Letter to the editor: Anonymous Ohio U grad students

This is a letter to the editor from the Graduate Employee Organization (GEO), a collective of graduate students “fighting for better work conditions.” It has been lightly edited for grammar and style.

Please note that these views and opinions do not reflect those of The New Political.


Did you know grad student teachers and teaching assistants are making less than those working a minimum wage job in Ohio? According to a recent survey of more than 400 grad students conducted by the GEO, over half of the sample relied on external assistance (Electronic Benefits Transfer, food stamps), and 45% had neither vision nor dental care. How are students supposed to look over an exam or smile in front of a class under these conditions?


Unfortunately, this is no laughing matter. According to survey data, 63% of students disagree that their stipends are enough to live on, and 65% feel their stipends provide a “large” and “extreme” amount of financial stress. One major stressor is healthcare, which costs $2800 per year. Despite having coverage, 63% of students agreed to have unmet healthcare needs due to financial concerns, and 60% of students believe healthcare costs impact their job performance.

Do not ask what the point of mandatory insurance is if it does not make us healthy or help us work. 


GEO is fighting for grad worker rights. Graduate students make Ohio University thrive: we teach, assist classes, win grants, produce research and contribute to the Athens community. We deserve better, and we can get better. We are distributing a petition to improve grad work conditions. Our demands are: (1) increased stipend for grads on assistantships; (2) 100% healthcare stipends for grads on assistantships; (3) removal general fee for all grads.


A budget is composed of values; as we say, put your money where your mouth is. We say grad students deserve better. Ohio U has been cutting resources to grad students, faculty and staff while expanding the administration. According to budget reports, the top 250 administrators’ salary increases above inflation from 2012 to 2020 cost the school almost $8 million per year. Meanwhile, Ohio U spends $3.5 million on a privatized police force and $20 million subsidizing sports.


The budget may be managed by administrators, but it doesn’t belong to them; it belongs to all of us making this school run.


If you want to support grad students, please fill out and share our petition (linked below). To learn more about grad student conditions or GEO, please email them at ohiougeo@gmail.com or follow @ou_geo on Twitter. Together we can fight for improved work conditions.


Petition Link: https://forms.gle/17LxeajpXBWwiZFw8


-Anonymous Graduate Students

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