The PROUD party is gearing up to inform voters on what they have in store for Graduate Student Senate next year.
This year’s election is uncontested with Molly Yanity, current GSS vice president for communication, running for president. There will also be some new faces on the ticket this year. Senior Kat Mitchell will run for senator for the College of Arts and Sciences. She will remain at OU to pursue her master’s in political science.
“I’m very excited to be a part of the party,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell is interested continuing to improve health and safety on campus. This year, under the leadership of the PROUD party, several developments have been made under this tenet, such as free and anonymous HIV testing and a new affordable dental plan.
The party’s candidates, because they are running uncontested, plan to start campaigning only 10 days before this year’s election, which is scheduled for May 17.
However, they will be utilizing the power of social-media sites to educate voters on their platform and the changes that they can expect next year with GSS.
“These are things that don’t cost us a lot of money,” Yanity said.
The main tenets of the party platform are affordability, health and safety, quality of experience, sustainability, practicality and diversity. Students can expect the PROUD party to continue to perform under these tenets as well as make improvements outside of them.
“These are some very practical things,” Yanity said.
Yanity noted various ideas that could take shape next year, such as working with the Ohio University Credit Union to help those getting income from graduate assistantships file their taxes at a discounted rate. That development would fit under the “affordability” platform.
The party is seeking ways to expand social opportunities on campus.
“We want to expand Grad Fest and make it more family friendly,” Yanity said.
Students could see new events such as picnics, tailgate parties and potlucks to which they can also bring their children.
“We will implement more social opportunities to balance our lives,” Yanity said.
The party plans to be hands-on with the revamping of the Graduate College’s website. They will be working alongside a communications expert to improve the site’s presence and information.
“I think this will be strong year for GSS,” said Tynita White, GSS commissioner for African American Affairs.
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