Inside the Current Issue

Meet the DSC Steering Committee Members

Celia Braxton
At-Large Representative
DSC Steering Committee Coordinator for Office Management
Co-Chair (with Ericka Calton) of the Health Issues Committee
Thanks to a week of tabling by DSC members and representatives from the Office of Student Affairs, my major goal for the year has already been met: to ensure a large enough voter turnout for the Wellness Center Referendum to be valid. Our future goals under Health Issues include working with the staff of the Wellness Center to improve staff/student communications, and to look for new health insurance options for students. I would also like to hear from evening students regarding the offerings and operating hours at the 365 Express. Are your food needs being met to take you through your 6:30 classes? If not, what's missing (please be specific)? Email me at cbraxton@gc.cuny.edu, and put "365 Express" in the subject line.

Lee Hachadoorian
Representative for Dept of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Coordinator for Campus Outreach
I am pursuing a PhD in Geography. My focus is economic geography, particularly the economic determinants of urban form. I was born in New York City and have left and returned twice, most recently returning three years ago when I began my current program of study. I originally intended to develop a theory of economic relocation based on my own experiences, but I had trouble with the IRB and my advisor wouldn't sign off on a study with n=1. As a member of a department spread over four campuses, I have taken on the role of Coordinator for Campus Outreach. I hope to see to it that those of us who are members of non-GC departments still feel like part of the GC community.

Charles Lieberman
DSC Representative to the CUNY University Senate
My name is Charles Lieberman and I am a second year student in the Criminal Justice PhD program, housed at John Jay. I am your Doctoral Students' Council representative at the CUNY University Student Senate. Over the course of the next year I hope to increase awareness of the opportunities that the USS can offer all CUNY students, including GC students. Although I am not running for the chair or vice chair positions within the USS, I plan to be involved in working with committees to ensure that the needs of graduate students are considered.

Adriana Tomasino
Representative for the English Department
Coordinator of Publicity for the Steering Committee
As Coordinator of Publicity for the Steering Committee, it is my responsibility to advertise the goals of the Doctoral Students' Council, to publicize the numerous proceedings and events of the DSC, as well as issues of importance to CUNY students. In addition, I will collaborate with the Co-Chair of Student Affairs to create and distribute business cards to all students who wish to have them, write articles on behalf of the Committee when necessary and serve on the Health Committee to continue to sustain our Wellness Center.

Brenda Vollman
Coordinator for Students with Disabilities
Representative for the Department of Criminal Justice
I'm a student in the Criminal Justice PhD program of the Graduate Center, at John Jay College, and have been appointed by QUNY, the Graduate Center's queer student organization, to serve as a student representative on the CLAGS board. I'm on the Steering Committee of the Doctoral Student Council, am the Chair of the Committee on Disabilities and am an active intra-program representative. Additionally, I'm currently an adjunct in the Sociology Department at John Jay College. I intend to be a strong voice and advocate for the concerns of all students, with particular focus on addressing unmet or insufficiently met needs of students with disabilities. My central goal is to foster an environment within which students with disabilities can comfortably and effectively contribute to their academic disciplines.

Chong (CJ) Wojtkowski
International Student Representative
Representative for the French Department
I'm a third-year student in the French Department. My goal as International Student representative is to address the particular needs of foreign students. Many CUNY departments rely on international students to fill their ranks and teach their classes, but support for "student life" is lacking. Students with alien status cannot just go out and find part-time jobs, and many times their financial existence depends on a professor-mentor's ability to secure funding, which is an uneasy position to be in. My goal for this year is not only to be a listener and a voice for the international student body, but to work closely with the departments themselves to ensure that students who are invited to attend the GC are housed appropriately and integrated into the CUNY system with special consideration.

Ericka Calton
Representative for the Biomedical Engineering Department
Co-Chair (with Celia Braxton) of the Health Issues Committee
Our first task for this academic year was to submit a petition to the Office of Student Affairs so that we could hold a referendum to increase student fees to $41.60 per semester. The Wellness Center has had budgetary problems in the past and without an increase in financial support, would have closed after December 2005. The referendum passed and we are now moving towards the issue of health insurance. The DSC is working with the Office of Student Affairs to increase student awareness about health care issues. Student feedback is essential. I hope that the interest that was shown during this first part of this semester continues and I look forward to working on issues related to student health care throughout the 2005-06 academic year.