In the beginning of this academic year I got an e-mail from a graduate student looking for legal services through the GSO over a tenant-landlord issue. I replied, "I'm sorry we don't offer those services but I will look into that option for future services that could be offered." I checked out other universities and colleges in the SUNY System and noticed that some structure for legal services were available to graduate students. Then I got another e-mail from a different graduate student requesting legal services again. I asked around to see who serviced graduate students with legal issues, but found that those services didn't exist for graduate student. This time I brought it before the E-Board and mentioned that it should be something to let the next E-Board consider since our fiscal budget was already set for the year. Then I got another e-mail, and another... All of them had to deal with tentant-landlord issues.
Spring semester, I was in the GSO office speaking with an international graduate student at the end of January, beginning of February and once again another individual was having a tenant-landlord issue and was seeking legal services. I thought to myself, well, sure GSO will definitely consider having legal services (legal clinic to advise, not represent), but the fundamental issue in each of these cases had to do with housing!
Though a good number of graduate student do not have difficulty finding off-campus housing I was concerned especially for the International Students. They have a limited time to find housing when they arrive since their visas only allow them to come a number of weeks before the academic year starts. Many of them don't have cars which makes it even more difficult to go to different neighborhoods to see if the area is right for them. Some of them pick the first thing they find and then find they aren't happy there but have already signed a lease. Their issues with OCH is amplified as they're not only getting used to a new University, but also a new country, new language.
I started investigating this. For On-Campus Housing currently there are over 50 spots available for graduate students in Empire Commons. This coming academic year 2007-2008 only 48 spots will be made available to graduate student. By the 2008 - 2009 academic year on-campus housing will be completely phased out for graduate students. Graduate Students looking to live on campus will not have that option to do so. Whether or not they are planning to build graduate student housing for the future I'm not sure, I hope so, but at the moment nothing I know of is planned.
The reason for this is because there is inadequate housing available on campus. In fact because of this delema, as of this year sophomores are not required to live on campus anymore either. It wouldn't be as big of an issue, but UAlbany doesn't have an Off-Campus Housing Office. There is a virtual "Off-campus housing" listing by a third party linked to the ResLife webpage, but as far as an actual Off-Campus Housing Director and Off-Campus Housing office that was phased out over 6 years ago. Where the other 3 SUNY University Centers, Binghamton, Buffalo, and Stony Brook have Off-Campus Housing Services Albany doesn't. Graduate students are the most affected by not having these services!
So, what is being done about it? I had meeting with University Life Council last Thursday with Off-Campus Affairs and Safety, International Student Services, ResLife, along with the rest of the faculty and staff on the committee and discussed this issue. After presenting them with a service comparison between the 4 SUNY University Center's the problem on our campus and the solution was clear. We need Off-Campus Housing Service for all UAlbany students and a legal clinic for graduate students.
And I found out that information on tenant rights and moving guides are available through the Off-Campus Affairs and Safety office as Tom Gephart had presented at the meeting, but since their office is called "Affairs and Safety" most people would not think to ask them since they're looking for the word "Housing" instead of "Affairs and Safety". ULC will be working toward centralizing the information on the Off-Campus Housing website and it is on the table to discuss a position for an Off-Campus Housing Director.
The meeting left on a very positive note that we can do something about this issue and we must. The number of incoming students have increased these past few years and the projections is for the trend to continue. Building new housing facilities will take at least a few years. Renovating housing on campus will also take a few years. It only make sense for the University to provide Off-Campus Housing Services.
For many students a service like this will help smooth the transition of living off campus and allow us to concentrate more on our academics rather than struggle with tenant-landlord issues.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
What can $7 do for you? - Reasons to vote to increase the Graduate Student Activity Fee.
When you think about your last meal out at a restaurant, the last time you went to a coffee shop for a fancy beverage and biscotti, or the last time you went to see a movie, more than likely you spent close to or over $7.
This coming GSO Election we will put on the ballot to increase the Graduate Student Activity Fee by $7. At the moment our student activity fee is $20. This will raise it to $27.
Why specifically would we want to do this? Well, there are a number of reason why we feel this increase would benefit the services we provide to you and the graduate student community. The following are some of the main reasons:
1. RGSO Funding
2. Grant Funding
3. Legal Services
4. Director of Operations (Office Manager)
5. Services for the Downtown and East Campus
6. Programming and additional Buses for Trips to NYC and Boston
7. Lowest Graduate Student Fee of the four major Universities in NYS
1. RGSO Funding - This past Fall Semester, RGSO groups had requested over $47,000 in funding for activities and events they wanted to have with their group. Many of these groups are graduate student groups with professional and departmental focuses. We allocated $26,000 in the GSO budget since we used the projections from the last academic year. RGSO groups were able to request funds from the MCAA and Programming chairs, but we would like to increase RGSO funding to benefit the departmental, cultural and activities groups to support events, professional development and the building of their student organization as well. Part of the $7 would be used to increase the over all budget for RGSO funding.
2. Grant Funding - This has been a tremendous service for graduate students presenting at conference or conducting research. We give up to $650 for travel and research grants per individual three times a year. The total allocation is $30,000 this year for this service, which was an increase from $27,000 last year. We would like to increase the funding for this as well since it is so well used and as UAlbany is one of the four University Research Center in New York State we would like to support students research. (There is never roll over funds from this budget allocation!)
3. Legal Services - We are looking into sending out an RFP to lawyers in the area to provide legal services for graduate students on campus. The undergraduates fund their own legal clinic, but these services are not extended to graduate students since undergraduates pay $125 for their student activity fee and we only pay $20. With $7 increase we can start a legal clinic for students in need seeking that service.
4. Director of Operations (Office Manager) - We are in the process of hiring a Director of Operations for the GSO. This person will be a part-time non-graduate student staff who would be able to bridge year to year between GSO Administration and help bring a greater sense of continuity and stability for our organization. One chief complaint I gotten in the beginning of this administration's year is that Office Managers (who are graduate students) graduate or find other positions and we lose their institutional knowledge in the GSO office. Gaps are created that complicate the daily transactions of the services we provide to graduate students. We would like to better service graduate students by hiring a more permanent person for the organization who would be in charge of operations. In order to do this we need to be competitive in our benefit's and salary offering. All this said, we still plan to have two graduate student Office Manager positions available but having one permanent non-graduate student staff would help the organzation greatly. (By the way, this year we were very fortunate to find a very dedicated group of office managers who enjoy serving our community. They have been amazingly wonderful and have made this a very smooth year for our organization. I encourage all graduate students to express your appreciation this month on Adminstrative Assistant's Day on Wednesday, April 25th)
5. Services for the Downtown and East Campus - The GSO Comprehensive Plan will include a section to provide services for the East and Downtown campus. If any RGSO group would like to collaborate with the GSO in hosting a satellite GSO Office at either campus we can make funding available to provide printer or copier services there as well. An increase of the graduate student fee would insure the ability for start up and maintenance of these sites and services.
6. Programming and additional Buses for Trips to NYC and Boston - This year our Programming has been so popular that we have exhausted the budget for the rest of the fiscal year. With an increase in the Graduate Student Activity fee we could add a few more buses to NYC and Boston, gotten tickets to see Jerry Seinfeld at the Palace Theatre, a few more GSO Socials at Noche, Skyline, Pearl Lounge, etc...!
Also, we would like to increase the budget for the Graduate Student Orientation Picnic. It was a very well attended event where incoming and returning graduate students are invited. We budgeted $4000 for the event. Even though Amirah ordered a substantial amount of food there still wasn't enough food for everyone. Ofcourse there was well over 400 graduate students who attended the 2006 GSO Picnic. This year we project that even more students will attend!
7. Lowest Graduate Student Fee of the four major Universities in NYS - For years now our GSO has done more with less. I did a fee comparison between the four major University center in New York State and where our fee per semester is only $20, Buffalo has the highest fee per semester at $49, Binghamton is $40, Stony Brook is $22 and will increase their fee to $27 this coming year. Outside of legal services we offer more services than the other Graduate Student Organizations. We are the only GSO that offers copier and printing services. Our office is opened longer than any of the other GSO offices (45 hours per week). Plus we provide many of the services they offer as well!
I hope this has helped explain why we hope to increase the Graduate Student Activity Fee. If we all agree and vote on this we will be able to expand and improve services for our community for less than a ticket to see a movie. During the GSO Elections, please vote to increase the fee! Thank you.
This coming GSO Election we will put on the ballot to increase the Graduate Student Activity Fee by $7. At the moment our student activity fee is $20. This will raise it to $27.
Why specifically would we want to do this? Well, there are a number of reason why we feel this increase would benefit the services we provide to you and the graduate student community. The following are some of the main reasons:
1. RGSO Funding
2. Grant Funding
3. Legal Services
4. Director of Operations (Office Manager)
5. Services for the Downtown and East Campus
6. Programming and additional Buses for Trips to NYC and Boston
7. Lowest Graduate Student Fee of the four major Universities in NYS
1. RGSO Funding - This past Fall Semester, RGSO groups had requested over $47,000 in funding for activities and events they wanted to have with their group. Many of these groups are graduate student groups with professional and departmental focuses. We allocated $26,000 in the GSO budget since we used the projections from the last academic year. RGSO groups were able to request funds from the MCAA and Programming chairs, but we would like to increase RGSO funding to benefit the departmental, cultural and activities groups to support events, professional development and the building of their student organization as well. Part of the $7 would be used to increase the over all budget for RGSO funding.
2. Grant Funding - This has been a tremendous service for graduate students presenting at conference or conducting research. We give up to $650 for travel and research grants per individual three times a year. The total allocation is $30,000 this year for this service, which was an increase from $27,000 last year. We would like to increase the funding for this as well since it is so well used and as UAlbany is one of the four University Research Center in New York State we would like to support students research. (There is never roll over funds from this budget allocation!)
3. Legal Services - We are looking into sending out an RFP to lawyers in the area to provide legal services for graduate students on campus. The undergraduates fund their own legal clinic, but these services are not extended to graduate students since undergraduates pay $125 for their student activity fee and we only pay $20. With $7 increase we can start a legal clinic for students in need seeking that service.
4. Director of Operations (Office Manager) - We are in the process of hiring a Director of Operations for the GSO. This person will be a part-time non-graduate student staff who would be able to bridge year to year between GSO Administration and help bring a greater sense of continuity and stability for our organization. One chief complaint I gotten in the beginning of this administration's year is that Office Managers (who are graduate students) graduate or find other positions and we lose their institutional knowledge in the GSO office. Gaps are created that complicate the daily transactions of the services we provide to graduate students. We would like to better service graduate students by hiring a more permanent person for the organization who would be in charge of operations. In order to do this we need to be competitive in our benefit's and salary offering. All this said, we still plan to have two graduate student Office Manager positions available but having one permanent non-graduate student staff would help the organzation greatly. (By the way, this year we were very fortunate to find a very dedicated group of office managers who enjoy serving our community. They have been amazingly wonderful and have made this a very smooth year for our organization. I encourage all graduate students to express your appreciation this month on Adminstrative Assistant's Day on Wednesday, April 25th)
5. Services for the Downtown and East Campus - The GSO Comprehensive Plan will include a section to provide services for the East and Downtown campus. If any RGSO group would like to collaborate with the GSO in hosting a satellite GSO Office at either campus we can make funding available to provide printer or copier services there as well. An increase of the graduate student fee would insure the ability for start up and maintenance of these sites and services.
6. Programming and additional Buses for Trips to NYC and Boston - This year our Programming has been so popular that we have exhausted the budget for the rest of the fiscal year. With an increase in the Graduate Student Activity fee we could add a few more buses to NYC and Boston, gotten tickets to see Jerry Seinfeld at the Palace Theatre, a few more GSO Socials at Noche, Skyline, Pearl Lounge, etc...!
Also, we would like to increase the budget for the Graduate Student Orientation Picnic. It was a very well attended event where incoming and returning graduate students are invited. We budgeted $4000 for the event. Even though Amirah ordered a substantial amount of food there still wasn't enough food for everyone. Ofcourse there was well over 400 graduate students who attended the 2006 GSO Picnic. This year we project that even more students will attend!
7. Lowest Graduate Student Fee of the four major Universities in NYS - For years now our GSO has done more with less. I did a fee comparison between the four major University center in New York State and where our fee per semester is only $20, Buffalo has the highest fee per semester at $49, Binghamton is $40, Stony Brook is $22 and will increase their fee to $27 this coming year. Outside of legal services we offer more services than the other Graduate Student Organizations. We are the only GSO that offers copier and printing services. Our office is opened longer than any of the other GSO offices (45 hours per week). Plus we provide many of the services they offer as well!
I hope this has helped explain why we hope to increase the Graduate Student Activity Fee. If we all agree and vote on this we will be able to expand and improve services for our community for less than a ticket to see a movie. During the GSO Elections, please vote to increase the fee! Thank you.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Meet Minerva - GSO Office Resident
Minerva - Roman goddess of crafts and wisdom* is swimming in the GSO Office next to the phone and fax machine!
Yes, we got a betta fish and named her Minerva. Daughter of Jupiter and Metis, she was considered to be the virgin goddess of warriors, poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, crafts, and inventor of music.* No other fish can compare to her warrior like movements, spreading the expanse of her long beautiful blue fins which drape in majestic poetry and flow gracefully as she dances around in her fish bowl.
Minerva was not born in the usual way, but rather Jupiter had a horrible headache and Vulcan opened up his head and out came Minerva dressed in armor and holding a shield.* We had to convince her to come back to the office with us from the pet store by promising a world of studious intellects, quiet reflective evenings, and a lifetime supply of betta treats. We knew right away there was something special about her. Come and visit and ask her what the answer to life is!? She knows all.
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minerva
Saturday, March 31, 2007
What Spring Break?
If you're like me and most graduate student I've spoken to, Spring Break is a blessing, not because you get to go to cool places and spend time away from school work, but because there's finally a week to catch up on assignments, reading and research.
*sigh* alas, the quote in Ecclesiastes 12:12 is so true, "Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body."
The good news is that the GSO office will be open all week! Monday - Friday 10am - 6pm!
And there is a spread of Spring Holiday candy all over the office inspired by the artist Felix Gonzalez Torres! Jelly beans, chocolate, and stale Peeps. :9
We had such a great time at the GSO Social on Thursday night! Thanks to the GSO Programming Chair, Miciah Yehudah we had another fantastic event at Noche Lounge near Downtown Albany.
What I love about the event is that UAlbany graduate students from all different disciplines and departments have the opportunity to get together in an informal setting and mingle! It's so fascinating to watch the graduate student dynamics. Walking through the lounge one can listen to the conversations everyone is having, from academics to politics, from American Idol and Lost! Food was provided at Noche on us too! (Your GSO Funds at Work! :D And I must add the food was excellent last night.)
There will be one more GSO Social at Noche Lounge on the very last day after finals this semester. I'm looking forward to it!
*sigh* alas, the quote in Ecclesiastes 12:12 is so true, "Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body."
The good news is that the GSO office will be open all week! Monday - Friday 10am - 6pm!
And there is a spread of Spring Holiday candy all over the office inspired by the artist Felix Gonzalez Torres! Jelly beans, chocolate, and stale Peeps. :9We had such a great time at the GSO Social on Thursday night! Thanks to the GSO Programming Chair, Miciah Yehudah we had another fantastic event at Noche Lounge near Downtown Albany.
What I love about the event is that UAlbany graduate students from all different disciplines and departments have the opportunity to get together in an informal setting and mingle! It's so fascinating to watch the graduate student dynamics. Walking through the lounge one can listen to the conversations everyone is having, from academics to politics, from American Idol and Lost! Food was provided at Noche on us too! (Your GSO Funds at Work! :D And I must add the food was excellent last night.)
There will be one more GSO Social at Noche Lounge on the very last day after finals this semester. I'm looking forward to it!
Thursday, March 29, 2007
GSO Elections are coming! Find out details here...
Do you want to take over this blog? You too can be the next President of the GSO!
The GSO has 4 elected positions on the Executive Board, 1 position for Lead Senator, 1 position for the Graduate Representative on University Council, and 1 position for SUNY Assembly Graduate Representative.
The positions on the Executive Board are the following: The President, Vice President, Treasurer, and MCAA Chair.
The position of the Programming Chair and the Grant Chair are selected by the President but if you're interested you should start thinking about it.
So what are the functions of these positions?
President: acts as the Chief Executive Officer of the GSO and is its chief spokesperson and representative. If you would like more details about this position please feel free to contact me.
Vice President: Chairs the RGSO Funding Committee is the main liaison for RGSO groups. If you would like more details about this position please contact the current Vice President, Don Boyce (donboyce@gmail.com)
Treasurer: Is responsible for the financial health of the GSO, works with the President and the Assembly on the GSO budget and performs the accounting for the Graduate Student Organization. If you would like more details about this position please contact the current Treasurer, Linlin Feng (linlinfeng_ualbany@yahoo.com)
MCAA Chair: (Multi-Cultural Affirmative Action Chair) we are the only campus of the four university system to have a position solely dedicated to addressing the issue of diversity on this campus. The MCAA Chair is responsible for educating sensitivity and diversity issues in the graduate student community. If you would like more details about this position please contact the current MCAA Chair, Amirah Cousins (amirahcousins@gmail.com).
Lead Senator: Coordinates Graduate Senatorial Seats and represents graduate student at the University Senate and the various committees that deal with University Community concerns. If you would like more details about this position please contact the current Lead Senator, Kevin Lahey (lahey_77@yahoo.com)
University Council Graduate Representative: Represents Graduate Students on the University Council which is responsible for the care, management and government of the school. If you would like more details about this position please contact the current graduate representative, Glenn Pichardo (glennpichardo@hotmail.com)
SUNY Assembly Graduate Representative: Represents our campus on the SUNY-wide Student Assembly. If you would like more details about this position please contact the current SUNY Assembly representative, Kevin Lahey (lahey_77@yahoo.com)
Please send your nominations to our Assembly Speaker, Micah Ben Ruben at gso@albany.edu . You may nominate yourself if you plan on running for a position.
Also, during this election we will need to vote on (1) the new constitution. Currently we are operating under the governing GSO constitution from 2000. Revisions were made in 2005 but were not voted on. (2) we need your vote to increase the current graduate student fee up $7 from last year. (I will be writing a bit more on this issue at a later time.)
Campaigning starts now and as soon as nominations are in.
Voting will take place from April 30th to May 2nd on MyUAlbany Portal!
(Please be advised these dates were revised from April 21st - April 27th as of Monday, April 9th due to logistical issues. Thanks for your understanding)
The GSO has 4 elected positions on the Executive Board, 1 position for Lead Senator, 1 position for the Graduate Representative on University Council, and 1 position for SUNY Assembly Graduate Representative.
The positions on the Executive Board are the following: The President, Vice President, Treasurer, and MCAA Chair.
The position of the Programming Chair and the Grant Chair are selected by the President but if you're interested you should start thinking about it.
So what are the functions of these positions?
President: acts as the Chief Executive Officer of the GSO and is its chief spokesperson and representative. If you would like more details about this position please feel free to contact me.
Vice President: Chairs the RGSO Funding Committee is the main liaison for RGSO groups. If you would like more details about this position please contact the current Vice President, Don Boyce (donboyce@gmail.com)
Treasurer: Is responsible for the financial health of the GSO, works with the President and the Assembly on the GSO budget and performs the accounting for the Graduate Student Organization. If you would like more details about this position please contact the current Treasurer, Linlin Feng (linlinfeng_ualbany@yahoo.com)
MCAA Chair: (Multi-Cultural Affirmative Action Chair) we are the only campus of the four university system to have a position solely dedicated to addressing the issue of diversity on this campus. The MCAA Chair is responsible for educating sensitivity and diversity issues in the graduate student community. If you would like more details about this position please contact the current MCAA Chair, Amirah Cousins (amirahcousins@gmail.com).
Lead Senator: Coordinates Graduate Senatorial Seats and represents graduate student at the University Senate and the various committees that deal with University Community concerns. If you would like more details about this position please contact the current Lead Senator, Kevin Lahey (lahey_77@yahoo.com)
University Council Graduate Representative: Represents Graduate Students on the University Council which is responsible for the care, management and government of the school. If you would like more details about this position please contact the current graduate representative, Glenn Pichardo (glennpichardo@hotmail.com)
SUNY Assembly Graduate Representative: Represents our campus on the SUNY-wide Student Assembly. If you would like more details about this position please contact the current SUNY Assembly representative, Kevin Lahey (lahey_77@yahoo.com)
Please send your nominations to our Assembly Speaker, Micah Ben Ruben at gso@albany.edu . You may nominate yourself if you plan on running for a position.
Also, during this election we will need to vote on (1) the new constitution. Currently we are operating under the governing GSO constitution from 2000. Revisions were made in 2005 but were not voted on. (2) we need your vote to increase the current graduate student fee up $7 from last year. (I will be writing a bit more on this issue at a later time.)
Campaigning starts now and as soon as nominations are in.
Voting will take place from April 30th to May 2nd on MyUAlbany Portal!
(Please be advised these dates were revised from April 21st - April 27th as of Monday, April 9th due to logistical issues. Thanks for your understanding)
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
A Detour to St. Ann's
I was warming up my car on my way to university when this woman came up to my window and asked me for a favor. She had been walking down the street when she approached me. She asked, "Could you give me ride to St. Ann's? I'm pregnant and I have to go to St. Ann to visit my sister."
Typically, I'm pretty cautious when strangers approach me, but how often is it that you have a fellow Albanian ask you for help? I introduced myself and shook her hand when she got in the car. She introduced herself as Shamar and told me that she was 19 years old. Originally she came from Charleston South Carolina and her 36 year old boyfriend had her car. Since she was pregnant she spent most of her time sleeping. She was on her way to visit her sister at the St. Ann's Institute and was concerned about her because her sister was on drugs and had gotten in some trouble. She mentioned that she used to live there herself when she was younger and that she used to do drugs and was always getting into arguments. After being at St. Ann's she never wanted to go back to that life.
I dropped her off and sent my regards to her and her sister, but found myself in a contemplative state about our larger community here at Albany.
It's not very often that my daily path crosses someone like Shamar. Here at university our concerns are on learning and focusing on our future. I was having a conversation with our lead senator Kevin Lahey the other day about how we live in a broken world. I was saying to him that even the best systems that we as mankind have built needs maintanence, needs to be updated. A good friend of mine who volunteers at the Capital City Rescue Mission onced said to me, "The problem in Albany is not that people are not donating enough money or goods to the poor in this area. The problem is that they don't know any of them, they don't take the time to know them." I have to agree with him. I may never see Shamar again but she is a good reminder of who else is in my community, my local sphere.
Typically, I'm pretty cautious when strangers approach me, but how often is it that you have a fellow Albanian ask you for help? I introduced myself and shook her hand when she got in the car. She introduced herself as Shamar and told me that she was 19 years old. Originally she came from Charleston South Carolina and her 36 year old boyfriend had her car. Since she was pregnant she spent most of her time sleeping. She was on her way to visit her sister at the St. Ann's Institute and was concerned about her because her sister was on drugs and had gotten in some trouble. She mentioned that she used to live there herself when she was younger and that she used to do drugs and was always getting into arguments. After being at St. Ann's she never wanted to go back to that life.
I dropped her off and sent my regards to her and her sister, but found myself in a contemplative state about our larger community here at Albany.
It's not very often that my daily path crosses someone like Shamar. Here at university our concerns are on learning and focusing on our future. I was having a conversation with our lead senator Kevin Lahey the other day about how we live in a broken world. I was saying to him that even the best systems that we as mankind have built needs maintanence, needs to be updated. A good friend of mine who volunteers at the Capital City Rescue Mission onced said to me, "The problem in Albany is not that people are not donating enough money or goods to the poor in this area. The problem is that they don't know any of them, they don't take the time to know them." I have to agree with him. I may never see Shamar again but she is a good reminder of who else is in my community, my local sphere.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Sunday Morning Rambles
Ahhhhh... Spring is here. I hope you've been enjoying the glorious weather! I've decided to write a haiku in honor of the occasion:
Sunshine on Friday,
rain drops late in the evening,
Snow banks slowly melt.
I know, deep. :D
I was playing racquetball on Friday after an open house event at my department. No one else was there, just me hitting the racquetball against the walls. In this meditative state I thought back to how I got involved with the GSO. I first heard about GSO when I went to the Graduate Student orientation in 2005. Liz Redkey, the president at the time did a great job of informing everyone at orientation of the services offered through the organization. I was pretty impressed with the type of services the GSO offered. What peaked my interest were the trips to NYC, Boston, tickets to see broadway shows and being able to make 100 copies or prints at the office.
In the beginning of the 2005 academic year I visited the GSO Office, I got a departmental copier code (the system changed last year to individual codes), and picked up free tickets for piano recitals at the PAC. From time to time I would stop by the office and serendipitously find that there was a free food event happening, like the one for Latin American Heritage Month or Black History Month.
By Spring, I became the RGSO representative for my graduate student group. I signed up for the GSO listserv and around April they had tickets to see Bill Cosby at the Palace Theatre in downtown Albany.
Josalyn, Amirah and Sophia were the office managers then and were always very kind to me. Sophia, also the 05-06 GSO Assembly Speaker always refered to everyone as "my beautiful people". She was this strong beautiful person in the Africana Studies Department. Josalyn, I think was in the sciences and we'd have great conversations about academics and social issues. Amirah, I always found was a lot of fun, always excited about something.
I didn't really go to the GSO office often. I might have gone a few times in the semester and I've only had a few conversations with the people from the organization, but I felt very welcomed at the GSO. It was just nice to have a space in the Campus Center that belonged to graduate students where one could meet people from all different disciplines. In one of my conversations with Sophia, she said, "we're like family" [all 5,027 of us].
Anyway, about two weeks ago a graduate of our programs sent me an e-mail on a comic strip about graduate student life called PhD Comics. After reading a couple of them I asked our webmaster to include the RSS feed on our webpage. It's pretty relate-able and very amusing. On our front page if you scroll down it'll be on the bottom right.
Okay, enjoy the rest of the weekend! Oh don't forget, this week is the Spring Forum! Campus Conversation on Academic Integrity and Plagiarism: Would an "Honor Code" make a Difference? March 27, 2007, 6:00-8:00 p.m. in the Campus Center Ballroom. Very relevant and important discussion we're considering as part of our University community. And one other thing: Campus Reading Project! We've given away a ton of Elizabeth Kolbert books, Field Notes from a Catastrophe. I hope you were able to pick up a copy at the GSO office. It was a very contemplative read and in light of the conversations on Global Warming it'll be a important discussion for the University to engage in. Check out the GSO calendar for the events that'll take place this Thursday, March 29th. I hope you'll join in!
Sunshine on Friday,
rain drops late in the evening,
Snow banks slowly melt.
I know, deep. :D
I was playing racquetball on Friday after an open house event at my department. No one else was there, just me hitting the racquetball against the walls. In this meditative state I thought back to how I got involved with the GSO. I first heard about GSO when I went to the Graduate Student orientation in 2005. Liz Redkey, the president at the time did a great job of informing everyone at orientation of the services offered through the organization. I was pretty impressed with the type of services the GSO offered. What peaked my interest were the trips to NYC, Boston, tickets to see broadway shows and being able to make 100 copies or prints at the office.
In the beginning of the 2005 academic year I visited the GSO Office, I got a departmental copier code (the system changed last year to individual codes), and picked up free tickets for piano recitals at the PAC. From time to time I would stop by the office and serendipitously find that there was a free food event happening, like the one for Latin American Heritage Month or Black History Month.
By Spring, I became the RGSO representative for my graduate student group. I signed up for the GSO listserv and around April they had tickets to see Bill Cosby at the Palace Theatre in downtown Albany.
Josalyn, Amirah and Sophia were the office managers then and were always very kind to me. Sophia, also the 05-06 GSO Assembly Speaker always refered to everyone as "my beautiful people". She was this strong beautiful person in the Africana Studies Department. Josalyn, I think was in the sciences and we'd have great conversations about academics and social issues. Amirah, I always found was a lot of fun, always excited about something.
I didn't really go to the GSO office often. I might have gone a few times in the semester and I've only had a few conversations with the people from the organization, but I felt very welcomed at the GSO. It was just nice to have a space in the Campus Center that belonged to graduate students where one could meet people from all different disciplines. In one of my conversations with Sophia, she said, "we're like family" [all 5,027 of us].
Anyway, about two weeks ago a graduate of our programs sent me an e-mail on a comic strip about graduate student life called PhD Comics. After reading a couple of them I asked our webmaster to include the RSS feed on our webpage. It's pretty relate-able and very amusing. On our front page if you scroll down it'll be on the bottom right.
Okay, enjoy the rest of the weekend! Oh don't forget, this week is the Spring Forum! Campus Conversation on Academic Integrity and Plagiarism: Would an "Honor Code" make a Difference? March 27, 2007, 6:00-8:00 p.m. in the Campus Center Ballroom. Very relevant and important discussion we're considering as part of our University community. And one other thing: Campus Reading Project! We've given away a ton of Elizabeth Kolbert books, Field Notes from a Catastrophe. I hope you were able to pick up a copy at the GSO office. It was a very contemplative read and in light of the conversations on Global Warming it'll be a important discussion for the University to engage in. Check out the GSO calendar for the events that'll take place this Thursday, March 29th. I hope you'll join in!
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