Graduate students to establish listserv

Last night's Graduate and Professional Student Assembly meeting began with students' singing happy birthday to Chairperson David Mestre, and then moved onto the issues. Approximately 15 students attended the meeting, held in Houston Hall, and discussed such issues as the establishment of a graduate student listserv and a GAPSA semiformal. Mestre, a fifth-year Astronomy graduate student, said acting Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum is committed to paying for an equipment closet in the east wing of Houston Hall that would allow for the establishment of an Ethernet connection for the group. Once the closet is installed, Mestre said GAPSA will be able to create a graduate student listserv. He noted that the listserv will facilitate communication with graduate students and allow announcements to reach more students. "It's a marketing thing," Mestre said. "We'll push hard to get them all subscribed to the system." Mestre also gauged graduate student interest in a Dec. 9 holiday semi-formal at the Institute of Contemporary Art. He said students might want to consider changing the location of the event because Andres Serrano's "Piss Christ" will be on display at that time. The work is a photograph of a crucifix submerged in a bottle of Serrano's urine, and has been the subject of national controversy. No objections were raised, however, and Mestre said he would look into holding the event at the Institute. Safety issues were also discussed at the meeting. Mestre said a graduate student had proposed organizing a graduate student Town Watch, but added that there could be problems with purchasing radios, which cost $600 each. Students expressed concern that, in the event the program lasted only a short time, the money spent on radios would go to waste. Sixth-year Medical student Erick Santos said the problem could be avoided by giving someone final jurisdiction over the radios. Mestre said a faculty member could coordinate the program and have control over the radios. No final agreement was reached on the matter. Mestre said University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich supports the idea of the graduate student Town Watch, and the VPUL seems to be in favor of it as well. Students also discussed other safety issues, including the recent trend of students' moving from West Philadelphia to Center City. They talked about making graduate students part of the Penn Faculty and Staff for Neighborhood Issues as one means of dealing with safety issues. Mestre also said six of the 15 graduate student seats on the University Council are still open. He encouraged students to attend next Wednesday's Council meeting, which will be an open forum. During the meeting, Koli Banik, a first-year Social Work student, was also elected vice chairperson for student affairs.