The Graduate Student Association held its first meeting of the semester Wednesday at the HUB-Robeson Center.
The meeting began with a report by GSA President Wanika Fisher. She updated the assembly on the status of the First Annual Graduate Cup, which is a newly introduced GSA event that strives to unite graduate students from different departments in a day of field events and games.
“I’m actually overwhelmed, because we keep getting so many e-mails. It’s really exciting,” Fisher said about the overwhelmingly positive response of the graduate student community to the event and a potential extension of the registration deadline.
Fisher also reviewed the status of a number of policy initiatives, including the development of a Penn State Recreational Sports program, and a soon to be utilized LISTSERV reaching all of GSA’s constituents.
Fisher’s report was followed by individual reports of the various members of the Executive Board about their efforts since the last GSA meeting, and their goals for the semester.
Graduate student Kimeka Campbell was unanimously elected GSA Executive Secretary in a special election.
Representatives from GSA’s Standing Committees, representatives in the Graduate Council and Faculty Senate, and various GSA liaisons also gave their reports to the assembly.
Internal Development Committee representatives Brad Sottile and Doug Whalen presented a resolution to the assembly to collect feedback before the resolution is put to vote at GSA’s next meeting. The resolution, if passed as it currently stands, would modify the current election process for the GSA President by imposing a term limit to the position. According to the representatives, the resolution aims to streamline the process, as well as to facilitate the introduction of new faces and ideas to the executive board.
The meeting was concluded with an open forum, and the announcement of administrative fellow Robert Pangborn as guest speaker at the next GSA meeting.
