From last semester's grade strike to the Local 35 walkout, the Administration has had a rough year cooperating with workers and students alike. But since a committee meeting on Mon., Apr. 15 to discuss graduate student Teaching Fellow concerns, it looks as though the Administration and TAs may reach common ground on a variety of contentious issues. At the request of Graduate School Dean Thomas Appelquist, the Teaching Fellow Program Review Committee made significant progress towards examining the requirements of the Teaching Fellow program at Yale, and adjusting teaching loads, section sizes, and pay scales.
Currently, the Teaching Fellow Program Review Committee is interviewing TAs to uncover inequities between workloads in different departments. Chaired by Director of Graduate African-American Studies Vera Kutzinski, the so-called "Kutzinski Committee" consists of three graduate students, five faculty members, and director of the Teaching Fellows Program, Associate Dean of the Graduate School Ingrid Walsøe-Engel.
Prior to its first meeting, which was open to the entire Yale community, several TAs expressed concern about the committee's mission, and how it was asking TAs whether they voluntarily performed responsibilities such as student meetings, grading drafts, and attending lecture. In response to a committee memo, TA Antony Dugdale, GRD '99, said he felt its guidelines would cause TAs to only do the mandatory work their job entailed, or to resentfully continue doing optional work. GESO spokeswoman Michelle Stephens, GRD '97, said she feared that if the committee outlined required tasks, TAs' roles would be undermined and students would be shortchanged.
The forum has since mitigated graduate student fears. Stephens said, "It is clear that they have good intentions. My main concern now is the speed in which they plan to do the work." Kutzinski agreed that the committee is embarking upon a time consuming project: "My only hesitation is that the task is monumental, both in terms of expectation and in terms of work." However, the Kutzinski Committee will be able to draw upon the findings of a similar committee that was established four years ago.
Brian Stiltner, GRD '96, the only committee member who is in GESO, stated that his main concern is that the University may not act upon the committee's findings. Stephens agreed, "Four years ago, a similar committee also made strong recommendations but only one of them was implemented." Kutzinski said that it is possible that the current fact-finding may not lead to actual policy changes, depending upon how the graduate faculty votes upon the committee's suggestions. She said, "I hope it's different this time around.... I am not naive enough to believe that it may not happen-that happens with any bureaucracy." Walsøe-Engel disagreed, saying that "it is impossible" for policy change not to take place, because the committee is very open about its goals.
Since the forum, Dugdale has been more optimistic. He said, "I am sure that this committee will come out with positive results and will address pressing problems. As for what the Administration does, that's a wild card, but it has no reason not to work on the findings of its own committee." Kutzinski is hopeful about its chances for success: "If I didn't think we'd get something done, I wouldn't be sitting on this committee."
While GESO claims that Appelquist's request for the committee was in response to the recent grade strike, Kutzinski said that it was inspired by problematic issues which continually affect TAs. Walsøe-Engel said, "There was a long-standing program to do this.... It is in no way connected to the grade strike or inspired by the grade strike."
Copyright 1996, The Yale Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.
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