This board endorses Milan Chatterjee for Graduate Students Association president.
His experience in GSA as the previous director of discretionary funding and the current vice president of internal affairs will aid Chatterjee in his platform goals to improve funding for students and make the GSA website more accessible and up-to-date. Chatterjee also said he will try to bring different graduate student groups on campus together and ensure that GSA is more tuned-in to diversity issues.
Additionally, Chatterjee’s idea to revamp the student interest committee would steer part of the committee’s focus to diversity groups on campus, which has the potential to put GSA more in touch with the needs of cultural groups and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.
Though he has our endorsement, this board believes Chatterjee should come up with more concrete ways to accomplish his goals. In an interview with the board, Chatterjee lacked specific ideas about how he would advocate for more online course options and against tuition increases besides just talking with administrators. The cost of attending graduate school is a problem for many students, who deserve a leader that will effectively fight for them and represent them to University of California administration.
In the same vein, Chatterjee should also try to come up with a stronger strategy to bring graduate students from different academic departments together. Wanting to promote collaboration is great, but just telling people to meet or organizing a few meetings will not get the job done to its full extent.
This board also believes GSA should not create its own app, as Chatterjee proposed, because it would likely see little use and could waste GSA funds.
GSA needs a strong leader who not only has a vision but also the specific plans to make that vision materialize. This is particularly important given graduate students’ continuing small demonstrated interest in this governing body. The students need to see results for them to believe that GSA is worthwhile, and this board thinks the Bruin Proud slate could inspire the student body if it starts thinking about the feasible steps it can take to fulfill its larger goals.