The Red Rose Gala, an amendment to the constitution and officer elections were the main concerns at Wednesday's Graduate Student Union meeting.
After a request for a ticket subsidy by Kaitlyn Redfield, President of the Feminist Voice and CARE, a $375 donation was approved unanimously by the GSU council for the "Red Rose Gala: A Benefit to Aid Local Survivors of Violence Against Women." The donation is to be used as a $5 per ticket subsidy for tickets to the event that are purchased by graduate students.
"Though discussions have often been heated, one point exists on which everyone can agree - violence against women is intolerable, and as a community, we unconditionally stand united to end it," Redfield wrote in a letter addressed to the GSU.
"Together we stand to demonstrate that violence against women is intolerable," she wrote. "Please help us support those in our community who most need our assistance."
In regards to organizational business, the GSU council voted unanimously to amend its constitution to appoint representative to University committees so as to have a stronger role in shaping University policy and advocating for the graduate student population.
The topic of elections was also addressed by the council. Elections for next year's officers will be held April 19, when presidential nominee Michael Lundin and co-vice presidential nominees Timothy Schoenharl and Misty Schieberle will be running unopposed.
One other important topic discussed was the Health Fair to be held at the University Village May 6 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The Health Fair will include a fire truck, a HealthWorks hummer, seatbelt and blood pressure checks, alternative medicine booths, free food and other points of interest.
President of the GSU council Misty Schieberle ended the meeting on a lighter note by saying she suspected people were stealing nice chairs with wheels from the graduate student computer cluster in the library and replacing them with uncomfortable chairs without wheels.
