Ivy Grads Consider Shared Problems

In its first turn hosting an annual gathering of graduate student representatives, Harvard welcomed delegations from the seven other Ivy League schools and MIT this weekend for a conference intended to encourage cross-school solidarity.

Harvard’s Graduate Student Council, the governing student body of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, organized and led the weekend-long conference—known as the Ivy Summit on Graduate Student Governance—which highlighted concerns shared among the graduate schools.

“The Ivy Summit is a great opportunity to acknowledge that the different schools have similar issues regarding graduate student life and graduate student advocacy,” said David S. Lukofsky, student administrator for Dartmouth’s graduate student council.

Armed with free GSAS tote bags, participants mingled in the Dudley dining hall for lunch, sifting through piles of t-shirts emblazoned with “Who Cares About Your Research?” and paraphernalia from other schools.

“It’s Harvard doing what it does,” said Kyle M. Brown, president of Harvard GSC. “We have a lot of to talk about, and part of it is to showcase the great things about GSAS.” Brown pointed to Dudley House, the graduate student center, as an example of where Harvard set the standard for its peers.

“It’s unique among the Ivies,” he said. “Ours is sort of the prototype. We’re showing our colleagues how that all works.”

During the “State of the Nine”—the part of the proceedings when delegates take the podium to address their graduate communities’ successes, challenges, and initiatives—the issues of inadequate graduate housing, student advocacy, and mentorship consistently arose.

In a series of concurrent “breakout sessions,” attendees divided into smaller groups to discuss issues like student life programming, stipends and research funding, and health insurance.

Equipped with ideas gleaned from the experiences of other graduate student governments, representatives are given the opportunity to enact changes of their own once they return from the Summit, according to Sofia Becerra-Licha, co-vice president of Harvard GSC.

“You can see how different schools get inspired by what’s going on at other schools,” Becerra-Licha said. “You can see a sense of growth.”

Prior to the conference, the Harvard GSC prepared a questionnaire for completion by each delegation. The result—a thick packet of data, compiled by the GSC and tucked into every participant’s folder—showcased structural disparities between student governments and compared shared concerns.

The issue of affordable graduate housing and the problem of procuring a central space solely for the use of graduate students appeared in the packet. Also addressed was graduate students’ lack of influence on University policies.

Dinner after Saturday’s events was held on the 50th floor of the Prudential Center. The following morning, participants bade farewell until next year’s Ivy Summit, which will be held at Cornell.

“[The Ivy Summit] rejuvenates students,” said Kris A. Corda, director of Cornell’s graduate and professional student center. “Students come back and they’re just full of ideas.”

—Staff writer Esther I. Yi can be reached at estheryi@fas.harvard.edu.