ankgoel@watmsg.waterloo.edu (anil k goel) (05/03/91)
Well, it's once again the time of the year when the stewardship of the
GSA changes hands. The new Board of Directors of the GSA was acclaimed
replacing the old Board, on a pleasant Tuesday evening in April. On the
same night the new Board met to elect, from amongst its members, the new
executive of the GSA for another year. When the dust settled, I found
myself wearing the Vice President's hat. One of my responsibilities in
that position is editing The Latest.
Annie Steinhauer, our previous Vice President, has done an excellent job
on The Latest during the past year and, perhaps more importantly, on the
UW/GSA Day Care Bursary Program. The Day Care Program received $18,000
during the current fiscal year for disbursement to women graduate students
with children in Day Care. These funds have been made available from the
Provost's Incentive Challenge Fund. Based on the success of the program so
far, we have requested an increase in funding for next year's allocation
and a serious lobbying effort needs to be mounted to secure similar funds
for men as well.
Of course, Annie was fortunate to have had able assistance from Wendy
O'Brien in administering the Day Care Program, and from Andrea Elvidge in
editing the initial few issues of The Latest. Unfortunately, I have
neither, so here is an SOS for help in both these departments. If anyone
has ideas for, or cares about, the future of the Day Care Program or The
Latest, please pick up the phone right now and call the GSA hotline....
Operators are waiting to hear from you day and night....
Sorry, got a little carried away there. So much for commercials.
Seriously, please do call X:3634, even if you can help in only a small way.
One of the first things that I have already put in motion is the
publishing of an electronic version of The Latest. Please do not forget to
read the details in this issue to ensure that you cancel your hard copy if
you are able to read it electronically.
I would also like to encourage those of you with a flair for writing to
contribute articles to The Latest on issues of your liking. I am planning
to include relevant articles from grad newspapers from other Campuses in
North America and elsewhere on the globe. The idea is to give the flavour
of contemporary issues facing graduate students.
Already in the works is a rehash of an elaborate essay on choosing a
thesis supervisor, extracted from the semi-annual newsletter of the
Graduate Division, University of California, Berkeley. Towards this end, I
invite stories of the UW experience on this subject. Tell us and your
peers about your own experiences, good and bad, in choosing your thesis
supervisor. Any confidentiality requests will be fully entertained.
Needless to say, letters to the Editor are always welcome.
Another of my aims is to increase the visibility of the GSA amongst grad
students by improving the existing channels of communication and by
creating new ones where necessary. Apart from The Latest, the GSA
communicates through departmental and cultural grad clubs on campus. It is
my intention to give this link a further boost by increasing the frequency
of contact with the grad clubs. A brief get-together with representatives
from the various grad clubs will be planned soon at the Grad House.
You, the grad student, can help in this endeavour in numerous ways, the
most efficient of these being to serve on the GSA Board of Directors. As a
GSA Board Member you will not only have an opportunity to provide a
meaningful link between the GSA and your respective departments, but you
will also have a say in shaping the future of the GSA. This role is all
the more important given the major restructuring that is planned for the
immediate future. This restructuring includes over-hauling our by-laws and
defining the long range plans for the GSA's aims and objectives. There are
vacancies available on the Board now and fresh talent is needed to sustain
the many efforts made in the recent past.
Another important avenue open to grad students for having a say in the
policy making process of the University, is to serve on the numerous
University committees with grad student representation. In this issue of
The Latest, as well as in future issues, there will be a list of committee
vacancies. Please take the time needed to serve on any of the committees
which might interest you.
- Anil Goel
Vice President