Executive Board Reports:

In Executive Board reports, President Jada Quinland shared she has a meeting with the ACGE coming up in May, to ask for help for the positions that are still left to fill. She also had a meeting with the Office of Graduate Educational Equity, because they have a Welcome Back event that the GPSA is looking to participate in.

Vice President Kailey Elrod shared that the Fall 2022 semester meetings will be in person, and a Zoom link will be provided in case it is needed. As well as they are planning an event for during the Summer.

Executive Director of Communications Alex Zhao shared that committee chairs should send him attendance records after each committee meeting and to please let someone know if you are not coming to the meeting. He also said he will be sending out the newswire tomorrow so please submit any event announcements or graphics by noon.

Executive Director of Finance Matt Billups shared that the SFB allocation has $12,000 of restricted funds available before the end of the year. If all the spending allocations are passed it would put us at around $7,000 leftover. He also explained there are things that will not be spent under this fiscal year since they will carry over for that next year.

Faculty Senator Ali Watts shared that the last Faculty Senate meeting is next Tuesday, and the policy of making Election Day a non-instructional day will go up for discussion soon but probably be voted in the fall. Additionally, she shared that the Penn State Libraries will face a 5% budget cut next year.

Graduate Council Student Caucus Chair Claire Kelling shared that the Graduate Council is still working on the vacation leave policy, with a goal of having 10 vacation days in addition to existing university holidays. The Graduate Council is also still working on agenda items for next year, including potential changes to double counting classes as part of the graduate minor policy.

Speaker of the Assembly Justin Baker thanked the Assembly for taking the time to apply for positions. The Steering Committee and him approved candidates for the Executive Director positions and they will be introduced today.

Chief Justice Ian Tennison thanked everyone and shared how he thinks the transition period is going well, and to remember we are all here to better GPSA.

New Business:

Confirmation of Presidential Appointments

• Nataly Oliver (SIA) introduced herself and shared her past experiences, extracurricular activities, and why she wanted to be the GPSA Faculty Senator. Discussion of her nomination took place and she was confirmed by the Assembly by roll call vote.
• Blake Konkol introduced himself and shared his past experiences, extracurricular experiences, and why he wants to be an At-Large Delegate from the School of Law. Discussion of his nomination took place and he was confirmed by the Assembly by roll call vote.
• Cate Givens introduced herself, her past experiences, and why she wants to be an At-Large Delegate from the College of Health and Human Development. Discussion of her nomination took place and she was confirmed by the Assembly by roll call vote.
• Olayemi Timothy Adekeye introduced himself, his experiences, and why he wants to be a Nursing College Delegate. Discussion of his nomination took place he was confirmed by the Assembly by roll call vote.
• Gaurav Patel introduced himself, his experiences, and why he wants to be an Engineering College Delegate. Discussion of his nomination took place and he was confirmed by the Assembly by roll call vote.
• Lamiya Chowdhury introduced herself, her experiences, and why she wants to be an Engineering College Delegate. Discussion of her nomination took place and she was confirmed by the Assembly by roll call vote.

New Executive Directors

• Executive Director of Communications – Felrette Greene, a master’s student in the School of International Affairs, introduced themselves and what they are looking forward to doing in the GPSA.
• Executive Director of Finance – Amber Zelko, a student at Penn State Law, introduced herself and what she is looking forward to doing in the GPSA.
• Executive Director of External Affairs – Leah Fogelsanger, a master’s student in the College of Health and Human Development, introduced herself and what she is looking forward to doing in the GPSA.

Bills

• The first piece of legislation was Bill 72-01 (Pride BBQ), which funds a family friend PRIDE themed picnic that would happen in person on the HUB Lawn during the summer. Food and drinks would be provided, and dietary restrictions will be taken into account. Voting took place and the bill passed by roll call vote.
• Next was Bill 72-02 (GPSA Communications Intern), which provides funding for a Communications Manager staff position. The Communications Manager would manage GPSA’s social media, the website and helps with daily tasks related to the GPSA office and the Department of Communications. Voting took place and the bill passed by roll call vote.
• After this was Bill 72-03 (Orientation Materials), which provides funding for t-shirts, hoodies, and miscellany for graduate and professional student orientations and tabling events since the GPSA goes to these events and gives out items. After some discussion and amendment, voting took place and the bill passed.
• Next was Bill 72-04 (Welcome Back Picnic), which provides money for a fall welcome back picnic including the funding of food, drinks, and park registration fees. This event is intended to create a sense of community among graduate and professional students across departments and colleges and welcome back students into the fall semester. Voting took place and the bill passed by roll call vote.

Other Business

Delegate Rola Tarek brought up an item of business discussing meeting with the Coalition of Graduate Employees. The Coalition of Graduate Employees works for better pay  and working conditions for students, and they want to work with GPSA during the summer to discuss what can be done to improve working conditions for graduate employees. They also wanted to reach out through GPSA to see if there is interest among the graduate and professional student body in unionizing.

Reports:

• Advocacy and Diversity: Chair Alejandra Amendola introduced herself as the new chair. She shared one of her goals is to have more events during the upcoming school year focused on advocacy and diversity work.
• Professional Development: Chair Arnab Chaterjee introduced himself and shared that the committee is planning events similar to this past year’s for the upcoming year.
• Student Engagement: Chair Tanveer Ahmed introduced himself and shared that the committee had their last meeting on April 13th and concluded the THIS event which was a success. They also have the pottery event coming up on April 22 and this event sign-up form will close very soon. They are also coming up with events for the fall semester.
• Internal Development: Chair Dale Roeck introduced himself and shared with the Assembly what the pre-approval procedure is for legislation to follow in the future.

Advisor Adam Christensen welcomed everyone knew to the Assembly and thanked everyone for their efforts. He also shared that in the past unionization GPSA was careful with its position and the stance it took as there are students who will agree and other who will disagree.