At the start of the meeting, Resolution 71-04 (GPSA participation in an event for first-year graduate and professional students) was added as an emergency item to the agenda.
Special Presentation:
John Papazoglou, AVP of Auxiliary and Business Services gave a special presentation discussing graduate on-campus apartment accommodations at White Course Apartments. Rates for 2022/23 will remain the same as the 2021/22 rates. However, free parking permits will no longer be included with apartment rentals.
Executive Board Reports:
In Executive Board reports, President Schönn Franklin thanked the chair and members of the community outreach team for the blood drive, which exceeded their expectations. He also thanked everyone who participated in GPSA’s outreach at department orientations. Additionally, President Franklin thanked Sandeep, Matt, and Alex for their behind the scenes work. He then discussed a meeting with the mobile advisory committee, which handles the Penn State Go app, and a meeting with the leadership of the Board of Trustees, Vice President of Student Affairs, and the University President and administration. In this meeting with University leadership they discussed Penn State’s COVID-19 response, including requirements around testing and vaccinations, including potentially increasing testing for non-vaccinated individuals in light of the Delta variant. He also had a meeting with Sarah Ades, Associate Dean for Graduate Student Affairs, with whom he discussed the Graduate Council’s organizational chart and operations. On Thursday and Friday, he will meet with the Graduate Dean and the Senior Associate Graduate Dean.
Treasurer Matt Billups did an introduction of his role and what he can do to help. He shared how he can help Assembly members with what they are looking to do. Matt explained options if they want to purchase goods or products on behalf of GPSA, if they want to “hire” a professional service for GPSA, or if they want to co-sponsor an event with an outside organization. At the end, he said that anyone can contact him if there are any questions.
GPSA Faculty Senator Jennifer Jackson resigned prior to the meeting, and the position will be filled as early as possible. Graduate Faculty Senator Ali Watts discussed the recent votes of no confidence taken by the Faculty Senate, as well as upcoming resolutions that will further express further disapproval.
New Business:
The first items of new business were the confirmation of presidential appointments:
- Ram Neupane, introduced himself and talked about why he would like to be a Delegate for the College of Agricultural Sciences. Voting took place and he was confirmed by the Assembly.
- Caitlyn Martin, introduced herself and talked about her past experiences and why she wants to be the Delegate for the Smeal College of Business. Voting took place and she was confirmed by the Assembly.
- Yuki Takahashi, introduced himself and explained why he wants to be an At-Large Delegate as well as he shared his experiences. Voting took place and he was confirmed by the Assembly.
- Suparna Dutta, introduced herself, shared her past experiences and why she wanted to be a Graduate Council Student Caucus Delegate. Voting took place and she was confirmed by the Assembly.
- Farhan Sadique, introduced himself, shared his past experiences and why he wanted to be a Delegate for the College of Education. Voting took place and he confirmed by the Assembly.
- Yun-chen Yen, introduced herself, explained why she wanted the position, as well as she, shared her ideas she has if selected as a College of Education Delegate. Voting took place and she was confirmed by the Assembly.
- Jalen Jeter, introduced himself, shared his past experiences, and shared why he wanted to be GPSA’s Vice President. Voting took place and he was confirmed as the Vice President.
Resolution 71-04 (GPSA participation in an event for first-year graduate and professional students) was the next agenda item. This event will be in conjunction with Penn State Christian Grads and other graduate student organizations on campus. First-year and second-year graduate and professional students will be able to attend this hybrid event to help ease their transition into graduate and professional school. The first half of the event will be held virtually on Zoom, while the second half will be in-person at a local park. They will have speaker presentations and breakout rooms for conversations on topics of interest to new graduate and professional students, and an in-person event which will have food and the ability for graduate and professional students to connect.
Reports:
Sandeep Krishnakumar shared that if you were confirmed tonight you cannot have another delegate as the proxy. He also asked Delegates to please keep checking their Slack for important information.
Committee Reports:
- Advocacy and Human Diversity: Chair Shah Soligne shared that over the summer they collaborated with State College for Juneteeth celebration
- Professional Development: Chair Niladri Sekhar mentioned that the committee is planning a few events, like a writing boot camp, a professional headshot event, a LinkedIn workshop, collaboration with Smeal for a management consulting event, and with the Graduate School to start an alumni mentorship program.
- Programming: Chair Matt McGee shared there will be a welcome picnic, and he has a few items of legislation for the future. He is trying to have in-person events.
- Community Outreach: Haroula Tzamaras, filling in for the chair, discussed the committee’s recent work, including a blood drive during the summer and the event for first and second-year graduate and professional students. The committee plans on discussing several new events over the next few weeks.
- Internal Development: Chair Travis Russell mentioned that the committee didn’t meet over the summer, but will have a meeting in the next few weeks. Minor changes in the bylaws, including potentially adding vice-chair roles in committees and elevating the climate action subcommittee to a standing committee, are currently in the works.
Liaison reports:
Travis Russell shared that at the last State College Borough Council meeting they approved a nine-person Community Police Oversight Board that will audit the work of the police with regards to any ongoing or closed clases.
Chief Justice Sam Altland congratulated delegates and council members who were selected and introduced himself to them. Advisor Adam Christesenen introduced himself to the new members.