Local, Regional, and National Advocacy
2023-2024 COGS Equity & Antidiscrimination Committee Report
The COGS Director of Equity and Anti-Discrimination and the COGS DEI Committee has prepared the following report, which was approved at the April 2024 COGS Full Council Meeting. You can read the full report here 23-24 EAC Report.
Local Advocacy
City of East Lansing: COGS seats MSU Graduate Students on local government coalitions.
https://www.cityofeastlansing.com/629/University-Student-Commission
MSU-Vote: COGS is part of MSU-Vote, which actively encourages voter participation and education within the MSU community.
MLK Commemorative Celebration Planning Committee:
COGS has a seat every year on the MLK Commemorative Celebration Planning Committee, which organizes the annual events for MLK Jr day. https://inclusion.msu.edu/awards/mlk-commemorative-celebration/index.html
Mental Health Advocacy:
COGS seeks to promote and advocate on issues around mental health & wellbeing for graduate & professional students by working with campus partners such as CAPS and Graduate Office of Well-Being, Health4U, POE, Safe Place, Center for Survivors, and others.
Regional Advocacy
COGS sometimes collaborates with UM Rackham Graduate-Professional Student Government on statewide advocacy efforts within Michigan. COGS Eboard, the VPEA in particular, also maintains relationships with MSU government affairs office as well as regional & national graduate student advocacy groups.
National Advocacy
SAGE: COGS is a member of Student Advocates for Graduate Education (SAGE). SAGE is comprised of governing bodies from public research universities nationwide and participates in advocacy for graduate education at the national level. http://www.sagecoalition.net/
COGS also watches the advocacy efforts of other national organizations, including:
National Association of Graduate-Professional Students (NAGPS). Our annual Graduate Academic Conference participates in the Midwest Regional Conference by sending one graduate student from the GAC’s 3-Minute-Thesis competition to compete in the regional conference. You can find out more about this organization here: http://nagps.org/
Also monitoring: The GRAD Coalition, which exists to support the efforts and initiatives of the U.S. House of Representatives – Graduate Research and Development (GRAD) Caucus. The Coalition promotes graduate student needs to GRAD Caucus members, helps develop legislative priorities for the Caucus, and organizes events, including issue briefings and research symposiums. While ultimate legislative jurisdiction remains with the Caucus, the GRAD Coalition supports Caucus efforts and ensures that issues affecting graduate students remain a point of focus for elected officials.
