Graduate students seek 'Bill of Rights'

Graduate students seeking justice will soon be able to find answers in their own "Bill of Rights." By June, the Washington, D.C.-based American Association of University Professors will publish a list of guidelines for how universities should treat their graduate students. Though this Bill of Rights would not be binding at all graduate schools, students could refer to the still-unwritten document in cases where they are having problems regarding issues like wages and health benefits for teaching or research assistants, grievance procedures and other academic matters. Graduate Bill of Rights committee representative Iris Molotsky said the project will benefit graduate students across the country. "We want to give some help and recommendations to people who are trying to develop these practices and procedures on their own campuses," Molotsky said. She explained that the project is a response to conflicts students are having at other graduate schools across the nation. Molotsky added that the Bill of Rights will give suggestions to graduate students who feel their rights are violated about how to respond. It would also include educational issues. "We're talking about how long it takes for them to progress towards their degree, how do you work with your advisor, the mentoring students get and what kind of course load they're asked to have," she added. The completed Bill of Rights will be based on suggestions by graduate students, faculty members and administrators at graduate schools across the country. Organizers say they are taking student opinions into account while formulating the statement. Graduate and Professional Student Assembly Law School representative Karsie Kish said that while she thinks the Bill of Rights is a good idea, the issues it addresses will not necessarily be relevant to law students. "I think it's a really great thing? but I don't think [these issues] really affect my school," the first-year Law student said. And GAPSA Engineering representative Cheri Robinson said she believes that the Bill of Rights is a good idea "as long as the input was formed on a variety of graduate students." Kish agreed that this would be a great way for "students to have resources and be heard." "It's a really great thing. Anything that gives us something to look to, a concrete place to start from is a great thing," she said. Robinson also recognized that the AAUP's efforts parallel those of many graduate student organizations on campus. "I think that [the project is like] what GAPSA does. It takes up a bunch of student causes," Robinson said. The detailed document will be published in the AAUP's Redbook in June, a compilation of their statements of principles and good practice.

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