The Graduate and Professional Student Council voted Wednesday to endorse the increase of the annual library fee from $30 to $150.
The library has been pushing for a fee increase for years, but the GPSC has continuously been against it, until now.
According to Helena Morrison, who is a GPSC representative for the College of Nursing and is also a member on the Graduate Student Advisory Council, the GSAC has already drafted a letter in support of the library fee increase. She said the GSAC hoped the GPSC would do the same.
“”I think that the library and having a good library system is something that’s really essential for the equality of our academic work, especially as graduate students,”” said GPSC representative for the College of Law Priyanka Sundareshan.
The library currently gets money from the state and does not receive money from tuition, Morrison said. The fee increase would benefit graduate students as much as undergraduates.
“”The undergraduates and graduates use different services, but they use it the same percentage wise,”” Morrison said.
By endorsing an increased library fee, GPSC is not necessarily agreeing to the full $120 fee increase. The GPSC Policy Committee is debating whether to support the fee increase 100 percent, or support it by 57 percent, which would be an increase of $70.
GPSC Assembly Chair James Johnson said the library is a, “”vital service that we need for our research so that someday we can graduate.””
David Talenfeld, the GPSC president, believes the library’s services are critical to students and doesn’t think the GPSC should stick to a policy of students not paying for any improvements.
“”I don’t think we should tell people, such as the library, ‘sorry, do less with less,'”” Talenfeld said.
Talenfeld also said child-care contractors will be coming to campus to work on developing services to graduate students who have families. In addition, a six-week paid parental leave policy may also go into effect this year or next.
GPSC representative for the College of Humanities, Lucy Blaney-Laible, asked if the GPSC supported the proposal to allow faculty members to carry weapons on campus. The GPSC voted against endorsing the proposal.
They also discussed elections at the meeting.
Associated Students of the University of Arizona President Chris Nagata spoke at the meeting to propose that ASUA and GPSC pool their resources and have their student elections at the same time.
“”Resources are scarce, and we’d be benefitting both organizations by coming together,”” Nagata said.
He proposed that both organizations should have equal publicity.
Blaney-Laible voiced that the two entitites should remain separate and have different ballots since their election regulations are different.
Christina Lieberman, associate director for the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership, said that ASUA and GPSC elections have had a decreasing voter turnout and that by working together for these elections, and better educating students, they could have more successful elections.
“”This would be a time and cost saving measure,”” Talenfeld said.
He said the time frame to change the elections is narrow, about a month for this year, but that he would be fine with a commitment to make sure it’s implemented next year.
