Voting will take place via Tritonlink: http://tritonlink.ucsd.edu from April 9th to April 14th, and shall begin at 10:00 AM on the first day of voting and continue until 4:00 PM on the last day of voting. Any student or student organization may submit a request to the AS Election Chair to write Pro or Con statements, which shall be written in accordance with the AS Election Bylaws and Constitution. All correspondence sent to students regarding the referendum must include the phrase "VOTE AT TRITONLINK.UCSD.EDU". To be effective, the fee referendum must be approved by a simple majority of votes to approve, with no less than 20% of eligible votes cast. The referendum shall not be approved if there are more votes cast to abstain than votes cast to approve. The proposed voting criteria are in full compliance with AS Bylaws and Election Code, and UC Policy Section 90.00 Policy on the Campus Assessment of Voluntary Student Contributions to Student Governments and Registered Campus Organizations and UCSD Policies and Procedures Applying to Student Activities, Section 18.00.

Do you approve an increase in the Graduate Student Association Fee by $19.90 per graduate student per quarter (excluding summer), effective Fall Quarter 2018 to increase funding for student events and traditions, student organizations, services to students, and administrative operations of the Graduate Student Association of the University of California, San Diego?

29% of this fee increase will return to UC San Diego to help meet the financial aid needs of graduate students.

71% of this fee increase will be used to expand and increase student events and traditions, and increase funding for student organizations, services to students, and administrative operations of the Graduate Student Association of the University of California, San Diego. These would include, but not be limited to:

• Additional programming to support diversity, inclusion, and equity for graduate student groups on campus
• Basic needs initiatives, including food and housing insecurity programs and resources
• Social programming on and off campus
• Professional development programs
• Graduate student organization funding
• Increased UC San Diego graduate student participation in advocacy efforts, including at meetings with state and federal legislators, as well as the UC Office of the President and UC Regents

Specifically, this portion of the fee increase would allow the Graduate Student Association to:

• INCREASE PROGRAMMING TO SUPPORT EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS AND GROUPS ON CAMPUS: A portion of this fee increase will be allocated to fund EDI initiatives and events that foster the growth, support, and increased recognition of underserved, and historically underrepresented graduate level scholars and community. Programs may include large-scale symposiums or events to encourage and promote broader social and intellectual engagement across cultures and disciplines.
• INCREASE BASIC NEEDS INITIATIVES: This fee increase would help support campus-wide efforts to address food and housing insecurity at the graduate level. A portion of this fee would provide funding for the food and supplies necessary to operate the Triton Food Pantry, which serves hundreds of graduate students each quarter.
• INCREASE SOCIAL PROGRAMMING ON AND OFF CAMPUS: A portion of the fee increase would be allocated to large and small scale events, such as the quarterly Free for Alls and Roaming Socials. The increase would also support the creation of new traditions, such as a graduate student music festival, as well as funding the operating expenses of the Graduate Student Association required to support programming.
• INCREASE FUNDING FOR GRADUATE STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS: A portion of this fee increase will be allocated to funding for programs and events requested by graduate student organizations, as well as events open to the entire graduate community hosted by graduate students and departments.
• INCREASE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS: A portion of the fee increase would create initiatives to enhance and promote the professionalization of graduate students by including a graduate student career fair, professional development travel opportunities, and informational interviews and networking meetings.
• INCREASE UC SAN DIEGO GRADUATE STUDENT PARTICIPATION IN ADVOCACY EFFORTS: A portion of this fee increase would provide funding to include additional UC San Diego student representatives in advocating for graduate student needs to state and federal legislators, as well as the UC Office of the President and UC Regents.

The Graduate Student Association Fee is currently $12.00 per student per quarter. This fee was last increased in 2002. Neither the increase nor existing Graduate Student Association Fee will be assessed during summer sessions.

If this fee referendum is approved and implemented, the Graduate Student Association Fee would be $31.90 per student per quarter effective Fall Quarter 2018. If this increase to the Graduate Student Association Fee is approved, the increased amount will be adjusted annually according to the California Consumer Price Index (CPI) (not to exceed 4% annually) to account for inflation, starting in Fall 2019. In addition, no referendum that would increase the Graduate Student Association Fee may be proposed until Fall Quarter 2021.

Statement of Conditions:

1. This fee will be included in the determination of financial aid.
2. Annual budget reports will be made public and provided to all UCSD Student Governments.
3. Modifications to this fee may not be made without a subsequent student referendum held in accordance with the appropriate student governmental and University policies unless other means are explicitly provided in this ballot language.

Pro Statement	Con Statement
VOTE YES on the GSA Fee Referendum to support the personal, social, and academic well-being of graduate and professional students! The GSA is the official voice of graduate students at UCSD, and includes representatives from every department on campus. The GSA Fee has not increased in over 15 years, despite increasing demand for mental health and basic needs support, improved academic and professional mentorship, and community building. This proposal was written by graduate students across all disciplines, and your representatives have direct control over the use of this fee. Voting YES on fee increase ENSURES:   New initiatives to address food and housing insecurity More professional development programs for graduate students Bolstered efforts to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion at UCSD Expanded social programming and community building Increased representation of graduate students on the campus, state, and national levels Additional funding for graduate student organizations and events Consequences of voting NO:   Limited ability to support students’ basic needs Failure to meet student demand for professional development opportunities Reduced social programming and graduate student events Minimized opportunities for graduate student advocacy The GSA represents over 6,700 graduate students. This fee increase will ensure that your representatives can meet the diverse needs of our large community. VOTE YES to support graduate and professional students!	Do you think GSA needs more money? This referendum increases the GSA fee from $12 to $31.90 (a 165% increase). As current GSA representatives, we believe GSA does great work within the current budget. However, we disagree with the absurd magnitude of the fee increase as proposed. Reasons to vote against the fee increase:   The GSA put ~$90,000 of unspent student fees into its reserves over the past 5 years 46.6% of the budget increase is slated to cover salaries, including a full-time staff person. It is not clear what the duties of this full-time staff would be or how it would enhance student life. It is unclear whether additional programming (such as the proposed music festival) will be supported by graduate student demand. The budget proposed represents an aggressive increase in events and initiatives with no guarantees that future GSAs will be inclined or able to pursue them. As the budget is re-allocated annually, current students have no control of how the budget may be potentially (mis)managed by future GSAs. Many graduate students pay this fee out of pocket and they are the ones who can least afford the increase. It’s difficult to imagine how a sudden massive increase in the GSA budget would be effectively spent. As representatives of graduate student interests, the GSA should not request such an abrupt and drastic increase without first surveying the general graduate student body. A vote against this fee increase is not a vote against the GSA, but rather a statement that increasing student fees is a serious action that should be done incrementally and with clear justification.
Rebuttal To Pro Statement	Rebuttal To Con Statement
The only thing a yes vote ENSURES is a 165% increase in your GSA fee There is no guarantee that the increase will support programs cited in the pro-statement, as the budget is re-allocated annually While the fee has not increased in 15 years, the GSA budget has increased by $120,000 in the last 5 years alone due to funding from other campus entities geared to specific programs Basic needs should be the purview of the administration. In fact, UCSD has just received$3 million to address food and housing insecurity REAL consequence of voting NO The GSA must request a reasonable fee increase	Do you think grads deserve more support? Then VOTE YES Additional programs require additional support. It would be irresponsible to place this labor on grads. GSA has no staff and students are unable to meet growing demand for programs. No other department on campus has no staff! The GSA fee is controlled by students to support student-determined priorities and programs. Annual budgets allow each generation to address new needs. <5% of the GSA budget is put into reserves each year, and used for grad events. Nearly 50% of grads have fees waived. 29% of the fee will be used for financial aid.