Graduate Student Government Senate Meeting – July 30, 2022

Date: July 30, 2022 
Time: 11:00am – 1:00pm 
Location: 440 Egan / Zoom

AGENDA 

ITEMS DISCUSSED & SUMMARY 

President Aditya Santosh opened the meeting and welcomed everyone. The senate meeting conducted by the 2022-2023 Executive Board was conducted during the summer to inform the members about the upcoming plans of the board and to invite feedback about what should be addressed in the coming year. Aditya began by sharing what Graduate Student Government is, the organization’s history, and his vision for the coming year. The executive board introduced themselves to the audience and Varun Phadke, Executive Vice president, presented GSG’s structure. Debpriya Das, VP of Finance, spoke at length about GSG’s flagship projects that are planned out for the coming year. The event was concluded by a closing address by the Executive Vice President and President where he mentioned a sustainability tip to the members and a session for accepting feedback from the participants about what they would like to see GSG do in the future or any concerns they might have.

Aditya addressed the audience about the purpose of GSG and about its mission and vision. He mentioned how GSG is now focused on swiftly acting upon any concerns and opportunities that are pointed out by the graduate student community and also about his vision of integrating Sustainability into the organization’s activities.

2.  Officer Introductions

Each officer introduced themselves and talked briefly about their responsibilities on the board.

Executive Vice President: Varun Phadke

Vice President of Student Affairs: Kush Damani

 Vice President of Academic Affairs: Jay Patel

Vice President of Financial Affairs: Debpriya Das 

Vice President of External Affairs: Phalesha Rawal 

Vice President of Marketing & Outreach: Vibin Roy 

Vice President of Programs & Operations: Mahalakshmi Rajkumar

Vice President of Technology: Ankit Jagtap

3. GSG Structure

Executive Vice President, Varun Phadke, introduced members to the organizational structure. The audience was encouraged to join the senate and reminded that the Senator Nomination forms would be released after the initial Senate meeting in Fall 2022. He also addressed the various benefits that graduate students would receive being associated with GSG as a member and senator.

4. Flagship Projects 

VP of Finance, Debpriya Das, shared a list of projects that the GSG would prioritize over the coming along with the project leads. Each project’s purpose and approach to solving the problem were briefed in her session. These projects were decided by the board after careful consideration to attend to the needs of graduate students and enhance GSG’s outreach. The list of projects and their project leads are:

ADJOURNMENT 

The Senate meeting was adjourned at 1:00 pm by President Aditya Santosh Gopal

Graduate Student Government Senate Meeting – September 15, 2021 

September 15, 2021 
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm 
Zoom Recording: https://northeastern.zoom.us/j/92967765135

AGENDA 

1. Fall 2021 Meeting Schedule, Hybrid format 
2. GSG Introduction
3. Officer Introductions
4. Priorities, Initiatives, and Pillars 
5. Upcoming Events
6. Committee Breakout 
7. Senator Status and Role of a Senator 
8. Questions and Answers

ITEMS DISCUSSED & SUMMARY 

Executive Vice President Shakir Khalid opened the meeting and welcomed everyone. The first Fall 2021 meeting was conducted both on-ground and Zoom. Shakir began by sharing the university’s Covid-19 protocol, and then shared what Graduate Student Government is and what has been doing and the history of the organization. Shakir also introduced the structure of the organization and shared how the senate meets bi-weekly to discuss various issues and to vote on formal legislation that we present to Northeastern Administration. Additionally, upcoming changes to procedures including Roberts Rules of Order & Parliamentary Procedure, transitioning the Senate meetings to discussion-based senate meetings, and facilitating hybrid/flexible and accessible meetings. The Executive Board was introduced to the Senate, and each member individually introduced themselves to the Senate, sharing more about their roles and responsibilities. Thereafter, VP of Marketing & Outreach also shared the upcoming events including and priorities and pillars of the organization.  

1. Fall 2021 Meeting Schedule, Hybrid format

In-person registration is available to attend the bi-weekly meetings. A registration link will be sent five (5) days before each meeting. A waitlist will be available if the in-person meeting room has reaches maximum capacity as per the college’s COVID-19 meeting policy. 

To attend the in-person meetings in Room 333 at the Curry Student Center, please be aware of the following: limited capacity, registration is required, ticketing system will operate on a first serve, first-come basis, university safety protocols will be followed, and you are encouraged to bring PDF attachments that each GSG member receives in advance. 

2. GSG Introduction

Executive Vice President Shakir said the GSG is a representation of the gradate community (Master’s and PhD). Funding is provided for individual conferences, student groups, and academic projects. It supports community building by sponsoring events and other initiatives. 

3.  Officer Introductions

Each officer introduced himself/herself and welcomed students to join committees. 

President: Jared Beaulieu, GSGPresident@northeastern.edu 

Executive Vice President: Shakir Khalid, GSGEVP@northeastern.edu 

Vice President of Student Affairs: Rhea Sharma (Student Affairs Committee), GSGStudentAffairs@northeastern.edu 

Vice President of Financial Affairs: Chinmayi Shaligram (Financial Affairs Committee), GSGFinance@northeastern.edu 

 Vice President of Academic Affairs: Kulbir Singh (Academic Affairs Committee), GSGAcademicAffairs@northeastern.edu 

Vice President of Programs & Operations: Arundhati Jha (Programs & Operations Committee), GSGPrograms@northeastern.edu 

Vice President of Marketing & Outreach: Devina Raithatha (Marketing & Outreach Committee), GSGMarketingOutreach@northeastern.edu 

Vice President of External Affairs: Phalesha Rawal (External Affairs Committee), GSGExternal@northeastern.edu  

Vice President of Technology: Keerthi Bhavani Gosika (Technology Committee), GSGTechnology@northeastern.edu  

The link to connect with the current GSG Executive Team is the following: https://www.northeastern.edu/gsg/executive-board/ 

GSG email: gsg@northeastern.edu 

4. Priorities, Initiatives, and Pillars

Vice-President of Marketing and Outreach, Devina Raithatha shared more information about the priorities for the new executive board. There are 4 pillars that have been identified including One Northeastern, Awareness, Collective Partnership, and Advocacy & Empowerment. The first pillar prioritizes establishing a stronger sense of community and expanding GSG to regional campuses. Moreover, there is a stronger focus on DEI and ensuring that the senate is increasingly more representative of the student body and it’s needs and requirements. The second pillar prioritizes increased transparency and visibility about the initiatives and resources that GSG provides. The third pillar prioritizes enhanced partnership with student groups, resources on campus, and campus administration. Lastly, the fourth pillar prioritizes shared leadership and empowerment for students to increase student life advocacy and reiterate the shift in transitioning GSG Senate Meetings to discussion-based meetings.  

5. Upcoming Events 

VP of Marketing & Outreach, Devina Raithatha, shared the three major upcoming events including the GSG Brunch, GSG Movie Night and the second Senate Meeting.  

6. Committees/Committee Breakout 

Vice President of Marketing & Outreach, Devina Raithatha described the GSG committees, roles & requirements to be a part of each of committee. The students virtually and in-person broke out into the respective committees: Student Affairs Committee, Academic Affairs, Finance Committee, Programs and Operations Committee, Marketing and Outreach Committee, External Affairs, and Technology. 

7. Senator Status/Expectations

GSG Senator applications are available to complete now. A Senator must complete a Senator Nomination form, attend bi-weekly Senate meetings, and attend committee meetings regularly. To maintain active status, a Senator will be required to attend two (2) consecutive meetings. A Senator will become inactive if two (2) consecutive meetings are missed. Senators can regain their active status by attending consecutive meetings. 

Senator Nomination form is valid for one academic year. You do not need to resubmit a form if you completed a form in Spring 2021. If you were a senator in the previous academic year (Fall 2019-Spring 2020), you are requested to complete a Senator Renewal form. 

Senator Nomination Form:  https://www.northeastern.edu/gsg/become-a-senator/

Senator Renewal Form:  https://www.northeastern.edu/gsg/become-a-senator/

8. Questions

Executive Vice President Shakir Khalid and VP of Marketing & Outreach Devina Raithatha answered questions Senator nomination.  

If you would like to receive emails about the Senate meetings and volunteer opportunities, send a request to “join organization” on CampusLabs- https://neu.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/graduate-student-government. 

GSG social media: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/northeasterngsg/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NortheasternGSG/ 

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/graduate-student-government-northeastern-university 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NortheasternGSG  

ADJOURNMENT 

The Senate meeting was adjourned at 4:30pm by Executive Vice President Shakir Khalid

Graduate Student Government Senate Meeting – April 15, 2021

April 15, 2021
12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Zoom Recording: http://bit.ly/sm4-15

AGENDA

1. Introduction
2. Budget Priorities Survey
3. Budget Proposal 

ITEMS DISCUSSED

1. Introduction

President Gagan Prabhu called the meeting to order.

2. Budget Priorities Survey

Executive Vice President Divya Subbaian provided a PowerPoint presentation of the Budget Priorities Survey. The survey offered findings and results from the 2020-2021 budget priorities survey. The survey was administered to all graduate students at Northeastern University – Boston. A total of 647 graduate students completed the survey. This year, the survey was shorter and more specific to nine (9) focus areas: General Information, Academics, Ph.D. Network, Student Involvement, Other Campus Resources, Graduate Student Government, Health Insurance/Mental Health and COVID Safety, University community building, and Overall Satisfaction.

The link to the sample survey is the following: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=gcLuqKOqrk2sm5o5i5IV5_hULL-5uHNNjp7nklS83ZFUREw1MkRWS1U5T0JMQ0ZUUEEyTTc1Rkk2Ri4u

A question-and-answer session followed the presentation. 

A list of four (4) Initial Recommendations was presented over the topics of academics, COVID-19 testing, increasing job opportunities for students, adding to the range of student involvement opportunities.

The PowerPoint slides will be shared with the Senate members by email.

3. Budget Proposal

President Gagan Prabhu provided a PowerPoint presentation overview and spreadsheet of the budget. The GSG annual budget is categorized as follows: (a) Operations and (b) Graduate Student Funding ((i) Individual Funding and (ii) Student Group Funding). The GSG is not currently a member of National Association of Graduate Professional Students. The membership fee is $1,000 annually. The option to rejoin the organization is available for the future GSG leadership.

The Graduate Student Government Senate approved the GSG budget with 95 percent of the vote.

This is the last meeting of the current GSG administration. The dates for the E-Board Elections 2021-2022 will be announced soon.

ADJOURNMENT

The Senate meeting was adjourned at 6:20pm by President Gagan Dep Prabhu.

Meeting Attendance

Graduate Student Government Senate Meeting – March 24, 2021

March 24, 2021
12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Zoom Recording: http://bit.ly/sm3-24

AGENDA

1. Introduction
2. Guest Speaker – Naomi Boase – Assistant Director, CIE
3. Guest Speaker – Elizaveta Butsenevskaya – NU Alumni, Product Designer, PTC inc.
4. Event Polls and Feedback
5. NU CAP Outreach – Environmental Justice Climate Equity – Yasmina Estepe & Aubrey Thomas
6. Questions and Answers

ITEMS DISCUSSED

1. Introduction

Executive Vice President Divya Subbaian opened the meeting by introducing the speakers and going through the agenda for the session.

2. Center for Intercultural Engagement (CIE)

Naomi Boase, Assistant Director of Center for intercultural engagement gave a background about herself and what the center does and what it offers to the Graduate Student body. CIE focuses on diminishing intercultural differences and nurture a community of inclusion. It is located at 144 Curry center and the Social Justice Research Center SJRC is also another physical space where students can reserve affinity spaces to engage and experience the cultural life at Northeastern.

The collective objective of these organizations along with several other student affinity clubs associated with them is to foster inclusion and promote opportunities for intersectional identity development.

Some of the programs are i) Re-envisioning our world: Me and White Supremacy ii) A time of impeachment & insurrection iii) Libre Collective Spring 2021 iv) Empower   v) Global Leadership Program vi) Our Voices vii) The FUNL Network

These are series of workshops, events and training programs that revolve around different themes of intercultural differences for each of the ethnic identity groups that are a part of Northeastern.

3. Resume Writing – Elizaveta Butsenevskaya (NU Alumni, Product Designer)

Elizaveta, an international student with experience gives a brief background about herself and about her passion project which is to help international students understand the whole job search process and challenges that they face.

She talks about how to pass the ATS scan and get your Resume to be read by a recruiter. The key takeaways are:

i) 75% job applications are rejected before they are read by a human due to the usage of applications tracking systems by companies to streamline the hiring process.

ii) Tweaking the job role based on the job description gets extra points by the ATS system.

iii) The technical terminology for the hard skills should be an exact match with those required in the job description.

Iv) ATS would be unable to scan through fancy resumes with creative edits and hence would not pass the resume to the recruiter.

v) Creative resumes can be used when the resume is directly being sent to the recruiter or being printed out at the time of the job interview.

vi) ATS works better with the Word format as compared to PDF. 

4. Upcoming Events and Feedback/Polls:

Divya Subbaian abd Gagan Prabhu gives an update about the upcoming Events for the following weeks which are the i) GSG Merchandise Giveaway ii) Virtual Escape Room iii) Movie Night. Zoom Polls and feedback sessions were conducted to see which date students would prefer for the virtual escape room and movie night. She talks about the various committees that are a part of the Graduate student government while also answering questions about the roles and duties of these committees.

5. Environmental Justice Climate Equity

Yasmina Estepe and Aubrey Thomas talk about the NU CAP which is a student led organization which focuses on creating the climate action plan for a sustainable environment with a focus on inclusion, diversity and equity. They brainstormed ideas along with students on possible ways to have a greater outreach and student engagement. They also went over some of the projects that they are currently taking up and along with their efforts for a more sustainable future. Some of the great ideas included holding a competition between different departments and organizations with the goal to achieve sustainability in any of their day-to-day operations. Another great recommendation was to utilize social media influencers of various departments to act as mediators to connect and work together for a better outreach.

 6. Question and Answer

The next Senate meeting is scheduled for April 10th, 2021, 12:00p.m.-1:00p.m. (EST) in #333 Curry Student Center and through Zoom.

All Attendees would be receiving gift cards from grub hub.

ADJOURNMENT

The Senate meeting was adjourned at 2:00p.m. by President Gagan Dep Prabhu.

Meeting Attendance

Graduate Student Government Senate Meeting – March 13, 2021

March 13, 2021
12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Zoom Recording: http://bit.ly/sm3-13

AGENDA

1. Introduction
2. NU Impact
3. Certificate Funding
4. Scattergories Game
5. Event Polls and Feedback
6. Questions and Answers

ITEMS DISCUSSED

1. Introduction

President Gagan Dep Prabhu opened the meeting.

2. NU Impact

Karan Kishorepuria, president of NU Impact, addressed the Graduate Student Government Senate. Spencer Haber is director of finance and operations. The group is described as a student-led investment fund deploying flexible capital through rigorous experiential learning and engagement with the local community.

The NU Impact mission statement is “To advance awareness of purposeful capital and strengthen our local community through comprehensive education programming and targeted investments.” The organization will be (1) advancing awareness, including conducting educational programming – industry speaker events, workshops, and an annual summit to connect students to the ideas, practice, and careers in impact investing; and (2) strengthening our local communities through its NUImpact Fund is engaging investment analysis, research analysis, and rotational associates in a rigorous investment process culminating in deployment of capital to sustainable businesses addressing social and environmental challenges.

Additional facts of NU Impact: (1) One of the only undergraduate-led impact investing funds, (2) $25,000 has been invested in the Boston community, (3) 50+ student members from six (6) undergraduate colleges are participating, (4) 17 speaker events were sponsored in 2019-2020, and (5) over 150 attendees participated in the annual conference.

3. Certificate Funding

President Gagan Dep Prabhu presented Professional Development Certifications Funding (PDCF). According to the program, the funding for professional development certifications is designed to support Northeastern University non-Ph.D. graduate students from all colleges and departments in their pursuit of local professional development opportunities within their area of study or research on a reimbursement basis to cover registration fees that are not currently funded by the student’s advisor or other funding sources. Non-Ph.D. students are eligible for funding up to the amount of $100 per academic year. However, this fund is allocated to cover registration fees that are not currently funded by the student’s advisor or other funding sources.

The last funding period for the 2020-2021 academic year includes the following: Conference dates: April-May 2021; Application deadline: March 20, 2021; and Notification date: March 31, 2021. Additional information on the proposal said the funding program is highly competitive and it is not a guaranteed source of funding. Applicants who are not awarded are encouraged to re-apply for future semesters, provided that all eligibility criteria are met. Award allocations are determined by the availability of funds and the number of applications received.

Voting by the Senate

Result: Approved (The Graduate Student Government Senate approved the Professional Development Certifications Funding proposal by 86%).

4. Scattergories Game

Vice President of Programs and Operations Shakir Khalid provided the instructions for the Scattergories game that involved eight (8) breakout rooms to address five (5) categories with 60 second each. Scoring was 10 points for each unique answer, five (5) points for a repeated answer, and zero (0) points for no answer/repeated answer for a third time. Finalists were Asjad, Samuel Chuan, Aditi Jain, Danzel Jones, Sandeep, Kulbir Singh, and Milan Skobic. 

Winners:

1st Place: Danzel Jones

2nd Place: Asjad

3rd place: Kulbir Singh

The  winners will receive gift cards from Amazon.

5. Event Polls and Feedback

Zoom poll was taken for students preference on upcoming events.

6. Question and Answer

The next Senate meeting is scheduled for March 24, 2021, 12:00p.m.-2:00p.m. (EST) in #333 Curry Student Center and through Zoom.

ADJOURNMENT

The Senate meeting was adjourned at 2:15p.m. by President Gagan Dep Prabhu.

Meeting Attendance

Graduate Student Government Senate Meeting – February 24, 2021

February 24, 2021
12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Zoom Recording: http://bit.ly/gsg2-24

AGENDA

1. Introduction
2. Student Group Approval 1
3. Student Group Approval 2
4. Birds of a Feather Event
5. Questions

ITEMS DISCUSSED

1. Introduction

Executive Vice President Divya Subbaian opened the meeting and welcomed everyone. It was the third spring meeting that was conducted on-ground and via Zoom.

2. Student Group Approval 1

Ryan McGlynn, President of Pharmaceutical Science Graduate Student Association, Bouvé College of Health Sciences presented for approval before GSG. Their objective is to strengthen graduate program community in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, promote its sustainability and provide career, and networking opportunities to students in the department. The faculty adviser is Dr. Booth, Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and the administrative sponsor is Dr. Janero, Head of the Graduate Committee. The group has held program town halls (Summer 2020, Fall 2020), elected graduate student liaison (Spring 2020), constructed Welcome social for new PhD students (Fall 2020) and held Q&A for prospective students (Spring 2021) amongst others. Their future endeavors include talk by the Head of medical writing at Merk (Spring 2021), talk by a scientist from Pfizer (Summer 2021) and opening the group to masters students as well. This was followed by Q&A.

Voting by the Senate

Result: Approved

3. Student Group Approval 2

The Latin American Law Student Association, School of Law was represented by their Treasurer Anna Daniels. Their purpose is to provide a safe space to bring, build and share Latinx culture and experiences to NUSL and beyond. Their co-chairs are Jeffrey Toomey (Summer, Winter) and Antonio Coronado (Fall, Spring). Their faculty advisor is Prof. Ramirez, Faculty advisor. Their yearly academic-networking activities included Super Saturday, Moot Court, Q&A on Co-op, and their cultural-social activities included Dia de los Muertos, Cafecitos, 3L Goodbye and Familias Mixer. The organization has held OCI Decoded with a renowned Law firm in Boston and has continued to conduct virtual Co-op events during the lockdown period as well. This was followed by Q&A.

Voting by the Senate

Result: Approved

4. Birds of a Feather – Networking/Social Event

Shakir Khalid, the VP of Programs and Operations introduced the event, explaining the overview and guidelines. Some of the topics given for discussion were Imposter Syndrome, Time management, Isolation due to COVID, Fighting Procrastination and Transition from UG to PG. Students were assigned to breakout rooms where they continued to share their inputs and experiences, sharing and networking with the peers. Later, one member from each time presented the highlights from their discussion groups.

5. Questions

President Gagan Dep Prabhu introduced himself to the GSG members. He provided insight about a previous Redeye issue, informing about its progress. He shared information about the accomplishments of the organization, including student group funding, research projects grant support, and advisement for graduate students among other achievements. His email address is GSGPresident@northeastern.edu.

The next Senate meeting is scheduled for March 13^th, 2021 from 12:00p.m.-2:00p.m. (EST) on Zoom.

ADJOURNMENT

The Senate meeting was adjourned at 2:06p.m. by President Gagan Dep Prabhu.

Meeting Attendance

On-Campus Job Panel Discussion Spring 2021

February 27th, 2021

2:00pm – 4:00pm

Zoom Recording – http://bit.ly/gsgOCJPD

Panelists:

• Fatima Dadou – Student Ambassador from CPS
• Sahil Gaba – Asst. Project Manager, Cabot Testing Center from CPS
• Marjorie Merisier – Teaching Assistant, Master of Public Health from BCHS
• Nithya Aishwarya – Research Assistant at D’amore Mckim Business School, Student Ambassador from CPS
• Gagan Dep Prabhu – Operations Consultant, Office of the Senior Vice President Finance & Treasury from COE