As a former undergraduate teaching assistant for Lyman Briggs School, I feel compelled to weigh in on the undergraduate vs. graduate TA issue.

I feel the undergraduate TAs in Lyman Briggs School positively contribute to the quality of education that program provides, and I take issue with some of the statements made by MSU, GEU and The State News.

I'm not sure how not having taken a class previously disqualifies a TA from grading a student in that class; I'm pretty sure my graduate TAs in the majority of my university courses didn't take those exact classes since 99 percent of them didn't attend MSU for their undergraduate degree, but they graded me.

I didn't take the exact, specific chemistry class that I was a TA for, but since chemistry is chemistry, I felt comfortable grading the students in my recitation sections as a senior chemistry major.

I also disagree that a fellow undergraduate is not the best person for the job.

Part of the unique experience of Lyman Briggs School is the community of learners that it creates, and a big factor in that is the undergraduate TAs.

I feel that the quality of the undergraduate TAs I had in the school far surpasses the quality of the graduate TAs I had in the general university setting.

They were approachable, knowledgeable and, from my own experience as a TA, dedicated to their students.

I can't speak for undergraduate TAs in every department, but I do know that undergraduate TAs in the Lyman Briggs School enrich the education the program provides to its students.

Julie Dumond
2000 MSU alumna