Graduate stipends for teaching and non-teaching fellowships will be reduced next semester from around $9,226 to about $6,500 because of general budget cuts in the School of Arts and Sciences. Donald Fitts, graduate dean of Arts and Sciences, said that every department in the SAS will have to cut back because of a decrease in federal funding for next year. "I guess we'll all have to tighten our belts for awhile," Fitts said at a meeting yesterday. Fitts also said that Mega Life insurance company, the carrier currently responsible for covering graduate students, will be raising its fees by $300. "Considering what other companies are charging now, we're lucky," said Larry Moneta, assistant vice provost for university life. But graduate students say they will not continue working as teaching assistants if they are not paid at least $10,000 next year. "No way," said Coalition of Graduate Students member Marc Stein. "It's just not going to happen. There will be a strike before we agree to live on $6,500 a year." Allen Orsi, Graduate and Professional Student Association chairperson, said that he will be calling an emergency meeting for all GAPSA, COGS, and Graduate Students Associations Council members. "Before we do anything," said Orsi, "I think we need to think about what kinds of committees we can form. This new crisis opens up all kinds of possibilities." Orsi said that he will consider forming a Committee to Refute Administrators' Proposals (CRAP), an Administrative Proposition Releasing Increases in Life insurance and a Federally Opposed Open Legitimacy (APRIL FOOL) committee.
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