Tucked away on the top floor of Kerckhoff Hall, the Graduate Students Association, an organization struggling for visibility among its small community, finally found its niche in the graduate student community through strengthened organization, efficiency and communication among its current officers.
Starting the year off with only one returning officer and three officers with relatively low GSA experience, graduate student council members and observers were wary of what would be ahead in the coming year.
But with the opening of the Graduate Student Resource Center, a thriving environmental coalition lecture series, the revision of GSA bylaws, and the advocating against graduate student fee increases, GSA officers have something solid to smile about.
Though visibility of the organization within the graduate student community is still low, within the past year GSA has experienced what members call one of its most “fruitful” years yet.
Finally gaining an “organizational momentum” that was shaky in the previous year due to officer resignations and a faulty internal vice president, all in light of drastic budget cuts, officers now see GSA in its most stable form, said Marilyn Gray, GSA vice president of internal affairs.
“I think it is very strong, and I think there is a lot of potential for graduate student community and life,” Gray said. “We hope that we are making a qualitative difference in graduate student life.”
Michelle Sugi, GSA vice president of academic affairs, who ran for the position last year with no previous GSA experience, immediately recognized the “drastic difference” between this year and last, she said.
Sugi said having Gray as a returning officer was helpful and “built up so much momentum” and added that she hoped Jared Fox, current GSA president, would also be a returning officer next year.
Marking this year as unique in comparison to other years is the reward of actually seeing results from potential ideas, Fox said.
Notable improvements in organization and task efficiency, in addition to having one returning officer, are only a few of the reasons for GSA’s success in the past year, officers say.
“It’s very rewarding to see all the amazing progress we have been able to make this year as a result of our endless hours of hard work,” Fox said.
The most rewarding and successful project of the year, most officers agree, was bringing the neglected Graduate Student Resource Center, which technically opened last year with the renovation of the Men’s Gym, to its feet.
A resolution to have such a center was created several years ago, but serious planning for such a resource did not begin until this summer and fall when GSA received substantial funding.
With a full staff, in addition to a full-time salaried director, the resource center offers graduate students workshops, social events and everyday resources.
“The Graduate Student Resource Center is an excellent facility to bring together resources all across campus,” Fox said. “We have workshops and seminars and a wide variety of issues that are beneficial to graduate students both academically and personally.”
In addition to the revamped resource center, a new publications lab was also opened within the center.
This year GSA funded 26 journals and added a new facility that will lower the cost of publishing, make journals more physically appealing, and provide the option of publishing work online.
In answer to rising graduate student fees, GSA started a letter-writing campaign. After state budget negotiations, the proposed 40 percent increase to graduate student fees was halved and spread out over a time span of three years.
Fox said the letter-writing campaign initiated by GSA had an impact in this resolution.
GSA members have also been active in fighting the recent proposition to raise student fees for both the UCLA School of Public Health and the UCLA School of Public Affairs.
“I spoke against it. ... (The regents) already voted on it, so it will be hard to get them to change their mind,” Fox said, who will be a candidate in the upcoming elections.
With more than one candidate running for each position in this years’ elections, interest among GSA and its functions for the community are slowly becoming more visible.
GSA was able to achieve this improved visibility as Gray heavily collaborated throughout the year with Graduate Quarterly, a graduate student publication that reaches all graduate students, and the Graduate Division by involving the two organizations within GSA efforts, events and ideas – something that was not initiated last year.
While undergraduate students have a detailed orientation upon attending UCLA, graduate students only have specialized departmental or specific school orientations.
What current GSA officers hope to see next year is a general, practical orientation for graduate students, educating them not only about GSA but the UCLA campus as well.
Reflecting on the past year, officers say they are more than content. In contrast with last year when quorum was difficult to reach, attendance at forum has been high this year and meetings end on time, members said.