Re-elected on Thursday, after spending a year in her position, Maria Modayil hopes to get more graduate students involved with Ohio University Graduate Student Senate.
Modayil, a doctoral student studying higher education administration and global health and GSS’ current president, is reprising her position for the 2018-19 academic year. She is also the only elected member in an executive position in next year’s body, and ran unopposed.
“There wasn’t anyone else running,” Modayil said. “We have a number of projects in the process and I didn’t want to just leave it halfway done.”
GSS president is a graduate assistant position offering a $14,950 stipend. Being in an individual interdisciplinary program, it can be difficult to find an assistant job through the university, Modayil said.
Four other candidates were elected into senator positions, including Fazel Bateni, who was elected senator for the Russ College of Engineering and Technology.
Coming from Iran, one of the countries currently affected by President Donald Trump's travel ban, Bateni hopes to work with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion next year.
“Participating at GSS activities would lead me to generalize the idea of equitable education for all students from all races, cultures and countries planning to come for pursuing their study in U.S.,” Bateni said in an email.
The candidates ran separately this year instead of running on a formal ticket. Modayil said she did this purposefully to avoid seeming like a “gang” that disallows other people to join GSS.
“Just with my interactions, it also brought up this ‘us versus them’ kind of an idea … which is unnecessary and doesn’t get us anywhere in productive conversations,” Modayil said. “I am hoping this different approach will make it a little more engaging and be more welcoming to new members to join and participate.”
Since Zachary Watts resigned from his position as vice president for legislative affairs in December, GSS has failed to fill that position. Modayil said the job is easy “once you get the swing of it.”
Because no vice presidential candidates have applied for next year’s body, Modayil said senators could take on the rolls of those positions to “streamline” the process of GSS in a different way.
“How could we better utilize the talents we have in-house to get some of this work done and have better communication and work in a more cohesive way?” Modayil said.
Abbakarr Sidik Sesay, senator-elect for the Center of International Studies, said since being appointed to the body on•Feb. 6, he loves what he does and hopes to further represent his college effectively within the body.
Sesay also said senators have been missing meetings this year, and said that should not be encouraged within next year’s body.
“I would love to see senators esteeming their roles in senate by attending meetings and lending their voices on the issues,” Sesay said in an email.
GSS Vice President for Finance Alec Koondel said the body is waiting on its board of elections to clarify the write-in votes for other elected positions.
“The future for graduate students at OU is looking bright,” Koondel said.
Modayil thanked former GSS President Ian Armstrong for encouraging her to run for GSS president last year and said she could not talk about the body’s success without his leadership before her.
“While this year has not been the easiest … it has been a year for immense growth and development,” Modayil said.
