Grad students need the GPSC

I would like to comment on the statement made by Mohamed Hegazy in Monday’s Wildcat (“”Few ballots mar GPSC elections””). He said that “”(he) just feels (he) never really needed the GPSC,”” stating that he did not have tuition or academic problems as a graduate student. I would like to point out that the reason graduate assistants no longer have to worry about tuition is largely due to the GPSC. In past years, GPSC officers successfully lobbied the university administration to include tuition remission and health insurance as a benefit of GA employment. Without this effort, it is possible that graduate assistants would still have to pay for these costs out of pocket. The GPSC does other work to benefit graduate and professional students too. We advocate for student parents, which represent roughly 20 percent of the graduate and professional student population. We successfully lobbied to implement a family housing subsidy, and this year, lobbied the administration to release a (Request for Proposals) for on-campus child care. Additionally, I have asked the administration to raise the minimum salary for graduate assistants, a proposal that President Shelton is fully in support of. In addition to our lobbying efforts, the GPSC provides financial support for graduate and professional students. Over $120,000 (about half our budget) goes directly back to students in the form of travel grants and club funding. Though much of our work goes unnoticed by many students, without the GPSC, the quality of life for graduate and professional students on this campus would likely be very different.

Catherine Neish
GPSC President