September 1, 2021

Minutes

The Academic Senate Committee on Committee on the Environment, Quality of Life, and Disability Issues met on Wednesday, September 1st, 2021 Via Zoom, 12:30 pm-1:11 pm


Committee Members in Attendance:

 

M. Chantale Damas (Chair),

Noelia Diaz (Secretary),

Clara Wajngurt,

Janet Franzese,

Mohammad Javdan,

Christina Saindon, 

Andrew Muller (in lieu of Benami Frier).


Liaisons in Attendance:

William Faulkner

Mel Rodriguez


Business:

The meeting was called to order at 12:30 PM

Present: M. Chantale Damas (Chair), Noelia Diaz (Secretary), William Faulkner, Janet Franzese, Sunjun Wei, Yusuf Gurtas, Neeraj Mehta, Stephanie Rost, John Triolo, Angela Ridinger-Dotterman, Anthony Monahan, Andrew Muller, and Benami Frier.

 

1.Welcome to new members

2.The minutes from the previous meeting (May 12, 2021) were reviewed and approved with minor corrections.

3.V.P. Faulkner, CUNY/QCC Reopening planning update.

  • The gates have been adequately habilitated and after some earlier delays entrance to campus has been smooth. V.P. Faulkner commended the work conducted by the IT department (both within QCC and CUNY) and Public Safety. Thanks to their work the vaccination status was integrated into both the ID cards and parking tags enabling easy and safe access to campus.
  • For those not vaccinated continued PCR testing is required every 7 days. The only PCR testing accepted is the one conducted through CUNY. On our campus is set up in a trailer near one of the entrances. Those already vaccinated don’t have access to testing within CUNY, although this might change in the future. At the moment a process to accommodate regular visitors servicing the campus (vending machines, copy service) is under review to establish a protocol to review their vaccination status or provide a PCR test (not covered by CUNY). Continuing Education programs are also om hold until a similar safe system for those participants is in place.
  • On the review conducted by the PSC and QCC, CUNY approved all the buildings but there are some remaining ventilation challenges in the Humanities building. Usage of classrooms with windows is prioritized, as well as those spaces with 100% outside air (the gymnasium). Professor Mehta raised the question of mold in one of the music classrooms and was directed to reach out to Mel Rodriguez (Building and Grounds) so it can be remedied. Barriers have not been considered for classrooms, only for other working spaces (reception desks), but the classrooms allow for three feet separation between occupants.
  • The new food vendor replacing Metropolitan Food did not finalize the contract and QCC will take charge of operating the food services (Staten Island has this model as well). At the moment only grab and go food options and refreshments are being offered exclusively in the Cafeteria in the Science building. Oseas Peralta, who previously worked with food services for twenty years, is overseeing this transition. In the next couple of months, the Cafeteria Capital Project is going up for a bid and by next summer work should commence. It should take between 18 months to two years to complete this project.  
  • EQLD Chair Prof. Damas asked about the hiring of new janitors and the use of the stimulus funds. New hires must be approved by CUNY’s Vacancy Review Board (VRB) and while QCC has submitted the request they have not been serviced by the VRB. The stimulus funding was used to provide loss revenue to the college due to the drop in enrollment, to pay student debt and testing among other costs directly related to the pandemic. If the current student enrollment doesn’t improve the college will face serious financial challenges for the 2024-25 academic year.
  1. Mr. John Triolo, QCC Campus Safety update.
  • Everyone coming to campus is screened and most people are breezing through. There is no need for Parking Lot 2 at this time. Most guards are stationed at the gates at the moment and might take a while to respond to calls to open classrooms. Faculty should make sure their ID cards are updated for classroom access to avoid delays.
  1. Wajngurt, PSC Health & Safety could not be present but the Chair provided an update on her behalf. Prof. Wajngurt’s email was forwarded to the Committee on 9/1/21.  ALL PSC emails and documents are uploaded to the PSC’s folder in EQLD’s Dropbox folder.
  • In the PSC-there are questions about ventilation. The general mode is MERV>=13, 100% outside air and 6 air exchanges an hour. Anything less than this-I am told in my training can allow the virus to enter. It is not the same to keep open windows in lieu of having filtered air and many of the UV machines are not HEPA filters. Faulkner clarified that unless a building is designed to operate with 100% outside air it can’t become one retroactively.
  1. Other Business
  • EQLD Final report for AY 2020-21. The Chair finished the report and placed it in the EQLD dropbox. She encouraged members to review it. However, she was still unable to upload it to EQLD page despite repeated attempts using the program Cascade. Tony Monahan also expressed being unsuccessful using this program. Damas will reach out to the Dave Morretti for further support.
  • EQLD Guide. The Chair solicited volunteers to finalize updating the guide. Stephanie Rost, one of the new members, volunteered to take on this initiative.  Another member will be asked to help her.
  • Update on 2020-21 QCC Academic Senate Standing Committee Activities Form. The Chair completed and submitted this form.
  • EQLD presence on QCC’s Committee website. The minutes from Spring 21 have been successfully uploaded to the website, but the final report is still pending due to difficulties with Cascade.
  • The previous student members have graduated and the new assigned member, Ankush Gaba (President, SGA) graduated. No new student members have been assigned.  Chair will reach out to Gisella Rivera (Student Clubs/Activities) to solicit guidance recruiting new student representatives for the committee.
  1. Other items: Subcommittee on Accessibility
  • Angela Ridinger-Dotterman, the chair of the subcommittee on Accessibility provided an update on the subcommittee on Accessibility. A focus for the committee going forward will be to identify how to provide additional support and ADA compliance for online classes, as well as highlighting the work done by CETL. As of now, the subcommittee has no plans to become an independent full Committee.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

Noelia Diaz, Committee Secretary

 

 


            


Respectfully submitted,

Noelia Diaz
Committee on Committee on the Environment, Quality of Life, and Disability Issues, Secretary

Minutes typed on April 15th, 2021

Campus Cultural Centers

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