Child care was the main topic of discussion for the Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS) on Monday night.

GPSS President Norin Yasin Chaudhry discussed campus child care. She talked about gathering information about both on campus and private child care options and presented her findings to Iowa State President Wendy Wintersteen and other administrators.

Chaudhry said she has discussed child care resources with the Senior Vice President of Student affairs Martino Harmon and other university administrators to gain their insights on the issue. 

“Iowa, overall, is a child care drought area, and it is not just something that is prevalent to Ames or Iowa State,” Chaudhry said.

Chaudhry talked about some of the problems facing the GPSS and Iowa State’s leadership when it comes to graduate student child care.

“The prime thing is that when we talk about university related child care services we do not know who is funding what amount to go towards university sponsored child care,” Chaudry said.

Another issue GPSS is working to resolve is determining the numbers surrounding graduate student child care. 

Chaudhry said that Julie Graden, the program manager for Iowa State Child Care and Family Resources, is working to fix this issue and get accurate statistics about graduate student child care needs.

The GPSS discussed having graduate students fill out an anonymous survey to help solve the statistics problem. The survey could ask graduate students about their child care needs and whether or not they are satisfied with the services currently provided by Iowa State.

Following the discussion, Sara Marcketti, the director of the Center of Excellence in Teaching in Learning and Teaching, gave a presentation about #CyThx.

#CyThx is a program that gives both undergraduate and graduate students an opportunity to thank someone who makes them feel like a valued member of Iowa State’s community. Students who want to share a #CyThx can do so on the Iowa State’s Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching website.

Editor’s Note: This article previously made it sound like Martino Harmon had the final say on issues relating to university child care, when that is not the case. The Daily regrets this error.