Each day, graduate student Heather Anne Wright follows the same routine: she drives an hour to school, works in the biology lab for 10 to 12 hours, then drives the hour back home to Richmond.
But amid the commuting and research, Wright says something is missing from her graduate school experience: a community.
Wright, a second year student in the graduate biology program,, is part of a growing group of grad students who say a graduate student government could help USM’s 1,700 active master’s and doctoral candidates network with other scholars. They also say a student government could be a voice for grad students during a time of drastic change as the university seeks to restructure its schools and colleges.?
An exploratory committee of eight graduate students held their first forum last Friday to gauge interest in creating a graduate student government at USM. Nathan Grant, USM graduate student representative to the Board of Trustees; Will Walker, president of the Muskie School Organization; and David Holman, an MBA student (and reporter for The Free Press) have led the charge to create a student government at USM. Organizers of the event handed out cards with a link to an online survey to the roughly 40 students in attendance.
It’s an initial step in a long process to create a graduate student government at USM. After surveying students, the exploratory committee has to propose a set of bylaws and a constitution for the organization, elect officers, and get the blessing of both USM President Selma Botman and the Board of Trustees.
The group would also need to pass a referendum among grad students to get permission to charge a student fee to fund activities.
The committee aims to create a representative body to speak on behalf of the school’s nearly 2,000 master’s and doctoral candidates. Once formed, the group would hold social events, host research expositions, give grants and help fund research trips for students.
“I’m in my own little world in the business program,” Holman said he remembered feeling. “I felt really disconnected and I thought that was a big loss and didn’t have to be that way.”
Patrick Spinney, the president of the Graduate Student Senate at The University of Maine, attended the forum through Skype. Spinney said the UMaine GSG acts as the representative body for 2,300 students and helps fund funds research, scholarships and laptop rentals for grad students.
Spinney said his group also advocated for grad students during recent budget cuts across the University of Maine System.
Chris O’Connor, assistant dean of student life, said that while the group is still in its infancy, “this is the right time,” for a graduate student government at USM, given the changes currently proposed within the university.
“This is by far the most energy and commitment we’ve ever seen,” he said. “I would challenge and encourage you to keep the momentum.”
Wright, who graduates this year, said grad students are at USM for such a short amount of time, it’s often hard to feel connected.
“It seems as though USM’s grad students are very short-lived,” she said. “Outgoing, I feel like I can’t even get involved in the process.”
O’Connor lauded the undergraduate student government, which he said has had a key role in guiding the restructuring process in the last several months.
“The undergrads are more organized than I’ve ever seen and they have the ear of the administration,” he said. A graduate student government has “been a bit of a missing link,” he added.
Danae Kesel, who is completing her first year in a PHD in psychology, said she would run for senate if the graduate student government got off the ground.