Graduate Assembly

Your taxes are finally filed, but money is still on your mind. Then you won’t want to miss tomorrow’s free workshop on managing personal finances. Adam Messinger of Merrill Lynch will lead the discussion on financial planning in uncertain times, how to make investment decisions, and current market conditions, among other topics. If you want to get advice on how to become a better steward of your finances, come to 5634 Tolman Hall from 5:00 – 7:00 pm, Thursday, April 29.  As an added bonus, food from the SF Soup Company will be provided.

This workshop is organized by the Graduate Minority Outreach, Recruitment and Retention (GMORR) and the Graduate Support Services Projects (GSSP). Contact them with any questions at gmorr@ga.berkeley.edu and gssp@ga.berkeley.edu.

After successfully celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Empowering Women of Color Conference, the Women of Color initiative (WOCI) wants to keep the dialogue among Berkeley’s women of color communities going. WOCI invites you to a discussion of the ideas, issues, and concerns that are important to you on Friday, April 30, from 12-2 pm at Anthony Hall. Lunch will be provided!

The Graduate Women’s Project invites you to participate in two events this coming week.

First, a Shiatsu/Tui Na Massage Workshop with Hena Rainge. Come for a night of learning and sharing easy massage techniques that release neck, shoulder, arm and back pain. In this workshop you will be fully clothed and perform the techniques with a partner while they are sitting or lying on the floor. Please bring something comfortable to lie down on and a pillow or towel for your head. This is a hands-on class, so please dress comfortably in sweats, tee shirts, leggings or shorts. The workshop will be held Tuesday, April 13, from 5:30-7:30 pm in the Tan Oak Room of the MLK Jr. Student Union. Babysitting will be available and dinner will be provided.

Photo by Anomalily

And second, a graduate women’s study hall. Are you buried under your work? Need help getting motivated and focused? The Graduate Women’s Project can help! Come study with other graduate women next weekend. The food is free, the coffee is hot, and the company is fresh! For studying in a friendly, relaxed environment, stop by Anthony Hall anytime between 11 am and 6 pm on Saturday, April 17th.

Photo by Kevin

The Graduate Social Club invites you to cruise the Bay on Saturday, April 24th, from 8-11 pm. Boarding in Oakland, we’ll set out right around sunset for a night of drinks and dancing as we sail between the skylines of San Francisco and the East Bay. This event has always been a lot of fun, and it will sell out quickly (last year it took only 3 hours), so put your name on our email list to get updates on when you’ll be able to buy your tickets. Just send a quick message to gsc@ga.berkeley.edu.

Tickets this year are $40, which is slightly higher than last year, but this will get you not only a full three hours on the boat, but an open beer and wine bar, appetizers, multiple DJs on two different floors, and a chance to see the city and mingle with other grad students on board the beautiful California Hornblower. We can accommodate up to 650 people, both Cal students and their guests, so tell all your friends to sign up for the email list and get ready to go cruising!

Hope to see you all there,  Alex and Ashley (your GSC co-chairs)

The GA is holding two great events this week. Whether you’re still in vacation mode or have your nose to the grindstone, there’s something for everyone.

Photo by josh.liba

Tuesday, March 30, join the Graduate Support Services Project and the Graduate Minority Students’ Project for a study hall in Anthony Hall from 5:30-8:00 pm. All graduate students are welcome and dinner will be provided!

Wednesday, March 31, don’t miss the Grad Social Committee’s Spring Social! It’ll be from 6-9 pm in the Pauley Ballroom (MLK Jr., Student Union). For $4 (or $3 when you bring your own cup) you get pizza, beer, and a chance to socialize with grad students from across campus. Grad socials are always a blast, so be sure to grab your friends for this once-a-semester event.

The Graduate Student Support Services and the Graduate Minority Student Projects are putting on two timely workshops this week.

Wednesday, March 17, get all your 2009 tax questions answered at the Taxes Workshop, led by H &R Block representative Caan Nguyen. This workshop will be held from 3:30-5:00 pm in Stephens in the MLK Jr. Student Union. As always refreshments will be provided!

Thursday, March 18, Mushim Ikeda-Nash of the East Bay Meditation Center is leading a workshop on meditation and writing from 12:00-2:00 pm in 554 Barrows Hall. Unfortunately, this workshop, which teaches techniques to improve your writing process, is already full. However, if this type of offering is of interest, please keep an eye on the GA calendar. The workshop organizers are hoping to offer it twice next year.

Of the workshop, Ms. Ikeda-Nash has written: “This is not journaling for self-expression or personal therapy or contemplation; it’s not creative writing to ‘express our feelings’ or explore something artistically through language. This will be about having an assignment, a goal, a timetable, and basically doing ‘project management’ on oneself to produce a ‘deliverable’ without getting snowed under by one’s perfectionism, inner critic, procrastination, feelings of overwhelm, or stress from other parts of one’s life.”

Email Erica at gssp@ga.berkeley.edu with any questions.

The GA is launching its first annual Graduate Student Satisfaction Survey. Through this survey, the GA hopes to obtain feedback on all aspects of graduate student life at Berkeley. The survey asks about your experience in your program, funding and fees, student services, and the work of the GA and should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. If you haven’t already, please take a few minutes to fill out the survey before Friday, March 19, 2010. You can find it here.

If you’re wondering why complete the survey, there are two main reasons.

(1) To be heard. By letting the GA know which issues matter to you, you will help the GA to more accurately and effectively represent the needs of graduate students in its interactions with campus and external decision-makers, and to achieve results that directly benefit you, such as improved services and increased resources for graduate students.

(2) To win a prize. Survey respondents have a chance to win three cash prizes (of $800, $500 and $200) as well as ten $50 gift certificates for the Cal Student Store.

The Empowering Women of Color Conference (EWOCC) celebrates its 25th anniversary this weekend.  This historic conference will take place March 13-14 at the MLK Student Union and is free to UC Berkeley students. The conference honors women’s struggles, focuses on issues affecting women, and provides practical tools for everyday life. This year’s event, organized around the theme “Intergenerational Wisdom: Celebrating our Past, Present & Future,” includes speeches from keynote speakers Rebecca Walker and Aurora Levin Morales, a wide variety of workshops, performances, and networking opportunities. For all the details visit the conference website and email woci@ga.berkeley.edu with any questions.

Take a break from the Olympics to check out three Graduate Assembly events this week. (For the truly committed winter sports fans, these events all end before prime time, so you won’t be forced to choose.)

On Wednesday, February 24, from 12-2 pm, there is a workshop on surviving oral exams in the Tilden Room of the MLK Student Union. It will cover organization, planning, stress management, and what to expect from your committee.  Learn how to prepare while enjoying free lunch and refreshments. Brought to you by the GA’s Graduate Support Services Project in collaboration with UHS’s Counseling and Psychological Services.

On Thursday, February 25, the Grad Social Committee hosts its first event of the spring semester, a Graduate Assembly open house at Anthony Hall from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. Stop by for free food, drinks, and music and to get acquainted with the GA delegates and executive board members.

And on Friday, February 26, attend the graduate student health insurance plan town hall meeting on the ground floor of Eshleman Hall from 12 -1:30 pm. Go to learn more about a proposed UC-system-wide initiative to make graduate student health insurance more affordable and comprehensive as well as possible changes to our health insurance.

The GA, the ASUC, and the Graduate Student Organizing Committee are hosting a forum on the student code of conduct in response to the charges against more than 100 students resulting from their participation in protests last semester. The forum will be held tomorrow night, Wednesday, February 17, from 6:30 – 8 pm in 2050 VLSB. The event flier is below.