Hello everyone! I think it’s time for me to formally introduce myself as your GPSS senator. My name is Justin Pothoof and I am a third year in David Ginger’s lab. This is my first year as a GPSS senator, but it has been a marvelous experience thus far, albeit a bit slow as everything has been impacted by the pandemic. In the senate, I serve on the Elections committee and am a member of the Climate Change working group. As a member of the Elections committee, it is my duty to ensure a fair and honest election is run for the Officer positions in GPSS. I worked with my fellow committee members to construct an elections guide that details out how prospective candidates must become eligible to run, how they may campaign, and what duties those officers are responsible for. If you’re interested in learning more about the election, please feel free to reach out to me. The election will be on Wednesday, April 21st at 5:30pm.

The Climate Change working group, although new, has been working diligently to influence the University to really take responsibility for their role in contributing to climate change. On January 27th, the GPSS unanimously voted to pass the Resolution Regarding Divestment of UW Resources from Fossil Fuel Companies. (Resolution) The University decided to divest from thermal coal in 2014, but continues to invest in fossil fuels as a whole. This resolution sponsored by the Climate Change working group calls upon the Board of Regents, Chief Investment Officer, President of the University, UW Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability office Director, Project Manager of the Climate Action Plan, and the Environmental Stewardship Committee to take action in divesting UW resources from fossil fuel industries. A sister resolution was pass by the Associate Student of the University of Washington (ASUW) and we are also communicating with the faculty senate to pass a third resolution. Finally, a representative from ASUW and GPSS have recently spoken with the Board of Regents to have this item added to their meeting agenda in a future meeting – I will update you when that occurs. Now, the Climate Change working group is drafting a letter to the Biden administration to be sponsored by the GPSS to layout what we as Graduate Students expect the administration to do to fight climate change. If you are in any way, shape, or form interested in being a part of drafting that letter, please do contact me!

Your final update is that the GPSS Legislative Advisory Board (LAB) is KILLING it this legislative session. Yesterday was the 2021 Grad Day on the Hill, which is when the LAB and any interested graduate students go to Olympia – virtually this year – and lobby state representatives and senators to support the bills we sponsor. This year, the GPSS has been sponsoring bills requiring graduate student health insurance plans to cover the reproductive health the same way state health insurance plans are required to, graduate student child care services, and requiring “locked-in” tuition rates for graduate programs, among many others! This full GPSS legislative agenda can be found here.

The GPSS typically has biweekly meetings, and I will continue to update you as those come!

Justin Pothoof

jpothoof@uw.edu

The 2020 Title IX Regulations have been posted if anyone is interested. I have posted the link below.

In the message from GPSS leadership, they mention that the regulatory changes are extensive, and “the policy that survivor advocates have been most concerned about is the requirement that grievance proceedings (specifically for sexual harassment and assault) must take place in a live hearing in which the accused is allowed to cross-examine the accuser. Clearly, the concern is that any live cross-examination may cause trauma to victims of sexual harassment or assault and discourage reporting.”

The full updates can be found here

Hello! My name is Ramsess Quezada and I am the currently the Senator for the Chemistry Graduate Students at UW. The Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS) is an organization that works to advocate for the betterment of all students on campus. I have been in this position for two years now and I have enjoyed being involved in such a diverse student body. I have been able to discuss topics ranging from graduate student health care, graduate student social life, to budgets effecting student life on campus.

As your senator, I am responsible for advocating for our needs as chemistry graduate students at Senate meetings. There we discuss ways in which the senate can communicate with the university to make decisions which would improve the life of graduate and professional students on campus. I am here to help in anyway I can, so please feel free to reach out with anything you may need.

We are currently one senator short since our last senator moved to Europe for a grand opportunity! If you are interested in being a Senator and have questions, please feel free to reach out.

If you are interested in GPSS, more information can be found at their website: http://depts.washington.edu/gpss/

Or you can reach out to me directly by email: rjquez@uw.edu

Some information about myself, I am originally from Los Angeles and went to undergrad in the Bay Area. I came directly to UW from undergrad and started doing research in Dr. David Ginger’s Lab. I love to run and swim. I am currently obsessed with sci-fi books, movies, and TV shows. I am reading Dune and I highly recommend it, I also recently watch 2001: A Space Odyssey for the first time and loved it.