The furor over last week's graduate-student-government proposal has died down slightly, but feedback continues to pour in as organizers decide what to do next.
The Graduate and Professional Student Assembly and Graduate Student Association Council made a joint proposal that would dissolve GSAC and create a new organization to oversee all graduate schools.
The proposal, which was greeted with both dismay and delight, caused divisions within the graduate community.
On one side are those who desire an overhaul of the current system, which they say is too confusing to navigate.
On the other side are those who claim that the current system should be reformed - not rebuilt.
But GAPSA and GSAC heads say they aren't too worried about any backlash their proposal has caused.
"Most of the feedback has been constructive," Annenberg School for Communication Ph.D. candidate and GAPSA chairman Lee Shaker said.
He noted that students are not merely giving "yes" or "no" answers to the proposal but are becoming more engaged and "concerned with different issues" involved.
For example, some graduate students are concerned with potential fund allocation and their schools' representation in the new organization. Changes in either category would affect schools significantly.
The School of Veterinary Medicine, for example, currently has two GAPSA representatives, said Vet student Carey Tamburrino. Under the initial proposal guidelines, it would only have one.
Still, Shaker pointed out that any speculation about the proposal is essentially premature.
"Nothing is set in stone," he said. "There will be much deliberation about specific schools."
Shaker and GSAC head Cassondra Giombetti, who is a graduate student in the School of Education, have emphasized the need to streamline government in order to increase accessibility.
But some aren't convinced that GAPSA's motives are so altruistic.
"I'm deeply mistrustful of people who say that, because they're not going to be here next year and won't experience the benefits [of the plan], their objectives must be pure," School of Arts and Sciences graduate student Steven Vose said.
But while much of GAPSA's current leadership will be gone next year, the administration will continue to play a prominent role in its undertakings.
Because GAPSA and GSAC are University groups, they are accountable to the administration. As such, they have been meeting with the Provost's Office to confer about the upcoming project.
"I haven't been giving them advice, but they have informed us of their plans," Associate Provost Andy Binns said.
"I'm supportive of their ideas," he added.
Shaker says the next step is to create working groups where students can air their grievances and rework some sections of the proposal.
"There will be campus-wide forums in January," he said. "We are just shepherding the process while students deliberate."
