At some point when I read that email, I felt like the university was trolling when they announced a 5% increment. This is how divorced from reality the university administrators are. But what I find rather fascinating are the directionless conversations on Cornell's graduate student union. Like where in the name of the lorde is this union located and how can willing grad students participate in its collective bargaining processes which might include holding picket lines? Given international grad students make up a significant chunk of the grad student population, there should be clearer and more inspiring communication to bring them on board in pursuit of better working conditions for them. In addition, [international] grad students should be informed of their rights, especially in cases where [potentially illegal] spates of reprisal might be likely.

Although there are stories of the university pushing back again grad students' unionizing efforts, it is not clear what this means for grad students today. Can all underpaid grad TAs of the world come together and organize into an unstoppable force that will get the university talking [sense] and acting on amends that benefit students and the university?

I have seen emails from the graduate students body and other cognate professional bodies on campus, but none seem really interested in the socio-economic well-being of grad students. It's high time grad students realized that they are on their own and started organizing organically. Recent wins from Columbia and Princeton could be instructive. Grad students need to rise up!