Graduate workers at Indiana University are not receiving the minimum livable wage for living in the Bloomington area which is $23,665. This is $7,000 below the minimum viable wage in the Bloomington area. While this problem has been tried to be addressed through the use of unions, rallies, petitions, and many other things. IU doesn't seem to care about their graduate students. Nor do most higher education institutions. Being a graduate student is often seen as a full-time job, from the teaching, grading, learning, and reading, it all has a time commitment. A minimum stipend of $31,000 would be hoped to reflect that meaning an hourly wage of $15 per hour for 40 hours a week. Many graduate students however are getting paid much less, some even as low as $14,900 on average.
This raises the question, how are graduate students supposed to earn a livable wage and survive while living under the poverty line at a higher education institution such as Indiana University. Many graduate students are asking this same question as they move into surrounding apartments and find themselves running into serious financial trouble as the year progresses. As bills, research papers, classes, being a TA, and making ends meet all come as serious concerns to upcoming graduate students. The short answer is that higher education institutions don't care about their graduate student population, they care more about the prestige and reputation of their said institution.
While the wage and respect graduate students receive may not be the best, there is still hope. Organizations such as Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition and similar organizations are working to fight for livable wages and their respective rights within the education system. So next time you see a TA for one of your classes, think of how much they might have to do just to be able to pursue their own education and passions in an institution that has over $2.5 billion dollars in endowment.