The University of Maryland’s Independent Student Newspaper
THE DIAMONDBACK
Fall Grad Guide
3 grad student deadlines
Adam Hudacek Oliver Mack 6 why umd poll 5 gsg representative drop
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Varaa Kukreti, GSG President, and Keegan Clements-Housser, GSG director of operations, pose for a
2024. (Sam Cohen/The Diamondback)
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grad student deadlines
By Adam Hudacek I Tabloids editor
FALL 2024
Nov. 8: Dissertation forms
Dec. 4: Thesis forms
Jan. 7: Master’s program and post-baccalaureate certificates
Spring 2025
Feb. 7: Application for graduation
Feb. 21: Doctoral nomination of dissertation committee form
March 3: Master’s nomination of thesis committee
April 15: Doctoral report to examining committee forms and dissertation submission
April 29: Master’s report to examining committee forms and thesis submission
May 26: Master’s programs/post-baccalaureate certificates
June 11: Degrees appear on record
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Summer 2025
June 17: Doctoral nomination of dissertation committee form
July 11: Master’s nomination of thesis committee
July 18: Application for graduation
Aug. 1: Doctoral report to examining committee forms and dissertation submission
Aug. 9: Master’s report to examining committee forms and thesis submission
Aug. 21: Master’s programs and post-baccalaureate certificates
Sept. 5: Degree appears on record
UMD GSG members plan to focus on food insecurity, student fees
The University of Maryland’s new GSG executive board plans to focus e orts this academic year on addressing food insecurity, enhancing academic resources and eliminating this university’s international student fee.
Varaa Kukreti, a cybersecurity graduate student, will serve as the 2024-25 Graduate Student Government president. Divon Pender will serve as the organization’s legislative a airs vice president.
Kukreti described her role as a liaison between students, GSG representatives and administrators.
A study conducted by the student a airs division in 2018 found that 20 percent of students at this university report facing food insecurity.
Pender said he is passionate about both solving food insecurity in the graduate student community and forming stronger bonds between graduate students and faculty members.
“How can someone engage in the classroom if they don’t know where the next meal is coming from?” said Pender, a graduate student studying higher education, student a airs and international education policy.
Keegan Clements-Housser, GSG’s operations director, said one of his main goals this year is ensuring that future executive boards have smoother transitions and can accomplish more.
Before the start of the semester, the executive board carried out its annual shuttle program for
By Oliver Mack I Sta writer
incoming international graduate students arriving at this university. The program helped transport around 500 international graduate students from Dulles International Airport to campus, according to Clements-Housser.
Clements-Housser said his experience leading the shuttle program over the summer was one of the reasons why he wants to streamline how future executive boards organize and carry out their events.
“I was kind of building the plane while flying it,” Clements-Housser, a journalism studies doctoral student, said. “I want to make sure that never happens again.”
Clements-Housser, the self-described “old man of the group,” said he is working on a guidebook to make the process for organizing events easier and fasterfor future executive boards.
GSG chief of sta Riya Singh said she is trying to ensure this executive board operates e ciently.
Singh, a finance graduate student, added that she wants to ensure the committees she oversees “run smoothly” and that all of GSG’s committee heads are given the resources that they need to succeed.”
Mikol Bailey, this year’s financial a airs and student fee matters vice president, said one of their goals is to help establish a centralized fund for disabled graduate student accommodations.
Accommodations for disabled graduate students are currently funded through the student’s depart-
ment’s or advisor’s budget, Bailey said. Creating a fund would remove a barrier to retaining disabled graduate students at this university, they said.
Another one of Bailey’s goals is to remove the international student fee, a charge of $125 per semester for each international student at this university, they said.
Kukreti said it is important to get rid of the fee not just because of the added charge, but because it makes international students feel as if “they are not part of the graduate student community.”
Kukreti plans to minimize, if not “eradicate,” the fee by the end of her tenure as president, she said.
GSG epidemiology representative Nora Jameson is hopeful that this year’s executive board will work with this university’s Graduate Labor Union on the years-long campaign for graduate student workers to secure collective bargaining rights.
“With Varaa’s approval, that would be beautiful,” the doctoral student, said.
Jameson said they are excited to see what else the new administration will be able to accomplish, and called this year’s executive board “a really good team.”
Kukreti praised the diversity of backgrounds, experiences and knowledge on this year’s board.
“I’m getting along with all of them really well,” Kukreti said. “I really appreciate each and every one of them.”
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UMD GSG sees more than 47% decrease in representatives since COVID-19 pandemic
By Oliver Mack I Sta writer
The University of Maryland’s GSG has seen a more than 47 percent decrease in the number of representatives within the body since the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the 2019-20 academic year, the Graduate Student Government had 73 representatives. It has just 38 representatives to begin this academic year. The GSG assembly currently has about 200 vacant seats, according to the body’s operations director Keegan Clements-Housser.
Each member of the assembly represents one graduate department at this university. Programs are eligible for another representative for every 100 students enrolled.
Clements-Housser said the COVID-19 pandemic is largely to blame for the high number of vacant seats.
“During COVID, we all felt kind of disconnected and cut o from our communities, and student government is definitely a community,” the journalism studies doctoral student said.
The number of representatives in GSG’s assembly has been steadily decreasing over the past several years. Filling vacant seats is a priority for GSG this year, according to president Varaa Kukreti.
“Representation helps us connect with students that we do not directly hear from,” the cybersecurity graduate student said. “Every person brings something very di erent to the table.”
When there are empty seats, some students do not have voting representation, according to GSG’s legislative a airs vice president Divon Pender.
While all students can attend GSG meetings, they do not have voting privileges to enact change, Pender explained. It is “essential” to have more representatives, the graduate student studying higher education, student affairs and international education policy added.
In addition to certain departments losing voting power, having fewer representatives also poses a technical threat to GSG operations, Clements-Housser said.
To maintain quorum, which allows the body to vote on bills, more than one-third of eligible members of the representative body must be in attendance, Clements-Housser noted.
“One of the most important things we do is build relationships,” Clements-Housser said. “When we don’t
have very many representatives, we don’t have a lot of that networking.”
Clements-Housser and Mikol Bailey, GSG’s financial a airs and student fee matters vice president, are co-chairs of the body’s elections committee. The committee is designed to hold special elections to fill open seats throughout the year, Bailey, a history doctoral student said.
To elect a new representative during the school year, a program with a vacant seat or a student in the program must submit a request to hold a special election, Bailey added. Clements-Housser said the elections committee then sends out a call for nominations for the vacant seat.
The nomination period for the upcoming special elections closes on Oct. 10. The 13 seats that are currently open for nominations will have representatives sworn in on Oct. 25.
Moving forward, Clements-Housser emphasized the importance of departmental representation in GSG.
“If you don’t have someone advocating for you, if you don’t have someone in your corner, you’re gonna get ignored,” he said. “It’s that simple.”
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WHY UMD - grad student poll
By Adam Hudacek I Tabloids editor
The University of Maryland’s Graduate School is one of the top-ranked institutions of its kind in the world. The Institute of Higher Education lists this university at No.38 globally and No.13 among U.S. public research institutions. We asked graduate students what brought them to the university for their advanced degrees. Here are some of their responses.
“I worked for one of the professors before.” @krisluyue1013
“[I] went here for undergrad and had a good program to prep for a PhD.” @kaylakellnerr
“Plus one program.” @weswwinkler
“Accelerated grad program, cheaper, and [a renowned] program.” @fant.onetti
“[I] was already an undergrad here.” @rjhanavi
“4+1 Opportunity.” @rachel.binder
Graduate student advice
By Adam Hudacek I Tabloids editor
Time management! And set limits for yourself — learn to turn down opportunities if needed.
@kaylakellnerr
Graduate school is a big decision – and a big change from the undergraduate coursework, schedule and expectations. We asked graduate students what advice they’d give for those considering, or just starting, their graduate school journey at the University of Maryland.
Do not treat it like undergrad, it’s di erent. Much more self-motivation is required.
@fant.onetti
4+1 students: advocate for funding because the school makes it di cult to obtain! @rachel.binder
Networking, networking, networking.
@krisluyue1013
Grad school is harder than undergrad, even if you think it won’t be.
@rjhanavi
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