In its Wednesday meeting, the Graduate Student Council (GSC) addressed election guidelines, a Santa Clara County wage theft vote and financial literacy sessions.
The GSC discussed how a Santa Clara County ordinance on wage theft, or under-compensating workers, might affect workers at Stanford. Facts reviewed by the Council indicated that there have been twelve cases of wage theft related to Stanford.
To investigate further, the GSC decided to send a representative to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors’ vote on the issue next Tuesday in order to gauge what sanctions might be put in place for those who commit or have committed wage theft.
Council members also deliberated whether to hold financial literacy sessions for graduate students in spring or autumn quarter. Postponing these sessions until a date closer to tax season in the spring might be of more help to students, council members said.
Malinas, who leads the initiative, is scouting possible resources such as Mind Over Money and the Tax Goddess that can aid graduate students in their financial concerns.
Second-year Ph.D. student in theater and performing arts studies Kari Barclay also raised the issue of student-parents at Stanford: In a survey conducted by the GSC last year, not a single graduate student with dependants believed that Stanford was supporting them.
The council also made administrative decisions during their meeting, refining meeting procedures and election guidelines. Barclay, who led the drafting process, helped the council to proofread and edit a new set of election guidelines to be sent to the Elections Commission.
“[The guidelines are meant to] let the Elections Committee know what [the GSC] is looking for in the upcoming elections,” Barclay said..
Having discussed the elections guidelines last week, council members suggested minor edits to the final document. Barclay hopes to see these guidelines incorporated into GSC’s operating procedures by next week.
Finally, the GSC adopted a speakers’ list and other strategies to streamline debate and make their discussions as efficient as possible.
Contact Sean Chen at kxsean ‘at’ stanford.edu.