A note from GSG President, Annie Rappeport, about COVID-19 and GSG response to graduate students concerns, questions and well being.
Dear Graduate Student Community, Wow. Just Wow. Our community never ceases to amaze and inspire me. The overall resilience to COVID-19 at our university by all of you, as students, teachers, researchers, administrators and leaders continues to be laudable. We, as your official representative body, are striving continually to be accessible to you. Please reach out to us at gsg-office@umd.edu or to your representative. Find your representative here with any and all questions, concerns or ideas you have during this time. We are expanding our virtual presence beyond Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to include TikTok and LinkedIn as well. We are looking to you for ideas for how to maintain our community's vibrancy and support through enhanced communications and virtual alternatives to community development events at this time. Please let us know your wants and ideas via this Google Doc or by emailing gsg-office@umd.edu. Several questions and concerns have been sent to the Executive Committee and Assembly over the past few weeks. We have compiled these into a "one-stop" and living shared file of FAQs that you can request access to via this link. The questions with a white background have answers and resources, those with a yellow background we are working actively to find answers to. We are committed to updating this resource regularly.
We want you to be aware that we are also working with national groups that are advocating for graduate students on issues specific to COVID-19 as well as consistent issues that persist year after year. The National Association for Graduate and Professional Students is doing COVID-19 specific advocacy for international student concerns as well as student employees. The Student Advocates for Graduate Education Coalition is adapting our in-person Days on the Hill to a virtual initiative to lobby for research funding, mental health, immigration issues, Title IX support and affordability of graduate education. We will continue to be your official representative body and living our motto By Grads For Grads daily even through this tough transition time. Sincerely, Annie Rappeport, GSG President