Editor’s note: This article has been edited to clarify the percentage of wages that Erika Stewart spends on rent. This story has also been updated to clarify what training graduate students receive in the School of Writing, Literature, and Film at Oregon State University.
Students in English Composition, WR 121, received emails on Nov. 12 stating while the Coalition of Graduate Employees were on strike, their sections would be moved online and their instructors replaced.
When asked, Oregon State University said this was done for the benefit of the students in affected classes.
A statement from OSU Strategic Communications and Public Affairs Manager Lanesha Reagan said, “with all of Oregon State University, the School of Writing, Literature, and Film is finding ways to continue instruction during this time and are focusing efforts on providing educational continuity to students.”
However, it is not just graduate and undergraduate students being affected by these changes to course instruction.
The School of Writing, Literature and Film faculty expressed their “grave concern” about taking over classes left uncovered due to the graduate teaching assistant strike in a letter to the editor published Friday signed by 28 faculty members.
“While we recognize the complexities of the situation and the university’s need to address instructional disruptions, we believe that this measure would cause significant harm to the school’s climate, morale, and the university’s long-term stability,” the letter stated.
The letter further urges OSU to look at other approaches to continuing the education of the students in classes affected by the strike, suggesting that the current method is harmful in many areas.
“By redistributing faculty and/or instructor responsibilities to cover for striking GTAs, the administration risks signaling that the school can function effectively on a reduced budget and an overstretched workforce. This narrative is harmful and short-sighted,” the letter stated.
According to the CGE Vice President of Communications Erika Stewart, who is also a graduate teacher at SWLF, the school have asked creative writing faculty to teach creative writing classes while the instructors are on strike.
“(Graduate teachers at SWLF) met and wiped our Canvas pages, so the (replacement teachers) had nothing to work with when they started,” Stewart said. “We fully plan, lead, grade and teach our own classes.”
However, Stewart and other graduate teachers were kicked from their course pages toward the beginning of the strike and OSU brought in University Information and Technology to restore earlier versions of the course pages.
Stewart said that graduate teachers make the minimum salary at SWLF.
“We teach, but we’re given less than a week of training,” Stewart said. “After taxes, my take-home pay is around $1,400 to $1,500 a month. I have four roommates—and we all share one shower—and yet I’m spending half of my stipend on rent.”
According to Kristy Kelly, director of writing and assistant professor of teaching in SWLF, graduate students in SWLF get a over a week of training prior to term beginning, along with the all graduate student training that students receive during Grad Welcome Week. They also get training throughout the terms that they are teaching.
According to Stewart, other departments at OSU are also looking into replacement teachers, however The Daily Barometer has not yet confirmed this through other sources.
CGE and OSU met Friday night in another mediation. The Daily Barometer will provide updates as we hear results from this session.
