Though the president’s office remains uncontested in this
year’s upcoming Graduate Student Association election, the
external affairs office boasts three contenders who said they are
determined to advocate on behalf of graduate students while
focusing on different issues.
The candidates ““ Miguel Duarte, Haig Hovsepian and Laura
Sanchez ““ are vying for a position that deals with graduate
student issues largely on a state and national level.
Duarte, a second-year law student, said he wants to work on the
issue of fee increases in graduate and professional schools.
Professional school students in particular, he said, are facing a
disproportionate fee increase next year.
“I want to advocate on behalf of graduate students in
distributing the fee increases more fairly,” he said,
explaining that he believes part of the professional fee increases
should be shifted to the undergraduate level, as they are more
eligible for federal grants and scholarships.
“We’re lucky enough if we could take on unsubsidized
loans,” he said, adding that he felt justified in making the
observation because he spent his undergraduate years at UCLA.
Compared to his undergraduate experiences, Duarte said there is
much less opportunity to become involved as a graduate or
professional student.
He said he wants graduate students to gain the sense of being
part of the campus, and he added that he plans for more social
events where students from different departments can mingle.
Among other things, he said he will work on making the Graduate
Student health insurance plan more affordable and suitable for
graduate students, especially those who want to add their family
members to the plan.
With his experience as the co-external chair of the La Raza Law
Student Association and as a law student, he said he will be
accustomed to the kind of advocacy work needed in the external
affairs position.
Hovsepian, a neuroscience doctoral student, said he would
continue advocating for tax exemptions for graduate fellowships and
scholarships, an issue that has been gaining momentum this year
with lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C.
He added that he is concerned about the problems GSA has been
having with the University of California Students Association, one
of the main organizers of the tax exemption campaign.
At its last forum, GSA voted to put a referendum on the election
ballot that would cut in half its yearly contribution to UCSA, from
$14,000 to $7,000, because of general dissatisfaction with
UCSA’s budget proposals.
Hovsepian said GSA needs to be careful about its relationship
with UCSA because of its large potential to push forward issues
that are important to graduate students. He added that he thinks it
is important for both associations to come to an understanding over
the budget issue.
As an external vice president, he said he would also try to
steer the focus of GSA toward facilitating communication between
alumni and graduate students.
“It’s important to maintain continuous interaction
with alumni,” Hovsepian said. “They can reach out and
offer their connections and resources to enrolled students and
attract other students to the school in the process.”
Hovsepian, who has been actively involved in GSA, as a
representative from the biological sciences council, to forum
meetings and to various committees, said he believes his experience
and exposure to the structure and issues raised will help him in
effectively running his office.
Second-year law student Sanchez, also running for the position,
said she will work to ensure adequate compensation for graduate
students in their teaching and research assistant posts.
“With the budget cut, graduate students often end up being
overwhelmed by the increase in size and the amount of work in the
classes they teach or the research they do, without being
adequately compensated,” she said.
She also said that she has strong feelings on the issue of
graduate housing. A large number of graduate students have
families, she said, and their specific needs have to be taken into
account when considering factors of suitable housing for them.
Sanchez is also concerned with the diversity of students at
graduate and professional schools. She said she would be interested
in taking part in discussions about diversity at both the
university and the state level.
“Just because we’re living post-Proposition 209
doesn’t mean that the discussions about affirmative action is
over,” she said.
Sanchez, who has done campaign work for legislators and worked
at the legislative analyst’s office, said her past
experiences and her status as a law student provide educational and
professional backgrounds that would benefit her work in
representing graduate students.
Having a master’s degree in public education, she said she
is able to relate to concerns expressed by both graduate and
professional students. She added that she would work on
familiarizing herself with students by going to different
councils’ meetings and hearing their concerns.