What is the GA?

The Graduate Assembly is a representative body of graduate students, with one delegate and one alternate delegate for each 100 or fraction of 100 graduate students in a department. The delegates are either elected by a vote of the students of the department or are appointed by duly elected student officers of the departmental organization.

The purpose of the Graduate Assembly is to provide a clear and united voice for graduate students in their dealings with the administration. While the individual student may get nowhere fighting obsolete, impractical requirements or a recalcitrant faculty member or dean, a united graduate organization such as the Graduate Assembly may be able to effect worthwhile changes.

Meetings are held once a month and are primarily for the dissemination of information and the repoting back of committees. It is in the committees that work of the Assembly is done. All regular meetings of the Assembly and all committee meetings are open to the public, and, while only delegates may vote on the issues, all graduate students and others who are interested are welcome at either to observe or to help the work of the Assembly. If your department is unrepresented, contact the Graduate Assembly at phone 642-2175 and, we will make an effort to help in the election of delegates or in the creation of a departmental organization.

Despite its many problems relating to birth ans survival in its six years of existence, the Assembly has made some inroads into the problems related to graduate students. Among these problems are housing, financial aid, (quality, quantity, and dissemination of information), the proposed in-candidcy fee, the non-uniformity and antiquity of many requirements in doctoral programs, the special problems of women in graduate school, the legitimacy of ROTC on campus, extention of library hours, and minorities.

The structure of the GA is very simple. The assembly is organized into committees of representatives which deal with a particular item such as, financial aids, curriculum and requirements, third world, etc. The committee members do the necessary preliminary and background work and report to the full assembly. Any necessary action is taken by the entire assembly. After the assembly passes a resolution or endorses a particular viewpoint, implementation is usually accomplished by cooperation with Dean Elberg, California hall, University hall, or through the SBPC.

In the upcoming year the leadership of the GA under Michael Malachowski hopes to conscientiously address themselves to problems which graduate students are willing to support and provide input.