tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post3827833938082626898..comments2023-10-15T04:23:50.187-04:00Comments on College Misery: Grad students recognized as workersUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-9752359413912835342016-08-27T12:05:35.721-04:002016-08-27T12:05:35.721-04:00I actually got my first TIAA-CREF account from my ...I actually got my first TIAA-CREF account from my grad alma mater, too. The brand-new Dean for the college was from a humanities department, and put a lot of pressure on my department head to force out students who had taken "too long" (despite the fact that we were paid by external grants from which the uni skimmed a generous overhead). So for my last five months I was a "staff dmckeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18052641757203089416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-15586127570452510232016-08-26T20:17:56.553-04:002016-08-26T20:17:56.553-04:00I did not go to a tier-one graduate program.
Oh,...I did not go to a tier-one graduate program. <br /><br />Oh, it was an R1 department in the sense that most of the faculty had external funding to do research and published regularly in decent journals and the teaching loads were consistent with that idea, but no one would have mistaken it for a prestigious program.<br /><br />So, as I understand things my graduate experience was a bit different dmckeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18052641757203089416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-88280352666518884602016-08-25T14:45:23.926-04:002016-08-25T14:45:23.926-04:00If graduate students were apprentices to master re...If graduate students were apprentices to master research and teaching faculty, then this would be an unwelcome intrusion on academic communities (especially those not closely tied to state budgets). However, we are moving away from that model. Graduate students are adjuncts who want an education and can do research along the way. They teach introductory classes to students who are in most need ofAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-78601236736913470542016-08-25T10:46:18.250-04:002016-08-25T10:46:18.250-04:00Come to think of it, I don't know what I'm...Come to think of it, I don't know what I'm going to do about edits now because the amount I had set aside for professionals to go over our final proofs took into account that they would already be heavily edited before sending them over.<br /><br />If I can't afford any editing help whatsoever, I'll just have to do it myself, I suppose.<br /><br />Back to the excel sheet!Annie from Abelardhttp://www.webuyanycar.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-91849440873307339052016-08-25T10:41:32.881-04:002016-08-25T10:41:32.881-04:00I can attest that working for shit wages as a Grad...I can attest that working for shit wages as a Grad Student in research sucked, but it was ultimately for me to gain experience and education. That was my goal.<br /><br />As someone who is now working on doling out a budget for Grad research assistants, all unionization would mean is that we would have the same total amount of money (because our budget surely would not change!) and a smaller Annie from Abelardhttp://www.webuyanycar.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-38151319230744475082016-08-24T18:08:14.589-04:002016-08-24T18:08:14.589-04:00A sad experience, indeed. My general experience wa...A sad experience, indeed. My general experience was that I made out much better financially as a grad student than as an adjunct (maybe about the same as a grad student and as an adjunct at my own institution, but it was by no means typical; I got my first TIAA-CREF account when I started working as an adjunct for my grad alma mater, and got insurance as well -- really, really unusual, and Contingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-14889634943555572402016-08-24T12:28:12.326-04:002016-08-24T12:28:12.326-04:00When I was a PhD student, a few of us from differe...When I was a PhD student, a few of us from different departments had the opportunity to devise and teach classes--essentially the work of an adjunct, just done by grad students. We were supposed to be paid $3000 for the semester, which, while not grand (this was about 15 years ago), was a nice little bump in stipend.<br /><br />Then, the following semester, when I prepared to teach the same Ruby from Richmondnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-11896492123471561182016-08-24T12:15:02.671-04:002016-08-24T12:15:02.671-04:00Sentence one, paragraph two, should include the wo...Sentence one, paragraph two, should include the word "unentangling" (not "entangling"). Contingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-13849840999361870642016-08-24T12:13:33.589-04:002016-08-24T12:13:33.589-04:00I had the feeling that some people whose own profe...I had the feeling that some people whose own professional work relies heavily on the use of grad TAs and/or RAs (research, not resident, assistants) might have a less-positive reaction to this news than I (tentatively) did, and I think I understand why, given how dependent both teaching and research have become on grad-student labor. I can also envision the unintended consequences Anonymous Contingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-64433592017002530762016-08-24T10:50:22.125-04:002016-08-24T10:50:22.125-04:00Comments like Professor Dumas'--and the bizarr...Comments like Professor Dumas'--and the bizarrely full of profanity dissent in this case--show how sadly little understood unionization and collective bargaining are these days. Our grandparents, whether they were allowed to join unions or not, understood these things perfectly well. <br /><br />The previous case law against grad student unionization hinged on the notion that one's statusCurly Charlannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-84198741623223078952016-08-24T08:06:04.853-04:002016-08-24T08:06:04.853-04:00Beware the law of unintended consequences. Will a...Beware the law of unintended consequences. Will advisers and committees be allowed to flunk shitty grad students? Who is going to intervene when a student feels they are being discriminated against? Will international students who make up nearly all of the hard science grads students really give a shit when they are more interested in finishing their degree and getting the hell ou?Professor Dumashttps://www.reddit.com/user/professordumasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-78397864292521133482016-08-24T07:18:30.665-04:002016-08-24T07:18:30.665-04:00I hope this is good news. Yet I must admit that my...I hope this is good news. Yet I must admit that my current institution has made me very cynical. <br /><br />I earned my professional life by being a GA trying to balance teaching classes and taking classes, grading essays and writing essays. <br /><br />Here, I fear the university will offer fewer and fewer GA positions, cut funding for graduate students accordingly, yet still accept students Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com