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From: citrin@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU (Wayne Citrin)
Newsgroups: soc.college,net.cse
Subject: Re: Who teaches CS classes?
Message-ID: <16219@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Wed, 22-Oct-86 14:23:06 EDT
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.16219
Posted: Wed Oct 22 14:23:06 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 23-Oct-86 06:17:21 EDT
References: <922@Shasta.STANFORD.EDU> <16187@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <1798@wucs.UUCP>
Reply-To: citrin@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU.UUCP (Wayne Citrin)
Distribution: net
Organization: University of California at Berkeley
Lines: 62
Keywords: TAs, professors, teaches
Xref: watmath soc.college:89 net.cse:1003

In article <1798@wucs.UUCP> conrad@wucs.UUCP (Conrad Cunningham) writes:
>In article <16187@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> citrin@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU.UUCP (Wayne Citrin) writes:
>>...  Second, the department already has a fairly powerful and activist
>>grad student association, so that a union would be superfluous.  ...	
>
>With what types of issues does such a "grad student association" concern
>itself:  economic and working condition issues?  departmental policy?
>curriculum and programs?  departmental faculty recruitment and tenure
>issues?  professional issues?  political and social issues?  social
>activities for grad students?
>

Well, a couple of the issues that have been addressed in the last few years
have been the following:

	Provided the impetus for changing an oral prelim system widely 
	perceived as inhumane to a more humane written/oral system.
	
	Provides "quality control" for the prelim system by pre-testing
	each new exam and compiling lists of back exams.  Is about to
	start a project to analyse the results of prelims for the last
	5 years to determine the effectiveness of the new format.

	Got the department to let students to serve on departmental
	committees, including the grad admissions committee and the
	curriculum committee.

	Is involved in new faculty recruiting through interviews with
	the candidates.

	Conducts forums where the department chairman and professors
	serving on various committees answer questions on student concerns.

	Conducts new student orientations and recruitment of prospective 
	students who have been accepted.  Before this, there was no organized
	recruitment program.

	Opposed a faculty plan to have students report consulting time
	(and possibly income) to the faculty.  The faculty backed down
	on this one.

	Is investigating the consequences of the new tax laws on students.

	Got the department to give raises to RA's who passed quals in order
	to cover university fees.

	Was primarity responsible for solving a space problem by obtaining
	office space and desks for new students who never had them before.

	Sends delegates to the twice-a-year departmental faculty retreat.

	Conducts the usual social activities.

There are still some areas where the CSGSA is not involved, like tenure 
issues.  I can't recall any involvement in labor issues, but that hasn't
been much of a problem.

Again, let me just say that despite this, I still feel that a grad student
union is worthy of our support.

Wayne Citrin
(ucbvax!citrin)