Addressing the disconnect between graduate students and undergraduate students

By Nicholas Zuniga
Visiting Opinion Columnist

Fall of 2024 marks the first semester of the Graduate Student Association (GSA) at Saint Mary’s College of California. The GSA, including elected official positions such as president and vice-president, has gathered together in attempts to serve the graduate student body by implementing positive change for the graduate student experience. 

Considering the lack of embrace and inclusion for graduate students in the general - undergraduate - student experience at Saint Mary’s, graduate students are having to go above and beyond to be recognized within the school’s student body and student associations.  

Looking at prominent student associations, Associated Students at Saint Mary’s has a particularly influential role in undergraduate student life. Associated Students, an organization on campus that is “committed to fostering the holistic development of students,” has a well-established executive student council and is responsible for allocating $250,000 in funds to student organizations, clubs, programming and more. 

Within the association are several governing documents, including a constitution, bylaws, election code and budget. However, graduate students are not named or included in any of these documents or executive boards, only “undergraduate” is used.

Regina Molitoris, the current president of Associated Students, who, notably, with her menstrual products resolution last year, provided students access to free menstrual products in campus restrooms, was asked about why graduate students are not integrated within Associated Students,

“We address the problems and the concerns of the undergraduate, solely because in our constitution it says ‘undergraduate,’ Molitoris said. “The funds allocated to us are paid by the undergraduate students. It’s not to denigrate graduate students at all… I’m very happy about [the formation of the GSA].”

Molitoris clarified that her focus for the year remains on undergraduates. However, she noted that Associated Students may be collaborating with the GSA to hold events and help facilitate the works of events. 

Speaking with Dr. Rebecca Anguiano, a department chair and professor within the counseling program here at Saint Mary’s, she noted that, “[Saint Mary’s] campus… It's a lovely campus, right? And it's geared towards undergraduate students.” 

“Our graduate students are amazing. They deserve to be represented,”Anguiano added. “Thinking about how we make campus accessible to our graduate students is really important… What are we supposed to do for working professionals who can't get to campus before their four pm class, and it's already a struggle to get [to class] by four.”

As a graduate student, it is upsetting to see that only undergraduate student organizations receive funding, from the school, that enhances their extracurricular student experience. As a graduate student who is living on campus, I will be paying just below $50,000 dollars for this academic year alone. Even though my cost of attendance is high, my opportunity for extra funding is low. Graduate students are not eligible for the Pell Grant and we do not have paid leadership opportunities like elected students within Associated Students. Furthermore, textbook scholarships! 

I spent around $350 by renting most of my 11 textbooks this semester, and I did not get any scholarship from the textbook fund. All I received were several emails telling me to ‘please be patient and await further communications.’ Hopefully, in the near future, graduate students will begin to feel more supported by the beautiful Saint Mary’s campus.