extensions of their statements before,
during, or after the Council meeting.
3. Following the deadline for speakers
to sign up in the Office of the Secretary, the chair of Steering
and the moderator of Council will structure the subject matter
themes, speakers, and times of the Open Forum session. In the
event that there is not enough time available at the meeting
to provide for all those who have requested to speak, the two
officers may make selections which accommodate the broadest
array of issues having important implications for Council's
work and represent the breadth of Council's constituencies.
The resulting order of the Open Forum of University Council
will be made available no later than the Tuesday before the
meeting, to be published in the Daily Pennsylvanian,
and, if possible, under publication deadlines, in Almanac the
week of the meeting.
4. Speakers' statements should be framed
so as to present policy issues and directed to University Council
as a body through the moderator. The moderator will have discretion
to interrupt statements that are directed against persons and
otherwise to maintain the decorum of the meeting, as provided
for in the Bylaws. In cases where questions or positions can
be appropriately addressed by members of Council, or where
a colloquy would seem to be productive given the time constraints
of the meeting, the moderator may recognize members of Council
to respond to speakers' statements, with opportunities for
follow-up by the speakers.