One hundred percent tuition remission, or free tuition, for graduate assistants will top the agenda for Jani Radebaugh and Veronica Diaz, the Graduate and Professional Student Council's new president and external vice president for the coming year.

Last year Pete Morris, the former GPSC president, got the wheel rolling by increasing remission to 50 percent, but that's not enough for Radebaugh and Diaz.

The 50 percent remission has only covered the cost of this year's tuition hike but has not made it any easier for graduate assistants to pay the existing tuition, said Radebaugh.

"They are already low income, so it (a 100 percent tuition reduction) will make a big difference," Diaz said.

Radebaugh and Diaz are especially interested in the 100 percent tuition remission because they are preparing for future tuition hikes.

"Students who are coming in expect it, but students who are already here are hurt," Diaz said of the tuition hikes.

Children are also on the minds of Radebaugh and Diaz.

A survey done by GPSC last year showed that 23 percent of graduate students have children and that 30 percent of those students put their children in daycare.

"If they all put their children in childcare it would be $10 million a year," said Radebaugh.

She said she hopes to be able to fund childcare vouchers for the students. Last year Morris was able to get an 80 percent increase in the funds available for childcare, and also said GPSC is still thinking about advocating for an on-campus daycare.

Due to a lack of funds, the UA pulled the plug last September on an on-campus childcare center after 20 years of planning.

GPSC is also concerned with building up their relationships with ASUA and Student Life in the next year. They plan to do this by having more meetings where they talk about common issues such as childcare.

Other issues GPSC wants to tackle are student drop out and graduate assistant workload.

"A lot of students work more than they are paid for," Radebaugh said.

She said that she hopes to bring those overworked students' issues into GPSC's agenda through interaction with representatives.

"As a team (Radebaugh and Diaz) are probably the best GPSC has ever had, and I have a great deal of respect for both of them, as leaders and as people," said Morris. "Their biggest challenge will be serving graduate students effectively in a troubling financial time for the university as they seek to keep the focus of the administration, and the university community, on the needs of the graduate student population."

This will be Radebaugh's, a doctoral student in the department of planetary sciences, fourth year of involvement with GPSC. Diaz, a doctoral student in the College of Education, has been on the council for two years.