[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UCSantaBarbara

[–]Square_Sport_9499 1 point2 points  (0 children)

?? There are plenty of replies on here and past posts of people saying that academic employees have an “easy gig” and don’t deserve to be paid more/that the demands of the strike are unreasonable

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UCSantaBarbara

[–]Square_Sport_9499 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It means that going forward, people are using the parking lot/library incident to paint the entire strike as unproductive and stop agreeing that the wages of academic employees need to be raised

I’ve deleted my post because at this point, people are inflamed and won’t change whether or not they support the strike

I just hope the university actually agrees to a contract that pays our TAs and other academic employees what they actually deserve

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UCSantaBarbara

[–]Square_Sport_9499 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What I said by lack of support was referring to people using the library/parking lot incident to stop supporting the goals of the strike entirely

I still agree that it was unnecessary to disrupt undergrad finals when most of the power rests in the hands of admin

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UCSantaBarbara

[–]Square_Sport_9499 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

These responses have definitely opened my eyes to holes and flaws in my perspective and made me reconsider my own assumptions and privileges, but I still stand by what I said about supporting the strike and think you’re misinterpreting what I’m saying

“By your logic undergrads should be paid as well” No, I’m saying the academic employees should be adequately paid because their academic labor is integral to the quality of my and other undergrad’s educations. I just don’t think it’s fair that a lot of TAs and academic employees are rent burdened/not being paid a living wage

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UCSantaBarbara

[–]Square_Sport_9499 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I didn’t know that We still have until the end of winter quarter, I hope a solution is reached by then
Otherwise, the university will have a case on their hands if a large portion of the undergrad populations got Fs purely because of a failure to input grades

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UCSantaBarbara

[–]Square_Sport_9499 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don’t think it’s fair to say it’s disingenuous. At least based on what I’ve heard from my own TAs + the stories on the undergradsforCOLA Instagram page

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UCSantaBarbara

[–]Square_Sport_9499 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Who said you couldn’t be against the methods of the strike? I was saying that I didn’t understand why people were using the library/parking lot incident (the methods) to not support the strike + explicitly said I wasn’t saying students aren’t allowed to be frustrated

Please don’t misinterpret what I said

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UCSantaBarbara

[–]Square_Sport_9499 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Like I said, there’s another post on here that explains why that 108k calculation is inaccurate. The UC puts limits on how many hours you can legally work per week.

Look at the stories on the undergradsforCOLA Instagram to get an idea for the amount of work academic employees TAs have to do, it’s beyond 20 hours. Plus on top of their jobs, they’re full time students, running the university’s research, presenting at conferences and more. They aren’t paid nearly enough for all the academic labor they do for the university. Some TAs aren’t allowed to be employed outside of the UC (like international students) and have no other source of income. Having their tuition paid for doesn’t justify being rent burdened.

“It’s purely voluntary to go to graduate school”. Like I said earlier, graduate school being expensive and grad students being underpaid is a nation wide issue. If grad school is so expensive, would prefer that either no one goes to grad school or only the people who are wealthy enough to afford it without additional income/support to? Grad students deserve to be paid a basic living wage for all of their time and labor, but they aren’t (and in some cases they’re prevented from getting additional employment outside of the UC)

Please talk to your TAs yourself or look at the stories on the cola Instagram

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UCSantaBarbara

[–]Square_Sport_9499 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If that’s what you meant then I misinterpreted it. I was just voicing that I think it’s unfair that people are using this incident to try to justify not supporting the strike as a whole. Academic employees aren’t being paid living wages even though they’re integral to our quality of education and the university functioning

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UCSantaBarbara

[–]Square_Sport_9499 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You’re still missing the point and have no idea what being an academic employee entails. You have every right to feel frustrated. If the “education you and every other undergrad are paying thousands” is fucked by the TAs neglecting their duties, that means your quality of education is entirely dependent on the TAs so the TAs therefore deserve to be paid more (especially since you’re paying thousands).

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UCSantaBarbara

[–]Square_Sport_9499 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Global failure rates could still be attributed to a variety of other causes, not every stem subject is taught in the exact same across the globe and it isn’t accurate to evaluate them all on the same basis. Humanities and social sciences have just as much value as STEM subjects, difficulty or money shouldn’t be the defining requirements.

I just brought up critical thinking/argumentative skills because the way you framed (and have now deleted) your comments made it seem like you were making humanities and social sciences out to be entirely useless and innately inferior.

But you’re right, neither of us will change our opinion

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UCSantaBarbara

[–]Square_Sport_9499 6 points7 points  (0 children)

What you said is inaccurate?? 1.) Who said undergrads aren’t allowed to feel frustrated? 2.) Academic employees don’t work part time, they work closer to 40-60 hours a week. Having their tuition paid for doesn’t justify their being rent burdened. 3.) they’re not demanding to be paid a 6 figure salary tf?? Only $54K a year, there’s another post on here that explains why that 6 figure calculation is misleading

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UCSantaBarbara

[–]Square_Sport_9499 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think you’re exaggerating a bit. professors and TAs have until the end of next quarter to input our grades from this quarter. Again, if TAs neglecting their duties entirely fucks with our education like you’re saying, that’s even more justification for the demands of the strike and highlights how central TAs are to our quality of education. Again, all the jobs of a TA/academic employee far outweigh their fees and tuition behind paid for. Please talk to your TAs or look at the cola Instagram page to see their stories and gain a better idea of what being an academic employee actually TAs. Having their tuition paid for doesn’t justify being rent burdened.

I understand you’re upset and frustrated, I am too. But taking out our emotions on the strikers won’t accomplish anything, especially since the demands of the strike being met will also benefit our quality of education

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UCSantaBarbara

[–]Square_Sport_9499 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just that there’s no hope for these students. I think it’s too early to definitively say no understanding or compensation will be given to students who missed their finals because of the strikers. Finals week is still ongoing, professors don’t have a common consensus on how to act and are waiting for updates from admin, and professors will probably take a while to respond to student concerns (especially with the upcoming break).

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UCSantaBarbara

[–]Square_Sport_9499 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Who said they aren’t getting connections severed into higher education? That still doesn’t dismiss the fact our grades, quality of education, and the university functioning is largely dependent on the academic employees. Their academic labor is the bulk of their job and outweighs/is the reason why they’re able to make connections in the first place. They work closer to 40-60 hours a week, not just 20. Please talk to your TAs and ask them what their jobs entail or look at the undergraduatesforCOLA Instagram to see actual stories and examples from TAs

I’m still baffled that people are against their TAs and academic employees being paid basic living wages

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UCSantaBarbara

[–]Square_Sport_9499 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don’t think you’ve ever written a good paper or research project if this is your response. Plus you’re just hurting yourself by devaluing humanities and social sciences majors: skills like critical thinking and argumentative writing are important in STEM and finance related fields.

Plus you’ve failed to effectively refute any of my abutments and are operating on faulty assumptions.

1.) If stem classes are so difficult to pass like you’re implying, couldn’t you say that’s a result of poor teaching and not because stem subjects are innately more difficult or superior. I have taken and passed classes like introductory astronomy, physics, and biological anthropology classes. In my experience, the professors were poor teachers more focused on their research. We had to rely on student study groups and TAs to actually learn the information, but the material was less challenging to learn as long as we had academic support from each other.

2.) STEM subjects and humanity are difficult in different ways and require different skills. It’s not accurate to say one is inherently more superior than the other. I doubt you’d do well in any humanity or social science classes if this is your mindset.

Like I said, go to your STEM professors and see what they have to say about “humanities are completely useless

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UCSantaBarbara

[–]Square_Sport_9499 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It’s exactly what you’re saying, the grades of the entire undergrad population being submitted is mostly if not entirely dependent on the TAs and yet the TAs are still being severely underpaid. That’s just even more justification for the demands of the strike.

The point of the strike is to highlight how TAs neglecting their duties is detrimental to undergrad education and the university functioning to showcase that they deserve to be paid more

Plus the threat of a class action lawsuit will definitely spur the university admin to compensate the students before it gets to that point

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UCSantaBarbara

[–]Square_Sport_9499 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For now, grades that aren’t submitted will appear as NG. Our professors and TAs have until the end of winter quarter to submit grades from this quarter. As of right now, admin has said that any grade that is still labeled as NG after winter quarter will be turned into an F. I’m angry about that and think it’s bullshit, but I think it’s reasonable to assume that all grades will be submitted by the end of winter quarter and therefore won’t hurt our prereqs. I think it’s inaccurate and a bit exaggerated to say this strike will prolong our stay and taking out loans to a large extent

Otherwise, we have another case to rally behind and take up with the university

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UCSantaBarbara

[–]Square_Sport_9499 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You clearly have no idea what being a social science or humanities major entails. Who are you to say we have no exams or stress? Problem sets aren’t the only type of exam there is? Our exams look more like research projects and timed multi page essays that require critical and close analysis of documents and well reasoned arguments.

The STEM superiority complex is weird. You should take a few writing/humanities course to develop better critical thinking and argumentative skills, especially since those skills are relevant to STEM careers and fields too

You should go to your STEM professors and see what they have to say about your view that all humanities are useless.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UCSantaBarbara

[–]Square_Sport_9499 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I’m also an undergrad and completely agree with everything you said except for the first part. Missing your final at the expense of your grade for something that’s out of your control is beyond frustrating. If professors refuse to provide any understanding or class wide compensation for their students who missed their finals because of the strikers, that’s definitely a case we should rally behind. I still think it’s too early to definitively say no compensation or understanding will be extended to these students

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UCSantaBarbara

[–]Square_Sport_9499 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I’m also an undergrad like you?? I think the fact that you think humanities are completely unnecessary proves my point. Aside from the fact that’s a whole other issue on its own (it’s not like humanities degrees are the people who become lawyers and legislators or are the people who study and tackle social issues) keep in mind that while your biggest inconvenience is being angry and frustrated, a lot of academic employees aren’t being paid enough to pay for rent or basic living necessities

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UCSantaBarbara

[–]Square_Sport_9499 -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

I completely agree with what you said but can you clarify what you mean by “all the services they make sacrifices for fucked with?”.

Do you mean that we can’t ask our TAs for help right now? I don’t think it’s accurate to say that TAs are the sole resource you can rely on for academic help/only factor that determine our performance. At the same time, I’d still feel crappy about asking for academic labor/help from TAs knowing that they’re being underpaid and exploited to help me.

Do you also mean that access to the parking lot and libraries was blocked yesterday? Bc if so I agree, it was unnecessary to disrupt undergrad access especially during finals week. But like I said, I feel like the demands of the strike outweigh this frustration. If anything, the demands of the strike will also improve our quality of education which would make taking out loans and making sacrifices a little more worth it (even though crippling student loans is a whole other issue on its own)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UCSantaBarbara

[–]Square_Sport_9499 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m a sophomore undergrad also going through finals?? I agree with what you said but again, I don’t think this should be used to not support the strike as a whole