In the two-person race for Graduate Student Government Association (GSGA) vice president, the Wheel’s Editorial Board endorses Taylor Thul (17G, 19N, 22G) with some reservations. The fact that both Meghna Ravi (23G) and Thul declared their candidacies after the initial declaration deadline suggests an overall lack of interest in the vice president position. That being said, Thul is the more qualified of the two.
Thul served as GSGA vice president of social affairs this year and organized many large-scale social events, including formals. She is currently a student in both the Laney Graduate School and the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, which will help her bridge the communication gaps between Emory’s various graduate programs.
Thul is the only candidate with prior GSGA experience. Her platform centers around improving communication between the graduate divisional councils, distinguishing her from Ravi, who did not submit a platform to the Wheel. Communication between GSGA and graduate divisions is vital, and, as Thul pointed out in an interview with the Wheel, GSGA cannot successfully represent its constituents if all graduate students’ needs are not addressed properly. Her proposal to establish a GSGA newsletter for graduate students is a key step in improving communication, but she must develop a concrete plan to update GSGA’s outdated OrgSync website, which hasn’t been updated since April 2017.
While Thul is more qualified than Ravi, she should adopt Ravi’s support for EmoryUnite, the Emory volunteer graduate student union which helped some graduate students receive dental coverage and an earlier pay period in August rather than September.
Thul has shown clear enthusiasm and sufficient experience for the position, and she has the Editorial Board’s support in the race for GSGA vice president. However, she should commit to updating the organization’s website in a timely manner. We hope that Thul can help make GSGA a better advocate for the graduate student body.
The Editorial Board is composed of Zach Ball, Jacob Busch, Ryan Fan, Andrew Kliewer, Madeline Lutwyche, Boris Niyonzima, Omar Obregon-Cuebas, Shreya Pabbaraju, Madison Stephens and Kimia Tabatabaei.
The Editorial Board is the official voice of the Emory Wheel and is editorially separate from the Wheel's board of editors.
