The graduate student emergency medical/parental leave policy will be discussed at Graduate Student Senate’s bi-monthly meeting Monday at 7:30 p.m.
“Graduate students have many of the duties and responsibilities of faculty, but they have only the rights and protections of students,” said Carl Edward Smith III, president of Graduate Student Senate. “Graduate students are in a really ill-defined space."
Graduate students who have children have no ability to get maternity or paternity leave, Smith said, adding that students can lose their funding or place in a program.
It is the same scenario for medical leave. Emergency surgery could mean that a student gets fired for not doing their work while they are in the hospital, Smith said.
Susanne B. Dietzel, director of OU’s Women’s Center, will give a presentation on the leave policy at Monday's meeting.
A resolution to create a liaison to Athens City Council from GSS will be voted on during Monday’s meeting.
“Rather than only talking to city council or the mayor whenever we have an issue or see a problem, by appointing a city council liaison for graduate student senate, we can be more regularly involved and attend city council meetings,” Smith said.
Smith said he's pushing for GSS to enact more policy reforms this year, and the leave policy and liaison proposals are examples of that action. This year, each commission has to produce a proposal for policy reform and a proposal to benefit their constituency, per term.
New members will also be appointed be to Graduate Student Senate at Monday’s meeting.
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