Happy Friday!
We’ve got a few exciting upcoming events and resources for you this week, which will be elaborated on below:
GSO Executive Council Elections 2021-22
GSO Statement on the Events of 3/16/21 & Resources
Meaningfulness Cafe
Senator Spotlight: Maryam Ahmed
Tax Information for International Graduate Students
Call for Applications: Presidential Completion Awards due March 31
Coffee Break with a Scientist
2021 Graduate School Award Winners
Career Choices and Pivots in a Wild PhD Job Market
Participant Request: RIT Research Survey
Participant Request: Student-Parent Survey
GSO Pet Spotlight
The Graduate Student Organization (GSO) is holding its annual elections on April 19th to 23rd and is seeking candidates for the 2020-2021 Executive Council.
To be eligible to run for the GSO Executive Council, candidates must fulfill the following three requirements:
Be full-time graduate students (paying student activity fees) in at least their second semester with a GPA of at least 3.0.
Come from a department with at least one active senator before elections. A list of departments with active senators is available here. If a department does not have active senators, any student can become an active senator by following the senator certification procedure. Please contact the GSO Secretary (secretary@sbgso.org).
Have attended at least two senate meetings before the election week. If you have not attended GSO Senate meetings this year, you MUST attend the meetings on March 23rd and April 14th. We are also planning to have an info session during the March 23 meeting.
We expect elected candidates to devote a minimum of 15 hours a week to the position from the day they are elected to their last day of service. The current annual compensation is $8,500 (for a period of 52 weeks) for the President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary.
An Official Online Nomination Form is available; send an email to the Elections Committee Chair, GSO Secretary (secretary@sbgso.org) with the following information: SBU ID number, your department name (written in full), and the GSO Executive Committee position for which you seek a nomination. Allow 24hrs from the time of your request to receive your form.
If you are interested in running for a position on the GSO Executive Committee, you must
Collect a minimum of 25 graduate student signatures on your designated nomination form.
Email your NominationPackage on or before 5:00 PM EST April 2nd
Nomination Package:
Most current transcript (e.g., unofficial, PDF downloaded from SOLAR is acceptable)
Personal campaign statement, in 200 words or less
Zip these together and send one email to all Elections Committee members: GSO Secretary(secretary@sbgso.org), Tenzin Yangchen (tenzin.yangchen@stonybrook.edu), Greeshma Balabhadra (greeshma.balabhadra@stonybrook.edu).
Candidates are expected to present their platform to the GSO Senate on April 14th at 5:30 PM. Platforms should be in line with the duties of each office.
GSO Statement on the Events of 3/16/21 & Resources
This past Tuesday, a man tragically murdered eight women who are of Asian descent at spas in Atlanta, Georgia. From current reporting, this man intended to travel to Florida to carry out similar, additional attacks.
This mass casualty event is the largest single attack on people of Asian descent in the past year. The number of hate crimes targeting people of Asian descent have intensified because of the pandemic and rhetoric about it. This is wholly unacceptable and is a horrific reminder of the reckoning, healing, and growth that is needed in this country to disentangle systems of white supremacy that put people of color at risk.
The Graduate Student Organization does not tolerate racism or violence in any form. Acts of hate that target a person’s identity are egregious and negatively affect all humanity. The GSO wants all its students, especially members of groups that are susceptible to experiencing identity-based acts of hate, to know that they are welcomed and cared for. We want you to feel safe and protected.
If you have experienced discrimination and wish to file a complaint, please visit Stony Brook’s ReportIt website: https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/oea-equity/reporting. If you are experiencing fear or trauma because of these or other horrific events that threaten you as a member of a targeted group, we will drop everything to support you as concretely as we can. Our Executive Team and department senators are a diverse and caring group of wonderful leaders who can help you in whatever way we can. Below are some links to the GSO’s position on racism, some mental health resources we have gathered, and our personnel page which includes the contact info for our Executive Committee, Appointed Position holders, and the Graduate Student Advocate, and each department’s senators. Additionally, I have included the resources that President McInnis highlighted in her message earlier today for extra awareness.
The last year has been horrible for myriad reasons in myriad ways. Unfortunately, there has been cause for me to write a note like this to you pretty much every day. I hope you can find at least a moment of peace and comfort from whatever forms of trauma or stress is weighing you down. I will ask you to reflect on your strength and perseverance. As hard as it’s been, we’re here and that’s something to be celebrated. And, in closing, I urge you to have the best day available to you.
Resources On Campus:
GSO’s position on racism: https://www.stonybrookgso.org/statement-against-systemic...
GSO’s resources for mental health: https://www.stonybrookgso.org/mental-health-resources
GSO’s leadership team: https://www.stonybrookgso.org/gso-executive-committee
ReportIt: https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/oea-equity/reporting
Office of Equity and Access: https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/oea/
Counseling and Psychological Services: https://www.stonybrook.edu/caps/
President McInnis’s statement on Non-Discrimination: https://www.stonybrook.edu/.../from.../message_102620.php
Other Resources:
The Meaningfulness Cafe
At times, we all need to be reminded of why we do what we do and why it brings us such joy. Take a break from your research and join the GSO for an evening of guided interactive and exploratory exercises Monday 3/29 at 5 pm. Facilitated by Alda Center faculty, you’ll leave feeling reinvigorated and connected to the big picture in you work.
GSO Senator Spotlight: Maryam Ahmed
Maryam is a senator from the Economics department here at Stony Brook. She advises all current and prospective Stony Brook graduate students to not be afraid of the challenge that graduate school entails.
If you ever want to reach out to her, she asks that you do so through her SBU email address.
Be on the lookout for future senator spotlights!
Tax Information for International Graduate Students
It is important to be aware that nonresident students in the US are legally required to file a tax return if you received US income during 2020.
And even if you didn’t work or receive income in the US, you’re still obliged to file a Form 8843 with the IRS.
The Graduate Student Organization (GSO) has arranged free access to Sprintax Tax Preparation for you.
Sprintax will guide you through the tax preparation process, arrange the necessary documents and check if you’re due a tax refund.
Sprintax was used by over 225,000 international students and scholars last year, and the average Federal refund received by eligible students was over $1,126.
All you need to do is:
1. Register here and follow the simple instructions
2. Complete the online questionnaire
3. Enter your unique code: SpR20GSO1001F in the box on the ‘Review your order’ page
4. Sprintax will prepare your tax return
Finally, once you complete the preparation process in the Sprintax software, you must print, sign and mail your documents to the IRS.
If you have any questions, the Sprintax team will be happy to help via their 24/7 live chat facility.
See the documents attached to the email you received earlier this week from your senator about Sprintax answers to some FAQs.
Call for Applications:
Presidential Completion Awards due March 31
Call for Applications and Submission Form: grad.stonybrook.edu/cost-funding/Presidential-Dissertation
THE AWARDS:
Presidential Dissertation Completion Fellowships
A dissertation completion fellowship would provide one or two semesters of stipend support for an advanced doctoral or MFA student who has experienced a delay in their degree progress due to circumstances or challenges beyond their control. To be eligible, students must establish that they do not have another source of stipend support for the requested semester(s). The fellowship would allow the student to complete their degree requirements without adding any additional service or teaching duties. Successful applications will demonstrate solid achievement and steady pre-pandemic progress to degree, compelling need for additional support, and a viable plan and potential for degree completion by the end of the funded period.
Presidential Critical Research Funds
Critical Research Funds would provide funding for necessary thesis research expenses up to $5000 for advanced doctoral or MFA students who have experienced a delay in their degree progress due to circumstances or challenges beyond their control. To be eligible, students must establish that they do not have another source of funding for the requested expenses. Allowable expenses include travel, equipment or supplies necessary for a student to complete their dissertation or thesis work. Successful applications will demonstrate solid achievement and steady pre-pandemic progress to degree, compelling need and justification for requested funds, and a viable plan and potential for degree completion if awarded the funds.
Please visit grad.stonybrook.edu/cost-funding/Presidential-Dissertation for the current versions of the calls, for a link to submit applications, and for an FAQ on the competition.
Coffee Break with a Scientist
In honor of Black History Month and Women's History Month, along with the recent International Day for Women and Girls in Science, Bridging Science and Diversity is hosting Dr. Marsha Cole for an informal career chat/coffee break. Please join us in discussing career challenges and triumphs with this multi-faceted chemist!
When: Tuesday, March 23rd from 3-4pm
Zoom link: https://stonybrook.zoom.us/j/94210838476?pwd=R0ZrU0xRS0JpM25sOTRkdnJuaFc1dz09
Meeting ID: 942 1083 8476
Passcode: 780886
2021 Graduate School Award Winners
Congratulations to all of the winners of the 2021 Graduate School Awards! We’re so proud of you and the amazing work you’ve accomplished!
You can read more about this year’s winners and their awards here.
Career Choices & Pivots in a Wild PhD Job Market
Wed, March 24
6-7pm
Online via Zoom
Come hear our panel of recent SBU PhD graduates reflect
on their successful job searches during the pandemic
and how they adapted their strategies.
Moderator:
Alfreda James, Career Center
Panelists:
Sindhuja Tirumalai Govindarajan, Biomedical Engineering, PhD ‘20
Bruno De Carvalho, Pharmacology, PhD ‘21
RSVP for Link: bit.ly/SkillsForCareers
RIT Research Study - Understanding Senior Adults' Perceptions and Challenges in Using AI (Artificial Intelligence) Technologies
Researchers from the Rochester Institute of Technology are asking for seniors aged 50 or above in our community/network to take a short survey: https://rit.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dp2XURoCPYfQ7T8 for a research project.
Details of their research study:
The study aims to understand how senior adults aged 50 or above perceive AI technology and what their experiences are in using AI-based products. The participation is entirely voluntary. Respondents may refuse to participate or withdraw their consent or discontinue their participation in the study at any time without penalty or loss of benefits or rights to which they might otherwise be entitled. It will take about 5 to 10 minutes to complete the survey. No personally identifiable information is collected.
Based on the responses, survey respondents might be contacted for a follow-up virtual interview.
Impact of the study:
The study would help designers and AI developers/technologists to design better AI products that could accommodate/address senior adults' needs and concerns.
Compensation:
Respondents will be entered into a lottery draw for a chance to win a cash award of $30.
Each interview participant will receive $15 cash as compensation.
Contact: Please feel free to reach out for any questions or concerns to the following researchers:
Esha Shandilya, Graduate Student, School of Information, Rochester Institute of Technology Email: es4524@rit.edu
Dr. Mingming Fan, Assistant Professor, School of Information, Rochester Institute of Technology
Email: mingming.fan@rit.edu
Call for Participants: Student-Parent Survey
The University is trying to better understand and serve students who are also parents. To that end, the Office of Community Development has prepared a survey to learn about student-parents and their needs.
If you are a student-parent, please consider completing this survey in order to support this initiative.
GSO Pet Spotlight: Yurple
That’s right… another hedgehog!
Yurple lives with Caitlin, the GSO Social Media Manager. Yurple mostly enjoys eating garlic and investigating strange smells. She is also committed to fitness and runs endlessly on her wheel.
One more thing…
Art from LizandMollie
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