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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 12/12/2002 APPROVED MINUTES Eden Prairie Human Rights & Diversity Commission Tuesday, November 12, 2002 7:00 PM - Prairie Rooms A/B, City Center 8080 Mitchell Road, Eden Prairie MN 55344 Commission Members: Holly Clynch, Dorothy Fifield, Angie Garcia, Balu Iyer, Harry Moran (Chair), Jeff Strate, and Philip Young (Vice-Chair) Student Representatives: Morgan Hollister, Kian Missaghi, Kaitlin Moss Commission Staff: Molly Koivumaki, Staff Liaison Michael Barone, Staff Liaison (transitional) Tanya Whitsitt, Recording Secretary I. Roll Call ❑ Dorothy Fifield ® Harry Moran ® Philip Young ❑ Angie Garcia ❑ Holly Clynch ® Jeff Strate ® Balu Iyer All three Student Representatives were present. II. Approval of Agenda Young moved, seconded by Strate to approve the agenda as published. Motion carried: 4-0 III. Approval of Minutes from November 12, 2002 meeting Strate moved, seconded by Iyer to approve the minutes as published. Motion carried: 4-0 IV. Reports of Staff A. Eden Prairie Immigrant Services Group (EPISG) Koivumaki stated she did not attend the last meeting of EPISG,but wanted to report on an issue that is currently happening. She said she got a copy of a letter in which the option for re-leasing was revoked for five Somali families living at Lincoln Parc. The families apparently contacted FamiLink and got an attorney through Legal Services. Mary Keating, from Human Services here at the City, and Koivumaki are involved to help this dispute. Management at the complex stated there are paint issues and some water and cabinet damage in the apartments the families lived in. Upon seeing this, Management decided not to offer a new lease to them, but are willing to work on the problem. Koivumaki stated there does seem to be some communication between the two parties and they will soon meet to discuss and hopefully come to a resolution. Eden Prairie Human Rights&Diversity Commission November 12,2002 Approved Minutes Koivumaki said this issue came up at the EPISG meeting and believes this Commission should be aware of it. Moran asked if the members want to know about these types of issues. He said if we are notified of something like this, we need to pay attention to our responsibilities and look at options. He stated it is important that our group have a better understanding of what is happening and ask what can be done and what alternatives and resources these people have. He noted it can be intimidating for immigrants. Strate said recent immigrants may have different living situations, and we should probably encourage educating them. They could learn how to live in American apartments and what the rules are. If Management could brief them up front and in the correct way, this could help them in the long run. Koivumaki agreed and said this idea has been out there for a while. She said maybe we could facilitate a meeting with all apartment managers to help make the rules understandable. Moran noted they may not want to stay in a complex where they are not welcome. Koivumaki said she will get a status update of the situation, determine what we could do, and report back to the Commission. B. Human Services Review Committee (HSRQ The HSRC met on November 4"'. Nothing to report at this time. C. Bias Crime Activity Status Nothing to report. V. Old Business A. Report on League of Minnesota Human Rights Commissions 31St Annual Conference, September 28, 2002 at Minneapolis Urban League - Iyer Iyer went to the League of Minnesota Human Rights Commission conference, and was elected to be a board member. He said there were some interesting speakers at the conference who talked about various issues from several communities. Iyer said one member talked about education and making people aware of their human rights and obligations. Iyer stated many people talked about their personal experiences, gave examples and told stories. He was very happy to go to the conference. Moran asked how often they meet and Iyer replied he believes monthly. Iyer mentioned one of the speakers from Golden Valley who he would like to invite to a future Human Rights and Diversity Commission meeting. Moran said the former chair of this Commission was on the board, and maybe we can also get him to come to our meeting,perhaps in February. B. Discussion on reformatting YSA process and criteria for 2002—2003 Barone said the Commission worked on this item at the September meeting. He stated that he suggested reformatting the process and make some improvements based on input from the previous student reps. He said the current students could help determine the changes. Moran informed the student reps that they do not vote on people who are being review, but can give insight and opinions. Previous 2 Eden Prairie Human Rights&Diversity Commission November 12,2002 Approved Minutes students had questioned whether we had the right review and selection process. Barone said the student applicants now have to write down volunteer activities, submit an essay based on the Eden Prairie Manifesto, and have two letters of recommendations (one from a teacher or employer, and one preferred from a volunteer leader). Moran said this idea is a draft in an attempt to clean up the old version. He stated they are trying to ensure the best person(s) are selected. He reminded the students that the process is anonymous and the decisions are based on the material submitted. He does not want to make it difficult,but also keep it fair. Moss asked how students find out about this scholarship. Moran said we use many methods including posters at the high schools, career offices,pamphlets, the City's website, contacts at high schools, a booth at DiverseCity on the Prairie, and word of mouth. Barone added church offices and other groups are used for advertising. Missaghi suggested using Eagle Vision, the school's public access channel that airs information for students in class. She said this could be a good way to inform EPHS students of this scholarship. She also suggested the school newspaper. Hollister noted that most students searching for scholarships use a book filled with scholarship information in the Career Resource Center. Moss said the scholarship information should include the amount given away; this could attract students who need money for school. Hollister asked if requiring 500-750 words for the essay was appropriate. She thinks this may be too long, suggesting instead around 250- 500 words (or about one page). Strate noted that some students may have a lot to say on the issue of Human Rights and it may be difficult to keep it to a certain length. He suggested 400 words as a guideline. Moran said we could keep it at a minimum of 250 words and leave the upper end open. [Hollister left the meeting at 8:10 p.m. to attend a prior engagement.] Moran asked the students if they believed $500 seems like enough to offer for our scholarship. Moss said she has looked at several scholarships and said it depends on the school. Strate recommended increasing the amount to $1,000, and since we do not consider GPA, this would attract more student applications. In addition,he thinks the letters of recommendation are fine but suggested that the letters speak to the criteria of the award (the Human Rights subject). Missaghi said maybe we should make the second letter mandatory from an activity/volunteer leader. Moss said we may lose some people if we ask for separate letters, since seniors have already applied to college and already have their letters of recommendation. Young said regarding the scholarship amount, he has seen that others are offering at the $500 level. Moran said if we consider inflation and tuition increases, we may need to look at increasing the amount. He asked what process we need to go through to get an increase. Barone replied we have a fund that we pull money from for the scholarship, and we would have to raise money soon as it is running out. Strate noted that he prefers one award for$1,000 instead of two for$500 each. Iyer agreed. Moran said he struggles with the $1,000 amount because it may lessen the interest and we could get less applicants. Strate asked if we could do two $1,000 scholarships, or two $750. He said he would be willing to help raise the money. Koivumaki stated she would check on the amount in the budget and report back to the Commission. 3 Eden Prairie Human Rights&Diversity Commission November 12,2002 Approved Minutes VI. New Business A. Welcome to Student Representatives for November 2002—May 2003 Terms Koivumaki welcomed the new Student Representatives to the Commission. Each student introduced themselves and spoke about there interests and where they go to school. Morgan Hollister is a senior, Kian Missaghi is a junior, and Kaitlin Moss is a junior, all at Eden Prairie High School. B. Discuss Planning Calendar for 2003 Barone asked members to review the upcoming topics and events on the Planning Calendar in the members' packets. C. Discuss Plan For Phil Young's Commission Seat,January—March 2003 Barone said there is a vacancy on this Commission because of Young being elected to the City Council effective January 1, 2003. They are recommending not filling his seat and waiting for the normal application process to add a new member. Moran said the Commission will decide in the interim on a vice chair, and put the item on the next agenda. VII. Reports from Commission Members None. VIII. Future Meetings/Events The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 14, 2003 at 7:00 pm. There is no meeting in December. IX. Adiourn MOTION: Young moved, seconded by Iyer to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 4-0. Moran adjourned the meeting at 8:40 p.m. 4