The Graduate Student Association (GSA) held its first meeting of the school year Wednesday, with discussion focusing on monetary issues.
During the meeting, GSA President Alfonso Mendoza proposed part of the student activity fee, which currently goes to the University Park Allocation Committee, be transferred to GSA.
Because large chunks of the activity fee go toward undergraduate groups that need money to travel to conferences, Mendoza (graduate-materials science and engineering) said he feels it would be appropriate to pull a small portion of the activity fee graduates pay out of the general pool and put it back toward GSA. Graduate students generally have their travel expenses covered by their department or program, he said.
"It would be a low amount, between three and four percent," he said.
The plan arose from frustration with having to present an operational budget to the University Park Allocation Committee (UPAC) for the whole year at the beginning of the year, he said.
"What happens in March or April when we run out of money?" Mendoza said. "Do these two organizations, GSA and [University Park Undergraduate Association] UPUA, just stop operating?"
The plan is a "very new idea," Mendoza added, noting that he intends to work closely with the administration.
Another trigger for coming up with the proposal was the seemingly annual change in how the group has been funded.
"Because our funding allocation process has changed every year the last three years, it's been counterproductive to planning our budget," Mendoza said.
Another significant discussion centered on a proposal to fill UPAC seats with alternating representatives.
While Mendoza was non-committal on implementing the idea, he also took it as a sign that graduate students are interested in being involved in the university, but don't have enough time in their day.
"It's a reflection of how inaccessible the student activity fee is to graduate students," he said. "Grad students do want to get involved, but this university is so big people don't know where to start."
