GSA report

GSA- GRT

On Monday Jan. 18, full-time graduate students will vote in a referendum regarding the fee changes surrounding GRT bus passes.

Grand River Transit has asked for a five per cent consumer price index increase to the graduate student U-PASS fee that will be effective as of September 2010 despite their contract not running out until December 2011.

GRT has also offered an opportunity for a three-semester U-PASS as they currently only have it for the fall and winter terms.

There will be two ballots available, the first addressing GRT’s initial proposal asking students whether or not they support the U-PASS fee increase.

The second will address the latter issue, asking students if they support the three-semester pass for graduate students.

The poll will take place on Jan. 18 from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the GSA office and from 12 p.m. until 1 p.m. at the social work campus.

“It’s a Monday, the reason we do this is so that MBA students and MSW students have the time and are on campus to poll,” said chief returning officer Dawn Adams.

There will also been an opportunity for advanced polling starting on Thursday Jan. 14 where students can vote online via e-mail, which will be confidential.

The polling will close on Jan. 18 and the verdict of the questions will be tallied and announced.

GSA- chair

Former graduate studies association chair Bob Shields has stepped down after being a non-student for several months has left him ineligible for the role.

At the board meeting on Jan. 5, Dana Gregoire was unanimously acclaimed as the new chair.

“I want people to feel like they can make a difference because anybody sitting here can bring a motion forward and … they can do anything they want to do, but they have to feel like they have a say and they have to feel like their opinions are important and the chair can do a lot towards that,” said Gregoire.

Gregoire has prior experience in this field as he served as chair of the undergrad council at the University of Manitoba, where he attended prior to Laurier. He expressed a clear understanding of Robert’s Rules of Order, and is confident that he is right for the role.

“It was the right position for me at the right time,” said Gregoire.