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