As a former graduate student who was fortunate enough to have two appointments during my graduate studies, I feel compelled to share a secret with the university community. The Graduate Employees Union, or GEU, would like you to believe that graduate students are not fairly compensated for their work. Some simple mathematics proves this otherwise. A half-time graduate assistant works 20 hours a week, and earns over $5,000 in stipends and gets approximately $3,175 worth of tuition waivers. Total compensation is $8,157 per semester.

Assuming 17 weeks of work at 20 hours of work, a half-time graduate student works approximately 340 hours per semester. Simple division reveals an hourly wage of $23.99. If one were to work 40 hours a week for a year at this rate, their salary would equal $49,901, which is more than most staff and some faculty make on campus. I would take any complaints on the behalf of graduate students with a grain of salt.

It's important to note that this level of compensation was in place even before the GEU was formed. When you add basic health care and parking privileges, it becomes apparent that being a graduate assistant is a pretty good deal. The GEU's only agenda is to shave their 1.4 percent off the top to support the few in employ of the GEU itself; it cares little for the students that go here. Many graduate students would work for much less. One must also consider that as the cost of hiring a graduate assistant goes up, the university will simply hire less of them to contain costs and/or raise tuition.

Peter J. Murray
James Madison College staff member