GPSC petitions students to volunteer for 2 committees

Last night's Graduate and Professional Student Council meeting solicited further involvement from its members, asking for volunteers to serve on committees and to attend an upcoming social event.

The Academic Affairs Subcommittee discussed the discrepancies in honor policies between individual graduate and professional schools. GPSC President Elayne Heisler recommended that students who concerned with inconsistent punishments for cheating and accepted levels of collaboration represent GPSC on the University's new Academic Integrity Committee.

"This is a question that affects everybody," Academic Council Chair Peter Burian told The Chronicle in September. "Graduate and professional schools are not immune. It makes sense to talk about why it is improper and what we will do."

Heisler also solicited volunteers for GPSC's Young Trustee selection committee. The group will screen candidates for the Young Trustee position, which opens every three years. Usually the eight GPSC officers comprise the committee, but four have asked to be removed this year because they cannot be both a candidate and a committee member, said GPSC Vice President David Ferguson.

The Student Life Subcommittee also announced the first event it has planned this year, which will take place at 8 p.m. Oct. 18 at Mugshots. Tobin Freid, student life co-chair, said GPSC hopes to subsidize drinks, offer free appetizers and possibly engage a band to play at the event, which she called a happy hour.

"The idea is just that you are at school and, hey, you want to head over to Mugshots to see your friends and have a good time," Freid said. "People can hang out at bars anytime they want, so we want to offer them something different, like a jazz band."

The committee plans to continue to offer social service events throughout the year.

Kenneth Reinker contributed to this story.