Council meeting today will focus on safety

After taking criticism for not adequately addressing student safety concerns at its meeting last month, University Council organizers plan to devote almost half of today's meeting to security issues. University President Judith Rodin will give a 15-minute presentation on the security initiatives the University has implemented. Following the presentation, 30 minutes have been allotted for discussion of security issues. Those in attendance, whether members of Council or not, will be allowed to ask questions. Political Science Professor and Council Moderator Will Harris was criticized last month for preventing non-Council members to make statements about safety during the September 24 Council meeting, held the day College senior Patrick Leroy was shot. At the time, Harris said he was following usual procedures by allowing only Council members to speak. Wharton senior and Undergraduate Assembly member Gil Beverly said he believed University community members were not respected during the September meeting. "They weren't getting their questions answered," Beverly said. "There was too many generalities." Rodin said Council members wanted to make a conscientious effort to include the University community in its discussions on safety and security and to be responsive to student concerns. "[The University Council] steering [committee] quite wisely agrees that this issue is the kind of issue that it ought to bend its rules for," Rodin said. She added that she felt another session on safety was necessary because many at the University still have concerns about the issue. Beverly said he hopes administrators will be prepared to offer a specific time frame for the implementation of future security initiatives. "I hope that the people involved have real answers," Beverly said. During today's meeting, Provost Stanley Chodorow will also update Council on the 21st Century Project on Undergraduate Education. A draft of Council committee charges detailing the responsibilities of each committee will be presented and discussed at the meeting. And the Committee on Research will present its 1995-96 year-end report to the Council. The report includes a draft of the Postdoctoral Fellow Policy that sets the minimum standards for postdoctoral fellows at the University. The policy is currently awaiting final approval from the Faculty Senate Executive Committee. Council will also discuss its agenda for the 1996-97 year. Tentative agenda items for this year's meetings include Council's third-annual open forum meeting and state of the University addresses by Rodin and Chodorow. Council, which is open to the public, will meet today from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in McClelland Hall in the Quadrangle.

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