Opinion
Wednesday, February 8, 2023 — 9
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
On Jan. 10, University of
Michigan
President
Santa
Ono held a talk to discuss the
University’s
record
on
and
aspirations for the ideals of
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
Members
of
the
Graduate
Employees’
Organization
were outside holding a picket
to call attention to how the
University
has
created
a
crisis
of
affordability
and
unsafe
working
conditions
for
graduate
workers.
This
situation
disproportionately
affects graduate workers from
marginalized
backgrounds
and
is
directly
counter
to
the
University’s
crucial
commitment to DEI. Graduate
workers have been fighting for
months for a contract that would
hold the University accountable
to that commitment and ensure
affordability and dignity for all
graduate workers.
Our bargaining platform is
motivated by one transformative
idea: Being a graduate student
at the University should be
possible
for
everyone,
not
just those who have access to
generational wealth. That’s why
dozens of graduate students
spent hundreds of hours putting
together a set of demands that
would make life as a graduate
student here in Ann Arbor both
affordable and dignified for
all of us. Our platform would
guarantee a baseline living wage
for graduate student workers
while also providing additional
support to certain groups of
workers, such as parents and
international students, whose
cost of living can be much
higher. We’re also calling for
policies
that
would
reduce
vulnerability
to
harassment,
including a transitional funding
program for graduate students
to
escape
abusive
advisors
(and other relationships) and
funding
for
a
community-
based,
non-police,
unarmed
response program. These are
common-sense reforms that the
University can implement by
using a tiny fraction of its vast
material resources.
The
centerpiece
of
our
platform — a living wage of
$38,838 a year — would make
life as a graduate student in Ann
Arbor livable for those who are
not independently wealthy. The
gap between the cost of living in
Ann Arbor and what graduate
student
instructors
typically
make in a year has been growing
ever since the pandemic. While
GSIs were “only” facing a deficit
of $5,240 when our current
contract came into force in
2020, now — at the end of our
contract’s lifecycle — we’re
facing a gap of $14,484, more
than 60% of our total salary.
For many graduate students,
the $24,053 we currently get
for teaching in the fall and
winter semesters is all we have
to live on for the entire year.
The vast majority of us — fully
80% — pay more than 30% of
our salaries in rent each month,
meaning our rent burdens are
unaffordable according to the
U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development. A graduate
student paying the average Ann
Arbor rent of $1,912 a month
would have only $1,109 left over
for the entire year. For graduate
students who can’t rely on
family wealth for support — and
especially for those graduate
students who have to support
their families themselves — the
current salary is barely even
enough to scrape by. The 2%
annual raise proposed by the
University in the most recent
bargaining session — which
represents an effective wage
cut in real terms given current
levels of inflation — does not
even come close to addressing
the serious financial shortfall
grad students are facing.
For large sections of our
membership, however, even that
living wage is not enough. Equity
means giving additional support
to those whose cost of living
is higher. Disabled graduate
students shouldn’t have to risk
going into overdraft to pay for
treatment for chronic health
conditions. Similarly, given the
well-documented mental health
crisis among graduate students,
we should have access to vital
mental health care without
onerous copays. An emergency
fund for international graduate
student
workers
(something
already available at Harvard)
would mean that international
graduate
students
wouldn’t
have to worry about covering
unexpected
visa
costs
or
purchasing
an
expensive
plane ticket home in case of a
family
emergency.
Breaking
down
barriers
to
accessing
transgender
health
care
would
reduce
the
financial
and
emotional
costs
that
trans graduate students have
to bear if they are to avail
themselves of this lifesaving
care.
And
a
centralized,
common
application
would
make GSI positions and their
accompanying tuition waivers —
a crucial lifeline that can make
increasingly expensive Master’s
degrees possible for those who
aren’t independently wealthy
—
more
accessible.
If
the
University wants people from
marginalized social positions
to be part of this community, it
needs to make graduate school
work for everyone.
Getting serious about equity
also
means
addressing
the
way the University currently
undervalues “feminized labor”
— care work that is traditionally
(though not exclusively) done
by
women.
Activists
and
scholars have long argued that
such work is underpaid, if it
is compensated at all. Indeed,
a big part of the struggle is
getting those in power to even
acknowledge that this kind of
labor is work, and therefore
worthy of compensation. Our
platform addresses this issue in
two important ways.
First, we’re demanding a
minimum wage of $20 per hour
for the mandatory, unpaid, field
placement
internships
that
Master of Social Work students
must do as part of their degrees.
Social workers as a whole
are
already
underpaid
and
overworked, and according to
Aerie Davey, a former U-M MSW
student, “it sends a message that
the work we do is not valuable,
which is a lie. And I would also
say … it’s misogynistic, as well,
in this predominantly woman-
dominated field.” Unlike in
the woman-dominated School
of
Social
Work,
mandatory
internships in the Ross School
of Business and the Ford School
of Public Policy are typically
compensated.
The second way our platform
addresses
the
University’s
undervaluing
of
“feminized
labor” is through our childcare
demands.
Right
now,
the
childcare
subsidy
eligibility
requirements exclude any care
that is not done by a licensed
childcare provider. The work
of childcare does not stop being
work if it is done by a family
member, a neighbor or a nanny.
All childcare labor is work and
deserves to be compensated as
such. That’s why we’re calling
for the University to remove
the licensed care requirement,
as it did during the height
of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Even the loftiest speech about
equity
counts
for
nothing
if the University refuses to
compensate care workers.
Our
platform
would
also
make campus more inclusive
by addressing the widespread
harassment, discrimination and
abuse that disproportionately
targets the most marginalized
people at the University. High-
profile cases of harassment
and
assault
are
only
the
most
prominent
indicators
of
the
University’s
culture
of
harassment.
Our
2021
membership survey found that
up to 29% of female graduate
students
had
been
sexually
harassed at the University, and
at least one in four grad students
of color had experienced racism,
with even higher rates among
disabled, Black, LGBTQIA+ and
economically
disadvantaged
graduate
students.
We
propose a no-questions-asked
transitional funding program
that would provide at least one
semester of funding so that
graduate students could escape
abusive advisor (and other)
relationships. This would build
on a similar but limited program
already established by LSA.
For too many, police are
also a source of harassment,
discrimination and abuse. Our
membership
survey
showed
that over a quarter of students
had negative interactions with
DPSS, with higher rates among
Black
graduates.
The
vast
majority of DPSS activity is not
in response to violence but rather
to situations that do not require
armed police officers. There is
an urgent need for a non-police,
unarmed alternative to police
to address public safety needs
— and the community-based
Coalition
for
Re-envisioning
Our Safety has been doing
just that for over a year; CROS
received
endorsements
from
GEO and more than 40 other
organizations. CROS’ evidence-
based public safety program
would serve all of Washtenaw
County,
including
the
Ann
Arbor campus, so we’re calling
on the University to pay its fair
share to support this innovative
and exciting new initiative.
Taken
together,
these
proposals would make graduate
school
significantly
more
inclusive
and
equitable
by
the beginning of the 2023-24
academic year. As graduate
workers, we recognize that our
struggles
are
interconnected
and that we must fight for a
campus and community in which
people from all backgrounds
can not only survive but thrive.
The common-sense reforms in
our platform would support the
greater diversity on campus that
is so urgently needed.
In setting out the University’s
new workplace values, President
Ono said, “words are not enough
— our behaviors matter.” We
couldn’t agree more and hope
that his administration will stay
true to its commitments to DEI
and work with us to make these
proposals a reality.
GRADUATE EMPLOYEES
ORGANIZATION
Snow reason not to: Embrace your inner child
Meaningful DEI must include affordability and
dignity for all grad workers for Michigan
F
ive inches can mean a lot.
For some, it can mean
an extra layer of warm
clothing, a longer drive to work
or a trip to get some gas for the
snow plow that’s gone unused
for suspiciously long.
For students at the University
of
Michigan,
it
meant
assembling on the Diag for a
snowball fight of spectacular
proportions.
I happened to join the snowy
spectacle after an hour and a
half of Calc II. As I exited Mason
Hall, students suffused the Diag
from corner to corner, laughing,
smiling and hurling snowballs of
all shapes and sizes into the air.
Two opposing walls of students,
having formed near the north
end, engrossed themselves in
endless, lighthearted combat.
For me, the scene was similar
to elementary school recess.
No one was preoccupied with
who they were playing with,
nor with what happened and
what didn’t. Almost nothing
mattered, except one thing: the
ephemeral pursuit of happiness.
Hundreds of students put aside
the looming responsibilities of
school, work and their future to
just have fun, like children do.
Oftentimes we spend our
whole lives doing our best to
grow up as fast as possible.
Rituals,
calendars,
clothes
and sometimes the occasional
piercing or tattoo have readied
people
for
their
entrance
into
adulthood
throughout
human history. We reject our
perceived immaturity in pursuit
of adulthood, abandoning our
childlike tendencies in pursuit
of
our
desired
destination
in
the
social
structure.
Sometimes, though, acting “like
a child” is not a bad thing. The
commonly-held
connection
between childlike actions and
immaturity is grounded in weak
foundations
and
completely
undermines any benefits that
come along with its associated
actions.
Someone might tell their
friend who just made a dick joke
to “stop being so immature.” On
the other hand, another person
might
tell
their
significant
other who repeatedly refuses
to leave the toilet seat down the
same thing. Despite being two
completely different situations,
immaturity as a concept is used
to hurl insults and invalidate
the opinions and credibility of
others.
In addition to the negative
air surrounding the concept,
there exists a commonly-held
connection between immaturity
and certain childlike actions. In
the Oxford Advanced Learner’s
Dictionary,
for
example,
immaturity
is
defined
as
behavior “typical of people who
are much younger.” However,
the actions and behavior of
young people exist on a very
wide spectrum, ranging from
benign to objectively harmful,
rendering
this
umbrella
definition useless.
On the more good-natured
side of the spectrum exists
the tendency for children and
younger people to humorize
situations
that
might
not
always be overtly humorous. An
example of this could be seen
in any sex education course in
middle school or high school,
where laughter and humor is
often conjoined with education.
Adults who might exhibit the
same behaviors are scolded
for their “lack of maturity”
when dealing with the topic.
While this behavior might be
childlike, it’s not inherently bad
and doesn’t deserve the negative
connotation that comes with the
label of immaturity.
However,
there
definitely
are childlike behaviors that
rightfully
carry
a
negative
connotation.
Egocentricity,
behavior
that
is
inherently
selfish, is a trait often seen in
children and adolescents. If
egocentric behavior continues
throughout
adolescence
and
adulthood, the lack of empathy
can lead to an array of adverse
consequences.
The
connection
between
the concept of immaturity and
childlike behavior is grounded
in the idea that, as we grow
older, we grow out of our
childlike behavior in order to
contribute positively to society.
In this way, a negative attitude
is attached to all childlike
behavior because it is seen
as something that should not
persist into adulthood, even
when there are clear benefits to
those behaviors.
As children, we often find
ourselves ceaselessly enamored
with things that, to an adult,
might seem trivial or worthless.
The telephone poles next to a
highway, someone in a poorly-
made costume of a superhero
and a heavy snowfall are all
things that most older people
wouldn’t bat an eye at, but to
a child it fosters wonder and
curiosity. Similarly, this interest
extends to the tasks they want
to accomplish. A child could
care less about how it might
be impossible to build a 7-foot-
tall sandcastle, so long as the
water from the shoreline falls
short of attempting to sabotage
their efforts. They are only
occupied with the task in front
of them and the pursuit of its
completion.
When
we
embrace
this
part of our inner child, we
find ourselves in a headspace
that puts us in a position
intentionality free from the
stress of outside forces. Honing
in on this mindset can allow
us to approach all of our tasks
and problems, no matter how
numerous
or
stressful,
one
at a time. These actions, that
fall
under
the
colloquially
understood idea of immaturity,
make
us
forget,
even
if
temporarily, some of the more
stressful tasks of adulthood.
The snowball fight in the
Diag wasn’t just a case of
students finding something to
do in spite of the harsh weather
conditions. It was a microcosm
of the potential good that
embracing the wondrous nature
of your inner child can give you.
When you only focus on the
task ahead of you, even if it’s as
menial as aiming your snowball
at just the right angle, you find
yourself in a world where only
that task exists, which allows
you to approach it as if it was the
only thing that truly mattered in
the world.
When applied to other areas of
our life, this “immature” tunnel
vision can give us the power
and courage to face life head-
on. It can range from focusing
on one step of one problem of
one homework assignment, to
focusing on one sentence of one
text to one person. Either way,
allowing yourself to focus on
nothing but the goal ahead of
you can help you feel free from
all else that might be weighing
on you.
It’s still true, though, that
this tunnel vision is inherently
immature. But, this facet of
immaturity
is
a
strength.
Immaturity itself can be harmful
at times, but at other times it can
provide a helpful, optimistic
approach to life and its tasks.
Embracing your inner child
can mean a lot. For some, it
can be making a phallic joke
at the beginning of an article,
marveling at the simple beauty of
the world or carrying a youthful
optimism despite the harshness
of reality.
For University of Michigan
Students on Jan. 25, it was
assembling in the Diag for a
snowball fight of spectacular
proportions.
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
ZHANE YAMIN
Senior Opinion Editor
Jenna Hickey/Daily
Alarming
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