Second Class Citizens?

Princeton is internationally renowned for providing an unparalleled educational experience in a breadth of disciplines. The University boasts virtually unlimited resources, facilities and opportunities. However, for many Princeton graduate students, all that glitters is not gold.

Most undergraduates never mingle with graduate students, except in the classroom and sometimes on the 'Street.' This stigma is much resented by many of the University's 2,000 graduate students from more than 50 countries.

Simon Paterson, a third year economics graduate student, said he even felt animosity when he first began studying here.

"People always talked about the acceptance standard at Princeton. There is a total separation between grads and undergrads," he noted. "They [Princeton] take some smart people who did really, really well and some really rich people who went to really good private schools. Everyone at the grad school worked really hard to get in."

Although graduate students tend to "stick out" on the undergraduate-dominated campus, such a stigma does not detract from the atmosphere in the Graduate College.

"The relationship between undergraduates and graduates is good. On average, graduate students enjoy the interaction they have with undergraduates, or else they wouldn't be pursuing a life of teaching in academia. Undergraduates appreciate the work we do here," Matt Fouse, a politics student and Graduate Student Government chair said.

Though only 14 out of the University's more than 50 departments were commented upon, the consensus bordered on dissatisfaction at Princeton in a national survey that asked graduate students how they liked their departments.

The National Association of Graduate Professional Students observational study ranked 1,300 graduate programs around the country on an A to F scale, collecting responses from 32,000 students. The survey questions were grouped into nine sections asking students to rate such aspects as information for prospective students, breadth of classes, teacher assistant preparation, climate of the school and career guidance and placement services.

A-range grades were sparse for Princeton as the average grade for information for prospective students was a B-minus, and teaching assistant preparation was a C, breadth of courses was given an average of B and guidance was given a C-plus.

Many of these grades, especially within the teaching assistant preparation category, were below the national average in the field. Teaching assistant preparation in the economics department was given a D-plus, a D in the mathematics department and a D-minus in the Slavic languages and literature department, all grades below the national average for that field.

Fouse felt that the survey was an inaccurate representation of what life is like at the Graduate College. "You'd find a variety of opinions on the breadth of classes, preparation of TAs and quality of guidance," he said. "I've found the breadth of classes to be great at Princeton . . . The quality of guidance is a very individualized issue, and it depends on who you select as your advisers and your own efforts to maintain a dialogue regarding your studies."

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One issue that Fouse and others believe needs attention is the preparation of TAs. "I think this is one area where you might find a general dissatisfaction across many departments," Fouse said, noting that through the McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning, the University has initiated improvements among TA preparation.

Paterson, a preceptor for ECO 317: Financial Investments, found that most TAs are ill-prepared to run undergraduate classes, even if they are accomplished scholars in their own fields. "The University tries to get the best students they possibly can. They don't care if they can teach," he said. "They pay us to teach because they need us to."

Paterson said that there is a "premium" for the role of the TA here — departments require students to teach undergraduates — compared to his undergraduate experience at Queens University in Ontario, Canada.

"TAs have a bigger role here than what I was used to," he explained. "Whenever I had a problem [at Queens], I'd just go talk to the professor.

"It is weird having some guy who is one year older than you leading a 20-person discussion," he continued. "I don't put too much weight on it. He's just here to help with the homework since he's done it all."

When improvements need to be made to the Graduate College facilities and the quality of student life, the GSG represents the graduate students' concerns to the University administration. Fouse said that the GSG has a "social, educational and cultural role on campus, and we use our limited budget to sponsor events for graduate students."

The GSG has recently prevented the loss of student parking, but to some students said, the GSG fails to fight for the interests of the students on a regular basis. A concern is obtaining a shuttle from the Lawrence and Butler graduate apartments to the middle of campus. As of now, the improvement has not been made.

"They don't fight against obstacles," Caroline Nguyen, a Wilson School graduate student said. "The people who really need it are trying to appeal to the GSG, but they say that it's unlikely to change. They try to work very hard and there are people who are committed, but whether it's indicative of their unwillingness to work harder or the strong bureaucracy here, that's anyone's guess."

Another issue is that graduate students feel overshadowed by the undergraduate population.

Though the entire University suffers from a housing shortage, overcrowding in undergraduate dormitories is often considered before that of graduate living spaces. Last year, the administration seriously considered transforming the Graduate College into the sixth undergraduate residential college.

"That idea died fast," Paterson said. "The irony is that they said 'No, it's way too far away for our students to walk,' but they already have 500 students walking that far. They didn't bother to consult the graduates about what they wanted."

What is unique about Princeton's graduate program is that the University supplies a good amount of housing to its students, as opposed to Harvard where students must find off-campus housing.

"Princeton has no affordable housing," Paterson said. "It's such an affluent area, and the University was going to fall short on space by about 400 students, approximately a quarter of the grad school population, but we saw them making all of these contingency plans to expand the undergraduate population. It was only after they had realized that they didn't have room for all of these students did they finally begin to talk about solutions.

"I've never seen more red tape until I got to Princeton," Paterson continued, referring to his efforts as Debasement Bar manager to get approval to repaint the bar, located in the Graduate College.

A major aspect of graduate student life is the D-Bar, which has a club license and is open every night from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. The bar appeals to about 80 percent of the graduate student population.

Paterson began working at D-Bar when he first arrived in Princeton. Several years ago, the University tried to restrict the bar's operation because of their efforts to get a license for the Frist Campus Center.

"The bar staff went on strike and two managers quit. People went crazy," Paterson said. "In retaliation, people pulled fire alarms at the Grad School. Six a night. They've started to trust us to know what our limitations are, and the tension is better now."

Paterson said that one of the main problems was the GSG.

"They refused to take a stand on the bar issue. The bar was fighting on behalf of the entire student population to get access, and the GSG refused to take a stance," he said. "It is a center of grad student life and the GSG didn't want anything to do with it."

Despite its eminent faculty, financial assistance and reputation, the University is often the target of complaints for graduate students. But it still remains a popular place to apply for graduate studies.

"Princeton takes good care of its graduate students," Nguyen said.