Ohio University interim President David Descutner will cover topics the group thinks are important and hold a question and answer discussion with Graduate Student Senate at its meeting Tuesday.
GSS has asked that Descutner touch on support for international students, the current university budget and sustainability, but members want the rest of the time to be a spontaneous question and answer session.
GSS President Ian Armstrong said Descutner’s influence will help set up the next year.
“I see him as an agent for helping us in a transition,” Armstrong said. “That’s kind of what his role is. If our members have questions, I would like for them to be able to ask.”
Alex Burke, vice president for finance, said Descutner has proven to be engaged with students and hopes
“I think there are some issues that GSS are working on that Dr. Descutner may be able to help move forward in his short few months and I hope that we get a sense of that out of the meeting,” Burke said in an email.
Additionally, the body will vote on a resolution to create a task force focused on international, immigrant and undocumented students’ rights. The goal of the task force would be to oversee the implementation of a previous resolution that passed to support those students.
That resolution asked the university to add citizenship status as a protected category in the university's harassment policy and that the university would not allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security and other federal immigration agencies into restricted access spaces on campus, such as residence halls.
“We’re not asking OU to label itself as a sanctuary campus but just to offer compassion and support to international students and undocumented students,” Tianyi Cai, department representative of electrical engineering, said about the resolution at the last GSS meeting.
The task force would dissolve when the demands of the previous resolution have been met or the task force thinks it is no longer necessary, the new resolution reads.
“This will include meeting with university administrators and working to implement initiatives such as the UndocuAlly program here at Ohio University,” Angie Chapman, vice president for legislative affairs, said in an email. “It is important that GSS follow up on the requests it makes of the university, and this resolution will commission an official group to make sure that this is done.”
GSS also plans to appoint a new member to be the department representative for civil engineering, Sheetal Dakshina Murthy.
“When talented, enthusiastic grad students want to help our efforts within GSS I am always happy to help get them started as a student representative,” Burke said in an email.
