Dear Editor:
Despite many attempts in the past by our Student Government
Association and our Faculty Senate to require the university
to give full tuition wavers to graduate assistants, the Board
of Trustees will soon be meeting to finalize the ASU budget with
no hint of tuition wavers being included.
Why is this important?
Graduate assistants teach many of the basic required classes
and perform other tasks that keep this university running, often
going beyond the twenty hour maximum that we are supposed to
work per week.
Yet, we are not given any break whatsoever when it comes time
to pay tuition.
I get paid about $350 a paycheck, and $120 of that goes to tuition,
which means that I get $460 a month for what is, in reality if
not on paper, a full-time job. Don't get me wrong, I like my
job, as do many other GA's who will not publicly admit to working
over their requisite 20 hours.
This is because their professors, who have very little control
over their work load, might get in trouble.
But the university does not pay enough for me to live, with
our erratic work schedules it is nearly impossible to keep a
regular second job, and we are forbidden from working a second
job at the place that would be the most convenient--the university.
Most every other institution of higher learning in the state
(an indeed, in the country) gives GA's a tuition waver--not ASU,
however. This is not due to a lack of money but rather a redistribution
of money to non-academic pursuits.
Giving nice graduate stipends and tuition wavers encourages
people of high quality to apply for those positions and to stay
in them for the full length of time, and this in turn increases
the quality of education for university students.
I do not believe that the administration's endless beautification
projects have had or can have that effect. For this reason, we
graduate assistants organized a day-long protest for Monday,
April 23rd.
In addition, as president of the Graduate Student Advisory
Council and the only SGA Graduate Senator, I am encouraging those
GAs who teach classes to withhold their final grades until such
time that the university recognizes the necessity of providing
for us.
GA's involved in non-teaching pursuits may find other ways
of resistance. The administration of this university thrives
upon the apathy of its students--it is time that we finally stand
up to them.
If we are not willing to fight for this, then we have no business
being here.
Guy Lancaster is a graduate assistant in English and philosophy
of Jonesboro.
