Header alt text: The Graduate Assembly Delegates Digest in blue and gold text with the circular GA logo beneath it.
Greetings Graduate and Professional Students! Read on to learn about upcoming events, important announcements, and information about campus resources. Stay up to date and receive future Delegates Digests by joining the GA Communications mailing list. To view this newsletter as a web-published Google doc, visit this link.
Public Announcement:
GA Delegate Assembly will meet on Thursday, May 2, 5:30pm PT. All GA affiliates are invited to meet on the fifth-floor terrace for dinner around 5:00pm PT, immediately prior to the meeting. The proposed agenda can be found here. The Delegate Assembly will meet in the fifth-floor Senate Chambers of Eshleman Hall, and we will offer a hybrid alternative over Zoom.
Please note that this Delegate Assembly meeting will be considering an important resolution titled "Resolution in Support of the Divestment of GA from Weapons Manufacturers and Corporations violating BDS", which will be raised for Assembly Exception. The authors and Executive Board collaborators request that you check out this resolution ahead of time to facilitate fruitful discussion on May 2.
Please also note that the GA will be conducting its 2024-25 Labor Liaison election, which I will conduct after we revisit our discussion on the position's continuity
Graduate Student Housing
Apply Now for Fall Housing: Campus Apartments for Graduate Students
Graduate students looking for housing for the 2024-25 school year are in luck: the campus is expanding its housing options for graduate students this year, and now is the best time to apply! Cal Housing offers four apartment complexes for single graduate students, as well as family student housing at University Village in Albany (UVA).
Applications Open & Tours Available for New Graduate Student Housing Complex
In-person tours are now available and applications are being processed for xučyun ruwway Graduate Student Apartments (formerly called Albany Village), UC Berkeley’s newest and largest apartment community just for single graduate students. Opening this August in Albany, a 3.5 mile direct bus ride away from campus, the five-building apartment complex will offer fully furnished studios and apartments with single bedrooms, full kitchens and in-unit washer/dryers. The complex includes a wealth of community resources such as an on-site fitness center, light-filled meeting rooms, and more than 55,000 square feet of outdoor space with gardens, grills, picnic areas and recreational lawns.
Learn more about the project’s development, including consultation with East Bay Ohlone tribes in its new name, xučyun ruwway (pronounced HOOCH-yoon ROO-why), a name in Chochenyo, the language of the Ohlone people. Sign up for an in-person tour of xučyun ruwway Graduate Student Apartments today. As it is an active construction zone, visitors are required to sign up in advance for an appointment time, wear closed-toe shoes, and sign a liability waiver.
Why Choose Campus Housing?
With prime locations, on-site support and convenient amenities, living in campus housing means graduate students can begin building community right at their doorstep. Searching for housing can be a stressful process, but we make it easy with a straightforward, transparent application process and easier terms than off-campus landlords. Our housing rates include a wide range of amenities and other advantages:
- No credit checks or need for cosigners
- Lower deposit ($500) than off-campus landlords (usually at least 1 month's rent)
- Wifi and most utilities are included
- Usually furnished including kitchen appliances; laundry access in unit or building
- Convenience of billing through CalCentral
- Independent contracts: You won’t be held responsible if an apartment-mate moves out early
- Convenient locations near campus or public transit
Learn More & Apply
- Explore our housing options for graduate students.
- Apply today for all graduate housing options via the housing portal. Once you have signed in, choose the Single Student Apartments option.
- Applications are being processed weekly by the Cal Housing office, continuing through the summer until all rooms have been filled.
Questions?
Please email: graduatestudenthousing@berkeley.edu
Call for Student Engagement:
Want to gain free access to Speechify Premium?
Please fill out the following testimonial form to provide the administration with proof that students would benefit from this technology and see attachment for more information.
2024 Graduate Student Census Survey
Share your experience and earn some $$ at the same time by taking the 2024 Graduate Student Census! Not only will this short (less than 10 minutes) census help the GA understand and advocate for our needs at the campus wide level, but you’ll also be entered to win one of 50 gift cards ($$)! Survey closes on 10 May—get your feedback soon. Thank you for your help in improving graduate student living, working, food, and financial conditions at UC Berkeley!
We want to know what you think about climate change – fill out this short survey
Please help the Berkeley Wildlife Group by filling out this short survey on how our campus views potential impacts of climate change. The survey is anonymous and participants can enter a drawing to win $1000 worth of prizes.
Upcoming Events
The Inclusive Excellence Hub is open!
The first floor of 2515 Channing Way is equipped with meeting, study, and lounge spaces for graduate students. FREE printing, coffee, tea, and snacks are also available.
Hours of operation: Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm
Tuesday, April 30th
5-8pm
Extended Hours at the Hub
Study or work amongst graduate peers at one of the Hub's meeting or study spaces.
*grab and go meals will be provided*
Wednesday, May 1
12-1pm
Foster Youth Photo Crew (FYPC) Photo Exhibition and Q&A
Over the Summer of 2023 a series of photo essays were produced by FYPC to capture the experiences of former foster youth using music as an art practice for healing. FYPC has generously loaned a collection of photographs from their We Are Healing series to exhibit artwork led by former foster youth in celebration of May, National Foster Youth Awareness Month!
Please join us on May 1st as we host our Opening Reception and Q&A with the artists that put this collection of work together. The Hub will exhibit these photographs inside of 103 Conference Room, 105 Lounge and 105C Meeting Room for the month of May.
*refreshments will be provided*
Wednesday, May 1
4-6pm
Basket Weaving Workshop
The Inclusive Excellence Hub and the GenEq welcome back Cal alum, Summer Lewis (Mvskoke & Semvnole) for a basket weaving workshop. Join us for and end of the semester gathering to be in community, learn a new skill, and have some cupcakes!
*food will be provided*
Defining "thriving": a grad community lunch series
All graduate students, and particularly those from communities that are underrepresented and underserved by the University, are invited to attend a lunchtime focus group to discuss "thriving". Come provide feedback on your experience at UC Berkeley, build community with fellow graduate students, and brainstorm ways that the Graduate Assembly and the campus's Thriving Initiatives can support the wellbeing of all graduate students.
The goal for these lunches is to make space for folks to come together and decompress at the end of the semester through reflection on the concept of "thriving": what does thriving mean to each of us individually and to our communities, and what do we need for thriving to be possible for all of us?
The events will be 12:30-2pm every Friday until the end of the semester (4/19, 4/26, 5/3), plus Monday 5/6. Lunch will be provided (of course!), and all attendees will also receive a $20 gift card for their participation in the discussion and a short survey during the lunch.
Please register for one of the sessions using this form, and if you have any questions or concerns, contact Dakota Robinson (tigl-ga@berkeley.edu).
Get Connected!
- Submit to the Delegates Digest by emailing gacommunications@berkeley.edu
- Follow the GA on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
- Learn more about GA projects, resources, and funding opportunities for graduate students.
The GA Delegates Digest is brought to you by the GA Communications Team: Eliotte Garling (GA Communications Director), Angikaar Singh Chana (GA Internal VP), and McKalee Steen (GA President).
McKalee Steen | President
Eliotte Garling | Communications Director
University of California, Berkeley
2465 Bancroft Way, 444 Eshleman Hall
Berkeley, CA 94704
