SGPS Archives - Queen's Journal

'Everything counts': Team ETC voted next AMS executives

Written on February 4, 2022. Posted in News, Student Politics.

As voting closed Wednesday, the AMS election saw an 11.5 per cent voter turnout. AMS AMS voters have elected Team ETC, comprised of Presidential candidate Eric Sikich, ArtSci ’22, Vice-Presidential (Operations) candidate Tina Hu, ArtSci ’22, and Vice-Presidential (University Affairs) candidate...

Bargaining between PSAC and Queen’s sees QUFA involved

Written on January 28, 2022. Posted in News.

Graduate student workers at Queen’s, led by PSAC 901, have continued their bargaining efforts for increased mental health support, paid sexual violence training, and gender affirmation leave. PSAC 901 is now working with the support of QUFA (Queen’s University Faculty Association), the union representing...

SGPS presidential candidate hopes to improve mental health supports

Written on January 25, 2022. Posted in Elections, News.

Beth Langdon, JD ’23, is the sole candidate vying for the Society of Graduate and Professional Students (SGPS) President position. Langdon’s platform is based on three pillars: building community, revamping SGPS communications, and improving SGPS mental health resources. “I think...

PSAC 901 and SGPS host ‘Disorientation’

Written on September 28, 2021. Posted in News.

On Sept. 24, members of Public Service Alliance of Canada Local 901 (PSAC 901) and the Society of Graduate and Professional Students (SGPS) met through Zoom to discuss “anti-oppressive survival on campus.” ‘Disorientation: Anti Oppressive Orientation with PSAC and SGPS’ touched on Queen’s colonial...

'Underutilized' Graduate Peer Support Centre indefinitely suspended

Written on September 10, 2021. Posted in News.

On Sept. 1, the Society of Graduate and Professional Students (SGPS) announced the indefinite suspension of the Graduate Peer Support Centre (GPSC). Established in 2019, the GPSC operated with a number of graduate and professional student volunteers offering support to fellow graduate students in...

Rohit Shukla voted next SGPS Vice-President (Graduate)

Written on March 26, 2021. Posted in Elections, News.

Rohit Shukla was elected Vice-President (Graduate) of the Society of Graduate and Professional Studies (SGPS) for the 2021-22 year on March 18. He won 53.4 per cent of the vote over opposing candidate Darren Zanussi. Though the SGPS held its presidential and vice-presidential election in February,...

#PivottheClock campaign asks University to extend funding for PhD students

Written on March 12, 2021. Posted in News, University.

Queen’s students are advocating for a year-long extension to the funding of all PhDs, which they say is necessary due to COVID-19’s impact on research. They’re calling it the #PivotTheClock campaign. In an interview with The Journal, Christopher Bennet, a PhD candidate in gender studies, pointed...

International PhD students to pay the same tuition as domestic students

Written on March 9, 2021. Posted in News, University.

Following community activism and consultations, Queen’s has lowered tuition fees for international PhD students. The University announced Jan. 27 that international PhD students will pay the same tuition fees as domestic PhD students, starting in September 2021. The decision was made based on the...

Justine Aman secures second term as SGPS President

Written on February 26, 2021. Posted in Elections, News.

As voting for the Society of Graduate and Professional Studies (SGPS) election closed Feb. 12, incumbent Justine Aman won a vote of confidence to continue for a second year as the President of the SGPS. Aman ran uncontested for president for the second year in a row, receiving a 99.3 per cent vote...

Bus-It Program terminated for 2021-22 academic year

Written on February 11, 2021. Posted in News, Student Politics.

Thanks to COVID-19, the traditional AMS Bus-It Program has been scrapped for another year. After consultations with the City of Kingston, the AMS decided not to reinstate the Bus-It Program for the 2021-22 academic year. Instead, Kingston Transit’s temporary student pass—$119 per semester—will be...

SGPS candidates discuss upcoming year at debate

Written on February 9, 2021. Posted in Elections, News.

Candidates running in the Society of Graduate and Professional Students (SGPS) election met at a debate Feb. 5 over Zoom to discuss the upcoming year. Though the debate was poorly attended by students—highlighting the concern of student engagement in the SGPS—the event was recorded and posted on YouTube and...

SGPS executive candidates explain their vision for next year in Q&A

Written on February 5, 2021. Posted in Elections, News.

These interviews have been edited for length and clarity. This week, candidates running to be the next executive of the Society of Graduate and Professional Students (SGPS) sat down with The Journal. Here’s what they had to say: Presidential Candidate, Justine Aman, Master’s of Science and Epidemiology...

SGPS petitions against ARC fee for graduate students

Written on September 25, 2020. Posted in News, Student Politics.

Amidst the pandemic, the Society of Graduate and Professional Students (SGPS) is advocating for the University to grant refunds to graduate students who request their ARC fee back. The Fair Fees for Students campaign comes months after the SGPS’ call to have summer tuition fees suspended or reduced...

SGPS offers virtual office hours to students

Written on June 1, 2020. Posted in News, Student Politics.

While SGPS President Justine Aman said the Society is focused on staying up to date with the needs of graduate and professional students, she acknowledged there’s more work to be done. Aman, who began her term in May, has found students are forming a network of support in different sectors of their...

Graduate students push for summer tuition suspension, worry about lack of income

Written on April 9, 2020. Posted in News.

As the University maintains summer tuition fees, graduate students have been left with their financial stability hanging in the balance during the COVID-19 pandemic. After creating a letter campaign that brought forth more than 800 letters from students advocating for the suspension of summer tuition,...

SGPS Council votes to divest

Written on January 31, 2020. Posted in News.

Following months of deliberation, SGPS Council voted to relinquish the Society’s investments in oil and gas on Jan. 14. The council also voted to sign onto QBACC’s call for Queen’s to divest from fossil fuels. The vote comes after months of Council debates about how the decision would impact graduate...

Graduate Peer Support Centre fee up for mandatory status

Written on January 28, 2020. Posted in News.

Following the opening of the Graduate Peer Support Centre last September, the SGPS is hoping to establish a new mandatory student fee for the Centre. On Jan. 14, the SGPS council voted to place a mandatory student fee of $3.00 for the Graduate Peer Support Centre on the referendum ballot. The Centre...

SGPS executive candidates make their case to students in Q&A

Written on January 24, 2020. Posted in News, Student Politics.

This week, candidates running to be the next executive of the Society of Graduate and Professional Students (SGPS) sat down with The Journal. Here’s what they had to say: Presidential Candidate Justine Aman, MSc ’21 Past Experience: Current Director at the Sexual Health Resource Centre (SHRC). Platform...

Graduate peer support centre to open this month

Written on September 20, 2019. Posted in News.

The SGPS will open a new peer support centre for graduate students, according to the Society’s vice-president (Graduate), Leo Erlikhman. The new service will be up and running within the month of September, pending the finalization of a formal agreement with the University. In an interview with The...

SGPS responds to CFS-O lawsuit over Student Choice Initiative

Written on July 8, 2019. Posted in News.

SGPS President Jeremy Abramska says the Ontario government’s Student Choice Initiative will have a “dramatic effect” on his more than 4,000 graduate constituents. The Canadian Federation of Students Ontario (CFS-O), an advocacy organization representing more than 30 student unions across the province—include...

SGPS hosts Queen’s International Women’s Conference

Written on March 22, 2019. Posted in News.

On Mar. 16, the SGPS hosted the Queen’s International Women’s Conference in Robert Sutherland Hall—continuing the celebration one week after International Women’s Day. “The Queen’s International Women’s Conference is a platform to celebrate the scholarship and leadership initiatives of graduate women...

News in Brief

Written on March 1, 2019. Posted in News.

Aesculapian Society to depart from AMS, join SGPS Last week, medical students in the Aesculapian Society voted to become a member society of the SGPS. Effective Sept. 1, 2019, the Society will depart from the AMS and join the SGPS. In an AMS statement released Thursday, AMS President Miguel Martinez...

University establishes working group for graduate experience

Written on March 1, 2019. Posted in News, University.

A new working group is in the process of drafting recommendations that could potentially change the graduate experience at Queen’s. The group aims to explore possible ways of improving the graduate student experience through a better understanding of graduate studies at the University. They’ll seek...

SGPS secures grad student funding despite revenue cuts

Written on February 8, 2019. Posted in News.

Graduate student funding is secure at Queen’s despite sweeping province-wide reforms, an SGPS press release announced Monday. On Jan. 17, the Province announced a 10 per cent cut to tuition, decreasing revenue for universities. For Queen’s, that amounts to $31.4 million. “The SGPS has been meeting...

AJW voted next AMS executive

Written on January 29, 2019. Posted in Elections, News.

As voting closed Tuesday, a 30.1 per cent turnout rate elected next year’s student leaders. AMS AMS voters have elected Team AJW, comprised of Presidential candidate Auston Pierce, ArtSci ’19, vice-president (operations) candidate Jessica Dahanayake, Sci ’20, and vice-president (university affairs)...

SGPS presidential debate recap

Written on January 29, 2019. Posted in Elections, News.

Presidential candidates faced off at the executive open forum on Friday for their final confrontation before the Jan. 28 to 29 elections. Jeremy Ambraska, Law ’20, and Jaspar Wong, Ed ’19, highlighted their plans for the year and made their appeals to voters in the SGPS Lounge on Jan. 25. They were...

‘More questions than answers’: student governments parse OSAP changes

Written on January 25, 2019. Posted in News.

As the structure of Ontario’s university finances changes, the AMS and SGPS are in the dark on the specifics. The provincial government announced major changes to the framework of post-secondary education on Jan. 17, ranging from alterations to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), mandatory...

SGPS, United Way drive asks for clothes, non-perishables

Written on January 18, 2019. Posted in News.

A winter clothes and non-perishables drive from the SGPS and AMS Student United Way Committee ends this month. The drive, which began in November, will support partner organizations of United Way of Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox, and Addington (KFLA). The collected items will pass on to organizations...

SGPS holding second presidential election Mar. 12 and 13

Written on March 9, 2018. Posted in News.

A second campaigning period for the Society of Graduate and Professional Students (SGPS) presidential candidates is in full swing following a Feb. 8 decision to nullify the original election results. In the first voting period, the results that elected Stephanie McKnight as president-elect over runner-up...

AMS, SGPS to return to drawing board for JDUC revitalization funding

Written on February 15, 2018. Posted in News.

Although AMS President Jennifer Li said she’s disappointed about the unsuccessful JDUC referendum vote, she told The Journal that “the project is not at a standstill.” In a special referendum held on Feb. 12 to 13, the AMS and SGPS asked students, “Do you agree to the establishment of a mandatory,...

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