FAYETTEVILLE -- A letter from 82 graduate students at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville asks for stipend increases and a special fund to help teaching assistants being paid less than $15,000 over the academic year.
"For many of us, the pandemic has made what was already a barely survivable situation much worse. We ask that the U of A address these concerns immediately," states the letter, addressed to Chancellor Joe Steinmetz.
The students describe UA's pay as less than what's provided by other large public universities in disciplines that include history, sociology and creative writing.
The students -- who have also begun an online petition -- are asking for "an emergency $2,500 stipend" to go to all graduate teaching assistants and graduate assistants set to receive nine-month stipends of less than $15,000 for the upcoming 2020-21 academic year.
Their letter also calls for a minimum stipend of $20,000 by the 2021-22 academic year for all graduate teaching assistants, along with a waiver of student fees, and for UA to pay a greater portion of their health insurance premiums.
Graduate assistants at UA and elsewhere have long expressed dissatisfaction with earning less than a living wage. They are responsible for teaching many undergraduate courses at UA and other schools.
UA spokesman Mark Rushing said Thursday that university leaders were still reviewing the letter, which was sent to Steinmetz on Wednesday. Along with receiving stipends, graduate assistants with common appointments do not have to pay tuition. But students with assistantships generally are responsible for books and fees, plus living expenses.
Lily Buday, a student in UA's master of fine arts program in creative writing, said that before the pandemic she "was really counting on picking up a job this summer and just frantically saving as much money as possible."
However, the covid-19 pandemic and its effects on restaurants and other businesses has "made it very, very difficult to find a summer job around here," said Buday, 23. She moved from Michigan to attend UA and this fall will start year two of her graduate program, she said.
So far this summer, she said, she's "done a little pet-sitting" but hasn't landed a job.
Buday added: "Most of us rely pretty heavily on summer earnings, so having that go away was a pretty big blow."
Stipend levels vary by department, with assistantships awarded to graduate students who may take on teaching duties or otherwise assist with research or academic functions.
The letter to Steinmetz specifically referred to stipends paid to graduate teaching assistants "across the humanities."
Graduate teaching assistants in the master of fine arts program in creative writing receive a $12,500 stipend over nine months, for example, the letter states. These students teach two classes per semester. The letter goes on to list stipends of $20,000 or more paid to creative writing teaching assistants at several public universities, including Virginia Tech University.
The letter cited similar stipend levels of below $13,000 for students in UA's history, music, sociology, theater and anthropology departments.
In the region, schools including the University of Missouri and the University of Oklahoma have higher minimum stipends for graduate assistants, regardless of department.
For University of Oklahoma graduate assistants, the minimum stipend is $13,830, according to documents from the provost's office.
At the University of Missouri, the minimum is $16,389 for a graduate assistantship in a master's program, according to the school's website.
The University of Kansas in 2018 entered into a memorandum of understanding with a group representing graduate teaching assistants. The agreement calls for a minimum salary of $17,750 for the 2020-21 academic year.
"Having to work a second job just to pay basic bills, it's frustrating," said Ali Geren, another master's student in creative writing.
Geren, who said she moved from Springfield, Mo., to attend UA, said the hours add up quickly, as she can spend more than 30 hours per week on her teaching duties while also working on her writing projects. She then works sometimes odd hours at her job in the registration department of the emergency room at Washington Regional Medical Center.
"There's always the stress of, 'Am I going to be able to get enough hours at Washington Regional to pay my bills?'" said Geren, 29.
Markeith Woods, 33, is a master of fine arts student in painting. He moved from Pine Bluff to attend school and has a wife and three children, he said.
To make ends meet with his $15,000 nine-month stipend, "I have to do other projects on the side," he said. Sometimes that means art commissions or art events, but Woods said he's also done retail and factory work.
The stipend "is not enough," Woods said.
Steinmetz has said the campus must confront racial inequities, and the letter from the graduate students describes low stipends for graduate teaching assistants, or GTAs, as an obstacle to boosting diversity.
"At a time when the university claims to be seeking ways to diversify the student body and expand opportunities for students of color, raising graduate student wages is crucial," states the letter. "If the U of A isn't paying anywhere near a living wage to the GTAs teaching a large part of its undergraduate curriculum, then the school is closing its doors to anyone who isn't willing or able to go into massive debt."
Woods, who is Black, referred to statements made by UA leaders that they are committed to making the campus more equitable and inclusive.
For UA, "if they believe in that statement, they would make action regarding what they believe in," Woods said.
Out of a total of 4,170 graduate students this past fall, 275 were Black, or about 6.6%, according to UA data. About 220, or 5.3%, were Hispanic.