Teaching assistants need more credit and pay

As USC professors demand raises in salaries in their Open Letter Jan. 8 and deliberate with University administration, graduate student workers like teaching assistants, research assistants and graduate assistant lecturers should also be brought into the conversation. We often don’t see the work they do outside of classes. 

It’s not uncommon for TAs to get overshadowed by professors who don’t give them enough credit especially in cases of an authoritative power dynamic. 

The Open Letter did not exactly negate other staff or faculty from receiving pay raises, but its lack of direct mention speaks to how student workers are perceived in the hierarchy of the University. As the cost of living continues to go up, professors aren’t the only group that haven’t been paid accordingly. 

Student workers carry out similar duties as professors and assistant professors, but don’t receive nearly as much credit and money for their efforts. According to the Handbook for Teaching Assistants, Research Assistants, and Graduate Assistant Lecturers, some duties of TAs include assisting during lectures, leading discussion sections or lab meetings, holding office hours each week, grading course assignments and exams and serving as a liaison between the instructor and students. Student workers uphold all of these duties while enduring often exploitative environments just to progress towards their degrees.

While professors do deserve higher pay, especially raises that account for the cost of living, they are at a much lower risk of houselessness or food insecurity because of the massive difference in pay between TAs and professors. However, some graduate student workers, like at Columbia University, have had to rely on food stamps to make ends meet while juggling rent costs and student loan payments, according to a November New York Times article. 

Based on discussions in the r/USC Reddit forum, one of the most common complaints about USC’s graduate program is the cost of tuition. Students are burdened by loan debt beyond graduate school, so compensating them more is only a small step in recognizing their contribution to undergraduate classrooms. 

Student workers at Columbia University went as far as to strike, demanding higher pay and more insurance accommodations. USC student workers, too, should earn higher wages, full coverage of dental and health insurance and allow neutral third-party arbitration for cases of discrimination and harassment, in the case of unionization. 

These requests, especially financially, are very feasible considering USC’s wealth and the wealth of most private universities.

While student workers are not full-time employees their contributions to teaching or research activities are taxing on their progress to their degree. TAs and research assistants cannot log more than 20 hours per week on teaching and research duties. With this time restriction, universities conveniently won’t have to provide workers with  leave and holiday accommodations. That being said, student workers cannot garner any additional income beyond their set stipend or wage they receive. It’s counterintuitive for universities to encourage their student workers to focus on their studies but make their circumstances difficult. If universities, such as USC, were serious about student workers devoting the majority of their efforts to progressing towards a degree, they would pay them comfortable living wages.

Student workers should not exhaust themselves just to live comfortably and pursue their studies. Like professors, TAs, GALs and research assistants do a lot for students and research, and their efforts must be valued more. 

USC can’t even pay their professors competently, so I imagine paying student workers isn’t the most pressing matter to them. Regardless if student workers are paid more, USC should work towards creating a culture that reflects the hard work and sacrifice that these people make.

TAs don’t need to be treated exactly like professors, but they should be just as valued.