After almost a year of spirited debate, contention and compromise, the journey is finally over.
Both the Graduate Student Associations Council and the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly voted almost unanimously at their body meetings this week to amend their constitutions to approve a new graduate student government structure.
The new graduate student government body - which will also be known as GAPSA - will serve as an umbrella organization representing graduate students from all 12 graduate schools at Penn, much like the current GAPSA does now.
In order to represent research and professional students at Penn, the 47 member general assembly will consist of a 15-member research council and a 32-member professional council.
Graduate schools will each provide professional and research representatives based on the populations of their student bodies.
The new constitution will need to be approved by all 12 graduate schools and the University administration, but GAPSA chairman and fourth year Communications graduate student Lee Shaker doesn't see that as a problem.
Shaker sees "little to no chance" that the new constitution and proposed funding won't be approved.
In addition, GSAC also voted on a constitution for a School of Arts and Sciences graduate student government, SASgov, which will replace GSAC.
GSAC had previously represented SAS student needs while supporting Ph.D. students in Penn's nine graduate schools.
All changes in the constitution will go into effect on May 1, and the new executive board - which will be elected on April 16 - will work over the summer to implement the new structure for next year.
Graduate students are pleased that they have reached the end of the road.
"I'm really, really excited," said Leslie Warden, fourth year SAS graduate student and the GSAC vice president of SAS Affairs. "All the other schools have their own representative bodies that serve the graduate student needs, and, [for] too long, SAS's issue have sat in a body of nine schools."
"It's great," added fourth year Graduate School of Education student and GSAC president Cassondra Giombetti. "There were people that questioned the process, but they actually did something about it."
And the graduate students who have developed this new governmental structure are likewise looking forward to the future.
Fourth year School of Medicine student and GSAC representative Marie Hildebrandt said she is most pleased with the new methods of funding allocation.
Penn Med "government has no funding," Hildebrandt said. "Now we'll be going from a budget of zero to around $20,000. I've had a lot of interest in this passing."
Other students, like third year School of Dental Medicine student and GAPSA Vice Chairman for Social Hadi Ghazzouli, simply find the new system superior.
"The whole system is great," Ghazzouli said. "They really addressed all the problems the GAPSA General Assembly saw and made it more accountable to graduate and professional students."
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