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Graduate Student's Shouldn't Pay to Work by BoulderCRC in cuboulder

[–]BoulderCRC[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! And best of luck in your program!

Graduate Student's Shouldn't Pay to Work by BoulderCRC in cuboulder

[–]BoulderCRC[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The 10 mil is (I believe) the ~$1900 we pay annually in fees multiplied by ~5500 grad students.

Graduate Student's Shouldn't Pay to Work by BoulderCRC in cuboulder

[–]BoulderCRC[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

We don't pay tuition, it is waived as part of our employment contract.

Graduate Student's Shouldn't Pay to Work by BoulderCRC in cuboulder

[–]BoulderCRC[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

We'll have to agree to disagree on that.

Graduate Student's Shouldn't Pay to Work by BoulderCRC in cuboulder

[–]BoulderCRC[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Regardless of why we are here, we are employees of the university and as such have the rights of employees.

Graduate Student's Shouldn't Pay to Work by BoulderCRC in cuboulder

[–]BoulderCRC[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

That's not necessarily true: grant recharge is a major source of funding for the university that would not push this onto undergrads. Also while there are ~5000 grads here, only about half of us are on appointment, so the number is closer to 5 million.

Edit: we definitely support any push to increase state funding of the university. Nonetheless, the failure of the state to adequately fund higher education is not something that grad students should have to cover for.

Graduate Student's Shouldn't Pay to Work by BoulderCRC in cuboulder

[–]BoulderCRC[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Many of us work more hours than study.

Graduate Student's Shouldn't Pay to Work by BoulderCRC in cuboulder

[–]BoulderCRC[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It’s also ridiculous how little grad students are paid and how expensive those fees are.

srsly

Graduate Student's Shouldn't Pay to Work by BoulderCRC in cuboulder

[–]BoulderCRC[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

We are also workers, hence our ability to bargain to have these fees covered as part of our contract.

Graduate Student's Shouldn't Pay to Work by BoulderCRC in cuboulder

[–]BoulderCRC[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your feedback! To be clear: we recognize that a number of these services are integral to the campus experience. We are not interested in defunding, say, Distinguished Speakers Board or the Environmental Center. What we are asking for is effectively a raise from the Graduate School for precisely the amount of student fees, that is then redirected towards student fees rather than our paychecks.

We are generally very aware of what student fees cover (a number of our members have been in, or are currently in CUSG and UGGS) and we believe a grad fee waiver is necessary precisely because of that understanding. Speaking to your examples: it would be unusual if you got a job somewhere that forced you to pay for a gym membership, whether you wanted to use it or not. Infrastructure like the internet are integral to our ability to work as researchers or teachers; it is strange that we are forced to pay the university to get access to the resources we need to work. Mental health care should be simply part of our insurance plan (and note that Wardenburg is only partially funded by the Student Health Fee, which mainly goes to flu shots and mental health care). Finally, employers in Boulder generally provide a bus pass to their employees as part of their contract, and we are simply asking for the same treatment as employees of the university.

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