The Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS) will discuss two items of importance on the agenda slated to be discussed: nominating new senate members for next year and a resolution to allow graduate students to display their academic regalia.

The senate will meet Monday in the South Ballroom in the Memorial Union for the last meeting of the 2015-16 year.

Senators George Weston and Ashton Archer support the nomination of Humair Ahmed Qureshi and Danielle Chitty. Chitty and Qureshi, according to the senate order, meet the requirements to become a GPSS senator and have expressed interest in filling two of the three empty seats on the senate for next year.

As the current Iowa State policy reads, graduating Masters students are not permitted to wear hoods as part of their academic regalia during graduation. GPSS has devised a resolution they plan to vote on and send forth to President Steven Leath, Senior Vice President and Provost Jonathan Wickert, Associate Provost and Dean of Graduate College David Holger, the Graduate Council and more.

The resolution states other institutions do allow their graduating Masters students to display hoods and that hoods are a part of “symbolic importance of academic regalia.” GPSS recognizes the value in celebrating academic excellence and sees the display of hoods as a part of that celebration.

GPSS will also vote on a number of allocation bills, including one to allow funds for the fall field trip for the Geology Graduate Student Organization and another to fund the Natural Resources & Ecology Management Graduate Student Organization.

As the year comes to a close, the meeting also stands to recognize its outstanding members and their contributions throughout the past year. GPSS can look forward to a possible resolution to their constitutional amendment concerning representation and a change to graduate students’ rights and responsibilities thanks to the leadership seen from the current council and can look forward to a new form of leadership for the upcoming year.