GET-UP | According to Penn, graduate student labor doesn't matter
On April 12, 2021 the University of Pennsylvania announced the opening of a COVID-19 vaccine clinic on campus. According to an email sent to graduate and professional students, the university-run clinic would begin to serve eligible 1c populations on April 14. Those eligible for vaccination at the University site in category 1c include part- and full-time faculty, staff, postdocs, retired and emeritus faculty, temporary workers, third-party workers, and those living in on-campus housing currently eligible for Penn Cares testing. Where does this leave graduate instructors and research and teaching assistants? Although the City of Philadelphia broadly includes “higher education staff” in the 1c eligibility cohort, the University of Pennsylvania’s definition of eligibility departs from the City’s by excluding graduate scholars and workers from its definition of employed staff. In doing so, Penn dismisses the essential labor that we perform for the university.