Graduate teaching assistants. They make up one of the most underpaid and overworked groups at the university. And now, instead of paying all their fees at the beginning of the semester, they want them deducted from their paychecks over the course of the semester, or even worse - done away with completely.
The outrage! The blasphemy! The … hey, wait. That's a pretty good idea.
Faculty and staff can have the cost of their parking decal deducted from each paycheck. Anyone with health or dental insurance will tell you that comes out of their paycheck. We don't pay a year's worth of rent all at once, and the IRS doesn't make us pay all of our taxes in one fell swoop.
So why should graduate students who are employed by UF be forced to pay their fees upfront? The start of the semester is typically a tough time financially for just about everyone - waiting for financial aid while having to shell out for books, school supplies and rent.
We hope UF administrators take these ideas to heart and consider giving graduate teaching assistants more time to pay their fees. It's the least UF can do for those it uses and abuses the most.
