GSAS Student Council Nominates 6 Board Members, Leaves 12 Roles Including Presidency Unfilled

The Harvard Graduate of Arts and Sciences Student Council nominated Ph.D. candidates Walter Shen and Max Street for elections to GSC executive and advisory board positions at a meeting Wednesday night, joining four students who were nominated before the meeting began.

Though the six nominees represent a fraction of the body’s 18 total positions, the GSC will reopen the nomination process for the 12 unfilled spots, which include the roles of treasurer and president.

GSC President Jessica Chen said it is typical for there to be such few nominees for the body.

“We often do not fill all our open positions and will frequently fill them out throughout our next meetings as Special Elections,” Chen wrote in a statement to The Crimson.

GSC representatives will have a chance to vote for individuals on the ballot during a one-week voting period following nominations. The elections close April 10 at 11:59pm.

Prior to the meeting, a two thirds majority of the GSC voted to increase the GSAS student fee to $35 for the 2024-25 school year. The fees, which fund the GSC’s budget, are significantly lower at Harvard than at many peer graduate schools.

A motion to update the GSC Constitution to reflect the new student fee was introduced during the meeting as a result.

The GSC also announced the advocacy topic of the month as student health, including physical and mental health of the GSAS student body and student health insurance.

Many students complained about the lengthy wait process required before seeing physicians or mental health providers through Harvard’s University Health Services, as well as a lack of clarity over accessing resources.

Claire J. Koeppen, a first-year Ph.D. candidate in Romance Languages & Literatures, expressed annoyance at the need to call a phone number to schedule appointments due to a lack of functionality on the HUHS website.

“Why do you have to call? We’re in 2024. The website should be functional,” said Koeppen.

In a Thursday statement, Harvard University Health Services spokesperson Tiffanie A. Green wrote that Harvard Counseling and Mental Health Services has hosted 18 outreach sessions across the University since last year to explain how to access services.

“CAMHS is committed to providing comprehensive mental health care and to continually assessing and developing our services,” Green wrote. “Currently, there is no wait time to access initial consultations which direct students to the appropriate clinical care.”

Students can schedule initial consultations by calling the CAMHS front desk or through the Pateint Portal, according to Green.

Chen also encouraged members to respond to the recent sexual misconduct & awareness survey sent to undergraduate and graduate students by the Harvard administration earlier this week.

After nominations, the GSC fielded reports from a number of their subcommittees.

The GSC conference and research grants committee reported selecting grant awardees for the spring and preparing to choose awardees for the summer. The funding committee awarded funding to 16 applicants for the spring student group funding cycle.

The chairs of recognition and events honored outstanding faculty mentors with their annual Mendelsohn Mentoring awards at a recent GSAS event. A total of 77 nominations were made, with seven awardees selected.

“Tears were shed. It was just absolutely amazing,” Chair of Recognition Sonya V. Gupta said.

Corrections: April 8, 2024

A previous version of this article misspelled Tiffanie A. Green’s last name.

—Staff writer Adina R. Lippman can be reached at adina.lippman@thecrimson.com.

—Staff writer Angelina J. Parker can be reached at angelina.parker@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @angelinajparker.