And so the saga over graduate student unionization continues. This week, the plot thickens with a strike organized by GET-UP, our supposed protagonist, while the evil, corporate University refuses to drop its appeal of last February's election. "Count the votes!" the Smurfs cry, while Gargamel (played alternately by Judith Rodin and Peter Conn) cackles from within the castle, withholding the right to unionize.
Or so we are led to believe.
By we, of course, I am referring to the 10,000 undergraduates at this school. Oh, by the way, we sort of have a vested interest in this whole mess too, although you'd never know it from the actions of both sides.
Why should the graduate students care how the undergraduates feel? Because it looks like a couple hundred protesters would benefit from the support of thousands of students dying to bite the hand that feeds them on any number of issues. Why should the administrators care? Because nothing would dampen the spirits of teaching assistants more than students repeatedly laughing at them as they try to run a recitation with giant GET-UP pins on their shirts.
Because people constantly look to me as the voice of the undergraduate population at Penn (and by people, I mean my Jason Kidd bobblehead doll), I thought I'd let GET-UP members have an inside look at what the average undergraduate thinks about tomorrow's strike.
Graduate union? Going on strike? When we heard about this whole thing, we had two thoughts:
1. Wait, does that mean they're canceling recitations on Thursday and Friday? Buckets! (High-fiving ensues) Party on Thursday night!
2. So they get their entire tuition paid, plus a $15,000 stipend and health benefits. All they do is teach a recitation section, grade a few papers and hold office hours once a week. So what's the problem?
Yes, either the public relations campaign failed miserably, or the vast majority of undergraduates still don't see why you're going on strike. Clearly, that's not a lot of money, and you probably have some work to do in your classes in addition to your job as a TA. But we have very little sympathy for you.
You see, we also have some work to do for those classes. We're the ones putting in the hours of research necessary to write the paper that gets your one or two comments and several check marks. And we're paying this school almost $40,000 for that opportunity. Many of us have to get jobs on the side just to afford tuition, let alone living expenses. But while we often complain, we don't boycott our classes in protest.
No matter how you spin it, you are getting a free educational ride at an Ivy League school. The cost may fluctuate by the year, but the experience doesn't. That's probably why you signed up in the first place -- fully knowing, by the way, that Penn wouldn't pay you enough to live on.
You say your peers at other schools make more money and have better benefits? Then why are you here? You knew education wasn't exactly a make-it-rich field. And you knew it would be a monetary struggle, probably requiring you to get a part-time job to pay the rent.
Here's the worst part -- we've seen you in action. Some of you are very good at your jobs. We've learned a lot from you, and we thank you for your hard work. But there are quite a few others who flat out sucked as TAs, and we see you standing side by side with the good ones. If you get bad evaluations, do you make less money? If you don't put in the same amount of effort as other TAs, does the University get to negotiate your stipend down?
And by the way, where are the rest of you? You know, the ones in medical and business school. They actually pay to go here, and you don't see them complaining. Sure, the future of their bank accounts is probably brighter, but if money is such an issue, why didn't you go to business school? You guys should really look into recruiting them for this effort. They know all about medical benefits and public relations.
The day off from school is cool, but we don't really get this whole union thing. So unless our support will get us better grades, you won't see us out there with poster board any time soon.
Now, I'm not saying I entirely agree with this assessment of the conflict. But these are thoughts I've gathered from conversations with undergraduates who are wholly uneducated about graduate student unions. These opinions may not be of interest to members of GET-UP, but they should be. This strike will solidify the support you already receive and drive all of those undecideds to the other side. It's a mistake, and it's not going to accomplish anything. Do yourselves a favor -- skip the picketing and hold your recitations this week.
Steve Brauntuch is a senior communications major from Tenafly, N.J., and former editorial page editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. Statler and Waldorf appears on Wednesdays..
