Marilyn Gray and Dennis Tyler, who are running for the Academic
Affairs office in the Graduate Student Association, said they are
committed to work on ensuring academic rights for graduate
students.
Created through last year’s election ballot, the vice
president of academic affairs office is actively involved in the
Academic Senate and individual departments on various graduate
academic issues.
Current GSA President Charles Harless said the position was
created because there is a need for increased involvement in
graduate academic affairs.
Previously, GSA had a commissioner working on academic issues,
but Harless said an official vice president position would give
more power and create higher expectations for the job.
Tyler, an English doctoral student, is re-running for the
position and said he believes he is best suited for the job because
he is already aware of its responsibilities and demands.
“I won’t have to adjust to the job and can just
continue on with the projects I’ve began this year and also
adding new projects for next year,” he said.
Tyler said his mission is to fight for graduate student academic
rights at UCLA.
He plans to continue working with the Graduate Division on
extending the period that graduate students can clear their
academic incompletes and removing the Fs from their
transcripts.
He said he will also try to find more funding for graduate
students travelling to conferences, and to inform them of
opportunities available to raise funds through GSA or other
resources on campus.
“Oftentimes departments don’t have enough money to
cover all of the expenses for conferences,” he said.
Tyler said another issue he wants to tackle is why graduate
students have to pay more for summer foreign language courses than
undergraduates. He said he will need to consult with summer
programs to ensure that all UCLA students “are given equal
rights.”
Tyler added that he thinks his undergraduate experiences in
working on various student academic issues will greatly help him
with the job. His experiences range from departmental reviews to
undergraduate curriculum and honors requirements.
Gray, a doctoral student in the department of Slavic languages
and literature, said she is running because she sees many areas
where the university can improve in terms of graduate student
academic rights.
Gray said she thinks she is most qualified for the position
because of her extensive experiences in serving graduate students.
She has been serving as the graduate student representative to the
students’ association board of directors since 1998 and has
been a liaison for four years between students and faculty in the
Slavic department.
“I was active in communicating concerns that graduate
students in my department have to the Graduate Council conducting
the eight-year review process,” she said.
She said she is aware of the many issues and problems that
graduate students can have with their departments, and that she has
done a lot of work with committees and learned how to facilitate
dialogue in a group.
She said one of her goals is to “consolidate information
and services available on campus for students who are having
problems with their departments.”
Gray added that she will make herself available for students if
they are having problems with their departments or certain academic
policies.