Workers and visitors to the Administration Building on Wednesday had a hard time keeping their balance while stepping around the busy people and stacks of papers covering the floor in the lobby.

They’ll have to struggle not to trip today as well.

The Graduate Employees Union held a “grade-in” Wednesday and will have another today. During the 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. grade-in, some members of the GEU held their office hours, graded papers and exams and fulfilled other job requirements in the lobby.

The purpose of the two-day grade-in was to stress the bulk and significance of the work MSU’s teaching assistants do.

The GEU is bargaining for its first contract with the MSU administration.

Brian Holcomb, an English graduate student and member of the GEU’s steering and grievances committees, said the participants didn’t experience any problems with the administration during the event.

“It’s developing a nice (connection) between people from different departments,” he said.

About 300 teaching assistants and other graduate students signed up to be part of the grade-in.

But union members aren’t the only people who want a contract for teaching assistants.

A group of undergraduates will come together at noon today outside the Administration Building for a rally.

Political science senior David Khilji helped plan the rally.

“The whole point is that if teaching assistants aren’t satisfied, their performance in the classroom will really be poor,” he said.

Andrew Chen, a computer science graduate student, said he feels there is hope for the GEU in achieving a contract and thinks every step the union takes is beneficial to the overall cause.

“It would be nice if the administration could be more responsive and congenial,” he said.

“The Health Care Horrors Rally (of October) apparently caused a change in attitude of the administration.”

“So I’m hoping this will make that change in attitude permanent.”

MSU President M. Peter McPherson said he has no comment on the grade-in.

But not every graduate student stands behind the union.

Iva Petrova, an economics graduate student, said she does not support the union’s conduct, including this week’s grade-in and its previous actions.

“I’ve always been against this whole union thing,” she said. “The people who decided to organize this aren’t competent of negotiation. I think (Wednesday’s) event will hurt them more than it will help.”

But Scott Henkel, an English graduate student and member of GEU’s steering and grievances committees, said he was pleased with the grade-in.

“It’s great to able to show the administration, in a peaceful and responsible way, how much work we do for the university,” he said.

Staff writer Chad Previch contributed to this report.