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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