Come out to our second BBQ of the summer this Thursday August the 2nd at 5pm!
Please RSVP to utmags@utoronto.ca ASAP with veggie/other food preferences. FREE for graduate students and only $4 for guests. Hope to see you all there!
Come out to our BBQ Wednesday July 18th 5pm!
Please RSVP to utmags@utoronto.ca by Monday July 16th with a meat or vegetarian option request and any guests. Only $2 for graduate students and $4 for guests. Hope to see you all there!
Unfortunately, there is no lab coat cleaning facility available at UTM. UTMAGS is planning to set up this service in the near future and maintain it as a long-term goal, depending on the needs of our graduate students. Before we set this plan in motion we would like to get your opinions and ask that you please fill out this survey.
An effort to expand the network of people discussing the growing concerns of young Canadian scientists.
Then run! UTMAGS is still accepting nominations for officer positions until tomorrow, April 19th.
To run, please fill out the form below and submit it to Sara DaSilva at src.dasilva@utoronto.ca, or drop it off to her in DV 3023C.
UTMAGS nomination form 2012-13
We are looking for people willing to run for:
We currently do not have any nominations for Graduate Student Union Representatives
How the Network Works, from University Affairs.
The International Centre will be holding Off-Campus Work Permit application workshops in order to assist international (study permit holding) students in applying for an Off-Campus Work Permit.
In order to be eligible to apply for the Off Campus Work Permit students MUST:
– Have been studying full time for at least the last 6 out of 12 months
– Hold a valid Study Permit
– Have at least a 1.6 GPA
These workshops are “first come, first served” and will be held:
– Thursday March 22nd at 3 pm in CCT 2160
– Friday March 23rd at 3 pm in CCT 2160
Students must bring:
– Their Study Permit
– Their Passport
– A credit card (VISA or MasterCard) for the $150.00 application fee.
For more information about the Off Campus Work Permit, please visit:
Results: 1797 Unit 1 members voted in the ratification vote with 1197 (67%) voting in favour of ratification.
We got a contract!
UTMAGS Newsletter: March 2, 2012
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~Graduate Student & Faculty Research Night: Submission Deadline March 2nd!
~Contract Ratification Vote for CUPE 3902
~Time to Degree Completion Survey
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Graduate Student & Faculty Research Night
The deadline for confirming interest in presenting a poster at the Graduate Student & Faculty Research Night is ***Today, March 2nd***. To be included, e-mail Anna Reale at anna.reale@utoronto.ca or call 905-569-4432. Please include a title and short (200 word) abstract. Free poster printing will be provided by the library.
The event will be held on Wednesday, March 28th from 5:00-8:00pm at the Blind Duck Pub. All research stream and professional stream graduate students are encouraged to attend.
Psst….there will be a free dinner!
Contract Ratification Vote for CUPE 3902
Just a gentle reminder that the polls will be open to vote on ratifying the University of Toronto TA contract on Monday, March 5th and Tuesday, March 6th from 10:00-2:00pm in the Meeting Place. Various poll locations are also set up at the St. George Campus, see http://cupe3902.org/ for more details.
A copy of the contract is available at http://cupe3902.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Memorandum-of-Settlement1.pdf
A summary of the contract is available at http://cupe3902.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Summary-of-Tentative-Agreement.pdf
The ratification of this contract (a yes vote) has been recommended by the CUPE 3902 Bargaining Team.
Time to Degree Completion Survey
Across our University, the average time to completion of PhDs is above 5 years. While there are many reasons for this, some essentially intractable, the University administration has said that all students should be able to finish their degree within that time period if they wish to. A similar situation exists in some graduate masters degrees. To affect change, the University administration (including President Naylor) has asked members of the Graduate Student Union Executive to work with students to identify programs and Departments where time to completion might be improved and to work in concert to make those improvements.
Please contact jasonatlarge@utgsu.ca if you believe that time to completions could be improved in your Department or fill out the following survey (especially the comment section): http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/C8P78TL
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Cheers!
UTMAGS
Fun fact: Today (March 2nd) is Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel)’s birthday! Over his lifetime he published 46 children’s books, including Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, Horton Hears a Who!, and The Lorax, of which a movie adaptation hits theatres today.
“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple”. -Dr. Seuss
From Troy, CUPE 3902’s UTM Rep:
Dear All,
Sorry for the delay on this information. I still need to clarify a couple things about the info session.
First, the information session will be held in Davis (South) Building, Rm 2074 at 12pm.
Second, some members have expressed concerns that this meeting is to brainwash them into voting for a strike. This concern is no doubt due to the campaign that has been undertaken to mobilize a vote against ratification. This is not the purpose of this meeting, and the union does not endorse, officially or unofficially, this vote NO campaign.
Basically, this is where we stand. The bargaining team, with the support of the majority of the Cupe3902 executive, endorses the tentative agreement presented last Friday and encourages members to vote in favour of it. Sean Hayes, a member of this bargaining team, will speak to members about the agreement and the team’s reasons for asking members to ratify it. Members are encouraged to respectfully debate, challenge, agree, disagree, question, etc. Sean regarding the team’s position on ratification. Members are also encouraged to debate each other about the agreement and the consequences of voting for or against it. We hope for a lively discussion that will leave members more informed. We also hope that members who have already made up their mind about the agreement will show up to express their concerns to their colleagues.
Amy will be there to discuss strategy that may have to be implemented in the event of a strike, which still is possible pending the strike vote and is still being mobilized for by the strike committee. As steward, my role I will be there to moderate and facilitate the discussion. Since there seems to be general confusion regarding what exactly the outcome of a yes or no vote will be, I will also speak to that.
I hope this clears any misunderstanding, and I hope to see you all out tomorrow.
Best,
Troy
