Syracuse University’s graduate creative writing program hasn’t had a senator in the Graduate Student Organization in at least seven years.

This lack of representation is a problem GSO has long dealt with. GSO, the government body for graduate students, does not have representatives from a majority of academic departments. Only 27 of 150 departments have senators.

Academic program senators attend monthly senate meetings and share what was discussed with members of their departments. The senators also sit on at least one senate committee.

Graduate students without a program senator may feel like their voices aren’t represented in GSO advocacy and policy, said internal vice president Nick Mason, a doctoral student in the history department.

“GSO exists to serve graduate students, not the other way around,” Mason said. “The student fee they pay every year goes to GSO budget, so you want your individual needs, and your department needs to both be represented at the Senate.”

GSO President Mirjavad Hashemi said the Senate will work on improving the lack of representation from many programs this year.

Graduate students are elected to the Senate through their registered student organizations, which encompass multiple programs based on school or learning subject.

“A lot of grads don’t interact with the GSO because they don’t have a reason to or they aren’t aware of the things GSO can do for them,” Mason said.

Former GSO President Rajesh Kumar said he saw a similar problem during his time in the Senate, but to a different degree. When he was president, between 40 and 50 programs had a senator, he said.

As president, Kumar said he gave presentations to 18 academic departments to inform graduate students on current issues and to gather opinions on what the senators should work to address. This type of outreach is an important part of communicating to graduate students that the Senate is listening to them, he said.

“Those in power in policy need to reach out to graduate students to explain to them what they are working on and what issues affect them,” Kumar said.

Evan Hixon has served as the English department’s academic program senator for two years. He has never been contested by anyone else in his RSO, the English Graduate Organization.

RSOs need constitutional infrastructure to demonstrate to GSO that its departments are a representative body, Hixon said. Some departments may have lost this information after lacking representation for several years. A terminal master’s program only holds students for 2 years before they graduate, which is not enough to develop institutional knowledge, he added.

“If the English Graduate Organization simply lapsed its existence for two years and a couple people graduated, there’s a good chance that there is no one with both the knowledge and desire necessary to reinvest us within the Senate,” Hixon said.

Mason said some graduate student governments at other universities require mandatory attendance for all graduate students on campus. While this increases turnout and ensures policies take all students into account, this would create uninterested and uninvolved members, he said.

Kumar said if everyone affected by GSO policy is involved in the Senate and makes their voices be heard, the body will be stronger and quicker in passing policy.

Graduates may be interested in specific changes on campus such as legal services, LGBT resources and women in parliamentary positions, Kumar said. But, being a voice in these changes requires committing time and accountability, which discourages many from participating, he added.

Graduate students who want to participate in the Senate also fear being judged by their advisors or department members, Kumar said.

“They will think this person is focusing on advocacy and politics rather than focusing on their work,” he said. “But they don’t realize that these activities are really important for faculty members as well as the department as well as the student.”

Published on September 24, 2019 at 10:23 pm

Contact Richard: rjchang@syr.edu | @RichardJChang1