GPSC Notebook Feb. 6: Term limits, ASUA Supreme Court approval and new membership

February 7, 2017

Remington Stickney at the GPSC meeting on Monday, Feb. 6 in the Student Union. Funding for UA clubs was one of the topics discussed at the meeting.

The Graduate and Professional Student Council voted on bringing the Associated Students of the University of Arizona Supreme Court into their election system, and discussed term limits during a general council meeting Feb. 6 in the Pima Room of the Student Union Memorial Center.

The council:

Voted to provisionally approve, pending modifications, the Vice Provost for Inclusive Excellence’s, Jesús Treviño, diversity statement
Likely voted to approve language to incorporate the ASUA Supreme Court into the GPSC constitution with 19 members in support and 9 members abstaining
Voted to accept Matt Humphries as an alternative representative for College of Science
Voted to approve the release of a survey to obtain the opinions of graduate students on potential fee increases

Danielle Blalock, GPSC executive vice president, informed the board of her plan to utilize $600-800 of her remaining $1,500 budget to host a breakfast for program coordinators and other administrators in order to spread information about GPSC research and travel grants.

Members of the Peace Corps Fellows Club and the UA Fish and Wildlife Society spoke to the council on the importance of GPSC club funding for their respective organizations.

Jessie Baxter, GPSC’s legislative affairs director, introduced the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students’ Legislative Action Days to the council.

The days will organize meetings with congressional members for graduate students to discuss issue effecting them. The two issues NAGPS officially endorsed to discuss are sexual assault and health care.

Blalock and Baxter plan to attend if the budget allows. They both expressed their opposition to the two official issues and want to discuss visas and funding for higher education, but intend to participate in discussion on the official issues.

The remaining time in the meeting was utilized to debate two term limit proposals written by a special subcommittee.

The council voted with a simple majority to limit GPSC members to five elected terms and limit the number of terms a member can serve as an executive board member to three.

Daniel Kasper, GPSC assembly chair, did not immediately inform the council if the motions passed as the amendments may require a two-thirds majority.

Follow Randall Eck on Twitter.