What are you most proud of from your term on University Senate so far?

For me, I think it is continuing the conversation and gaining a better network and understanding of shared governance at UMD. The way the university operates is more complex than most of us care to realize. My work in the Senate has carried over to some of the things we have been able to pursue in Graduate student government as well as the inverse. I've also been able to bring up topics that concern graduate students in a surrounding where faculty and staff can hear our concerns and not just administrators, which builds a network and community of support for graduate student issues.

Your term isn't over yet! What is going on in University Senate right now that you want graduate students to know about?

We just passed the updated Gen Eds sequence that will update the two sequence course to include not just theory but also practice and allow for education to occur on systemic and structural racism as well as issues of intersectionality. Additionally, a faculty member just brought up that the Senate should be discussing Graduate Student Collective Bargaining rights, this is something I also spoke up about.

Which committee(s) do you serve on? What did your committee(s) accomplish this past year?

Faculty Affairs and Senate Executive Committee. The Senate Executive Committee sets the agenda, I was able to help with some slightly controversial issues regarding what to do with a project that could get sent back to the committee or be amended on the floor. Often it is easier to amend on the floor as sending it back to the committee will delay it taking action, if the amendment is minor.

What advice do you have for the Graduate Student Senators who get elected for next year?

Actively participate, show up to meetings and be engaged, reach out to your constituencies--which is sometimes difficult as there isn't a good listserv for all those you are trying to reach--and lastly, don't be afraid to speak up! Advocacy requires that you have to talk about the issues, not just show up.