August General Body Meeting
Monday, August 31st 6:30pm
Zoom
Roll Call
Reached quorum of 7 department representatives
Updates, News, and Reminders
New Guidelines for Online Meetings
When someone is giving a report, please wait until the end to comment or ask questions.
Comments/questions will be more formal--raise hand/signal in chat (stack) that you would like to contribute. Tyler will make a list and call on people in turn.
Roll call will happen at the beginning of every meeting to ensure quorum for voting matters.
New Department Counts and Representatives
Chemistry, English, Physics, Religious Studies, Economics, Psychology, and Statistics get 2 representatives
History has been decreased to 1 representative; Tyler will verify with Tracy (registrar) to ensure MA students are included in the department’s count.
Recruitment of New Members and Initiatives Chairs
Current open positions: Initiatives Committee Chairs (2 positions); Student Council representative (1 position)
Max Schnidman elected Finance Committee Chair
Students interested in a position as department representative, general body member, or a role on a committee may sign up here.
Committee Updates
Honor Committee
Anti-Racism Solidarity Statement
Finalizing recruitment for support officers, would especially like more graduate students to sign up (look for email from TCA Achintya)
Honor will be debating whether non-payment of rent will continue to be counted as an Honor violation (suspended since COVID crisis began).
University Judiciary Committee
See Gabby Cox’s 8/31 email about public health and university COVID guidelines and the reporting process.
Student Council
Resolution on Racial Equity Task Force (63-page report submitted to President Jim Ryan on August 10, 2020)
Initiatives Committee
We need two new chairs! Contact Tyler Wake for more information or to express interest in running.
Finalizing summer project: “Welcome to UVA” guide through Dean of Students, with GSASC input
Social Committee
Brainstorming ways to use the funds we’ve been allocated to facilitate safe but fun social activities for grad students; contact the chairs to share any ideas.
Research Committee
Brainstorming ways to continue Huskey Research Exhibition
GSASC Research Grant
Considering two rounds of grants instead of one; will be debated when the budget is confirmed.
Finance Committee
This Year’s Budget and Last Year’s Expenses
Last year’s budget was close to $14k, but over $7k went unspent.
We were able to carry forward close to $4k to this year, so the current budget is just over $18k.
Open to ideas for how to allocate the money to best fulfill the goals of the Council and help graduate students.
Rejected Funding Request
Sociology requested funding for an honorarium for a guest speaker, but our bylaws prevent us from funding this, so the committee rejected it.
For the Good of the Order
Worker’s Union at UVA
Live petition to have UVA go remote this semester (Act Fast UVA) https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/actfastuva/
Contact Shalmi (sb3jmu@virginia.edu) with any questions.
Note about the bylaws: we have to be careful about political statements, since this is an election year, and we are at a public institution and open to all graduate students. Announcing volunteer opportunities is okay; asking the Council to campaign is different.
Discontent that UVA is bringing back undergraduate students to Grounds
GPC president Tre Tennyson was in the meeting with President Ryan, so graduate voices were heard.
GSAS has attempted to address discontent by not making in-person teaching mandatory for graduate TAs.
Considered circulating a statement or letter with GSASC’s position; tabled until Jason can get a feel for Student Council’s reaction.
Open position for a representative on the Graduate Education Committee
Contact Tyler Wake for more information.
All GSASC meetings will be remote (via Zoom) for the foreseeable future.
Next month, Dean Barnaby will visit the meeting to answer questions and hear concerns about GSAS’s response to graduate student issues.