Graduate Student Association

Teaching Assistants and Graduate Assistants represented by the Graduate Student Employees Union are currently bargaining to replace their collective agreement that expired a year and a half ago. They are asking for community support on their petition calling on SUNY and NY state to stop refusing to bargain in good faith over key provisions like health and safety, discrimination protections, international student support, and much more. Please support union grad workers by signing the petition and sharing with your colleagues:
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/gseu-fair-contract-now/

Tell us about your experiences with conference funding! Grad students: GSA’s Services Committee is conducting a report to evaluate our conference funding program. If you want to help us continually improve our services, please fill out the following survey by Friday, November 8th: https://forms.gle/A7goFXz1yPcRtUab6

If you’d like to share your perspective in an in-depth way, we are also conducting a focus group! If you are interested in participating in this group later in November, apply to join here: https://forms.gle/Nfma45HCeHWFtsbW8 We will serve free refreshments.

Check out some of the great events GSA has to offer!

Provided by your mandatory student activity fee.

Each year COAL releases an application for a programming grant that is a joint collaboration between COAL and Faculty Student Association (FSA) that allows any recognized student government club to apply for a programming grant to create a new program, expand a current program or produce a publication. This is an opportunity for clubs to create a large-scale program that impacts a huge portion of the student body, and it can be a great way to express your club’s creativity. Funding is up to $5,000 for a program or publication.

An important note, if you submit a grant and receive funding, you cannot change what items you proposed that you needed and you also cannot ask for a higher amount if the amount you requested and got approved for does not satisfy the amount for which the program would have cost, so be very mindful in what items you mention.

Reminder: Applications are due on September 27th by 11:59pm so please begin speaking to your E-boards on possible event ideas and ensure that you give yourselves enough time to find product costs and make meetings with your student government president and treasurer to discuss your ideas because they will give the final go-ahead and signature prior to submissions and the overall COAL vote in October.

Please see the COAL Programming Grant guidelines that further establish the rules and information that needs to be provided by submitting clubs/organizations and the Programming Grant Presentation.

If you have any questions, please reach out to the GSA President (gsa-president@buffalo.edu)

**COAL Grant submissions must be submitted to this form link: https://forms.office.com/r/bVLDPdhjaL**

UB Athletics is looking for graduate student feedback so that they can come up with promotions and ticket options that graduate students would enjoy.  Please use the link below to complete the survey by September 18th.

https://UBBulls.formstack.com/forms/ub_football_student_survey_copy

Volunteer Opportunity—gain valuable volunteer experience while helping GSA serve students! GSA now has open positions on our Election Committee, Services Committee, and Finance Committee. For more information on what these committees do, click here. Email us for more information at gsa-treasurer@buffalo.edu (Finance Committee), gsa-vicepresident@buffalo.edu (Election Committee), or gsa-president@buffalo.edu (Services Committee).  All volunteers must be confirmed by the GSA Board of Directors at the September 4th Board meeting.

UB has released drafts of the new Assembling, Camping and Posting policies. These policies explain when people can protest, assemble, and speak on campus. These will remain rough drafts until September 28. After that, the policies will be revised by a committee before they are adopted by the University. GSA’s President, Isaac, will be on that committee. So, if you have any questions or concerns about these new policies, please let me know by emailing gsa-president@buffalo.edu. You can also submit feedback on the University’s website.

The GSA is currently hiring an Hourly Associate Editor to serve through the end of the current fiscal year (July 31, 2025).  The full description of the position is attached.  If you are interested in this posting, please email the required materials listed to the GSA Vice President, Sarah MacDougall, at gsa-vicepresident@buffalo.edu by Tuesday, September 3^rd in order to be considered.  Applicants must be currently enrolled graduate students who have paid their mandatory student activity fee and must be able to serve for the full term of the position.