Society of Graduate Students at Western University

09/01/2026

The position of Deputy Speaker will soon be vacant and requires a by-election at the Thursday, September 24th council meeting. Learn more about the position:

📋 What does the Deputy Speaker do?

The Deputy Speaker oversees the Society's policies, bylaws, and constitution. The Deputy Speaker works with the Speaker to run monthly council meetings and is the Official Liaison for the Policy Committee.

💰The Deputy Speaker earns a stipend of $1,047.60 per month (including 4% vacation pay).

✍️ Want to nominate yourself?

SOGS members in good standing wishing to nominate themselves must submit both a poster and a 1-page nomination statement for inclusion in the Council mail-out to the SOGS Speaker ([email protected]) no later than Tuesday, September 22nd, 2026 at 4 p.m.

⚠️ Please note: campaigning is strictly prohibited outside of the September Council mailout and meeting. Campaigning includes but is not limited to: emailing voters, putting up posters, and social media posts.

❓ Questions?

Get in touch with the SOGS Speaker ([email protected]) to learn more about the role.

09/01/2026

🛒 Grocery savings are here!

Stop by the SOGS Office (Middlesex College, Room 8) from Monday-Friday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. and grab your Sobeys Savings Card!

Present it with your Scene+ card during checkout and earn 500 Scene+ points when you spend $40.

Accepted at any Sobeys, Safeway, FreshCo, or Lawtons location.

🚨Don’t wait! Valid only until September 21st , 2026 while quantities last!

08/31/2026

The Faculty of Science has created its own survey to measure the impact of the recent power outages on campus.

"Please complete the Prolonged Power Outage Academic Impact Survey: Science Graduate Students by Friday September 4th to share how you were impacted and your concerns about any setbacks this outage has caused."

https://uwo.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_e55VP6wbVsIxkGO

The SOGS survey can be found here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1c7TxBeK6Zdb4qo43ToSSEDoL1Ka8qztdRNxKQqs9XDE/edit?ts=6a8899d6

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08/25/2026

The purpose of this survey is to document how the August 2026 prolonged power outage and other recent building/infrastructure disruptions have affected research and graduate student academic progress.

SURVEY: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1c7TxBeK6Zdb4qo43ToSSEDoL1Ka8qztdRNxKQqs9XDE/edit?ts=6a8899d6

Media coverage of the August 2026 prolonged power outage:

🚨 CBC News - Tue, Aug 18th: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/western-biology-department-delays-power-outage-9.7309972

⚠️ London Free Press, - Wed, Aug 19th: https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/power-failure-at-western-university-affecting-research-phd-student

🚨 The Gazette - Thu, Aug 20th: https://westerngazette.ca/news/power-outage-resurfaces-research-issues-for-western-s-biology-department/article_f9c6e726-95a1-49e1-9787-d89a54dcb8fe.html

⚠️ London Free Press - Thu, Aug 20th: https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/western-university-restores-power-to-final-four-buildings-after-prolonged-outage

We are interested not only in immediate losses, such as interrupted experiments, damaged samples, or lost research materials, but also in the longer-term consequences for research timelines, academic milestones, funding, tuition, and degree completion.

Please report impacts that have already occurred or that you reasonably anticipate will occur. We recognize that the full consequences of the outage may not yet be known.

Responses will be used primarily in aggregate to inform graduate student advocacy. This survey is anonymous, and any identifying information shared in the long-answer questions will be removed.

Estimated completion time: approximately 5 - 10 minutes.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to [email protected]

08/21/2026

Join us for a seminar and hands-on workshop on holotomography in the Biology Department at Western University! Holotomography is a powerful label-free 3D imaging approach for visualizing live cells without stains or labels. Learn how this technology enables rapid, high-resolution imaging and quantitative analysis for live cells, organoids, and tissue sections, including long-term time-lapse studies. Bring your samples and explore its potential for your research.

For more information, visit Tomocube.com. Workshop registration link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zz8CeIk9iCczMYukgdnwB1Zq14JmFbgEAIR6jIzeuDU/edit?usp=sharing

08/20/2026

⚠️Deadline Approaching for the Summer term SOGS Financial Support Subsidy Program

Read more and apply here: https://sogs.ca/subsidies/

The SOGS Financial Support Subsidy Program is designed to help members offset the financial burden of expenses associated with academic and personal needs (up to $500 per subsidy). Relevant expenses can include but are not limited to:

✈️academic travel (archival research, data collection, and conferences)
🗺️professional placement (placements, co-ops, and practicums)
🧸childcare (licensed daycare providers only)
🦷health and dental expenses (SOGS Health & Dental Plan expenses only)
🕊️bereavement travel (SOGS members only)
✖️Year X tuition fees (must be enrolled as a Year 5 PhD or higher who receives no external or internal funding)
⚕️UHIP fees (⚠️ Non-TA SOGS members only)

📅 Deadline: August 31, 2026.

08/19/2026

Our SOGS President, Matheus Sanita Lima, is also chairperson of the Society of Biology Graduate Students here at Western. He was interviewed by local news, including the London Free Press, about the power failure on campus over the past week, which caused researchers to lose valuable samples and research time. Check the links in our linktree to read more about this important issue affecting SOGS members and the research community at large.

https://linktr.ee/sogs

08/12/2026

Did you know SOGS has both a Board of Directors and a student government (SOGS Council)? Our council meets monthly, on the last Thursday of the month.

⚖️You can read the June and July council summaries here: https://sogs.ca/council-summary/

🌐 To read previous council summaries, head over to https://sogs.ca/past-council-summaries/

08/12/2026

Join the SOGS Graduate Peer Support Committee for SUMMER GAMES! Get outside, move your body, and destroy the competition🥇.

📆 Saturday, August 22nd
🕰️ 10 AM - 4 PM
📍HSB PRACTICE FIELDS (across from the FIMS/NURSING BUILDING)
🎟️ $7 PER PLAYER (Groups can register together)
👥 Teams (of 5) and solo players welcome
🍕Pizza lunch and refreshments provided
🏆 PRIZES for the top 3 WINNING TEAMS (Prizes TBA)

GAMES:
🌽 Corn hole
🏳️ Capture the flag
🟡 Spikeball
🏃‍♀️‍➡️ Mini obstacle course relay
🤾‍♀️ Frisbee
📚❓Academic jeopardy

Register at the link in our bio, or click here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfUunYryOzLg7UsTMGoWPHRRa2qMpwUTUXgGYJz5baiUgbmfg/viewform?usp=header

08/06/2026

Another month, another discount for SOGS members!

Stay fresh and crisp with a ✂️ haircut a Razor's Edge Barbershop. Resident barber, , is dying to get you summer ready with a wash, fade, trim, or whatever you want!

➡️ SOGS members can get 20% off all haircuts this month
👋 Just tell them you are a SOGS member
📍UCC, Room 5 (Lower level)
📞 519.661.3471
🌐 therazorsedgebarber.ca