Letter to the Editor: GSO committed to graduate students despite cuts
Graduate students have been left without a voice on campus since SU withdrew funding from the Graduate Student Organization. GSO's Senate Executive Board urges students to advocate for the organization in public forums Christian Calabrese | Asst. Photo Editor
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To the Graduate Student Body,
We hope your year is off to a great start, and we would like to update you all on where things stand regarding graduate student rights. In June, after Resolution 25.04 passed, the Graduate School withdrew funding and formal recognition from the GSO. Since then, we have sought common ground: we proposed mediated talks, met with the Office of the University Ombuds and appealed to Chancellor Kent Syverud, all without any good faith engagement from the university. Those avenues are exhausted – for now. We also want to be clear that any communications where the GSO officers are tagged are being sent without our knowledge or approval, as we no longer have access to those accounts.
Even without a budget or campus resources, we remain committed to giving graduate students a platform to advocate for themselves within the university. As of right now, there is no official channel for graduate students to have a voice within the university. We believe that is unjust.
What we can do:
• Advocate for students’ interests at university events and in public forums.
• Meet with students, working groups, department representatives and student organizations — and mobilize when policy changes affect you.
• Track and share updates on administrative policies that impact graduate students.
What we can’t do (yet):
• Fund graduate events, PAC grants, legal services or student organizations.
• Directly meet with the Graduate School administration on your behalf.
How you can help:
• Tell us what matters most this term- and let us know if you’d still like to be part of an independent GSO Senate.
• Lend a skill (policy reading, data analysis, design, outreach).
• Email university leadership to support a recognized Graduate Senate.
• Talk to peers about changes in GSO recognition and the loss of student oversight.
We will keep serving graduate students — with or without a budget — because your research, teaching and labor keep this university running.
Reach us at GSOeboard@gmail.com and Instagram @SU_GSO.
—The GSO Senate Executive Board
This letter was submitted by the GSO.
