1. Living Wages for Graduate Student Workers​

 

Graduate student workers deserve a living wage and 12-month appointments. Currently (AY 2025-26), the minimum stipend for graduate student workers set by the university is $20,750 for a 9-month appointment. The living wage for the Austin Metropolitan Area is $51,074, as calculated by the MIT Living Wage Calculator using data updated February 2025. 

 

2. Protection and Fair Treatment of International Students

 

​International students deserve a living wage and should not be subject to fees based on international status. International students make up 40% of the University’s graduate student body, and are subjected to additional financial hardship due to visa restrictions and additional fees. The University should remove these undue burdens on international students. 

 

The University must provide legal resources and protections for international students. Attempts by the federal government to threaten and deport international students based on their country of origin or political views are unacceptable and must be stopped. The University should issue a clear statement assuring international students that they will be protected. 

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3. Protection of Academic Freedom

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The University must stop departmental consolidation and reinvest in university resources that support students, researchers, and educators. Consolidation and the closing of university services are attacks on academic freedom and harm everyone on campus, especially graduate students.

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Instructors should retain freedom to decide the content of syllabi, lectures, and class discussions. UT should remain a place where all topics can be taught and discussed, regardless of political popularity. If external actors, such as The Board of Regents of the UT System or the Texas legislature, direct the University to implement restrictions on academic freedom, the University should refuse to do so.

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Scholars and students should retain freedom from institutional censorship or discipline when speaking or writing as citizens. Freedom to publish and speak without fear is foundational to our work as a thriving intellectual community. 

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4. Codify and Expand Benefits for Graduate Student Parents

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We call on the University to codify a clear, flexible, and nondiscriminatory university-wide policy for student parents and expand support for graduate student parents to include affordable dependent insurance and subsidized childcare. Student parents face additional financial hardships due to the costs of dependent insurance and childcare, yet the University has failed to implement a university-wide policy for student parents that codifies their benefits, such as parental leave and accommodations. The University's current patchwork solution has failed student parents and places an unnecessary burden on departmental staff.

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