Letter: GSA Needs to Take a Stand on Austerity

LettersAlex Ocheoha — Published January 26, 2016

The Graduate Students Association will hold another general assembly on Jan. 29, 2016. During the GA, a by-election will be conducted for the position of VP Academic/Advocacy and 6 director positions. Despite the problems in previous GAs, this is a very important assembly to attend. Please do not be discouraged from taking an active role, or from expressing your democratic right.

Besides by-elections, we have proposed bylaw changes for a compulsory audit, which would help ensure that GSA has more reliable and transparent financial statements.

We have been able to implement some changes in the GSA that were called for by most candidates that won in the winter 2015 elections. However, change is difficult to achieve, especially when plans are sabotaged to resist change. We have had plans to start a student run café—that would provide free coffee and subsidized snacks to graduate students— stopped as well. Our plan to develop a platform to connect graduate students with job opportunities was frustrated.

Students voted in a referendum in 2011 to establish an advocacy center, for which they pay $2.50 per semester. We set up an advocacy center in the GSA house but were not able to have a motion to create the required staff positions passed during the Jan. 9 council meeting. One director voted against this motion and a few directors abstained from this important vote, which required a 2/3 majority.

We conducted interviews to hire researchers to assist in research to evaluate the impact of budget cuts on graduate education, but their hiring was delayed because of a conflict of interest situation. During the Oct. 4, 2015 council meeting, our council chair, Ribal Abi Raad was hired for one of the researcher positions, despite the fact that there were better-qualified candidates that applied. The motion to hire Ribal was based on the opinion of one councillor. The researchers were supposed to work independently on different aspects of austerity. I am not aware if any work has been done by the candidate who was hired. I was told not to interfere in a research plan that I came up with.

We need to take a stand on austerity, and this assembly would provide an opportunity for this. General assemblies gives graduate students the opportunity to participate in the affairs of their association, ask their elected representatives questions and voices their opinions on various issues.

— Alex Ocheoha