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<p class="MsoNormal"><font><span style="font-family:Calibri">Dear
Highlanders,</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font><span style="font-family:Calibri"> </span></font></p><font><span style="font-family:Calibri">The holiday season is just around the corner, and I hope
that all of you were able to end Fall Quarter strongly! Although I cannot
emphasize enough the knowledge and sense of fulfillment that comes with being
an active member of the student body, our <i>top
priority</i> should always be our academic performance as that is the
fundamental reason that we are all here at UCR.</span><span style="font-family:Calibri"><br><br>I wish you all the best and a safe Christmas break with
your families, friends, and loved ones. As I read about the horrific shootings
that occurred earlier today at a Connecticut elementary school, my grief for
the victims is a stark reminder to keep things in perspective and always
cherish time spent with the individuals who care for you the most.<br></span><span style="font-family:Calibri"><br>With that being said, for the Graduate Student Association
this quarter has presented its fair share of challenges since for many of your
Executive Officers (including myself), this year is our first time being
involved in GSA. I feel that many of us took an enthusiastic leap of faith, but
rather than caving in to the steep learning curve we have instead emerged as
more competent student leaders –more knowledgeable, efficient, and prepared to
tackle your most pressing concerns while passionately advocating on behalf of
your interests to administration and government at all levels.</span><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span><br><br></span>I thank you for all your
contributions thus far in the year, and strongly encourage all of you to keep
it up. Let there be no doubt that your voices are being heard and as student
government, we are your humble representatives and it is our job to fight for
your interests. But, we cannot do it alone. We need your help in being active
participants in the process. There are no dumb questions and no concerns that
are too small. Let me reiterate that it is our job to communicate your voice
and your concerns so that actionable solutions may be implemented in a timely
manner.<br></span><span style="font-family:Calibri"><br>Based on your valuable input, our team has been able to
identify a number of areas that need improvement. First, a significant portion
of the revenue for our Conference Travel Grant (CTG) fund is not guaranteed
year-over-year. Thankfully, due to the generous Chancellor Tim White, prudent
financial management of past GSA administrations, and your hard-working CTG
Coordinator, Katherine Dejernes, we have been able to operate with rolling
temporary funding on an annual basis. This temporary funding process is not
sustainable and will inevitably become more and more reliant on students to
foot the bill in two ways: (1) Student Services Fee Advisory Committee (SSFAC)
allocations, and (2) new fee-referenda. Both of which are unacceptable. We have
already been footing the bill with the rising tuition costs; yet have been
receiving less value in return on our investment as resources continue to be
cut. I will work closely and creatively with your newly elected Finance
Officer, Steven Jew, to develop an agreement with UCR administration on how to
secure future financing. With all the transition currently taking place at the
highest levels coupled with it being a hugely important election year it has
been rather difficult to move forward with large-scale structural initiatives,
however looking back it played out in our favor now that we can turn our focus
internally rather than have to be endlessly at the mercy of budget-cuts.</span><span style="font-family:Calibri"><br><br>Second, our website is completely outdated. In Winter
Quarter our team will begin discussions and taking input from all of you as to
the best way to proceed in this site overhaul. If you have any suggestions
please feel free to email them to <a href="mailto:gsaucr@ucr.edu">gsaucr@ucr.edu</a>
It seems that a systemic and recurring issue is the difficulty of navigating in
order to simply access the information that is readily available on our
website. Also, thanks to your Public Relations Officer, Lauren Hale, we have
re-established our social media presence on Facebook: </span><span style="font-family:Calibri"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/232946590168927/">https://www.facebook.com/groups/232946590168927/</a></span><span style="font-family:Calibri"><br>
<br></span><span style="font-family:Calibri"></span><span style="font-family:Calibri">It is an
open group within UCR and will be used to post details about events such as
Grad Bash and our coffee socials. </span><br><br><span style="font-family:Calibri">Lastly, partially contributing to some of the tension that
had built up internally was the large amount of holes we need to plug up in our
bylaws. At points they are vague and can be interpreted in various ways and at
other points they simply leave out very important and detailed information. I’m
confident that your Executive Vice President, Rachel Cassel, is fully equipped
with the help she needs to plug up these holes. I’d also like to mention that
she has contributed a wealth of knowledge and experience to newer Officers as
Rachel served as immediate-past GSA President.</span><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span><br><br></span>The topics covered above are
what we feel to be GSA’s main priorities going forward, but let’s shift gears
shortly to touch on some of the successes we had. First, without a doubt the
passing of Proposition-30 is our biggest student victory thus far. Students
turned out to vote in record numbers and saved the UC-system alone $250M in
trigger budget-cuts and the broader California public-education system was
saved in excess of $1B. Yes, we are off the cliff for now, but we must leverage
this momentum and take the offensive to continue gathering up these little wins
as they will add up for the all the future students who come after us. We must
all work together to ensure that the same opportunity and access to public
higher education is available to future generations. I cannot commend our
external team of officers enough; your Legislative Liaison, Liliana Klein, as
well as your Campus Organizing Director, Naveen Cheerath, for their hard work
and long hours in accordance with the leaders of University of California
Student Association (UCSA), the voter registration team put together under the
leadership of the undergraduate student government (ASUCR) and its President
Liam Dow, Highlander Editor-in-Chief Christopher Locascio and his staff, and
all the other student groups and individuals who helped make our jobs as
student leaders easier. If it weren’t for their hard work every single student
would be paying at least $2,600 more than they’re paying now.</span><span style="font-family:Calibri"><br><br>Second, our team under Lauren’s leadership and initiative
were able to generate a record turnout for our Fall Grad Bash. We will continue
working hard to provide you all with fun social activities to bring us closer
together as one UCR family. And lastly, I feel that we have done an excellent job
opening up lines of contact to administration, staff, and faculty in a way that
will allow GSA’s future leaders to not miss a beat as they transition in and
implement new and creative ideas that will improve and evolve your student
government for the better!</span><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span><br><br></span>In closing, my team here at
GSA has worked day and night to represent your interests to the best of our
abilities. There have been some missteps along the way, but that is exactly why
we need all of your help to continue being closely involved with the process
and other student affairs, so that we can deliver the results that will
materially improve your experience as a student here at UCR! We look forward to
returning from break energized and with renewed vigor to tackle all your
concerns!</span>
</font><p class="MsoNormal"><font><span style="font-family:Calibri"> </span></font><font><span style="font-family:Calibri"><br></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal"><font><span style="font-family:Calibri">Respectfully
yours,</span></font>
</p><font></font><p class="MsoNormal"><font><span style="font-family:Calibri">Henry
Huang</span><span style="font-family:Calibri"></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal"><font><br><span style="font-family:Calibri"></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal"><font><span style="font-family:Calibri"></span>-- <br>
</font></p><font>Henry Huang</font><div><font>President, UCR Graduate Student Association<br><br>MBA Candidate 2013<br>Anderson Graduate School of Management<br>University of California, Riverside</font></div><div><font>Phone: (951) 827-3740 | Email: <a href="mailto:henryhuang8@gmail.com" target="_blank">gsa@ucr.edu</a></font></div>
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