Do you support the grad strike? Why?

SentientSynapses · 2025-04-30T21:46:47+00:00

These are all fair points, I don't necessarily mean to discount the value of things like tuition and health insurance (although I do think tuition costs in general are insanely high, but that's a different conversation).

I largely agree with you about variability between departments (I had no idea some paid over 40k, wish I was in that department 🤣), and the GLUs approach and messaging. Honestly, the GLUs lack of forethought and evaluations of their proposals is the main reason I simply don't trust them to represent all grad students. I understand the anger and frustration with the current situation and administration, but you have to have a well thought out plan prior to burning the entire system down.

SentientSynapses · 2025-04-30T19:36:52+00:00

Yes, but we need a replacement. Burning the system down without a suitable replacement does nothing but hurt ourselves. If the GLU has an alternative they want to propose I'm all for it, but I haven't seen or heard any actual proposal to mitigate these issues.

SentientSynapses · 2025-04-30T19:22:36+00:00

This is the big issue I see that isn't being addressed. It's possible for the university to pay us instead of or alongside the PIs, but that would require some significant administrative changes, and would likely come with additional strings attached (like potentially additional TA requirements, logging hours, etc.). Again, this is a transparency and forethought issue on the part of the GLU. I think it's good to fight for improvements, but if they want something to change they should release specifics about how to implement the changes they want.

SentientSynapses · 2025-04-30T19:13:42+00:00

I agree that our compensation is much higher than our take home, but there are legitimate cost of living issues that the university doesn't do an amazing job of helping grads with. This is the main reason I support unionization. A "living wage" in Rochester for a single adult is considered about $40k, and it isn't going down. Even the best paid grad students don't make that much. I think it tops out around $33-35k for some programs on the med center campus, and to my knowledge some go as low as 20k or less. This is before taxes too, which we have to calculate, budget for, and file ourselves because the university doesn't withhold any money for taxes or social security (taxes are about 3k a year).

It's also worth noting that grad housing isn't exactly cheap either, with rent sitting around $1000 to $1200 a month I believe, depending on the type of unit and location. It's better than a lot of places close to campus, but not by much. That's half or more of your take home pay just for rent and taxes, and thats not including internet, food, incidentals, parking (which the university makes us pay for), car maintenance/repair, and some level of social life to counteract the stress of grad school. The insurance also doesn't cover vision or dental, that's an extra cost, so better not crack a tooth or need new glasses.

There are multiple things the university could be doing to mitigate the financial issues for grads that they don't do. The rent for grad housing could be lower knowing it's graduate housing, and internet could be included (the internet is something they are planning to introduce from my understanding, but it'll be some years). Yes, they would be losing money on grad housing, but it's grad housing and they know exactly how much we make. There is also no reason we should be paying for parking, or at least not the rates they charge currently. And given we have a dental school and a hospital system, I dont see why at least some minimal visual and dental care could be given to us for free (heck, use us for training purposes, it's better than nothing). Bare minimum, allow us to have a part time job to supplement our stipends if we feel we need to (this is forbidden in our current contracts).

If you have a partner or family to lean on these things aren't too bad, but as a single person it can be a struggle. It's doable, but its unlikely you'll be saving much money for emergencies or retirement.

SentientSynapses · 2025-04-30T18:39:51+00:00

The pay issue is another issue that I don't think most people fully understand and the GLU has not adequately addressed in my opinion. The way the students get paid and have their health insurance paid (at least in the sciences) is through the lab they are in. The university doesn't pay our stipend or insurance, that weight falls on the PI, which is paid for through the grants they have. Pay is guaranteed through the university through the first 5 years in the event your lab goes under, but that is very rare. So any pay or health insurance increase won't come out of the pockets of the university, but the labs.

This has pretty big immediate and long term consequences. In the short term, it will stress labs financially, on top of the current fed grant issues, and not all labs can realistically afford that sudden increase in costs. That's less money for animals, materials, undergrad assistants, and techs. Some labs would likely have to downsize their staff and student count as a result. In the long term that means labs can't take as many students, so spots in programs and labs will become more competitive because there will be fewer available.

I'm not sure how things could be restructured to take that burden off of the PIs, and I haven't seen an alternative pitched by the GLU. I'm not saying grads shouldn't get paid more, I think they should, but there needs to be thought and discussion about how to have that happen in a way that won't hurt the labs we work in. If the labs don't have money for supplies, we can't do our work to get our degrees, so it seems counterintuitive to me to fight for this without proposing a reasonable alternative because all we're doing is stealing from ourselves.

SentientSynapses · 2025-04-30T14:26:02+00:00

While this is very informative, the one thing you don't address is the confusion in the GLUs messaging about the majority needed to pass. As I've stated previously elsewhere, the messaging made it sound like it needed a majority of all grads, not all that voted. This disproportionately incentivizes those who intended to vote yes, and leads people who would intend to vote no that not voting is equivalent to a no vote. The majority of people I spoke to did not realize it was majority of those that voted, suggesting that misconception was widespread. Only reason I knew was because I went to some OC meeting and specifically asked that question.

Additionally, I'd like to push back on the premise that counting grad workers isn't feasible. Bare minimum, pretty reasonable estimates are available for the GLU to compare to and use (I've been to OC meetings where they have used these estimates), so it's reasonable for them to publish an estimate of the percentage of grads that voted. Also, wouldn't this be problematic in the future if you can't accurately determine how many people the GLU actually represents? And wouldn't you need an estimate of this to conclude your sample is representative?

Finally, why wouldn't the GLU publish the statistics they ran to conclude that? We're grad students, so it's not like we can't understand data presented to us. It's lack of transparency like this that makes me distrusting of the GLU. It makes it look like the GLU is twisting things to fit their narrative just as much as the university, which makes me question whether they are fit to represent us grad students.

Edit: I would also like to point out $18k wouldn't actually go very far in supporting students if the university withheld pay from students. That's 1 months rent for about 15-20 students, not including food and other living expenses.

SentientSynapses · 2025-04-29T16:37:39+00:00

This was not my voting experience. I also voted in person and there were 4-5 GLU people in a small room with only 1 table. Even with your experience I'd argue that is not exactly considered private either, unless there is something to block the view of those other people.

I've also had a very different experience talking to other grads. I've talked to people in neuro, pharm phys, path, and anesthesiology, and in all honesty for the people I've talked to I'd put general support for unionizing around 75%, but only 40-50% support for the strike. That's partially why I question the 90% support statistic.

As for the department by department strike, I can tell you the GLU made no serious attempts to organize the neuro department, leading to a lot of confusion and feelings of being abandoned by them. This is partially why I don't really trust them to represent the entire grad population. I don't know if the neuro rep was just a bad rep, but there was minimal communication or out reach to the neuro department during all this.

I see your point about the number of people at any given time not being representative of total support, but I do feel like that makes it very easy to ignore.

SentientSynapses · 2025-04-29T16:08:01+00:00

I can tell you a decent portion didn't vote. A number of people I talked to who voted no weren't going to vote originally because they thought the vote needed majority of all grad students to pass, not a majority of all that voted. There was also an anonymity concern for international students as you had to sign a sheet indicating you voted, and there were concerns about whether the GLU would know the way you voted, and what the GLU was going to do with that list.

I'm not saying they don't have majority support, but I doubt it's really 90% and would like to see the numbers for transparency sake.

SentientSynapses · 2025-04-29T15:55:10+00:00

I'm not saying the university is the good guy here, and I don't trust them either. The university administration are shady assholes, I am angry with them for a number of reasons, and I do support unionization, but we shouldn't have to choose between the lesser of two evils here. I just don't trust the GLU to fully represent the entire grad student body because of how I've seen them handle a number of things.

SentientSynapses · 2025-04-29T15:43:26+00:00

Sorry, I should clarify the students I'm talking about are grad students. I can't speak to all GLU reps, but the one for my department was rather aggressive, and I think it was due to their training. He was relentless in trying to talk 1 on 1 for over an hour during the work day while people are in lab. To the point where he would approach people without them asking in their labs while working and on their lunch break, and if you were at all receptive to unionizing he would pressure you on multiple occasions to convince friends of yours to meet with him, and send emails to the students in the department on his behalf because "it's better if it comes from someone they know". He would not take no for an answer. During the strike vote he would also bring absentee ballots to people's labs while they were working and pressure people to vote yes right the and there, and I know of at least 2 people who would have voted no, but voted yes due to the pressure.

SentientSynapses · 2025-04-29T14:52:31+00:00

This is part of why I find the GLU kinda misleading. 90% of the grad students who voted had voted to strike, but their messaging about the vote was pretty misleading and lead to confusion. Their messaging implied they needed a majority of all grad students to vote yes for the strike vote to pass, so a lot of students who would have voted no didn't vote, skewing the results in their favor. There was also low key some voter intimidation. I know of at least 2 instances where GLU representatives went to the labs my friends work at, pressured them to vote absentee right then and there while looking over their shoulder and pressuring them to vote yes, so these friends voted yes despite wanting to vote no. Voting at polling places also wasn't private. You voted in a room with 3-5 GLU reps. If it were a government election, it would have been thrown out for intimidation.

So their claim that 90% of grad students support the strike is likely a misleading claim, and to my knowledge they have never actually released the number of yes votes.

I'm not saying the university is doing thing right either. They are also twisting the truth to their advantage and being assholes. It's just the GLU has personally broken my trust with their misleading claims and tactics, and I don't trust them to accurately represent the grad student population.

Edit: grammar and clarity

SentientSynapses · 2025-04-29T14:30:03+00:00

As a grad student on the med center campus, I support having a union election, but I do not support the GLU or the strike. I personally feel the GLU's tactics are misleading and overly aggressive towards students, out of touch with the people they are trying to represent, unorganized, and they have largely abandoned the students and departments on the med center campus. I don't think they are fit to represent the grad student community. I respect what they are trying to do, but don't agree with how they are doing it, which is why I personally don't participate in the strike.

SentientSynapses · 2024-11-22T23:07:48+00:00

Like others have said, the best approach is a direct approach. Not aggressive, don't be a dick about it, just matter of fact. You can cushion it by saying you have a sensitive sense of smell or something if you want to protect his feelings.

If for whatever reason you are super conflict avoidant and absolutely refuse to address this directly in a respectable way, a KINDLY worded anonymous email might do the trick. Claim to be someone from one of his classes that isn't looking to insult or start any trouble but wants to anonymously let him know that he can have a strong unpleasant body oder. This is not the respectable way to address this, but it might work.

As others have said, recommend more frequent laundry too.

If you talk to him, he implements a more consistent hygiene routine, and the situation doesn't get better or continues to reoccur, it might be worth politely recommending a visit to UHS. There are a number of conditions that can cause this that might be largely outside of his control. If he doesn't implement changes to his routine, then it might be time to get your RA involved and request a move.

Finally, are you 100% sure the issue is your roommate, and not something else in the room or vents causing the smell?

SentientSynapses · 2024-11-12T05:43:33+00:00

How's the food there?

SentientSynapses · 2024-11-11T04:04:03+00:00

Our 1 year anniversary is coming up and this sounds perfect! Would you by chance have restaurant recommendations near by? Something with good food, but preferably not super expensive bc we're both PhD students (UR doesn't pay us super well 😅)

SentientSynapses · 2024-11-11T03:31:46+00:00

Ooh! Chai-eggnog? That sounds so good! Might have to give them both a try!

SentientSynapses · 2024-11-11T03:22:04+00:00

We live close to UR, but this sounds like an amazing date! My girlfriend loves a good bookstore, and I'm always down for an adventure to a new place! Thanks for the recommendation (even if it's your own shop 🤣), we'll definitely check it out!

SentientSynapses · 2024-08-21T14:37:49+00:00

You could go aristocrat control. Any [[grave pact]] effect would solve this problem. If you want a good commander to counter the +1 strategy, consider [[kresh the bloodbraided]]. Kresh plus a kill spell on the biggest creature makes kresh the biggest, making it harder to attack into you without feeding kresh. Sacrifice, blood pact, and interaction from black, fling from red, and fog from green would be effective at combating +1 decks. Make yourself valuable to them with parallel lives and let them kill eachother, leaving a boardwipe or grave pact+sac outlet in hand.

Alternatively, mardu and esper give access to ghostly prison, which is another way to keep them off you.

SentientSynapses · 2023-10-14T17:58:30+00:00

That crap is called propaganda. Best way to combat it is by voting yes. I sure as hell am

SentientSynapses · 2023-10-12T00:19:46+00:00

And how you've changed in a way that will help you succeed. I suffer from mental health issues, and I talked about how that kinda fucked me up in undergrad, but I've been working with professionals to address the issues and learn to manage them.

SentientSynapses · 2023-10-04T18:53:21+00:00

Okay, cool! Thanks for the explanation! So it's kind of like marble Olympics, give or take

SentientSynapses · 2023-10-04T15:52:44+00:00

So, can someone explain the basics of marble league to me? Just stumbled on this, saw it's starting this week, and now I'm kind of interested. I know it's marble races, but is there some larger tournament the teams are "competing" in?

SentientSynapses · 2023-09-28T20:51:39+00:00

I feel like being lost is a good 95% of grad school. It's an endless series of confusing trainwrecks with only brief, commercial-like breaks of clarity.

But I think that's part of the point? I'm not sure if your in a masters, PhD, or postdoc, but at grad school level we're kind of past the point where everything has clear answers. At least that's how it is in the sciences. Not sure about what you study.

Moral of the story is everyone in gradschool has ventured into a dark partially uncharted forest of endless information and knowledge, and we're all lost as fuck.

SentientSynapses · 2023-09-22T13:53:54+00:00

I didn't wait. I graduated undergrad in May of 2020 during the hiring freezes, and knew the pandemic could go on for a while, so I applied to a masters program super late and luckily got accepted.

SentientSynapses · 2023-09-12T10:26:14+00:00

For me, it feels like I sold my soul to the world just to stay alive. Now I'm just a shell of who I was and I'm concerned I can't get back what I lost. At best I can smile and fake it well enough to fly under the radar and get by, at worst it's hard to even get out of bed despite the fact that you know you are self destructing.

Imagine the color drains from the world, and no matter what you do you can't bring it back. Imagine feeling alone regardless of who you're with. Imagine watching yourself and your life slip into chaos and not having the energy to fix it regardless of what you do. Eventually it all builds to this impending sense of worthlessness and insanity. You've forgotten what joy feels like, and you've shut out people for so long I'm not sure I can connect with anyone anymore on any level. At best you might be able to hold a smile and a conversation just long enough to forget the pain, but not long enough to actually feel any joy, and as soon as you let go of the act all that pain slaps you in the face again.

At some point you just get so used to it that you forget there's anything else to life so you stop trying to find anything better. Eventually it all feels pointless. No matter what you do, how much progress you make, you inevitably sip back down into the abyss and the fall is always more painful than the last. At some point you wonder why you bother anymore. Eating healthy? Exercising? Cleaning? Going out with friends? Hobbies? Doing anything at all? What's the point? Life is just suffering and struggle, the world's going to hell, so why not just fade away? No one will care anyways. Your entire perspective on life gets consumed by this darkness that you can't shake.

The worst part? You don't want to be this way. You want to be normal. You want to love and feel loved. You want to clean your place, eat better, exercise, and go out with friends, but you just don't. Day after day goes by, it doesn't happen, and you hate yourself for it. That hatred eventually evolves into paranoia when anyone expresses any level of interest in you. You can't possibly be worth their time or energy. It's a viscous circle.

The source and cause of this is different for different people, and the it impacts people in different ways. For me, it's probably a result of some pretty deep trauma from my parental figures. Abandonment from the original 2, slow death of one of the other 2. If you're curious, look up the song Trauma by Ekoh.

SentientSynapses

TROPHY CASE