The Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS) addressed revoked graduate student visas, approved their budget for the fiscal year 2026 and allocations for March in their final semester meeting.
President Wren Bouwman addressed the issue of students’ visas being revoked, estimating the number to be “at least one graduate student, perhaps up to like five, six.”
“The federal government made a statement over the weekend saying that they were going to step back from this approach for now,” Bouwman said. “So there have been some [visas] that have been reinstated. There have been some indications that maybe this is not going to be a problem for a little while, but as with everything else this year, we’re just in a perpetual state of not knowing.”
Bouwman and President-Elect Muhammad Azhan recommended that international students who have recently interacted with police schedule an appointment with Student Legal Services before taking action, including paying a speeding ticket.
“If you interact with a police officer at any time in the future, please do not pay any fines, because when you pay that fine, it’s considered an admission of guilt,” Bouwman said. “Instead, contact Student Legal Services.”
Bouwman also encouraged students to stay informed and to “take a deep breath and know that the odds are in your favor.”
Budget
Considering a “surplus from FY 2025 and potentially decreasing income,” the budget for 2026 totals $211,500, with a $1,000 increase from last year’s budget.
- Executive scholarships, $33,650
- Regular allocations, $27,600
- Wakonse conference scholarship, $6,750
- Senate and executive meeting, $5,000
- Executive projects, $5,000
- Graduate and Professional Student Research Conference, General Fund, $4,500
- Teaching/Research/Leadership awards, $3,750
- Outreach, $3,000
- Fall social, $3,000
- Spring social, $2,000
- Speaker/Programming, $1,500
- Board of Regents meetings, $1,500
- President event, $1,000
- Family week, $1,000
- College chair council, $1,000
- IDEA Projects, $1,000
- Finance Committee, $750
- Day on the Hill, $500
- Awards Printing/Administration, $100
The budget was passed with unanimous consent.
Allocations for March were approved by unanimous consent, including $1,200 in funding for the Graduate Student Association of Hospitality Management (GSAHM), $1,200 to the Microbiology Graduate Student Organization and $1,200 for the Graduate Student Organization of Plant Biologists.
