From: a_rosati@guvax.acc.georgetown.edu Newsgroups: alt.grad-student.tenured,soc.college.grad,soc.college.gradinfo Subject: What does NAGPS stand for? Date: 16 Nov 92 22:21:08 -0500 Hi y'all! I was just noticing that the traffic in ALT.GRAD-STUDENT.TENURED had slowed to a dead stop, and I just CAN'T imagine that all of us graduate students out there have nothing to talk about! As such, in an effort to stir up the pot a bit, I have decided to bring up a subject near and dear to MY heart... The National Association of Graduate - Professional Students. So, the obvious question most of you are asking yourselves is, "What is this jerk talking about? What's this NAGPS thing stand for?" And a good question it is! NAGPS (pronounced as NAGS, with a silent P) is a national advocacy group for graduate students all across the country. We represent over 400,000 graduate students in over 150 universities all over the United States. It is a non- profit organization and was formed in 1986 for the sole purpose of advancing graduate and professional school students' welfare in the United States. Many of our goals are structural in nature, and include activities such as... * building a library of documents on issues related to graduate education, including stipends, tax issues, organizational models, funding, child care, Teaching Assistant training, cultural and ethnic diversity, etc... * monitoring legislation affecting higher education and graduate and professional-degree-seeking students... * offering a low-cost health insurance to graduate and professional students, with a separate program for international students... * representing our constituency to other higher education community organzations (e.g., the Council of Graduate Schools)... * hosting regional and national conferences annually to discuss labor issues, financing graduate education, advisor/mentor relationships, and dozens of other topics... * providing technical assistance to students interested in forming campus graduate student organizations... * developing other services for graduate students - like credit cards, travel opportunities, foreign exchange programs, leadership training and a speakers bureau. NAGPS is a very diverse organization with many different constituencies. Looking back at some of the resolutions approved by the membership at past National Conferences helps define our positions. For example... * We support increased foreign student exchanges, particularly with Eastern European countries and the republics of the former Soviet Union (adopted in 1991 & 1992)... * We oppose discrimination against gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals by the U.S. Department of Defense (adopted 1991)... * We support the creation and establishment of a private endowment for development of a scholarship fund for under-represented minority graduate students in applied and methematical sciences (adopted 1992)... * We support the inclusion of sexual orientation in university/ college nondiscrimination codes (adopted 1991)... * We are opposed to hate crimes directed against gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals and we support the development of campus social services, designed to serve the physical and psychological health of gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals (adopted 1992)... * We support the appropriation of additional federal funds, to offset inadequate state and university funding, in support of graduate and professional students (adopted 1991)... * We support the provision of continuing and detailed tax information to post-baccalaureate students by campus legal and/or financial aid offices (adopted 1991 & 1992)... * We support the tax-free status of tuition waivers granted by employers and educational institutions to students seeking post- baccalaureate degrees (adopted 1988 & 1989)... * We believe that educatio should be a priority for the United States and that funds should be directed to grants, fellowships and scholar- ships for post-baccalaureate study (adopted 1992)... * We support various rights of graduate student employees, including: + the right to fair living wage... + adequate parental leave... + adequate child care... + the right to work under clear, equitable and mutually agreed-upon job descriptions and working conditions... + an impartial, just, and mutually agreed-upon set of procedures for the swift resolution of workplace greivances... + the right to organize independently, free of reprisals... + the right to collective bargaining... + the right to a workplace free of sexual harashment... + the right to a workplace free from discrimination based on sex, age, race, religion, creed, political philosophy, ethnicity or national origin, sexual orientation, disability or status as a student... + the right to worker's compensation for job-related illness or injury... + and the right to employment security for the duration of a particular assignment (adopted 1989)... While only six years old, NAGPS is making an impact on the world of higher education. Yes, we are still an evolving entity; each year's members make a contribution that builds upon the past and is absorbed into our collective memory. But, one thing is certain; membership in NAGPS affiliates a campus' student population with an organization well-equipped to serve the interests of all post-accaluareate students in the U.S. Is your school's Graduate Student Government a member of NAGPS? If not, then maybe it should be. If you don't have a separate graduate student government, then maybe you should try to organize one (we'll help!). Why not get your Graduate School Dean to take on a membership?! We have an active channel of communication via electonic mail on the Internet. Our mail server is located at Stanford University and can be accessed by simply emailing a note requesting to be placed on the mailing list to the NAGPS-REQUEST@DAYTON.STANFORD.EDU address. You can even directly contact our national office via Email by sending a note to the 71551.3365@COMPUSERVE.COM address. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OK, now that I've preached the gospel according to NAGPS, I would like to open the floor for suggestions on what NAGPS can do for you at your school. Please do not restrain yourself! Give it up! If we can't handle it, then we'll pass it on to people who might be able to. NAGPS can notsucceed without the involvment of its members and even of non-members out there. Well, thanks for listening to my tirade.... I look forward to chatting with all of you on these newsgroups... *-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-* | Anthony V. Rosati | | | Department of Chemistry, | "A nation that cannot think, | | Georgetown University | cannot survive." | | Washington, D.C. 20057-2222 | | | A_ROSATI@GUVAX.BITNET | - Norman Mailer, 1992 | | A_ROSATI@GUVAX.GEORGETOWN.EDU | National Press Club | # ======== # ======== # ======== # ======== # ======== # ======== # | Southeastern Regional Coordinator & Member, Board of Directors | | National Association of Graduate-Professional Students (NAGPS) | | 1992 - 1993 | *-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-*