I'm prepping an editorial to write about the recognized-but-unsolved increasing burden of student fees, and a part of that is figuring out how much recent increases have been and then coming up with an estimate for the fee level ph.d. students who are now in their 1st year will meet in year 6, when the fees kick in.
The answer is approx $7000 (right now they're like $5400).
I needed some info from the grad student union, so I met with the head of it, and he invited me to a planning meeting for an issue that doesn't affect me.
I mentioned that the high fee levels might make a nice little pamphlet to maybe distribute to prospective students next year, since they need to be aware of it and it'd embarrass the university, and immediately he was like, "Yes, like a 'Grad Student Disorientation'!".
That made me just cringe. I've brought this up with them before, but they are so in love with the idea of being counterculture, that they don't realize how it makes them seem like fringe socialists and undependable, as would be any information coming from them. His mind immediately went for the style, and not thinking of maximizing persuasive force for students who are on the fence!
I did revise one of their pamphlets for them and people raved, but they just don't get their image problem...
I remember after one rally where I spoke a few years ago, the same guy I was talking with (who is white, and balding, a little on the pudgy side), got everyone to sing some 60s song, and they stood in a circle awkwardly and swayed back and forth, and he got teary.
I'm glad it meant something for him.
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