I am your Associated Students Graduate Representative , and this will be my last year at Sonoma State. More than likely you've seen me on campus, the blonde being wheeled around in the green wheelchair by a long-haired alumnus named Mark. Last year I also served as Grad Rep, but by the end of the year I had only heard problems from around five grad students.
Grad students come in many ages, colors, and from varied backgrounds and life situations.
Depending upon our major we may be in attendence from one to five years, partime, fulltime, or carrying serious overloads. In short our situation is much the same as that of many undergrads, but unlike many other undergrads few to none of us live the life of the traditional, on-campus student. When I first ran for Grad Rep in the Spring of 1998, I felt qualified even though I had not yet begun my English Masters program, because I had been an off-campus reentry student on this campus since 1995. I felt that our perspective needed a voice in the Associated Students, and I have been speaking up for us ever since. However there are times when the Grad Rep position seems like the loneliest job on Earth.