On Friday, Marshall Rose, the director of the office of equity and diversity, was the guest speaker at the last Graduate Student Senate meeting of the year.

Rose spoke about the need for diversity on campus and encouraged greater institutional diversity.

“Our biggest challenge is not what we look like, but what we will be like,” he said.

GSS President Emmanual Guillory then updated the senate on the issues of the past year.

The top ten concerns of graduate students, based on a survey taken in Spring 2007, are beginning to be addressed, Guillory said.

The concerns include inadequate funding, health insurance, lack of diversity, parking and more course offerings.

He passed out a survey of the top ten concerns, asking senators to list their top three. That way the concerns could be prioritized and handled easier, Guillory said.

“More narrowed, more focus, we thought that might be a better approach,” he said.

The senate also voted on a resolution to support the Graduate College in their plans to hold departments accountable for the travel funds they receive.

The resolution did not pass.

GSS will meet again on Jan. 23.