In a Feb. 21, 2008 column, Anne Twitty GS, the press secretary-elect for the Graduate Student Government (GSG), lamented that expansion of graduate housing is not included in the University's 10-Year-Plan even though an existing housing crunch will be exacerbated ...(back to the article)
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To undergrads who fail to see the importance of the graduate school and graduate student life at Princeton: I am reminded of what a senior university official once said (I think in a comment on the Wythes commission report). "Princeton would make a fine Swarthmore." Our presence here is the reason why Princeton is a University, and not just another Davidson or Middlebury.
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Unionize!!
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Thanks so much for this editorial--as well as to Anne Twitty for her original column. I have no problem framing undergrad support on grad student issues in terms of enlightened self-interest, but it's not simply because "when grad students are unhappy, everyone suffers." Universities try to attract strong graduate students because this helps in turn to attract strong faculty; it also helps when graduate students go on to become prestigious scholars in their own right. These things increase the University's academic prestige and, in the long run, the value and meaning of the undergraduate degree. Failure to attract the best graduate students, conversely, eventually lessens the university's reputation and prestige, and erodes the value of those undergrad diplomas. None of this will probably directly impact the lives of present undergraduates, but Princeton alumni have a well-earned reputation for lifelong investment in the status and well-being of this institution, and hopefully the current undergrads will turn out to be no different. There are many wonderful things about being a graduate student here--that's why I am one! The faculty and facilities are world-class; the stipends are higher and the teaching requirements lower than just about any comparable institution. Nor is the traditional Princeton emphasis on undergrad education seen as a bad thing by graduate students, since it also means a smaller grad student body and more contact with senior faculty. The fact that so many things here are so good makes the egregious crappiness of the grad housing situation simply incomprehensible--and, when grad and undergrad housing are compared, sort of surreal. This editorial is a very welcome first step on the Princetonian's part. Logical further steps might be to do actual reporting on the specific conditions in grad student housing, and to investigate why this particular thing is so conspicuously neglected.
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Thank you, thank you, thank you, for writing about the issues facing graduate students! In the last few weeks, I've seen an increase in the amount of space dedicated to graduate students, and it couldn't be more welcome. Keep it up.
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These are all fair points, and I echo the praise offered by the other grad student posters. I regret not praising the Editors foremost and commenting on the finer points second--grad student don't often get a fair hearing, so it's encouraging to read an editorial like this one. Miko, your reading of the article (and that of the many grad student poster) is more pragmatic than my original reading was, but the various comments have brought me round to a similar conclusion: highlighting common ground might be our best bet.
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I was more than pleased to see this editorial board take the uncommon step of advocating on behalf of graduate students.
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To Comment 10, I think you are misreading the meaning of a minority group in this instance. A racial, ethnic or religious group is a group pre-assembled before their interactions with Princeton University. Princeton graduate students are not graduate students before they come to Princeton. Thus, their minority status highly differs from your examples and no offense should be taken by the majority in this issue. The majority too were never undergraduates at Princeton before their arrival and are experiencing Princeton afresh as the graduate students are. In the end, this article ultimately helps to show the symbiotic relationship that this undergraduate-focussed campus could have we the members of the graduate student body were treated like we actually belong around here. The article is sensible. Why? Because we have attempted, as graduate students, to articulate our concerns in isolated incidents before to no avail. Perhaps if we highlight common ground we share in priorities, the University will remember we exist and that we have needs, so that we can move towards a workable solution.
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G'11, I'm not fighting to end the genocide in Darfur (although I probably should), and neither am I trying to cure cancer. My point was just that most students don't feel any moral obligation to push for stuff that doesn't affect them; and the little obligation that they do have goes toward larger projects. I feel for you, though. Honestly, I do. And I recycle, sometimes.
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Princetonian editors -- this graduate student also thanks you for bringing to light important issues in our community, both in this editorial and in recent reporting. Please keep it up.
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I think this was all well said. I also think #7 missed the nuance: the university clearly prioritizes undergrads, and since that is our present climate, it's just good rhetoric to go from there. The irony of the Hibben-Whiman observation is dead on. Come Septemeber, expect to see some homeless grads camping out in the cloister yard. Try not to poke them, undergrads. They need their sleep too. (PS. John, you're fighting to end the genocide in Dafur? That's cool. Where's your web petition? Maybe I'll find it on Facebook. Thanks for caring. Enjoy your cheap and secure housing.)
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How is it that 200 graduate students who wanted on-campus housing are left in the lurch and there is no systematic effort by the University administration to address this? The only long-term solution that works is to build more housing so all graduate students who apply in the lottery can be housed.
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I think it's great that the Prince is taking the time to advocate for grad student interests. Sure, it's mildly disappointing to see the trope of the 'sketchy' grad student lazily trotted out yet again, but the basic idea of the article is spot on. Thanks, editorial board, for taking the time--I hope you'll continue to report and discuss these issues.
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Personally I think this column is very welcome, and was well-received by this graduate student! The University is perfectly aware that the current housing situation is not ideal for graduate students, but does not seem to be taking the issue seriously. Perhaps if undergraduates and faculty members can be convinced that this is an issue that affects them as well, something might actually get done. I appreciate an undergraduate-run and -edited publication taking the time to point out that the situation affects the University as a whole.
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Fine, but the rest of article goes on to suggest that grad students are important insofar as their presence affects other groups at Princeton. And the second half of that sentence illustrates the problem, suggesting that grad students' wellbeing is important because it affects others. The column would have been better received if it had focused on grad students' wellbeing as an end, rather than a means to securing the wellbeing of others.
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True, but this is an undergraduate-run newspaper, so naturally, we would care about what is best for us...why else would we twenty-year-olds take the time to protest these policies? Out of moral fairness? I'm sorry, but I only have so much time to devote to "good" crusades (that don't affect me), and that time goes more toward trying to stop the conflict in Darfur, cure cancer, stop world hunger, [fill in cause here] than in making sure Graduate Students have cheap and secure housing.
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The University should be addressing these concerns not only because graduate students make up a significant and important portion of the University community, but also because their quality of life impacts the rest of the University.
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I appreciate the sentiment--doing right by grad students is a great idea. But this article undermines the decency of that proposal by suggesting that grad students should be supported because, "simply put, when grad students are unhappy, everyone suffers," and by reiterating that "Graduate students represent a rich and often untapped resource for undergraduates." The only other reason offered (that doesn't tie graduate wellbeing to the wellbeing of undergraduates) is "because grad students make up a significant and important portion of the university community." To me, this approach suggests that the climate at Princeton just doesn't allow people to treat grad student wellbeing as an important standalone issue. Before continuing, I want to reiterate my support for the general idea driving this article. But if my distaste remains unclear, consider how offensive this column would be if it were about some other minority group, like a racial group, ethnic group, religious group, or even gender. To argue that we should do the right thing by any minority because it benefits the majority is a) offensive to that minority; b) begs the question of whether the minority deserves equal treatment apart from the effect inequality has on the majority.
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