GSU MUN

Spring 2026 Greenshield Health and Dental OPT OUT DEADLINE: Wednesday, May 20th 2026. One more week left!
This is only applicable to students who began their program in the Spring. If you opted out in Fall or Winter, you do not need to opt out again. Opt out statuses are reset every September. Manual opt outs are not accepted.
For further information, please email [email protected] or visit www.gsumun.ca.

Our ED Finance along with the Campus Coalition met with the Minister of Education yesterday to discuss issues pertaining to MUN, including graduate student issues.

Minister Paul Dinn met with representatives from the Coalition of Unions at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador today to discuss the important role the university plays in educating and employing Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Minister Dinn listened to concerns presented by the Coalition and reiterated government's commitments concerning Memorial University.

GSU is hiring for the following positions:

Health and Dental Coordinator (1 position)
Executive Assistant (1 position)

Start Date: May 1st 2026

To apply, please email cover letter and resume to [email protected] by 11.59pm on April 28th 2026.
Detailed job posting available on www.gsumun.ca.

UPDATED GSU GENERAL ELECTIONS 2026-27 RESULTS

The results are in! Here are your GSU Executive Directors for 2026-27:

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ACADEMICS
Iyanu Joshua Gbiri - 142 votes (ELECTED)
Md Nurul Hasan Shimul - 69 votes

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Abdulrazaq Opeyemi Sefiu (UNCONTESTED)

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
Jacob H***e (UNCONTESTED)

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
Gaayathri Sukantha Murugan (UNCONTESTED)

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CAMPUS LIFE
Ben Roque (UNCONTESTED)

SENATE REPRESENTATIVE 2026-27
Draco Dunphy (UNCONTESTED)

GSU GENERAL ELECTIONS 2026-27 RESULTS

The results are in! Here are your GSU Executive Directors for 2026-27:

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ACADEMICS
Iyanu Joshua Gbiri - 142 votes (ELECTED)
Md Nurul Hasan Shimul - 69 votes

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Abdulrazaq Opeyemi Sefiu (UNCONTESTED)

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
Jacob H***e (UNCONTESTED)

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
Gaayathri Sukantha Murugan (UNCONTESTED)

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CAMPUS LIFE
Ben Roque (UNCONTESTED)

Here are the results of the vote on authorizing the dissolution process of GSU.

Total Votes Cast: 440
In Favor of Authorizing the Dissolution Process: 157
Against Authorizing the Dissolution Process: 244
Abstained: 14
Ineligible Votes: 25

GSU General Elections 2026-27

Voting for the 2026-27 GSU General Elections is open from Thursday, April 9 at 9:00 a.m. NDT and closes Friday, April 10 at 4:00 p.m. NDT.

Students can find voting and candidate information on the GSU website: www.gsumun.ca.

This election matters. The people elected will represent you in academic decisions, financial planning, external advocacy, campus life, and university governance. They will sit at tables where decisions are made that directly affect your funding, your insurance, your academic experience, and your voice as a graduate student at Memorial University.

If you experience any technical issues accessing the ballot, please try opening it in a different browser, and if issues persist, contact the Chief Returning Officer immediately at [email protected] so we can help resolve the issue before voting closes.

Please find the link to voting on authorizing the dissolution process of GSU on the website homepage (www.gsumun.ca). Students should have already received communication from their department or society regarding this. Voting will close at 11.59pm on April 8th 2026.

In a conversation with Prosum, CFS’s Health and Dental Insurance advisor, it was made clear to our executive that:

Dissolving the GSU would not absolve graduate students at Memorial of their debt.

It is possible that creditors, such as GreenShield, would legally challenge a dissolution if it appears to have been undertaken primarily to avoid financial obligations.

The new union will likely be viewed as a successor entity, which could result in creditors pursuing recovery from the new organization.

Actions perceived as avoiding obligations can have lasting effects on credibility and access to future programs or partnerships.

From Prosum’s recent conversations with GreenShield, they believe that GreenShield “will not hesitate to take legal action to recover the outstanding balance if needed”.

Our executive has been in constant communication with CFS and GreenShield in order to create the optimal payment plan for graduate students, mitigating the impact on our membership.

We hope to share more information about these conversations at GSU’s Annual General Meeting which is scheduled for 6pm on Wednesday, March 25.

We hope that students will support the continuation of our union with their vote at the AGM.

5 MYTHS ABOUT DISSOLUTION

Myth #1: Dissolving GSU will erase its debts and allow GSU to start afresh.
Fact: While dissolving and liquidating assets may cover a portion of the outstanding debts, it is marginal. Any new union would still be liable for the remaining debt, and would risk being sued by Greenshield.

Myth #2: MUNSU can take on the responsibility of graduate health insurance.
Fact: This would not be possible without MUNSU taking on the responsibility of paying back Greenshield.

Myth #3: The University or School of Graduate Studies can administer health insurance to students if GSU dissolves.
Fact: The University or School of Graduate Studies will not take on that responsibility. Greenshield is the only not-for-profit insurer in the country. The discounted premium rates are only available to GSU members as members of the Canadian Federation of Students. If GSU were to dissolve, students will lose health insurance.

Myth #4: GSU is deliberately withholding financial statements from the past few years.
Fact: This year, we finalized the 2022 financial statements, and 2023 is in process. Statements are on our website, and 2025–2026 financial details will be shared at the AGM.

Myth #5: GSU has a list of all graduate student emails to directly communicate information regarding the current situation.
Fact: GSU does not have a way of directly emailing every graduate student. MUN is a separate entity from GSU and their mailing list is internal. Due to privacy and confidentiality reasons, they will not share that email list with GSU.