GSU statement on 2009-10 SG Elections

We sent the following statement to all three slates for Student Government. We believe that all have endorsed it this far.

Graduate Students United recognizes the role which Student Government plays in shaping student life and in communicating the needs of many students to the administration. We thus wish to encourage participation in the upcoming SG elections, and to offer a platform which we hope that many candidates will consider adopting.

We thus support all SG slates and candidates who:

1. Will continue to call upon the administration of the University to use its current resources and its fundraising ability to create fair working conditions for students by:
– Raising teaching compensation to match peer institutions and provide a living wage,
– Providing a suitable number of teaching opportunities for all graduate students,
– Providing health insurance for all student employees,
– Waiving Advanced Residence tuition and fees for all AR students, and
– Address obstacles faced by international graduate students because they
cannot work more than 20 hours a week;

2. Understand that Student Government is the body recognized by the administration for addressing issues of student life, not issues of work and employment, and hence support the formation of a separate employee organization to fairly address issues concerning student employment; and

3. Recognize and will pursue the creation of more transparent, democratic means by which students and all members of the University community can actively participate as decision-makers in all areas of the University’s management which impact them.