Graduate Life

The SUNY Research Foundation recently added Stony Brook University President Samuel Stanley to their board of directors according to a press release on Jan. 12. The announcement puts President Stanley in a position that formerly held disputes with his own university’s Research Assistants Union.

Graduate students of The Master of Fine Arts program opened up the doors to their work spaces for a three day event showcasing their progress and work during this years Sixth Annual MFA Open Studios.

The Graduate Students Employees Union and the Research Assistants Union united to greet President Samuel L. Stanley’s inauguration procession. The approximately 35 protestors braved the cold as they waited for their chance to confront Stanley.

The criminal past of Ian Wallace, a graduate anthropology student, has caught up with him. In 2001, he attempted to firebomb two buildings at Michigan Technological University. He has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Chanting slogans such as “Hey, Hey! Ho, Ho! This [explicit] war has got to go!” and holding signs with sayings like “Happy Anniversary Iraq!", members of the Social Justice Alliance paraded down the Academic Mall to protest military spending and to call for more funding transparency during this past Wednesday's campus life time.

The Research Assistants of Stony Brook University and the SUNY Research Foundation began hearings before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) last Friday. The hearings, which continued all week, are a precursor to a secret ballot election which will determine whether or not the research assistants will officially join a union – in this case, the Communication Workers of America.

Research assistants were embroiled in a dispute with Stony Brook University administration last weekend when a rally permit they submitted was held in limbo. Stony Brook University’s research assistants allege that the school tried to impede their attempts to unionize.

Want to find out what's awaiting you when you graduate Stony Brook? Read this new series of columns from students that are living through their post-Stony Brook Lives.

"I had heard many stories about medical school being arduous, with medical students spending their days studying and having no real free time. I regret to inform you, my dear reader, that this is more or less the case..."

News of the Graduate Student Organization's outrage over increased stipends for incoming teaching assistants shocked Stony Brook officials and left current graduate assistants feeling under appreciated and underpaid.

Wielding a megaphone and a multitude of signs, approximately 40 graduate students from the Stony Brook division of the Graduate Student Employees Union (GSEU/CWA1104) rallied by the fountain on March 28 to advocate for better wages, benefits and respect for graduate student employees.