Volunteers and Activists Needed!There are a number of volunteer positions available for grad students on committees within the GSS. These are an excellent opportunity to get involved in grad student affairs, meet other students from across the campus, gain some volunteer skills, and to have a say in how your grad student experience is directed.Most of these positions require a small time commitment of 2-3 hours per month. Some are fewer than that. In every one of these positions, you will have an impact on grad student life at SFU.In addition to these committee positions, the GSS is constantly looking for ways to improve grad student life at this university. Do you have an idea for a project that you think will benefit grad students? Are you willing to put in some volunteer hours to make your project a reality? Send me an email at president@sfugradsociety@sfu.ca and tell me all about it.Benefit Plan CommitteeAre you interested in how your health and dental benefits plan is governed? Would you like to be a part of the decision-making process?Meetings: 2 or 3 per semester, 2hrs eachMeeting time: no fixed scheduleContact: Josh Newman, president@sfugradsociety.caChildcare CommitteeDiscusses childcare issues on campus. Currently (and unfortunately) vacant. There is a big need for people to work on this issue.Meetings: as much as you wantMeeting time: no fixed scheduleContact: Josh Newman, president@sfugradsociety.caFinance and Audit CommitteeReviews the spending and revenue-generating practices of the Society and makes recommendations on improvements.Positions: 2 positions availableMeetings: 2 per semester, 2hrs eachMeeting time: no fixed scheduleFunding CommitteeDiscusses ways to improve grad student funding at SFU, including the management of TAships and RA funding. This committee is currently vacant. We need people to be discussing ways to convince the university and the government that they are not adequately supporting their graduate students.Meetings: as much as you wantMeeting time: no fixed scheduleContact: Josh Newman, president@sfugradsociety.caGrants Allocation CommitteeYou know how the GSS gives out grants of up to $750 to student caucuses for academic-related events? You don't know? Well, we do. In fact we have $10,000 budgeted for these student-led events for the 2009-2010 school year. Would you like to sit on the committee that recommends how these grants are distributed?Positions: 2 positions availableMeetings: 2 per semester, 2hrs eachMeeting time: no fixed scheduleContact: Cris Costa, treasurer@sfugradsociety.caGraduate Space CommitteeDiscusses how best to use grad student space on campus, and also makes recommendations about future building and grad space issues.Meetings: 2 meetings per semester, 2 hrs each
Meeting time: no fixed scheduleContact: Josh Newman, president@sfugradsociety.caSocial CommitteeAre you interested in social life at SFU? Do you really like our free hamburger/cheap beer pub nights, but wish we did more? Are you tired of SFU's reputation of zero grad student community? As expected, this committee is currently vacant. Come help us bring some community to SFU.Meetings: as much as you want
Meeting time: no fixed scheduleContact: Josh Newman, president@sfugradsociety.caSustainability CommitteeTired of waste? Want to help reduce your carbon footprint? This committee discusses sustainability and environmental issues as they pertain to grad students and the university.Meetings: no fixed scheduleContact: Duncan Wlodarczak, dwlodarc@sfu.caTask Force on Students with DisabilitiesIt has come to the attention of the GSS that students with disabilities are not adequately supported at SFU, especially grad students who may have teaching and research duties in addition to traditional studies. This task force was set up to identify the university's shortcomings in this area and to propose some recommendations for improvement.Contact: Christi Garneau-Scott, cgarneau@sfu.caAny questions about these committees, or about anything else related to the GSS? Send me an email at president@sfugradsociety@sfu.ca, or come by our offices in the Maggie Benston Centre (MBC 2201-2205) and ask someone in person. You can also call us at 778-782-3899.Questions about the health and dental benefits plan? Please call 1-866-369-8795 or visit www.ihaveaplan.ca.
Thomas Unsoeld
