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The Graduate Student Organization (GSO), established in 1968, is the recognized student government of graduate students at Syracuse University and the primary representative voice of graduate students to the university community and administration. Its purpose is to promote the interests of graduate students at SU and SUNY ESF, collaborating with the ESF Graduate Student Association, the SU College of Law Student Bar Association, the SU Student Association and numerous other organizations and offices to establish policies and initiatives that benefit our community and protect graduate student rights.

Advocacy plays a big role in our mission.

Every year, numerous graduate student representatives work diligently to ensure that the graduate student voice is heard on a broad range of advocacy matters, whether that work be carried out in the GSO Senate, the University Senate, the GSO’s various committees or numerous meetings with personnel across nearly every sector of campus. Please email any member of the GSO Executive Board, or contact your GSO Senator, to see how you can get involved in work that matters.

This year, the GSO has a lot of advocacy items already on the books. We are eager to get to it.
The GSO Graduate Employment Issues Committee (GEIC), for example, will continue its work from last year pertaining to the needs of hourly graduate and food service workers. The GSO firmly believes that every human should receive a living wage and benefit from dignified working conditions that support their goals.

Last year, the GSO raised awareness and offered tremendous support for the graduate student unionization efforts. We look forward to ensuring, alongside Syracuse Graduate Employees United (SGEU), that graduate student workers not currently covered under the union are looked after. We also look forward to continuing our work on a number of other important GEIC-related matters: such as pushing for accessible, affordable campus parking.

The GSO Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) Committee’s name and mission was updated last year to ensure that the intersectional DEIA needs of our community continue to be heard and met. This year, among many other projects, GSO DEIA will work with members of the Barnes Center at The Arch staff to cultivate more robust graduate student wellness programming.

The GSO Climate Action Committee (CAC) will continue its work holding the university accountable to its Climate Action Plan as well as promote educational opportunities and resources to students who wish to contribute to building a sustainable future. The committee’s work this year will include reviewing the GSO’s food and sustainability practices to help the GSO become part of the change it wants to see.

Beyond committees, the GSO Senate and Executive Board are looking to accomplish plenty in the year ahead. As a result of our Town Hall in late August, we developed a “Housing Information” tab on the GSO website. This is designed to make existing resources more accessible in order to support graduate students trying to find safe, convenient and affordable off-campus housing.

Additionally, we have plans in the works to advocate for a student health insurance payment plan that would allow graduate students without teaching assistantships or graduate assistantships the option to split up insurance payments across the academic year rather than pay in one lump sum. In addition to prior successful advocacy efforts that have granted graduate teaching assistants the option to spread out their stipend over the summer months, we hope this will give graduate students the greater flexibility needed to increase their quality of life.

All that being said, we want to hear from you. Your voice is essential in shaping GSO advocacy and the future of our community. If you see a need within the graduate student community you think the GSO should address this year or in future years, please fill out our Advocacy Form on the GSO website under the “Your Cause, Our Mission: Share With Us” tab.

The more we hear from you, the greater our mandate. The more helping hands we have, the more we can accomplish. Help us work for you!

In Solidarity,
Daniel J. Kimmel, GSO President & Chief Executive Officer
CJ Arnell, GSO Vice President of Internal Affairs
Kalaya Sibley, GSO Communications Secretary

Published on September 25, 2023 at 10:23 pm