Agenda
1. Intro
2. Officer reports
3. grad appeals procedure
4. UCSA regent rally
5. funding requests
6. committee assignments
7. travel grant criteria
8. committee reports
9. adjourn
Introductions
- brief what is GSA
- folks present say who they are (27 total people)
Officer reports
- External vice president
i. UCSA meeting last weekend: the fee situation in the UC system
1. “Return to Aid” the percentage of what gets given in grad fees for
future financial aid has gone up for undergrads but not grads, though
ours is also threatened.
2. Our fees are likely to increase in the November vote. Arnold
wants the UC to “pay for itself” potential privitization?
3. Fee increase protest on November 17th at Berkeley! Get vans
& drivers!
ii. Get faculty and students amped about making their voices
heard on this by sharing letter sent by email and getting faculty
signatures! Get these back to Chanda! Do this by November
7th!
- Meet with the Chancellor
i. Make transportation changes to compensate for bus strike, such
as decrease in day parking pass costs
ii. Fee hikes coming discretionary fund for grads who have no
other funding?
iii. Ethical treatment of grad students in agreement with
chancellor that we need a manual for handling this
Ethical Treatment of Graduate Students
- Appeal document (modeled on UC Berkeley and others) meant to cover
issues pertaining obstruction of progress towards degree (see UC Grad.
Appeal Process)
i. Concern over time length- 30 days too short
ii. Some confusion about the language regarding the informal
processes for resolution versus formal processes
- Committee will draft a letter with which to present the appeal draft
that would include the things we’re not willing to compromise on
- Concern about how you deal with life post-appeal.
- Chanda reports that Chancellor says grads need to go through “chain
of command”. The first person to contact would be Lisa Sloan.
- Academic Dept. feel like they don’t owe anything to grads so even if
post an appeal we are not guaranteed support afterword
- Chanda moves to approve draft and send it to grad council
i. 25 vote to approve new appeals document, 2 don’t approve
Funding Requests
- they’re not here
Committee’s to be filled
- Tent University Committee
i. Emily, Nick
- Academic Freedom
- Advisory committee for Facilities
- Travel Grants
i. Tamara
ii. Alex
- Committee on Affirmative Action
i. Joanna
- Information Technology
- Quarry Plaza
i. Kimberley
- Student Union Governance Board
- UCSA
- Hate/Bias Incident Advisory Committee
- Tax Seminar
i. Kristen Williams
- Ethical Treatment of Graduate Students
i. Berra
ii. Sean
iii. Jesse
iv. Alex
Travel Grant Criteria
- The situation: We’ve got $3,000 total or $1,000 per quarter (usually
get money from SFAC but…). We got 30 apps per quarter last year
from 03-04 to 04-05 the number of applicants went up 20%
i.
- Questions for voting:
i. Lower number of students funded vs. less money per applicant?
1. Sean moves to make funding more selective, less awards for more money
a. Berra friendly amendment of capping it at $200
b. 20 vote for selective over less money per applicant, 7 against
- Approve selection priorities?
i. Proposed categories for funding:
1. ot applied before, no other funding
2. yes applied before, no other funding
3. not applied before, other funding
4. yes applied before, other funding
a. move to collapse 2 & 3
b. move to add presenting as a criteria
c. move to include research travel
d. move to leave criteria (loosely) up to committee 15, against 2
ii. Selection processes per year or per quarter?
1. move to do it per quarter rather than per year
2. yes unanimous
iii. Continue funding food in addition to other costs of travel?
1. Sean moves to not cover food
2. 24 not cover food, 1 cover food, 2 abstain
Committee reports
TAPS
- Night parking
i. The details are not clear to students or staff. After
the last meeting they are clear to staff and now online too.
ii. Concern about whether this is working financially as they
thought it would. If it doesn’t work then we should
continue. This is part of TAPS agenda to move towards 24 hr
enforcement.
- Strike stuff
i. Metro loosing tons of money and TAPS is spending money to
accommodate the strike through more shuttles etc.
ii. We want them to be more proactive in negotiations of metro
- More student fees
i. Cutting some of the services that had been covered by our
transportation fees ‘cause gas prices etc. have gone up
- Attempting to dissolve differences between A & B permits
i. Wes Scott (head of TAPS) asks if we had to choose between
access to lots and price of permit what would we want.
ii. Move to go for cheaper 6 yes cheaper, 4 no
Adjourn 8pm