The Graduate and Professional Student elections for president and council chair are open to graduate students. A candidate to fill GPSA President Lissa Knudsen’s shoes is yet to be decided, as no applicants applied for the position.

Danny Hernandez, GPSA Council Chair, is running for re-election and is unopposed.

“ The deadline for candidates to file will be this coming Wednesday,” Hernandez said.

The term for both elected of-fices is one academic school year.This year will be a challenge for any elected position — especially with tuition increases, Hernandez said. Any graduate student is eligible to run for either council chair or president.

Hernandez said that Knudsen will run for re-election, but

candidates usually don’t turn in their applications until the final due date.

GPSA holds two separate elections every spring for the positions, he said. The council chair election takes place at the April 17 meeting, according to the GPSA Web site, where GPSA Council representatives vote. the election for GPSA president takes place online on April 19-22. All graduate students are eligible to participate.

Hernandez said a council chair leads and organizes meetings and creates the meeting’s agenda. e president represents graduate and professional students at Board of Regents meetings, he said.

Anyone taking graduate level classes is considered a GPSA member and is eligible to vote for GPSA president.

Hernandez said he got involved in GPSA in August 2007, when he became a dual master’s degree candidate.

“GPSA allows me to help and represent graduate students,” Hernandez said.

The graduate student council was created in 1969 as an o shoot of ASUNM — the undergraduate student government, he said.

Many departments have graduate student representation, including fine arts, English, the School of
Law, and political science, according to the GPSA Web site.

GPSA funds many events and programs, provides funding for health care to graduate students and grants for research programs, the Web site said.