History students discuss department's future

History undergraduates were in an uproar last semester when the history department admitted that it was struggling with a drastic shortage of history teaching assistants (TAs). This semester, a similar scenario has been averted, due largely to graduate students from outside the history department volunteering to serve as TAs. But the department continues to search for a long-term solution. On Wed., Jan. 26, a group of undergraduate students, consisting mostly of history majors, joined history graduate students at a meeting devoted to this pressing issue.

CAYTE PUSHKAREVA/YH Graduates and undergraduates convened to address the paucity of history TAs.

While the history department TA shortage received the most attention because its problems are the most severe, many Yalies are not aware that other departments have also encountered obstacles in trying to find enough graduate students to TA their classes. As Connor Martin, TC '00, said at the meeting of the history students, "I could have had a better undergraduate education. What has happened with TAs is really scary." The undergraduate participants expressed concern that out of the 60 TAs in history classes, only 19 are actually in the history department. Graduates students, however, were most concerned for themselves. "Our concern is not that students from other graduate school departments are not qualified to teach," Kristie Starr, GRD '03, said. "It's just that they are often paying tuition for their education, and they don't get any of the benefits—like health care—that I do."

In a prepared document read at the meeting, the participants highlighted several points of contention. They were adamant that Yale not follow Princeton's policy of hiring postdoctoral students for the purpose of teaching sections, claiming that postdoctoral fellowships "[provide] temporary and mar-ginalized teachers and advisors." The salary cap currently imposed on TAs was also a thorny issue. According to current guidelines, TAs can only teach a limited number of sections. By lifting the salary cap, the students argued, graduate students would be able to teach more sections, thus helping to solve the shortage of TAs, while getting paid for their extra work. Finally, in what sounded more like an edict to the University at large, the students suggested hiring more full-time faculty. The document maintained that "hiring additional full-time faculty will provide a more personalized learning experience, a larger pool of advisors, a greater variety of course types and subjects, and underscore a commitment to careers in education and academic freedom."

Attendees of the meeting insisted that the issues they raised should be widely recognized by undergraduates, graduate students, and history department faculty alike. The students pledged to continue their efforts, and are currently examining ways to trumpet their message and align other history students with their concerns. They also plan to present their views to the Administration.

But is the history department alone in its dilemma? The students in other departments have not sprung to action the way history students have, perhaps because shortages in other disciplines are not as extreme. For example, the economics department also looks to other departments for TAs. However, only a small minority of economics TAs are not students in the department. As Truman Bewley, head of graduate studies for economics, explained, "I only go outside of the department when I can't find TAs from within, but I don't mind getting TAs from outside. Some of our best TAs are from outside. I don't think that it would be wise to increase the size of the graduate school to meet the number of undergraduate students, because the amount of undergraduates tends to fluctuate."

Some students disagree, however. Jonathan Kaufman, MC '02, complained, "[The economics department] does not seem to have enough TAs to go around, and I think that the quality of economics instruction at Yale is really suffering. I really think that Yale should be responding to such a major increase in the popularity of economics by giving priority to expanding the department." But several professors perceive a benefit to employing TAs from outside of the department. Timothy Goldsmith, who teaches the Biological Roots of Human Nature, relies exclusively on TAs from outside the Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology (MCDB) department. "Most MCDB graduate students have chosen to fulfill their obligations in other areas of the department," he explained. "The TAs I select for the course have a very solid background in biology relating to humans and are very qualified to teach sections." Eric Denardo, who teaches Operations Research and uses undergraduate "assistants in instruction" in his course, even prefers that his assistants come from a range of majors because they can "collectively reach the various interests and backgrounds of the students in the class."

As the attendees of Wednesday's meeting continue to push their ideas, undergraduates in history are hoping that the problems they faced last semester will come closer to resolution. Meanwhile, other departments are pursuing their own policies in the absence of a consistent University approach to a common TA shortage.

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