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 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is publishing weekly on Wednesdays for the Winter 2023 semester by students at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for $2. If you would like a current copy of the paper mailed to you, please visit store. pub.umich.edu/michigan-daily-buy-this-edition to place your order. 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