Attention all UC graduate students! Your voices are needed now more than ever. As we continue navigating through unprecedented times, we must come together and advocate for our needs, concerns, and well-being.
Climate and Basic Needs Advocacy
The UC Graduate and Professional Council (UCGPC) is at the forefront of these efforts. Our dedicated student officers work tirelessly to represent graduate students among legislators, UC systemwide officials, and the Board of Regents.
UCGPC President Hayden Schill sits as a UCGPC representative in the UC Fossil Free Taskforce and will attend a systemwide meeting on March 1-2 at the UC Global Climate Leadership Council in Los Angeles. In the meantime, UCGPC Executive Director, Patriccia Ordonez-Kim, is actively involved in UC Riverside’s School of Medicine’s PCORI-funded project “Engaging the Academy,” which focuses on graduate student mental health. Hayden is also part of the Taskforce for graduate student mental health.
UCGPC’s Director of Organizing, Adam Cooper, is actively advocating for a fossil-free UC and pushing for divestment from the fossil fuel industry.
Legislative Advocacy
UCGPC’s Director of Legislative Affairs, Yaritza Gonzalez, organizes legislative advocacy trips across UC campuses. She has regularly met with the UC Federal Governmental Relations Team in DC and State Governmental Relations Team in Sacramento to strategize UCGPC efforts on the Hill and the State Capitol.
Ernesto Arciniega, UCGPC Vice Chair and ex officio council member representing UCLA, is also involved in advocacy efforts for graduate students. Ernesto and Hayden attended the welcome reception hosted by UC President Michael Drake and Board of Regents Chair Richard Leib in January 2023 at the Citizen Hotel in Sacramento. The trip was sponsored by UCGPC funds. Its purpose was to represent graduate students among legislators, UC systemwide officials, and the board of regents.
UCGPC members work tirelessly to represent graduate students’ needs, funding, and outcomes at the systemwide level and state legislative levels. They continue to advocate for graduate students’ basic needs and mental health awareness, particularly upcoming advocacy days in Sacramento and DC in April and March 2023.
If you are a graduate student, consider getting involved with UCGPC by applying to be a systemwide graduate representative next school year, applying to be a StAR (student advocate to the regents), and opting into the UCGPC systemwide fee every quarter. Every graduate student’s $7 goes a long way.
Official Blog | UCGPC 
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