Posts by Michael Benson

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Posts by Michael Benson

Thank You from Your Graduate Student Body President

May 8, 2013 | By Michael Benson, President, Rackham Student Government

Fellow Graduate Students, Three years ago, you elected me to serve as your President and each year since then, you've re-elected me along with a set of wonderful vice presidents to serve you. Over the course of the last year, your graduate student government achieved a great deal on your behalf including: allocating over $16,000 to graduate student organizations to host a variety of cultural, educational, and other interesting events and programs; hosting many events for the entire student body, including town halls, an election forum focusing on the six state-wide ballot initiatives, a trip to see the Detroit Tigers…

Published in: Student Voices

Remember to Vote on November 6: It’s Our Civic Duty

November 5, 2012 | By Michael Benson, President, Rackham Student Government

Fellow Graduate Students, Tuesday November 6th is election day in the United States. Over the course of the past year, we have been presented with numerous advertisements on television, on the radio, in print, and online encouraging us to support candidate X or issue Y. The time has come to let our voices be heard. (This also will coincide with the end of these ads... at least until the next election cycle.) While many of us are focusing on the "top of the ticket," the Presidential election, there are numerous races and ballot proposals that deserve our attention. Regardless of…

Published in: Student Voices

Student Group Funding Available For Summer Events

August 8, 2012 | By Michael Benson, President, Rackham Student Government

RSG is committed to supporting events for the graduate student body and still has funds available for summer events! If your student group is interested in organizing an event for graduate students you should consider applying for RSG funding. All funding requests must be submitted 15 business days prior to an event. For more information on our funding guidelines, please see our website: https://rsg.umich.edu/funding-guidelines. For questions about this or any other activity sponsored by your student government, please contact rsg-exec@umich.edu. -Your Rackham Student Government http://rsg.umich.edu @RackhamStudGovt

Published in: Resources and Events

Your Student Government at Work: Washington, D.C. Edition

May 18, 2012 | By Michael Benson, President, Rackham Student Government

Fellow graduate students, On a warm October weekend some four years ago, the leadership of your graduate student government joined their peers from many of the top-tier public research universities in the country and founded the Student Advocates for Graduate Education (SAGE), a coalition that has worked tirelessly to promote policies in the federal government of the United States that would benefit all graduate academic and professional students. This past March, I lead a delegation of five U-M graduate students to Washington, D.C. for the SAGE coalition's fourth annual spring advocacy conference and days on the Hill. Over the course…

Published in: Student Voices

Get Funded Through Your Rackham Student Government

November 10, 2011 | By Michael Benson, President, Rackham Student Government

Did you know that you pay a $1.50 fee to your Rackham Student Government each semester you’re enrolled at the University? This might not seem like a lot of money, but when you multiply that $1.50 by over 8,000 graduate students you get a good amount of money. Your Rackham Student Government (RSG) is funded solely through this fee and we strive to use it to make our time at the University the best it can be. RSG hosts a number of events on campus ranging from academic lectures to themed bar nights, and everything in between. While we have…

Published in: Professional Development

Your Rackham Student Government

November 2, 2011 | By Michael Benson, President, Rackham Student Government

There are over 10,000 graduate and professional students at the University of Michigan. Who knew? And of that, nearly 80% are Rackham students. While there are literally thousands of graduate students on campus, most of us only meet a very small percentage of them. Am I really saying that there are thousands of people at the University with similar experiences to your own? Yes and no. As we each know, graduate school can be a unique experience for each of us so no two experiences are exactly alike. However, there are a number of similarities that span programs, departments, and…

Published in: Professional Development

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