GSA recap – May 10

The Graduate Students Association is the voice of graduate students on campus. The association meets for forum every three weeks and takes positions on current issues affecting graduate students. Forum meetings are at 5:30 p.m. in the Global Viewpoint Lounge in Ackerman Union.

Agenda

• GSA President Michael Skiles said he will reallocate a $20,000 budget surplus from graduate publications to discretionary findings, which he said are historically underfunded. Mike Cohn, Student Organizations, Leadership and Engagement director, said SOLE spent less than budgeted because some of the graduate publications transferred from printed to online editions.

• Skiles said he expects more surplus from publications next year and will budget less money to them accordingly. He also said there will be larger discretionary funding. As a result, organizations will be able to apply for funding of up to $1,000 instead of $800, and student interest boards can apply for up to $1,500 instead of $1,200.

• Parshan Khosravi, vice president of External Affairs, said he will cut $1,000 from his stipend aid discretionary funding to give to other programs in his office.

• Skiles said GSA will increase each executive officer’s stipend by 5 percent next year because of inflation.

• Victoria Hathaway, the program and outreach graduate assistant of Diversity Programs in UCLA Alumni Affairs, which advocates for students of diverse backgrounds, introduced the programs at the meeting. She encouraged GSA members to share information about their resources, such as alumni network opportunities and social events, with other graduate students.

Officer reports

• Khosravi said he is in the process of recruiting a chief of staff and organizing director for next year.

• Alexander Fung, next year’s vice president of Internal Affairs, said his office will add a position that will act as a liaison for international students. Fung’s office will also recruit a finance director to address departments’ funding requests with requisition forms.

• Fung said he will also work on affordable housing initiatives such as Students for Students, a student-run shelter for students experiencing homelessness in the greater Los Angeles area.