Graduate Student Association

On May 22, 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (H.R. 1) by a vote of 215-214. The Senate is now working on its version of the bill, which includes the Senate HELP Committee’s bill text. The House-passed reconciliation bill and the Senate HELP Committee bill includes two provisions of serious concern to CGS and the graduate education community:

• Terminates the Grad PLUS Loan Program on or after July 1, 2026
• Caps Federal Unsubsidized Loans for graduate students at $20,500 annually

These provisions in the reconciliation package will do more harm than good and will put many Americans at a disadvantage. The U.S. Senate is currently drafting its own reconciliation package and has announced plans to pass the bill before the July 4th Recess.

Please contact your U.S. Senators at your earliest convenience to express your concerns about these and other higher education-related provisions in the budget reconciliation bill.

Dear UB Graduate Students,

As many of you know, escalations in the Middle East, as well as threats by the US government to revoke student visas from those with ties to certain countries or studying certain fields, have left many of our students feeling anxious, isolated, and uncertain. International graduate students at UB have worked incredibly hard for the opportunity to make meaningful contributions to our university community, and we fully support their ability to do so. We stand with our international students as they’re forced to navigate not only the everyday challenges inherent in academic pursuits, but also the stress of working during violent conflicts abroad and amid domestic policy changes that may impact their ability to work and study at UB.

As we welcome a new group of students, many of them international, we would like to remind everyone about the following resources and encourage you to use them freely:

• International Student Services– A message of support from ISS, with links to additional resources.
• FAQs and Guidance on Federal Policies– A comprehensive page from the University providing information and guidance.
• SUNY Protocols for Interacting with Outside Law Enforcement– How to respond to requests by law enforcement officials (these guidelines apply to professors, staff, and students).
• S. Laws and Your Rights– Information from International Student Services.
• UB Counseling Services– For mental health counseling.
• Red Cards– Portable information about your Constitutional rights in a variety of languages. Printed cards in a few different languages can be picked up in the GSA North Campus office at 310 Student Union.
• CEAC Visa Status Check– For student visa status checks.

Additionally, we encourage everyone to review the UB Discrimination and Harassment Policy. If you experience or witness harassment on UB’s campus, we strongly encourage you to report it to the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Information about their policies and procedures, including the investigative process, can be found here.

Beginning in Fall, we will be creating an ad hoc International Student Committee. This committee will be helpful in relaying concerns from international students to the GSA, which will in turn use that information to better advocate on behalf of those populations in meetings with upper administration, as well as shape GSA programming for the upcoming year. In the meantime, we welcome any feedback that would be helpful in hitting the ground running once the semester starts.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to anyone in the Graduate Student Association if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

The GSA Executive Committee

Sarah MacDougall, President – gsa-president@buffalo.edu
Sevda Mirkoohi, Vice-Presidet – gsa-vicepresident@buffalo.edu
Isaac Kolding, Treasurer – gsa-treasurer@buffalo.edu

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

Provided by your mandatory student activity fee.

Students have expressed concern over the use of AI detection tools such as TurnItIn, and their disproportionate impact on students of color, international students, and neurodivergent students. If you would like to sign a petition urging the university to move away from using those tools, please do so here.

You Belong is a new campus initiative to support students, staff, and faculty who have been directly or indirectly impacted by incarceration. As part of our ongoing efforts, we have developed a short survey we are disseminating widely across campus. The questions focus on whether you are interested in getting involved, and in what capacity. We would appreciate it if you could take the time to fill out this short survey if this is something you are personally invested in, whether you are formerly incarcerated yourself, have family members who are currently or formerly incarcerated, or simply care about those who have been impacted. If not, please distribute the survey to those who you think may be interested in this initiative. A link to the survey is here: https://forms.office.com/r/Y4whtxJ3Na and a QR code that takes you to the survey is embedded in the flyer below.

Dear UB Graduate Students,

As you may have heard, last week the U.S. government revoked the visas of 13 current and former UB students. Many international students have expressed alarm and concern.

UB’s international graduate students have worked incredibly hard for the opportunity to live, study, and work in the U.S. They make extraordinary contributions to our University. We support our international graduate students.

If any international graduate students have questions or concerns about what is happening right now, we encourage them to reach out to International Student Services (ISS). They are also welcome to contact GSA at any time by emailing gsa-president@buffalo.edu. GSA is here to help in any way we can.

We encourage all students to continue producing research, teaching, and learning. However, we recommend that international students exercise caution, as reports from across the country suggest that visas are being revoked even for relatively minor infractions. We are reaching out to ISS and encouraging them to share the alleged reasons for visa revocations with their students. We encourage all students to stay up-to-date with current events and to make informed and thoughtful decisions, ensuring that they do not violate the terms of their visas.

We encourage international students to take particular care to accurately report information to the government. If you have graduated and plan to move to a new city, you must update your address in SEVP. (If you are an international student and don’t know what this means, contact ISS.) You also must update your I-20 form with any new employer or volunteer information if you get a new job or volunteer opportunity. International students can check their visa status through the CEAC website. However, note that you cannot directly check your SEVIS status as a student. SEVIS records are maintained by your Designated School Official (DSO) or program sponsor. To inquire about your SEVIS status, you should contact ISS directly.

For more information, please access the following resources.

• International Student Services – a message of support from ISS, with links to additional resources
• FAQs and Guidance on Federal Policies – A comprehensive page from the University providing information and guidance
• SUNY Protocols for Interacting with Outside Law Enforcement – how to respond to requests by law enforcement officials (these guidelines apply to professors, staff, and students)
• U.S. Laws and Your Rights – information from International Student Services
• UB Counseling Services – for mental health counseling
• Red Cards – Portable information about your Constitutional rights in a variety of languages. Printed cards in a few different languages can be picked up in the GSA North Campus office at 310 Student Union.
• CEAC Visa Status Check – for student visa status check

We sincerely wish you all the best for a successful end to the semester and a good summer. Soon, we will be announcing new social programming over the summer so that we can maintain a sense of togetherness and community, even when university isn’t in session. If you would like to weigh in on the events we have planned or express interest in additional events that would be helpful at this time, please take the survey here.

GSA Executive Committee

Isaac Kolding, President
Sarah MacDougall, Vice President
Tamara Grosso, Treasurer
Sevda Abdavinejad, Vice President Elect

The GSA Election Committee is pleased to announce the results of the 2025-2026 GSA Officer Elections vote:

President:

Sarah MacDougall: 190
(21 abstentions)

Vice President:

Sevda Abdavinejad Mirkoohi: 176
(34 abstentions)

Treasurer:

Isaac Kolding: 181
(29 abstentions)

These elected candidates will officially take office on June 1, 2025.

Thank you to all of the graduate students who participated in these votes!

Sincerely,

GSA Election Committee
Devaleena Kalita (Election Committee Chair)
Jordan Scalia
Kiara Roberts
Logan Barrett
Sai Snehitha Ramisetty

The GSA is currently hiring a Programming Coordinator to serve through the end of the next fiscal year (July 31, 2026).  The full description of the position is attached here.  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 Friday, April 25^th 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.

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

Provided by your mandatory student activity fee.