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Update on grade strike

news.ucsc.edu

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Re: Update on grade strike

#21

Post by praptak »

chrisseaton wrote: post #10
acuster wrote: post #7

One of the better ways that occurred to me when we Cal grad students were protesting a couple of decades ago was, rather than withhold the grades, simply to give everyone an 'A'. That form of protest most directly targeted the institution since it simply affected its reputation. The students were not hurt, the grad students could comply with their obligations and move on. I am surprised that such an approach never to…

> The students were not hurt They’re not getting genuine feedback on their work.

You can still give them feedback. Damn, you should, regardless of grades.

Re: Update on grade strike

#22

Post by epistasis »

inventtheday wrote: post #15

Why did these people accept their positions (with full up front knowledge of their salary) if the money is not enough?

NIMBYism in Santa Cruz has resulted in a massive increase in prices over the past few years.

Additionally, the students at this campus voted with an 80% majority against the prior contract that the union had negotiated on behalf of grad students at all campuses simultaneously. Students at other campuses with lower cost of living are not squeezed nearly as much.

Re: Update on grade strike

#26

Post by epistasis »

throw_away wrote: post #25
ellisv wrote: post #23

> with the hope that we could resolve this unsanctioned strike and return to our shared mission I didn’t realize most strikes were sanctioned...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildcat_strike_action They mean not sanctioned by the union leadership in this case.

The strikers have been fighting back against the union's attempts to say that UC should negotiate with the union rather than the strikers, even:

https://twitter.com/payusmoreucsc/status/1234130912281010176...

Re: Update on grade strike

#28

Post by Consultant32452 »

spyckie2 wrote: post #24

What's the objective argument against raising wages? It seems like they're willing to pay extra money but not via a wage increase?

This article may help you understand the whole grad student racket better.

https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/how-why-gove...

Re: Update on grade strike

#29

Post by chongli »

swiley wrote: post #12
jlg23 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is a student not hurt when given an incorrect assessment of their academic abilities?

Undergrad students? If it’s a CS class and not one of the intro to programming/algorithms ones you’re probably mostly checking if they read the book they were forced to buy (thanks ACM) so I would say it doesn’t really hurt them.

A student who gets an A when they should have failed the course may be wrongly encouraged to continue in that direction when they really ought to change programs. This could end up costing that student a huge amount of time and money, to the point of jeopardizing their ability to graduate and ruining their future.

Failing grades aren’t supposed to just be a punishment for not studying hard enough. They can be a warning sign that the student may need to try something else.

Re: Update on grade strike

#30

Post by chongli »

pjc50 wrote: post #9
praptak wrote: post #5

Students pay through the nose, grads can barely make ends meet. Where does the tuition money go?

Administrators, buildings, and sports usually.

Yes. A lot of donations to schools are earmarked for specific things like libraries and sports complexes bearing the donor’s name. The university is then forced to hire all kinds of staff to run and maintain these buildings, lest they ruin their reputation by allowing the fancy buildings to fall into disrepair.

Donations that are earmarked to help students are in the form of scholarships and bursaries. To be honest, there aren’t nearly enough of those to go around.

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