Graduate Student Assembly

New Representative Packet

2017-2018

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Table of Contents
Responsibilities of a GSA Representative ...................................................................................... 3
1. Attend General Assembly Meetings .................................................................................... 3
2. Hold a Department Meeting................................................................................................. 3
3. Serve on a Standing Committee ........................................................................................... 3
4. Engage with your Constituents ............................................................................................ 3
5. Review Conference Travel Fellowship Applications (at most once) .................................. 3
6. Serve on a University-Wide or Provost Advising Committee ............................................. 4
Guide to the Graduate Student Assembly ....................................................................................... 4
Graduate Student Assembly Mission Statement ......................................................................... 4
Graduate Student Assembly Initiatives Big Picture Objectives .................................................. 4
Standing Committees ...................................................................................................................... 9
The Internal Committees ............................................................................................................. 9
General Assembly Meetings ......................................................................................................... 12
General Assembly Meeting Schedule ....................................................................................... 12
Attendance ................................................................................................................................ 13
Holding your Department Meeting ............................................................................................... 13
Scheduling and General Information ........................................................................................ 13
Holding your Meeting ............................................................................................................... 14
Process for Authorized Purchases and Reimbursements .......................................................... 14
Document Submission .............................................................................................................. 15
Additional Tips for Representatives ............................................................................................. 15
Example Introduction ................................................................................................................ 15
Resigning your Position ............................................................................................................ 16

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Responsibilities of a GSA Representative

1. Attend General Assembly Meetings

As a Representative, you must attend the biweekly General Assembly Meetings at 6:30
PM in HGS 119 or another room in the new McDougal Center. The General Assembly
Meeting Schedule can be found on page 12. If you cannot attend the meeting, inform the
GSA Secretary at tongjia.zhang@yale.edu. Our absence policy is on page 13. For more
information about the format of the General Assembly Meetings, see page Error!
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2. Hold a Department Meeting

Department Meetings are one way that you can interact with the graduate students you
represent. During the Department Meeting, you will be both gathering feedback from
your constituents as well as answering their questions. The GSA provides your
department with $100 per representative for food and drink purchases to encourage
participation. For a more detailed description of holding your Department Meeting, see
page 11.

3. Serve on a Standing Committee

The GSA has four standing committees that work directly on the graduate student
concerns: Academics & Professional Development, Facilities & Healthcare, Public
Relations, and Transit & Security. Every Representative must serve on one of these
committees. Pages 10-11 describe the concerns that each committee addresses as well as
ongoing projects.

4. Engage with your Constituents

Your department elected you to serve on the Graduate Student Assembly. In return, you
keep them informed about the issues that we are working on. You also bring their
concerns to the attention of the General Assembly and thus the Administration. One
good way to engage with your constituents is through emails. Sample emails can be
found on page 15. Start with introducing yourself as the departments Representative to
the Graduate Student Assembly!

5. Review Conference Travel Fellowship Applications (at most once)

Each year there are 4 cycles of the Conference Travel Fellowship applications, the funds
of which are disbursed by GSA. All representatives are entered within a lottery to serve

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 as CTF readers up to once a year. Representatives are allowed to volunteer for a
particular cycle if he or she wishes.

6. Serve on a University-Wide or Provost Advising Committee

There are numerous on-going advisory committees hosted by the University

Administration to which GSA elects Graduate Student Representatives. These are unique
opportunities to give graduate student input to policy changes as well as face time with
administrative personnel. They also allow students to learn about administrative duties
for students interested in serving in administration as a career. See Internal Committees
starting on page 9 for lists of associated advisory committees.

Guide to the Graduate Student Assembly

Graduate Student Assembly Mission Statement
The Graduate Student Assembly is an elected body of students in the Graduate School of Arts
and Sciences. The Assemblys goals are to identify the needs and concerns of graduate students,
consider possible solutions, and present these to the Dean and other university administrators.
We also discuss and advise on changes in Graduate School policy that are proposed by the
administration. The assembly provides a means for communication and deliberation both among
graduate students and between graduate students and other members of the university
community.

Graduate Student Assembly Initiatives

Big Picture Objectives
Introduction of Project-Based Structure

Movement away from committee meetings and towards individual project meetings with
specific objectives.

Academic and Professional Development

Enhance and facilitate faculty mentoring

Explore options and possibilities for fixing funding issues, particularly as pertain to
stopping the clock in the Humanities and elsewhere.

Ensuring training for new teachers in a uniform manner across disciplines.

Facilities and Healthcare

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 Dental and vision coverage information and opportunities

Ensuring adequate graduate housing on campus and off.

Childcare for graduate parents

The development and eventual utility of the HGS replacement.

Transit and Security

Possibilities for Yale students to use city buses.

Other options for shuttle routes; optimal allocation of resources.

Building access for safety reasons

GSA-provided Services
Ask-a-Lawyer Monthly one-on-one sessions with local attorneys.

Tax Facts Once a year session on how to file taxes.

Conference Travel Fellowship Quarterly awards given to applying graduate students,

see page 9 for more details.

Common Grounds Opportunity to take a mentor out to coffee.

Projects In Progress
Facilities and Healthcare

Mental Health and Wellness Focus Groups GSA is hosting 6 focus groups sessions (2
per division in GSAS) during summer 2017 to collect information from graduate students
regarding hurdles in maintaining wellness and access to mental health care. A report will
be compiled of the findings in the 2017-2018 school year. This information will be used
to help guide the administration in improving wellness and mental health at Yale.

Childcare subsidies for graduate student parents In 2016 GSA created a childcare report
based on surveyed information gathered from a GPSS application for childcare subsidies
in 2016. We are currently working with the administration to explore economic models
that are sustainable in providing childcare subsidies. Meanwhile, our proposal in the
report is under review at the Provosts Office.

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 Expand on-campus housing for graduate students Only half the beds in HGS will be
made up by the new graduate school apartment building on Elm Street. GSA is working
with the Graduate Housing Office to explore options for graduate students to continue to
have increased access to on campus housing.

Academic and Professional Development

Faculty advisory and student relationship guide The Faculty of the Arts and Sciences
Senate is in the process of creating a Faculty Standards of Conduct. GSA is working to
add a supplemental document to this to outline behaviors that encourage a good
mentoring relationship between the advisor and advisee.

Pausing funding years for outside fellowships Since the University began guaranteeing
6th year funding for graduate students

Bystander intervention training in all departments GSA is working with the Title IX
office to create department-specific workshops on bystander intervention and implement
training in each department annually.

Events to engage alumni We are working with the Yale Graduate Club to have mixers a
few times a semester and to hold mentorship events.

Increase career services for non-academic track students GSA is working with the
Office of Career Services to increase events for students to find jobs not in academia.

Transit and Security

Expanding shuttle services GSA is using rider usage to determine if there is additional
need for shuttles beyond their current routes and times.

Increase biking accessibility with bike repair shops and bike lanes In an effort to
increase biking among students and New Haven residents, GSA is working to create
more bike storage and bike lanes as well as bike repair shops.

Report on transit usage from survey results GSA is working on analyzing and
compiling a report on transit usage and safety in New Haven from the last GPSS survey

Improve Blue light station functionality Blue lights are stationed all over campus but
they are not often used. GSA is working with University Transit to improve the abilities
of the Blue Lights so they will be useful to students walking across campus.

Design and implement rider-centered infographics on shuttles GSA has been working
with University Transit on a rider bill of rights for shuttle riders and creating
infographics to be posted in the shuttles to display this information.

Public Relations

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 New GradCast episodes GSA started creating a podcast in 2016-2017 to talk about
graduate student life. Four new episodes are slotted to be released in fall 2017.

Improve graduate student/administration communications GSA is working with Susan

Hacking the Senior Manager of Communication and Alumni Affairs to improve
communication between the administration and students. This is especially important
when the administration makes policy changes that will significantly affect students. It
will give GSA an opportunity to comment on the policy changes before they are
announced.

Increase social media presence

Recent GSA Accomplishments

Terminal Year Funding Due to GSA advocacy, funding in the 6th year of is now
available for each graduate student through guaranteed teaching

Construction of new graduate student housing A new residence hall for graduate
students is being built on Elm Street. GSA played an important role in the design of
common spaces and individual suites and played a large role in advocating for this space
to be built.

Expansion of Mental Health and Counseling GSA worked directly with Yale MHC to
track and eventually help reduce of wait times and accessibility for students.

Extension of library hours A GSA report on library use lead to increased hours at Bass
Library to better reflect graduate student use in addition to undergraduate use of libraries.

Extension of Payne Whitney Gym Hours A GSA report on gym use led to a pilot of
extended gym hours at Payne Whitney, which is now permanent.

Case worker for landlord-tenant conflicts at Housing Office GSA helped to collect
student complaints against landlords, leading to a specified case worker at the House
Office to facilitate landlord tenant disputes.

Elimination of the Continuing Registration Fee which is $575/semester for students 5th
year teachers and beyond (previously guaranteed for 5th and 6th years)

GradCast podcast about Yale Graduate Student Life the Public Relations Committee
started making podcasts of how the university works that are available to all graduate
students

Creation of a Graduate & Professional Student Space in the Schwarzman Center Due to
GSA advocacy, a dedicated room for G&P students has been planned for the
Schwarzman Center that will be the first student center at Yale.

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 Town Hall event for information on graduate student unionization GSA organized a
Q&A with GESO for students to gain more knowledge about unionization efforts at Yale
before the unionization vote.

De-Stress Fest on Science Hill The Facilities and Healthcare Committee applied for and
received a grant to put on an event on Science Hill for students to have fun with
cupcakes, painting, coloring, and other activities. This activity has been taken over by the
McDougal Center to be an annual event.

Orange Line Shuttle hours extension Due to GSA advocacy to Yale Transit, the Orange
Line has been extended to full-day coverage rather than just mornings and evenings.

Components of the Graduate Student Assembly

Representatives: Each department/program is allotted one representative per 40 students.

Each April we hold elections for the coming academic year. We then hold an additional
round of elections in September to fill as many vacant seats as possible. In the case of
vacancies between the fall and spring elections, department by-elections may be held to fill
those spots.

Officers: Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, Conference Travel Fellowship Director,
and Public Relations Chair. The positions are elected for one-year terms each April by the
outgoing assembly.
Chair: The Chair of the GSA is the person ultimately responsible for making
sure everything runs smoothly. He or she writes the agendas for Steering and
Assembly meetings (with the help of the Steering Committee), delegates work to
the other officers and committees, and meets with administrators.
Current Chair Wendy Xiao
Vice Chair: The Vice Chair essentially assists the Chair in all of his or her
responsibilities. The primary jobs of the Vice Chair are to run elections and
manage committees, particularly the internal ones. The Vice Chair serves on
both Steering and the Executive Committee of the Graduate School.

Current Vice-Chair Laura Brown

Secretary: The Secretarys primary responsibility is to take minutes of
Assembly meetings and keep track of attendance. The secretary often does other
light clerical work. He or she serves on the Steering Committee.
Current Secretary Alex Zhang

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 Treasurer: The Treasurer deals with the money. She or he meets with the
financial officers to deal with matters of accounting, make sure reimbursements
are paid out, money is transferred to other bodies, etc. She or he sets the policys
governing departmental meetings. He or she also orders the food for Assembly
meetings and serves on the Steering Committee.
Current Treasurer Jennifer Sun
CTF Director: The director of the Conference Travel Fellowship oversees the
entire administration of this important GSA program. He or she sets the
submission deadlines, answers questions, collects and arranges all the
applications, establishes the policies governing the selection process (with the
help and approval of the administration and Steering), and finally disperses the
awards and collects the conference reports.
Current CTF Director Steven Paniagua
Public Relations Chair: The Public Relations Chair deals with all issues
pertaining to the press and advertising.
Current Public Relations Chair Bara Badwan
Conference Travel Fellowship: A program administered by the GSA that provides $60,000
of funding each year to graduate students presenting papers or posters at regional, national,
and international conferences. There are four cycles (November, February, May, and
August), each of which requires a selection committee of six representatives (two per
division) along with the CTF director.

Standing Committees
The Internal Committees
The GSA organizes several internal committees that are concerned with specific areas of
graduate student work and life. The four internal committees are the Academics and
Professional Development Committee, the Facilities and Healthcare Committee, the Transit and
Security Committee, and the Public Relations Committee. The standing committees are also
tasked with nominating students to external committee relevant to their focus. These committees
are generally more casual than the Steering Committee and external committees and allow any
interested students to join. GSA representatives must serve on at least one of our four internal
committees, and meetings occur at least once a month, usually biweekly.

Each committee is run by two members: the Committee Chair and the Committee Secretary. The
Committee Chair convenes meetings regularly and runs meetings. The Committee Secretary
keeps a record of committee transactions and prepares documents for Assembly review. The

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Committee Chair is elected in the May election of the preceding academic year, and the
Committee Secretary is elected at one of the first committee meetings. Should a committee
decide to use a projects-based model, then a Committee Secretary may not be necessary. This
will be up to the discretion of the Committee Chair.

Academics and Professional Development Committee

This committee focuses on issues pertaining to teaching, mentoring, professional development,

international students, masters students, and the libraries. Current projects include:

APDs principal area of focus over the past two years has been funding, which has mostly taken
the form of advocacy through advising the GSA leadership and sponsoring resolutions in the
Assembly. We began to gather information about the security of funding for PhD students based
in professional schools, and have encouraged Dean Cooley to push the Deans of those schools to
guarantee a fifth year of funding to their PhD students. In recent years we have overseen the
administration of a GSAA-GSA Mentoring Program that we hope to revive next year. The core
work of the committee involves the liaison positions with various offices and committees
internal and external to GSAS: the Advisory Committee on Library Policy, the Office of Career
Strategies, the Office of Graduate Student Development and Diversity, and the Center for
Teaching and Learning. This year, APD also welcomed members of the Graduate Students of
Color Coalition, and has tried to push the GSAs advocacy on issues of diversity and inclusion.

Representatives who would like to join APD should identify a GSAS office or program of
interest, and discuss serving as a liaison or advocate with the chair.

External Committee Nominations: Library Committee, Graduate Teaching Center Advocate,

Career Services, and Diversity and Equal Opportunity.

2017-2018

Chair: Stephen Gaughran (stephen.gaughran@yale.edu)

Facilities and Healthcare Committee

This committee deals with issues pertaining to graduate student housing, gym access and usage,
and healthcare access and insurance. The primary areas of focus for the FHC in the coming year
are going to be working on improving the dental and eye insurance policies; working towards
determining what can and/or should be done with respect to graduate housing; working towards
getting an HGS replacement space; and working towards getting the Yale Health Membership
Advisory Board reinstituted. Our current projects include the mental health focus group,
wrapping up of the DeStress Fest (i.e. determine if we want/can hand it off to another group to
host it in the future), and waste management. New students can get involved by taking part on
committees related to the above that will have (new) vacancies (e.g. the Housing Advisory
Committee). Similarly, they can get involved by selecting an area/project that they are interested

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in working on and gather the necessary information and contacts needed to further develop that
area/project.

External Committee Nominations: Health Plan Member Advisory Committee, Student

Coverage Task Force, and the Housing Committee.

Chair Susan Pratt (susan.pratt@yale.edu)

Transit and Security Committee

This committee addresses all issues related to transit and security. Current initiatives include:
The GSA Transit and Security committee is responsible for improving how graduate students
move around at Yale and in New Haven. We have contact with the heads of transit at Yale and
are responsible for recommending new shuttle lines, shuttle stops, and campaigns on the shuttles.
Currently, we're working with them to create Rights & Responsibilities infographics that will let
shuttle riders know what services are available to them as Yale students (door-to-door service,
door-to-door night shuttles, etc). We also keep track of the safety requests of Yale students and
have recently tried to improve our awareness by attending CompStat meetings held by New
Haven police to learn about what's going on in the community. Future projects include working
on improving where bike racks are and how they are maintained, as well as surveying graduate
students to see if shuttle lines can be reworked. If you're passionate about these or other transit
and security related projects, join in and help spearhead them!

External Committee Nominations: Transportation Committee.

Chair - Fabian Schrey (Fabrian Schrey@yale.edu)

Public Relations

The Public Relations Committee is looking for new members who want to work on a diverse
range of projects to increase communication, transparency, and feedback between GSA advocacy
and our constituencies. Some projects you might get involved in include: 1) Joining our podcast
team as a researcher, reporter, or editor. Starting in the fall, we are hoping to start releasing one
podcast episode per month. 2) Working with our Webmaster Sarah Malkowski to generate
website content and help make and distribute of our monthly newsletter, and the maintenance of
our Facebook page. 3) Joining an experimental team working on integrating video messaging
and quick polling in emails 4) Creating posters/flyers/other creative modes of advertising for
GSA sponsored events 5) Any new ideas/projects youd like to work on!

Chair Bara Badwan(bara.badwan@yale.edu)

Additional Standing Committees

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Steering Committee

The Steering Committee consists of the four main officers (Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, and
Treasurer) and six additional representatives chosen by the General Assembly. Divisional
representation is ensured by the requirement that at least two Steering Committee members are
from each division.

The Steering Committee meets about twice a month during the academic year with the Dean of
the Graduate School to discuss issues of interest to the Assembly or Dean. Through these
discussions, the GSA will be consulted about changes in Graduate School policies and will
present on issues brought up by the Assembly. The Steering Committee will set the agenda for
General Assembly Meetings and be responsible for regular communication between the
Assembly and the administration.

For more information on the Steering Committee, you can read the GSAs Charter and Bylaws at
the end of this Document.

Time Commitment: Twice a month generally in the afternoons

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee consists of the four main officers, steering, the sub-committee chairs,
and the CTF director. They will discuss the agenda items brought to the general assembly in the
following week.

Summer Steering Committee

Summer Steering is a committee that meets over the summer, from once every three weeks to
monthly. Any representative from the outgoing or incoming assembly may volunteer to serve on
the Summer Steering Committee.

General Assembly Meetings

General Assembly Meeting Schedule
General assembly meetings are held in HGS 119 or another new location at 6:30 PM on the
following dates. If you have dietary restrictions, please contact Jennifer Sun as soon as possible
at jennifer.sun@yale.edu.

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 Fall Spring
August 30th January 24th
September 13th February 7th
September 27th February 21th
October 11th March 7st
October 25th March 28th
November 1th April 11th
November 15th April 25th
November 29th May 2nd

Attendance
Except at the first meeting, attendance will be taken by the Secretary at each meeting. If you
arrive after attendance is recorded, talk to the secretary to ensure that presence is noted.

If you are unable to attend a meeting, you must email the secretary at tongjia.zhang@yale.edu, at
least 24 hours before the meeting for your absence to be considered excused. You should also
try to find a proxy (a student in your department) to attend the meeting in your place and contact
the secretary with the persons name 24 hours preceding the meeting. Proxies will not be able to
vote in resolutions or amendments to the charter or by-laws.

A representative is automatically dismissed if they have two unexcused absences in a

semester or if they miss three consecutive meetings, whether excused or unexcused. As a
warning, a representative will receive an email from the secretary after the first unexcused
absence or second missed consecutive meeting. If a representative is automatically dismissed,
they can be reinstated if they appeal in person at the Steering Committee meeting following
dismissal. A majority vote will be sufficient to reinstate a dismissed representative.

Holding your Department Meeting

Scheduling and General Information

The Treasurer, Jennifer Sun, will be sending around a calendar of dates available this fall for
department meetings. Please sign your department up for one of these dates. This schedule is to
ensure easy transfer of the p-card, the graduate school credit card, between representatives for

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food and drink purchases. Every department is given $100 per representative. Joint department
meetings are also possible if departments share concerns.

Holding your Meeting

Be sure to advertise your meeting to your constituents! A sample email invitation is shown
below.

Hi folks,

Our department meeting is approaching! Mark your calendars for (insert department
meeting date and time). Food and drinks will be provided! Before we meet, I want to
find out which issues are of most concern to you, so that we can have a more productive
conversation. Before the meeting, please fill out this brief survey (link to GSA-provided
survey). If you have any specific questions that youd like answered, please send me an
email, and Ill find the answer for you! See you at the meeting!

Best,

The general format involves a brief introduction to the Graduate Student Assembly, followed by
a discussion of the concerns of your department. In a few weeks, we will send out a more
thorough guide with slides highlighting the initiatives of the GSA and its Internal Committees if
you wish to use them. We will also provide a survey to help you tailor your conversation based
on the interests of your department. Knowing which questions are most important to your
constituents will ease the discussion.

Process for Authorized Purchases and Reimbursements

To purchase food for an authorized event, such as department meetings, please:

1. Send an email to Jennifer Sun at jennifer.sun@yale.edu with the date of the event.

2. Upon receiving an email response authorizing you to pick up the p-card, please contact
Elizdalia Rivera (elizdalia.rivera@yale.edu) to schedule a time to pick up the p-card
from her office in 1 Hillhouse.

Notes:

Vendors like to copy down the credit card numbers and charge the card on the day of
the event. Please make sure that the credit card numbers are not written down
anywhere. Instead, swipe the credit card.

Please observe the budget allowance for the event. You will be reminded of the
maximum allowance in the response email.

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 Please return the p-card within 48 hours.

Document Submission

When you return the p-card, please submit the following documentation along with it:

1. The credit card slip that you have received when you had the card swiped at the vendor/
restaurant. Please write your name legibly on top of that receipt. Also, please include the
tip on that receipt so that the slip can be compared to the actual charged amount.

2. An itemized receipt. The credit card slip only contains the total amount, but the
Graduate School also would like to know what the money has been spent for. This can be
handwritten or a printed document, but it has to come from the vendor that swiped the
card. You CANNOT write this yourself.

3. An attendance list of the event. Just have everyone attending print their name.

4. An invitation or an agenda for the event.

5. A printout of the authorization email that you received from Jennifer Sun.

Please hand (1)-(5) to Elizdalia Rivera when you return the card. The treasurer does not need to
have any of the documentation.

If you must use your personal credit card, you can pay with your own credit card upon approval.
Then, you also need to submit (1)-(5) and (6) your netID. Once the expense report has been
submitted, you will get an email from Yale. You must approve the expense report by responding
to the email. You will be reimbursed into your student account.

If you have any questions or comments please contact jennifer.sun@yale.edu

Additional Tips for Representatives

Example Introduction
At the beginning of the fall semester, its a good idea to introduce yourself to the graduate
students in your department/program as their GSA Representative. While some may remember
electing you in the spring, the incoming first-year graduate students will not have that
information. This will ensure that your constituents know who to approach if they have
questions or concerns about the graduate school. If you dont know the answer, feel free to ask
the GSA Chair at gsa@yale.edu.

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Introduction to your Constituents

Hi folks,

Last spring, you elected me to serve as your representative to the Graduate Student Assembly,
which advocates to the Administration on behalf of graduate students. The GSA has recently
seen progress on many of its initiatives including sixth year funding, the limited hours at Payne
Whitney, and the changes been made to Mental Health and Counseling. Ill be sending you
occasional updates about what weve been working on and events that are going on. Later this
fall, well have a department meeting to discuss issues of concerns to you. In the meantime, if
you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email me!

Best,

Resigning your Position

If you need to resign your position and we hope you wont! you can do so by notifying the
secretary at tongjia.zhang@yale.edu. Please inform other students in your department of the open
position and encourage them to get involved as open positions can be filled by a department
byelection. The interested person needs to email the secretary to nominate themselves, following
which the election committee will canvas the department for objections. If there are no
objections, the nominee fills the vacancy.

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