When the Graduate Employees’ 

Organization began their ongoing 

strike on March 29, some classes 

were 
temporarily 
canceled 
or 

modified across the University 

of 
Michigan, 
leaving 
many 

undergraduate 
students 
feeling 

uncertain about how the final 

weeks of the semester will unfold. 

Many U-M students have voiced 

their support for GEO’s demands 

for wage increases, though others 

voiced concern over additional 

proposals from GEO.

In an interview with The 

Michigan Daily, LSA freshman 

Gabriella 
Carnevale 
said 
her 

discussion 
sections 
for 
the 

semester were canceled as a result 

of her GSI going on strike. She 

said her professor also canceled 

some assignments and ended class 

early so students could attend the 

walkout.

“Our 
discussions 
sections 

have been canceled for the rest 

of the semester, and we had some 

assignments canceled,” Carnevale 

said. “And our professor ended 

class (on Wednesday) at 10:24.”

Standing at the back of the 

crowd gathered on the Diag for the 

walkout last Wednesday, Carnevale 

said she has been supportive of the 

strike in spite of the disruption to 

her class.

“I 
think 
the 
strike 
is 
an 

important 
show 
of 
solidarity, 

and I think it’s an important and 

necessary part of advocating for a 

living,” Carnevale said.

In response to GEO’s demands 

of a 60% pay increase to $38,537 

a 
year, 
the 
University 
has 

proposed to instead increase GSI 

pay by 11.5% from $24,053 to 

$26,819. In an email sent to the 

campus community on March 

24, University President Santa 

Ono wrote that the University 

was opposed to two other GEO 

proposals, including the creation 

of a non-police urgent response 

unit, which Ono said is outside 

the scope of current negotiations. 

Ono also wrote the University 

opposed demands for GSIs to 

have the ability to shift to remote 

instruction.

Among the other students in 

support of the strike are Karthik 

Pasupula 
and 
Major 
Stevens, 

current LSA representatives in 

Central Student Government. In an 

interview with The Daily, Pasupula 

denounced the offer the University 

gave GEO in response to their 

original demands.

“I fully support (the strike),” 

Pasupula said. “They have the right 

to strike, especially given how 

abysmal the wage offer is from 

the University. There’s clearly 

some misunderstanding from the 

University administration that GSI 

working conditions are student 

living conditions. They need to pay 

them a living wage and negotiate 

with fairness.”

Stevens agreed with Pasupula 

and expressed similar sentiments 

about the University’s offer to GEO.

“Most of the things that they’re 

asking for are completely within 

Michigan’s realm of possibility,” 

Stevens said. “Refusing to even 

acknowledge that they’re able to 

do that is simply downright stupid 

and frustrating.”

Other 
student 
organizations 

have also expressed their support 

for the GEO strike online. In an 

Instagram story, the University’s 

undergraduate 
chapter 
of 
the 

American Civil Liberties Union 

reposted GEO’s “Giving Blue Day” 

Instagram post, writing “@aclu_

umich stands with @geo_3550.” 

The University’s chapter of the 

Young Democratic Socialists of 

America also posted on Instagram 

in support of the GEO strike, 

providing information on when 

and where undergraduate students 

can participate in protests.

Though some students have 

voiced 
support 
for 
the 
GEO 

strike, others indicated a sense 

of frustration with the effects of 

the strike on the undergraduate 

student 
body. 
LSA 
freshman 

Braxton Orban told The Daily 

some students he has talked to 

expressed anxiety over the lack 

of GSI support, especially in math 

classes.

“I know for MATH 115 and 116, 

people are saying they’re having a 

lot of difficulties with those classes 

if their GSI is striking,” Orban said. 

“I think that people are frustrated 

by it, not necessarily because 

they disagree with what the GSI’s 

are asking (for), but because it 

makes some learning a little more 

difficult.”

As the University enters its last 

month of instruction for winter 

2023, Orban said he understands 

why some students feel more 

stressed with the lack of GSI 

assistance in class.

In April 1993, a brand new 

tea and coffee business called 

Sweetwaters 
Coffee 
and 
Tea 

opened in a 100-year-old building 

at the corner of South Ashley 

and West Washington streets. 

The business was founded by 

Lisa Bee and Wei Bee, both then-

recent University of Michigan 

graduates and children of Chinese 

immigrants who had spent their 

childhoods working in restaurants 

to support their family. 

The original cafe is still a hotspot 

for coffee lovers as it celebrates 

its 30th birthday in 2023, though 

Sweetwaters has since expanded 

to 38 different locations across the 

U.S. — seven of which are in Ann 

Arbor.

In 
an 
interview 
with 
The 

Michigan Daily, Lisa Bee said 

entering 
the 
tea 
and 
coffee 

business after graduation seemed 

like both a natural next step and 

a leap of faith for her at the time. 

She said the idea was inspired by 

the emerging coffee scene in Ann 

Arbor in the early ’90s and her and 

her husbands’ shared love of coffee 

as college students.

“My husband and I both love 

food and drink businesses,” Lisa 

Bee said. “You meet a lot of people 

and there is always something new. 

But being in our early 20s, a full-

scale restaurant would be very 

expensive. We went to the coffee 

houses that were starting to pop 

up at that time, and we thought, 

‘Wow! This is kind of like doing a 

restaurant, but not as intense,’ and 

we thought it would be a lot of fun 

for us to do.”

For Lisa Bee, Sweetwaters has 

always been a source of pride. 

Three 
decades 
later, 
college 

students and townies alike have 

come to recognize the iconic red 

Sweetwaters logo at a glance, 

which 
features 
two 
ancient 

Chinese 
ancient 
characters 

meaning “sweet” and “water.”

Though the menu has changed 

over time and hundreds of baristas 

have come and gone, Sweetwaters’ 

staff, owners and customers can all 

attest to the sense of community the 

cafe has continuously facilitated 

since the day it was founded 30 

years ago.

A local business inspired by 

global flavors

Austin Green, a barista who 

works 
the 
morning 
shift 
at 

Sweetwaters and serves as a 

firefighter in Livingston County, 

told The Daily he first encountered 

Sweetwaters when he visited the 

cafe in the Michigan Union at the 

University of Michigan and ordered 

a mocha. He said when he first 

applied for a job as a Sweetwaters 

barista, he was unsure about 

the variety of products sold at 

the business. Instead, he said it 

shattered his expectations with 

the wide selection of beverages 

and working there broadened his 

knowledge 
about 
international 

coffee and tea culture.

“There’s a very big learning 

curve here,” Green said. “I first 

thought (the drinks were) mainly 

Chinese or Japanese, but I learned 

that we even have teas that 

originated in Greece, because a lot 

of (instructions on packages and 

jars) just tell you where it’s from 

and where it originated. It is also 

pretty cool to see the story behind 

them.”

Lisa Bee said when she first 

started the business, both she and 

her husband were most familiar 

with Chinese tea beverages. As 

the couple traveled and immersed 

themselves in different cultures, 

however, Lisa Bee said they wanted 

Sweetwaters’ tea and coffee menu 

to reflect the refreshments being 

enjoyed in cafes all around the 

world. 

“When we first started, we had 

the idea that we could bring in a 

lot of products that we personally 

and culturally know about,” Lisa 

Bee said. “Today, you see French 

Vietnamese coffee, milk tea and 

things that are not at a typical 

Italian-based coffee house. Many 

other cultures have tea and coffee, 

and we adapt operationally to bring 

them to our guests.”

2 — Wednesday, April 12, 2023
News

 UMich undergraduates divided over GEO strike

 Ann Arbor’s Sweetwaters turns 30

CAMPUS LIFE

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

BUSINESS

The campus community shared their support for and concerns about GEO’s demands

After three decades of business, Sweetwaters’ founders and staff celebrate a 
legacy of community and coffee

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