Grad gov't largely ignored by student body

Mike Mercanti-Anthony appreciates his student government for the social events it hosts.

Beyond that, the first-year graduate student doesn't know much else about the organization.

Mercanti-Anthony and many other graduate students at Penn say that the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly is largely an organization removed from their daily life at Penn.

Even with their recent initiatives to improve student life for students in all 12 graduate schools, GAPSA officials admit that it is a challenge to appeal to and affect such a large group.

"It's hard to reach [students] because they're so many and so diverse," said GAPSA spokeswoman Alina Badus, a fourth-year School of Arts and Sciences graduate student.

Students in specific graduate schools tend to rely on their program's individual events to get involved with the community.

Second-year MBA student Seth Demain said he does not know much about GAPSA because the MBA events, which he attends, are planned by the Wharton Graduate Association.

Adam Powell, a Wharton Ph.D. student, added that he does not feel connected to GAPSA because one of the issues most important to him - the size of his stipend - is determined by the federal government.

He suggested GAPSA could better address safety issues around campus.

"The only things I care about are what goes into my pocket and what could be taken from my pocket," he said.

"Part of being a grad student is being less dependent on the school," second-year Penn Law student Amy Retsinas added.

GAPSA chairman Dan Grabell, a second-year MBA student, said GAPSA's initiatives largely involve issues that affect the entire graduate-student community, not just one specific school.

"GAPSA is going to attract people who want to meet people outside their own programs," he said.

In turn, some graduate students have joined GAPSA to give back to Penn.

Second-year SAS graduate student Carla Cue, for example, joined GAPSA's committee on public safety to feel more engaged with the community since most of her friends do not go to Penn.

GAPSA is currently implementing a number of different methods that aim to reach and unite the general graduate-student population - something GAPSA representatives say is important to strengthening GAPSA's presence on campus.

They include the Octobus - a new shuttle service that travels round-trip from Center City to campus - frequent updates to the GAPSA Web site and monthly e-mails to all graduate students.

To learn more about GAPSA, check out the organization's Web site at gapsa.upenn.edu.

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