The GSS is looking to elect a new Vice President External Relations. The Vice-President of External Relations (VPX) is responsible for external affairs to the society including:

• the representation of GSS to external organizations that deliberate on the affairs relevant to graduate students, developing links with such organizations, and being responsible for the promotion of and communication of information on the Society’s activities to other organizations excluding UBC organizations
• the Academic and External Affairs Committee
• community outreach and external political events of the Society
• liaising with residence associations
• lobbying local, municipal, provincial, and federal governments

The VPX must provide at least thirteen hours of work per week and report to the President on a regular basis, work collaboratively with the Executive Committee, and perform such other duties as directed by Council or the membership in consultation with the President or the Executive Committee.

The honoraria, provided that all duties pertaining to the position are performed to Council’s satisfaction, is $17,778 per annum, provided in 24 semimonthly installments.

If interested, send a brief bio to president@gss.ubc.ca and aa@gss.ubc.ca

The GSS Council will elect a new Vice President during September Council meeting on September 21st.

Join the GSS at the Acadia Park Commonsblock Field for a family orientation event! Our GSS Executives will be there to speak to students and answer questions about the GSS. Activities will be provided for your kids, with face painting, crafts, and a bouncy castle for everybody to enjoy! Both new and returning students and families are invited.

GSS has partnered with Bard on the Beach to make the tickets affordable for graduate students! Join fellow graduate students to watch this exciting take on Shakespeare. This timeless story, in a modern-day setting, is about the human drive to get and hold on to power – and how order and good government can turn to chaos when personal ambition is unchecked. Julius Caesar is powerfully connected to our world’s political landscape, with its fractured integrity, and it raises profound questions for us all.

Questions? Email events@gss.ubc.ca and eventsassistant@gss.ubc.ca

Join fellow graduate students in this fun Bowling Night in the heart of Commercial Drive! Play bowling in style, and with good company. Meet fellow graduate students at this fun Bowling Night! We have reserved lanes in the upper floor at Grandview Lanes, Vancouver’s staple bowling alley for the past 70 years, for this Glow-In-The-Dark bowling experience, exclusively for UBC graduate students!

Looking to meet other graduate students and relax? Join the GSS and GPS for a round or two of boardgames! RSVP your attendance to participate in a slew of boardgames at the GSS Loft (4th Floor of the AMS Student Nest), or just show up and have fun! All students welcome, not just new students!

As the summer winds down, the GSS is encouraging graduate students to enjoy the sun and get out into nature! 

Our Summer subsidy program allows UBC graduate students to get discounts on their tickets to visit the Capilano suspension bridge near the city. One student ticket per graduate student for a trip taken anytime in September 2023 can be submitted for a 50% reimbursement between now and October 31, 2023.

Questions or suggestions about the summer subsidy program? Please email vpstudents@gss.ubc.ca and events@gss.ubc.ca

GSS has compiled a comprehensive dossier of Health and Wellness resources available to graduate students of UBC Vancouver. Visit here for the entire list.

Additionally, GSS knows dealing with difficult situations as a graduate student at UBC can be challenging and exhausting. Whether a student is facing financial, housing, academic or supervisory issues, knowing what to do, seeking support, and where can be very confusing. If you are in this situation, there is no need to fret. The GSS is right here to support you.

Our Advocates are uniquely positioned to help you navigate these challenges and many more by providing answers to your questions through peer support, external advocacy and resource referrals. Our team is also actively working on new policy recommendations and proposing amendments to existing UBC policies that would benefit the graduate student community of UBC.

Our advocacy coordinators are here to help you. Contact us at:  advocacy@gss.ubc.ca

InterVarsity is teaming up with GSS for the Ride for Refuge to fundraise for Inner Hope Youth Ministries. We will be bike riding/walking at beautiful Trout Lake in solidarity with people seeking hope, safety, and freedom. And although it only takes a few hours of our time, we know it will make a difference. By participating in the RIDE, we're standing in solidarity with people who have little or no voice and who often get left behind or ignored. And by fundraising, we're supporting a charity who is bringing hope and refuge to those same people.

When: September 23 - 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

Where: We will meet at 2670 Victoria Drive (First Christian Reformed Church of Vancouver)

Reach out to Alan Lensink (alan.lensink@gmail.com) or Julia Nakamura (jnakamura@psych.ubc.ca) for more information!

As UBC graduate students, there are many gardens, museums, and events offered free of cost when you bring your UBC ID card. Visit the links below for hours and more information.

The Foodhub at UBC has compiled an extensive list of Food Access Support, Food and Nutrition Resources, as well as other financial and wellbeing support. View the entire list here, with some highlighted below.

AMS Food Bank

An emergency food relief service for UBC students in need located in the UBC Life Building. They offer various non-perishable foods, personal hygiene supplies, budgeting tips and information on additional resources in and around Vancouver.

Acadia Food Hub

A community project at UBC supporting households with food and baby supplies.

UBC Meal Share Program

Students experiencing challenges financially accessing food can apply to receive short-term support from this confidential program available from Sept-April.

Sprouts

A 100% volunteer and student-run organization operating in the Life Building from Sept-April. Through their many initiatives, they aim to make healthy, affordable, and sustainably produced food accessible to everyone on campus (students, faculty, and staff).

The GSS team has various vacancies open for councillors and ordinary members! 

To become a councillor, you must be elected as your department representative. If you are not your department rep. but would still like to join a committee, you can join as an ordinary member. 

Interested? Please email aa@gss.ubc.ca with your declaration form

UBC Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) is looking of Grad students who would be interested in working with SUS Mentorship Program. Mentors will guide undergraduate science students through their degree and post-undergraduate academic journeys.

Mentors will be matched with mentees at the beginning of the first semester, with professional development workshops and coffee chats (either in person, online, or both!) being hosted throughout the term and through to the start of Term 2.

If interested, please send your name, a brief bio (program of study) and email address to mentorship@sus.ubc.ca

Are you a UBC student? Do you want to get a taste of sailing the ocean along the beautiful beaches of Vancouver? Join us on Saturday, September 16th afternoon at Jericho Sailing Centre. Seasoned members will take you out for a cruise! You get a chance to learn all about our sailboats, the club, and the exhilarating feeling of being out on a boat with wind and water!

This $2 experience will give you a taste of what our Club is all about and also makes you a social member of our Club. This means you can come to all social events (on land) afterwards free of charge! No sailing experience is necessary. Stay around after your sail for ice cream and get to know fellow ocean enthusiasts! We will also have a photographer boat to capture those moments on the water for you!