GSAS Student Council Discusses Advising, Union, and Scooter Safety

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences’ Student Council discussed a forthcoming survey to gauge the state of graduate student advising during its monthly open meeting in Lehman Hall Wednesday night.

The council — the official representative body for all GSAS students — also discussed career services available to graduate students, upcoming elections, graduate student union bargaining, and campus safety.

Germanic Languages and Literatures Ph.D. candidate Zachary M. Hayworth, who serves as president of the GSC, introduced GSAS Advising Project director Reba Rosenberg to present a survey to gauge the state of advising within the school. The survey is set to go live in April.

“We just really want to understand what's happening in each different department, each different area — even within a certain department, you're going to have differences, right?” Rosenberg said. “You want to capture as much of that as possible, which is why now we're going to be doing this survey.”

The council also invited Office of Career Services representative Caroline Wright to inform students about the range of professional development resources available to graduate students.

Wright stressed that the OCS provides significant support for students engaging in job searches, running the gamut from interest assessments and resume review sessions to mock interviews and negotiation tips.

“GSAS career services has traditionally seen students towards the end of degree completion, when perhaps they’re realizing that they may want to go on in a nonacademic job market,” Wright said. “We never want students to feel that they're scrambling. It's never too early to engage with our office.”

History of Science Ph.D. candidate Erik Baker shared an update on the state of bargaining between Harvard Graduate Students Union-United Automobile Workers and the University over its first contract. While Baker said the union has reached favorable agreements over some of its central proposals, such as personal day allowances, transit subsidies, and a just-cause clause for termination, he acknowledged that the University and the union still remain at an impasse over other issues.

History of Science Ph.D candidate Alexis Turner, who serves on the council’s Safety Committee, also shared a brief update about measures to address safety concerns posed by scooters on campus. Turner said that administrators are considering building secure scooter racks outside of academic buildings to prevent scooters from being taken inside, where they may prove a fire hazard.

“Scooters are a terrible thing. Apparently some scooter ran into someone and broke their ankle,” Turner said. “Also, some student almost set their room on fire while they were charging their electric scooter.”

—Staff writer Andy Z. Wang can be contacted at andy.wang@thecrimson.com