The Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS) reconvened Wednesday after recessing earlier in the week, following a sudden executive resignation and procedural disputes that delayed key funding decisions.
At the start of the meeting, Vice President Mayyda Mukhtar, a graduate student studying computer engineering, announced her resignation, stating concerns about her treatment and that of the Rules Committee.
“This is not an isolated incident,” Mukhtar said. “This is a pattern of targeted behavior. Given all of the above, I am resigning from my position effective immediately.”
Following her remarks, Senators entered a debate over voting procedures, during which confusion emerged regarding how abstentions are counted in determining a simple majority.
The discussion later shifted to go over new business and proposed seed funding allocations (SB S26-32 through SB S26-37).
The seed funding proposals, which range across multiple graduate student initiatives, were originally presented earlier in the week and returned to the Senate for final consideration. The proposals drew discussion not only about their individual merits but also about how decisions should be made, given the limited number of voting senators present.
Mkpe Ojong Kekung, GPSS treasurer and a graduate student in mechanical engineering, explained the rationale behind the seed funding initiative.
“The proposal was designed to be a one-time funding initiative that would directly benefit graduate students,” Kekung said. “Out of about $440,000 in surplus funds, we aimed to keep funding decisions financially prudent and within a reasonable range.”
After the initiative was explained, Senators questioned both the scale of the funding and whether sufficient participation was present to proceed with allocations.
Dante Sorrentino, a graduate student in applied mathematics, explained the legitimacy of proceeding with funding allocations under limited attendance.
“This is close to $150,000 that is being decided by roughly 17 people after a lot has changed in the Senate since Monday,” Sorrentino said. “I just do not think the Senate is ready to make such a large financial decision at this point.”
Kekung emphasized the importance of honoring the funding process and commitments already made to student organizations.
“These are proposal-based requests that were reviewed by multiple committees, including Finance and Awards,” Kekung said. “It is worthwhile that we honor our commitment and move forward with the process, especially since these proposals are meant to benefit graduate students directly.”
The motion to table the remaining seed funding proposals passed, effectively postponing the allocations until the next academic semester.
This was the final GPSS meeting of this semester, and it will resume in fall 2026.