UCSC Graduate
Student Association
Home

Overview

 Meetings Travel Grants Other GSA Grants Campus Resources GSA Council

GSA Meeting Minutes--October 4, 2001

Attendance:

Officers: Lee Ritscher (President), Sara Sutler-Cohen (IVP), Heather DeShon (Treasurer), David Machledt (Secretary)

Department Reps:  Florence Woo (Linguistics), Allison Luengen (Env. Toxicology), Emily Moberg (CPB and History)

I. Approval of Agenda and Minutes

Agenda and minutes were approved with minor changes.

II. Committee Reports

Heather The committee to plan this years Grad Student Orientation in September.  The event was set up as a resource fair with a happy hour afterwards and was very successful.  The TA orientation was mildly successful and was held, for the first time, on a separate day.
Sara Sara is still leading the Single Parents Action Network (SPAN) for now, and that the group has 15 members.  SPAN is planning a film showing of Peter Bratt’s indy film, “Follow me Home,” for early October.  They raised $2550 for the showing and hope to take donations to begin a fund to provide hardship fellowships, textbooks, and various other needs to single parents on campus. 

A motion was made, after brief discussion, to approve a decision made by the executive board to grant $500 to SPAN for expenses related to the film showing.  This motion was approved.

The Hate Bias Task Force met and discussed how the new Principles of Community document passed by the Campus Welfare Committee last year applies to reporting hate incidents, especially in the wake of several incidents on campus this quarter.  Sara e-mailed grads about the board.

Several travel grant applications have been turned in already.  Applicants need to fill out a post-travel form (obtainable from their respective department managers) and need a copy of their receipts before getting reimbursed.  Florence Woo was approved as then new travel grants committee chairperson.
Heather

The Grad Commons Governance Board, along with the GSA, will sponsor the grand opening of the new grad commons building on October 12th, to coincide with a kickoff party.  She asked for help putting together a flyer and volunteering to assist with setup on the 12th.
Dave

The Social Committee will be organizing a day hike in November to Big Sur.  In the winter, the committee will put together a surfing class just for grad students, through the Rec department.  A suggestion was made to organize community service in the coming quarters.  Sara was nominated and approved as a social committee co-chair.
Lee Lee will sit on the Campus Welfare Committee on an interim basis.  Sara asked her to raise questions about how to enforce the statement on faculty advisor/student relationships distributed this fall as well as how to address issues around the 9/11 incidents at the next CWC meeting.
Heather The hiring of a new graduate career advisor is in process.
Emily Emily is the new CPB chair.  The two main issues currently are the overhauling of the long range development plan, which may lead UCSC to the lowest grad/undergrad ratio of all UC’s by 2005, and the allocation of space in the old bookstore and student center.

III. Officer Reports

Heather

We are in the black and that we will know more precise details on the sources of our budget and the current financial status by next week.
Dave

asked for help with the content of the redesigned website.  Lee agreed to write the About GSA section before the next meeting.
Lee She announce that she will meet with Chancellor Mary Greenwood on October 25.  The chancellor had announced an imminent 20% increase in grad funding and offered a forum for the GSA to raise relevant issues. 

IIIa.  Recruitment and Retention    

Tabled due to time restraints.

IV.  Action Agenda for this year's lobbying efforts

A discussion on which issues to bring up at the Chancellor’s meeting led to the following issues:

  1. Housing for grads—affordable housing for TA’s, the disengagement of the formula by which student rent pays for new construction on campus, improvements in family housing
  2. Summer funding—increasing summer fellowships, providing hardship funds.
  3. International students—help with visas, improved communication, remittances for out-of-state fees, better information on housing options
  4. Psychological services—ongoing services as needed, year round availability
  5. Career counseling—full time position funded more than one year.
  6. Plans towards establishing a Grad college on campus
  7. Parking—improved access
  8. Child care for grad students’ children—work with SPAN
  9. Health care improvements—shorten delays on payments, close loopholes in prescriptions and vacation care, provide services over the summer, relieve burden of payment up front
  10. Advisor relations

V.  New External VP

There were no nominees, and thus the election was tabled.

VI.  New Business

Emily suggested that the GSA form a liason with Grad Housing.

VII.  Selection of Ansel Adams Photo for Lounge

Those present selected an Ansel Adams photo of UCSC to donate to the Grad Commons, to be hung over the fireplace.  A motion to approve the decision to spend $400 on the photo was approved.

VIII.  New Committee Reps.

Leah Haines was approved as the new GSA Transportation Advisory Committee rep.

IX.  Adjourn

Back to top

Contact GSA: gsa@ucsc.edu