The Graduate Student Government (GSG) Executive Board met with several GSG senators to discuss a potential increase in the university-wide graduate student fee for the coming year. 

Graduate students at DU are currently charged a $10 fee each quarter, with some colleges within the university charging students additional amounts to fund events and opportunities through the school. The $10 fee serves as funding for the different Graduate Student Associations (GSAs). 

The e-board and senators did not have a specific amount they sought to increase the fees by. GSG Senator Steve Jenks agreed that graduate student affinity groups need funding and could benefit from centralized funding, but he was wary of increasing the fees until the GSG had a finalized plan of what the money would be spent on. 

The graduate student groups’ funding comes from GSAs on campus, leaving no funding available for groups that seek to operate across multiple colleges within the university. 

The GSG previously voted to house student affinity groups under GSG, rather than under individual GSAs to make it easier for different student groups to secure funding. They considered increasing the quarterly fee to provide funding for cross-college graduate student organizations. 

GSG Senator Suraj Thapa proposed increasing the fee or diverting some of the existing funds to GSG. He said, “GSG is not getting a cut of it. It puts GSG in a precarious position, as we can’t do things for students.” 

GSG President Melissa Levy noted how some colleges’ GSA’s are better-funded than others, saying, “I would prefer to not take any funds away from GSAs.” Levy supported a potential increase, rather than diverting a portion of the existing fee towards GSG. 

In addition to securing funding for graduate student organizations, Levy said, “GSG could use more foundational money for day-to-day operations” such as for technology and research for networking and communications.

A final suggestion was the creation of stipends or emergency funds that graduate students could apply for through the GSG. While DU currently offers a Student Assistance Fund, the GSG floated the idea of creating a similar program specifically for graduate students. Some graduate colleges currently offer similar stipends, but there is no university-wide program. 

If GSG decides to move forward with increasing the fee, the e-board and Senate would both need to vote in favor. The GSG Constitution also allows for the senate to petition the entire graduate student body for a vote. 

Melissa Levy argued in favor of petitioning the entire student body to ensure that all graduate students, including those whose GSAs have lost voting privileges (due to lack of attendance at GSG Senate meetings), have a say in the potential increase. 

The GSG would need at least 5% of the graduate student body to respond, as well as for the increase to win a majority vote, before it could be put in place.