Serving as a Councillor enables you and your colleagues to voice your concerns and to raise the issues that matter to you. Meetings are held eleven times per year, and average only a couple of hours in length. Being a Councillor enables you to learn more about issues affecting graduate students, both at Western and beyond - and you get a chance to meet with graduate students from other departments.

All current and potential Councillors must complete a Councillor Nomination Form and return it to the SOGS office two weeks prior to the next Council meeting.

Becoming an active part of SOGS Council can benefit your department’s graduate students. At the end of each term, the Society issues Departmental Grants to those departments who send representatives to Council meetings. Council is the "House of Commons" of SOGS. At Council, decisions are made about the Society’s policies and practices, including the health plan and the Grad Club.

Departmental Grants reward Council attendance: the amount of the grant reflects how many meetings each department has had Council representation at. Grants are issued at a rate of $1.50 per full-time equivalent student, pro-rated to departmental Councilor attendance. Departments with less than ten full-time equivalent students will receive a minimum of $15.00 per term based on a representative attending 100% of SOGS Council meetings per term. How your department’s students use the grant money is entirely up to you.

If you are interested in becoming a Councillor, or are wondering whether your department has Council representation, please feel free to contact the office.

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