Author Archive: GSA VP Services

Mental Health Empower Me Workshop by Dr. Elizabeth Cawley

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Mental Health Empower Me Workshop by Dr. Elizabeth Cawley

Hello everyone!

As previously mentioned, our National Director of Mental Health Strategy (Dr. Elizabeth Cawley) hosted a mental health Empower Me workshop followed by a Q&A session a couple weeks ago and I’m sending along the video from our Empower Me Zoom workshop.

Below you’ll find the link to the recording from the webinar along with a few slides of questions/answers that were brought up during the session. Feel free to post on your social media, or share it with your community to promote the Empower Me program! Please do download the video at your earliest convenience as the link will expire in 7 days.

https://we.tl/t-f5sZ5mxoCE

UPDATES FROM THE GSA 2020-11-06

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UPDATES FROM THE GSA 2020-11-06

We are so thankful McMaster Librarians are making the time and space for graduate students to work using reliable internet and a quiet space on campus. Have you thought about signing up for a time to use the Library space? It’s easy! Learn more here. 

We meet with McMaster administration to share your feedback on student services and we need to hear your thoughts! How is Graduate Student Space on Campus? Please fill out this short 2 minute survey if you have used or are interested in using this space. Survey closes this week!

The GSA created a calendar to keep graduate student clubs and events that may be interesting to you. Maybe your department is hosting a virtual event that is open to all… Send it to us and we can add it in! Check it out here: Graduate Student Calendar by the GSA.

GSA INTRODUCTION SERIES: FRC of SOCIAL SCIENCES

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GSA INTRODUCTION SERIES: FRC of SOCIAL SCIENCES

Hi everyone! My name is Rida Mohsin and I am one of the new GSA Social Science Faculty Representatives. I communicate faculty updates within the GSA and act as a liaison between the association and the faculty. I am currently an MA student here at Mac within the Political Science department. Feel free to contact me with any relevant concerns or questions about anything within the Faculty of Social Sciences, or anything you wish to communicate to the GSA. You can contact me at my Mac email at mohsir1@mcmaster.ca. Thank you!

Thank you, Rida, for being our tenth feature on this Introduction Series. We have a number of amazing GSA Clubs and Faculty Representatives of the Council that you can connect with! Check the full list on our website.

OPPORTUNITIES AND AWARDS

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OPPORTUNITIES AND AWARDS

Weekly Coffee Drop-in, every Monday! Next event is November 1st at 12:30 p.m., gather with your fellow engineers online to have a casual chat! Register here. 

Data Science Workshop 2 on November 18 at 7 to 8:30 p.m. The McMaster GSA proudly presents our 6-part Data Science workshop series hosted by Larry Simon. Through these workshops, participants will learn about Python, data visualization, databases, statistics for data science, and machine learning. Participants who attend 5 out of the 6 workshops between now and March 2021 will receive a non-accredited certificate of completion. Event registration here.

Insight Fellows Program Applications due for Winter 2021: We’re now accepting applications from graduating students (must complete all coursework by January 19th in order to participate full time) for our winter sessions. Insight Fellowship is a seven-week professional training fellowship for graduating students and working professionals looking to transition to thriving careers as data scientists, engineers, and other cutting-edge professionals. Apply here to the fully-remote winter session by November 2. Questions can be emailed here.

EGS Fall 2020: Technical Workshop 2: Intro to R on November 12 at 1 to 3 p.m. (Facilitator: Vivek Jadon)
Attendees will learn the basics of each programming language. This includes (but not limited to) setting up a dedicated environment, applications of loops, “if else” statements, creating functions, as well as performing matrix and mathematical operations. Registration link here. The QR code in the poster will take you to the same link. Any questions should be forwarded to the Engineering Graduate Society (EGS).

Technical Workshop 3: Technical Writing on November 24 at 1 to 2 p.m. (Facilitator: Holly Corbett). Register here.

Do you know someone who deserves recognition within the graduate student community between May 2019 to 2020? Nominations are due November 23rd, 2020. More details and forms can be found here.

GSA INTRODUCTION SERIES: FRC of SCIENCE

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GSA INTRODUCTION SERIES: FRC of SCIENCE

Hello everyone! My name is Tiffany and I am one of the FRC representatives for the faculty of science (along with Pritpal who you met last week). I act as a liaison between the GSA and the Faculty of Science ensuring clear communication between the two groups. Academically, I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Kinesiology where I research molecular biology of skeletal muscle. Personally, I recently got a labradoodle named Beaker (muppet/science pun intended) who is helping me stay active while working from home. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns pertaining to the GSA or SciGSA via email (vanlit@mcmaster.ca). 

Thank you, Tiffany, for being our ninth feature on this Introduction Series. We have a number of amazing GSA Clubs and Faculty Representatives of the Council that you can connect with! Check the full list on our website. 

UPDATES FROM THE GSA 2020-10-30

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UPDATES FROM THE GSA 2020-10-30

At Council meeting this month, we welcomed two new representatives for Social Sciences, Rida and Sarah! We look forward to all the new fresh ideas for events they are planning for students in the Faculty of Social Science.

‘Free’ Flu vaccines are being offered to our students, on Campus at the Student Wellness Centre! Only one more date left (Nov 5th), more details here.

The McMaster University Black student-athlete review was concluded recently, with a report generated here. The experiences of these students are appalling and we commend them for speaking about their experience. We encourage you to read the report and the recommendations for change across the university. 

What do you think about Graduate Student Space on Campus? The GSA Student Issues Action Committee is interested in your experience. Please fill out this short 2 minute survey if you are interested in using this space. The survey will be open for another week! 

ONLINE SOCIAL TIME

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ONLINE SOCIAL TIME

All work and no play can make online time feel heavy and endless! The GSA is hoping to provide you with some creative social activities throughout the Winter season. You are officially invited to the inaugural Canada-Wide University Trivia on November 25th. Interested in learning more? Click the following sign-up form link, which includes details about the event and prizes.

IGSA Welcome Month

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IGSA Welcome Month

Dear International Community,

We would like to welcome you to the new academic year 2020/2021. This term will be like no others and we would like to assure you that IGSA is here to help. Please feel free to reach out to us if you need and we will do everything we can to help.

For the last couple months, we have been running a series of virtual events and we will continue to offer a broad program for the upcoming term. We will start off with a virtual Board Game “night” in collaboration with the School of Graduate Studies and a virtual Trivia Night later in October. In addition, we are hosting a monthly language cafe together with MODEL, the McMaster Office for the Development of English Language Learners. The first sessions will run on September 24 and you will have the opportunity to learn new languages from fellow Graduate students.

You may register for the board game night using the link below. We will share more details closer to the events.

Wishing you all the best for this fall semester

Register here for the Virtual Bordgame Night

Friday, September 18 at 1 pm on Zoom

Click here

Recruitment for GSA CRO position

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Recruitment for GSA CRO position

The GSA is recruiting for CRO position, if you are interested to be part of the GSA please email macgsa@mcmaster.ca by October 1st. The CRO term will end on April, 30th, 2021.

The main role of the position is as follows;

  1. Be responsible for the conduct of election and referendum procedures; and
  2. Present a report to Council on the validity/invalidity of any election/referendum process; and
  3. Chair the AGM 

This role would be well suited for someone with a working knowledge of Roberts rules and an interest in Graduate student life! A small financial honorarium is provided to the CRO for performing their duties. 

Description

From there Council shall elect from within the candidates nominated by the Board, a Chief Returning Officer (CRO) to preside over elections and referenda of the Association.

1. Eligibility Requirements

a. Any Graduate Member is eligible to be the CRO of the Association.

b. A CRO shall not serve as a Faculty Representative, a Member of a Faculty Association executive, or hold another Director, Officer or staff position within the Association at the time of taking up office.

 

2. Rights and Privileges

a. Act as the official representative of the Association in matters pertaining to elections/referenda; and

b. May delegate any of their powers, duties and functions as they see fit; and

c. Strike an election committee; and

d. Limit campaign expenditures; and

e. Receive nomination forms and publicize elections and/or referenda.

 

3. Responsibilities

a. Be responsible for the conduct of election and referendum procedures; and

b. Present a report to Council on the validity/invalidity of any election/referendum process; and

c. Perform such other functions as the Council may determine.

 

4. Decisions

a. Appeals of decisions of the CRO may be made in accordance with Article 4, Section 4.3, in the case of Referenda, and Article 3, Section 3.0 (1) in the case of General Elections.

 

5. Remunerating the Chief Returning Officer

a. The CRO shall receive an honorarium, the amount of which shall be set by the Board.

b. The CRO shall not receive any monetary or in kind benefits other than the honorarium referred to in Article 1, Section 1.5 (5a), without the consent of Council. This shall not affect the use of Association facilities and funds reasonably associated with the carrying out of their duties.

c. If the CRO does not fulfill the complete term of office, the honorarium shall be prorated for the time served, unless determined otherwise by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of Council.

 

6. Nominating the Chief Returning Officer

a. Candidate(s) for the position of CRO shall be nominated by the Board. In the event that the Board nominates a single candidate, this nomination must be ratified by a majority of voting Councilors at the next Council Meeting.

b. Where there is more than one candidate, an election by secret ballot shall be held.

c. In the event that the CRO’s position is not filled, the President shall nominate a new CRO prior to the next Council meeting.

 

7. Term

a. The CRO shall hold office until a successor is duly elected following the regulations in the Bylaw.

b. The term of office of the CRO shall be one (1) year: starting on the first (1st) of  May and ending on the (30th) of April the following year.