The Graduate Student Union elected four interim positions on Thursday.

Those positions included president, vice president, communications chair and bargaining team chief spokesman. The group is one step closer to its goal.

Members also discussed economic issues and their plan for next semester, said Interim GSU President Alyssa Warshay, a Ferndale graduate student.

“I think the meeting went great, we updated members on the history of the union and started our bargaining,” she said.

Houghton Lake Graduate student Jhordy Lytle attended the GSU meeting for the first time.

“The meeting went good, and it is exciting to be a part of something official,” Lytle said.
Lytle wants more communication between graduate students, the administration and the campus community.

“At large I feel that not many people know about what the graduate assistants do and seems like, compared to other university employees, we don’t have the same rights they do but we share the same responsibilities,” he said. “The administration recognizes teaching assistant and their contributions, but they are trying to underplay the role of research assistants and don’t want them to have the same benefits.”

The bargaining platform included topics such as salary, job security, benefits, tuition remission, professional development, international student orientation and member commitment.

The aim of the GSU platform is to achieve goals without a reduction in the workforce or a decrease in compensation for any member in the bargaining unit.


“I think people shared their concerns and voiced opinions to hear what people think about different departments,” Warshay said. 
“Our plans for this semester are to get to know each other and to make sure we are reaching out to every department.”

Virginia Graduate student and Bargaining Team Chief Spokesman Andy Cox said the meeting went well.

“We got a lot of participation, saw new people here. We’re going to try as hard as we can with the bargaining platform,” Cox said.

E-mail the author: Sherri Keaton