Another semester has passed for Carleton’s Graduate Students’ Association (GSA). With another semester to go, the Charlatan looks into their progress, and what promises they have fulfilled so far from their 2012-13 campaign.
PROMISE: GSA president Grant MacNeil made it an objective to hold GSA conference preparation coffeehouses where students can discuss their thesis and research.
YES: Although no conference preparation coffee houses have taken place yet, he said the first one is scheduled for March 13, with gender and sexuality being the main topic.
PROMISE: MacNeil wanted to have a new and easily accessible GSA website.
NO: The GSA does not have a new website yet.
MacNeil said the website is in the works, and is currently being developed as of February 2014.
“[The website] has been pushed back a few times,” MacNeil said.
There is no exact date on when the website may be finished.
PROMISE: MacNeil wanted to hold more services and events for graduate international students.
YES: Vice-president (operations) Maggie Simpson said the GSA held a town hall October 2013 for international students.
The event had a pizza lunch, as well as talks about the GSA and the types of services they can offer international students. An immigration consultant was also present.
The GSA held a similar event during Winter Orientation.
The International Students Committee within the GSA has also been very active this year, according to Simpson, by hosting several events during the winter break for students who weren’t able to go home for the holidays.
PROMISE: MacNeil wanted to hold writing workshops and retreats for graduate students.
NO: The GSA did not hold any writing workshops, but they helped promote the already existing workshops of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs (FGPA).
“We didn’t want to double up on what the FGPA was already doing,” MacNeil said.
PROMISE: MacNeil wanted to encourage a culture of open access for graduate students to easily access information and publish their own material via open access.
YES: The GSA has done work to promote open access to graduate students by distributing posters and buttons, according to MacNeil.
Money is also given out by the GSA to graduate students who publish in open access journals.
PROMISE: The GSA wanted to raise awareness about student-supervisor relationships, rights, and responsibilities.
YES: With bullying and harassment being an issue in student-supervisor relationships, vice-president (academic) Justine Mallah has been working with students one-on-one to ensure a solution is reached, according to Simpson.
The GSA is also promoting the Canadian Federation of Students’ campaign ‘Not in the Syllabus’, which through surveys, posters, and postcards aims to raise awareness on bullying, harassment, and mental health issues for graduate students.
PROMISE: MacNeil wanted to provide graduate students more space on campus.
YES: The GSA landed a new closet for Mike’s Place, as well as had considerable involvement with the construction of the MacOdrum Library’s fifth floor, which has specific tailoring for graduate students, according to MacNeil.
The GSA has also opposed the removal of the association’s community garden, part of the university’s plan to build a new residence, and is working on negotiating a new space.
The GSA partnered with the Carleton Legal Clinic to share the GSA boardroom in exchange for one of their offices, providing more space for GSA executives.
PROMISE: MacNeil wanted to lobby for a graduate mental health framework.
YES: By raising awareness for the ‘Not in the Syllabus’ campaign, the GSA was able to provide surveys to graduate students to further understand the mental health issues existing on campus.
Simpson said the GSA also made sure there were graduate student representatives at all campus-wide mental health framework meetings.
PROMISE: MacNeil vowed to continue lobbying for reduced post-residency fees for graduate students.
YES: The GSA is advocating for differential fees for post-residency graduates—those in the thesis or independent research stage of the degree, not taking course work—by collecting petitions and educating students about the issue.
MacNeil said the university isn’t inclined to change post-residency fees at the moment, but said he believes that raising awareness is a step in the right direction to make education more accessible and affordable for graduate students.
PROMISE: MacNeil wanted to create more halal, kosher, vegetarian, and vegan food options at Mike’s Place.
NO: The GSA did not create any new menu items due to most of these options already existing, according to MacNeil.
There was emphasis by the GSA, however, to ensure clearer labelling of food for Mike’s Place staff.
MacNeil also said the GSA is planning to add a new salad option to the Mike’s Place menu, but has not done so yet.
PROMISE: MacNeil wanted to work with Campus United to produce a report card on Carleton.
IN PROGRESS: According to MacNeil the GSA holds regular meetings with Campus United, a coalition of unions with workers at Carleton, however a report card has not been completed.
“The project is in the works right now,” MacNeil said.
The GSA hopes it will be distributed by the end of the semester, he said.
