Graduate Student Council

Advocacy Committee

Chair: Anna Beck
Members: Rosemary Rohde (URS Advocate), Evans Boney, Ronnie Bryan, Dan Bower, Danielle Brown, Joel Louwsma, Havala Pye, David Doll
Meetings: noon on the 3rd Thursday of the Month at the Caltech Y multipurpose room
gscadvoc@caltech.edu

The Advocacy Committee is responsible for representing graduate student interests to the institute.

Healthcare

Housing

Stipends

Under Represented Students

In 2007, based on a student body wide poll, the GSC recommended to the administration that we keep our current level of coverage and suggested that graduate students would be willing to pay a small fee to help cover the rising costs (poll results). For the most part, these recommendations were followed: over the next two years, graduate students pay an additional $150 and then $300 annually. This plan will expire, bringing us back to the drawing board for a new plan that will begin 2009/2010. The GSC plans to work with the administration to choose a plan that covers the areas most important to graduate students -- in order to do so, we will use your input from the most recent Health Care survey (Oct 2008). Email us with any additional thoughts, comments, or questions. The GSC is proud to offer graduate students discounted Westside Rentals memberships, first funded by MHF in Spring 2008, and now funded independently by the GSC. To register for a 60 day membership, please use your Caltech user name and password to access the Westside Rentals Sign Up Page.

Virtual Suggestions/Comments Box:
Please email GSCHous-list@caltech.edu with any comments or concerns related to Caltech Housing and suggestions for assistance the GSC can provide in searching for non-Caltech accomodations in the area. The Graduate Studies Office annually makes a minimum stipend recommendation based on their estimate of the cost of living in Pasadena. These recommendations are then either followed or not, on an option by option basis. Our most recent data indicates that 9 options have at least 1 graduate student paid below the recommended minimum, and 1 option's mean stipend is below the recommended minimum. The GSC Advocacy Committee plans to keep this issue in the Institute dialogue and hopefully find a solution to help support these students.

Please fill out the Housing and Cost of Living Survey (link in Nov GSC e-announcements) to provide feedback to the GSC about your income level and its ability to meet your housing needs.

The Graduate Office operates a student emergency fund, created initially by a generous gift from Mr. Rainer Schaaf. Please visit the Student Emergency Fund website for examples of financial needs, including medical bills, that qualify and how to apply. The GSC Advocacy Committee also works to provide the graduate community with resources to deal with discrimination and harassment on campus. Our newly created position of Under-Represented Students (URS) Advocate will work with the relevant offices to raise awareness about these issues and disseminate practical information about what to do if you feel discriminated against or harassed. These offices are:
Minority Student Education
Women's Center
International Students Program
Counseling Center

We also advocate for graduate students who have financially dependent spouses and/or children. Possible monthly insurance premium reimbursement exists for graduate student dependents under the Special Needs Allowance, please follow the Request for Medical Insurance Reimbursement link on the Graduate Office website.

Healthcare	Housing	Stipends	Under Represented Students
In 2007, based on a student body wide poll, the GSC recommended to the administration that we keep our current level of coverage and suggested that graduate students would be willing to pay a small fee to help cover the rising costs (poll results). For the most part, these recommendations were followed: over the next two years, graduate students pay an additional $150 and then $300 annually. This plan will expire, bringing us back to the drawing board for a new plan that will begin 2009/2010. The GSC plans to work with the administration to choose a plan that covers the areas most important to graduate students -- in order to do so, we will use your input from the most recent Health Care survey (Oct 2008). Email us with any additional thoughts, comments, or questions.	The GSC is proud to offer graduate students discounted Westside Rentals memberships, first funded by MHF in Spring 2008, and now funded independently by the GSC. To register for a 60 day membership, please use your Caltech user name and password to access the Westside Rentals Sign Up Page. Virtual Suggestions/Comments Box: Please email GSCHous-list@caltech.edu with any comments or concerns related to Caltech Housing and suggestions for assistance the GSC can provide in searching for non-Caltech accomodations in the area.	The Graduate Studies Office annually makes a minimum stipend recommendation based on their estimate of the cost of living in Pasadena. These recommendations are then either followed or not, on an option by option basis. Our most recent data indicates that 9 options have at least 1 graduate student paid below the recommended minimum, and 1 option's mean stipend is below the recommended minimum. The GSC Advocacy Committee plans to keep this issue in the Institute dialogue and hopefully find a solution to help support these students. Please fill out the Housing and Cost of Living Survey (link in Nov GSC e-announcements) to provide feedback to the GSC about your income level and its ability to meet your housing needs. The Graduate Office operates a student emergency fund, created initially by a generous gift from Mr. Rainer Schaaf. Please visit the Student Emergency Fund website for examples of financial needs, including medical bills, that qualify and how to apply.	The GSC Advocacy Committee also works to provide the graduate community with resources to deal with discrimination and harassment on campus. Our newly created position of Under-Represented Students (URS) Advocate will work with the relevant offices to raise awareness about these issues and disseminate practical information about what to do if you feel discriminated against or harassed. These offices are: Minority Student Education Women's Center International Students Program Counseling Center We also advocate for graduate students who have financially dependent spouses and/or children. Possible monthly insurance premium reimbursement exists for graduate student dependents under the Special Needs Allowance, please follow the Request for Medical Insurance Reimbursement link on the Graduate Office website.