Open letter to '60 Minutes'

Dear Sirs:

Why did your Feb. 26 report involving the quality of graduate student instructors here at the University of Arizona exclude input from those very instructors? As the largest graduate student organization in the humanities here, we have long worked to ensure the continued quality of our teaching and to protect the overall quality of undergraduate English education.

Unfortunately, we find that our efforts are continually undermined by budget cuts which force significant jumps in class sizes and even the outright elimination of courses our students need. Had you contacted us, we would have been happy to help you balance your report with this information, and to avoid perpetuating the myth that we are any less than competent in our positions, or any less involved, than our faculty counterparts.

Stephen Ryberg and Barrett M. Briggs

Co-Chairs of the English Graduate Union representing 279 graduate students, including 101 Graduate Assistants/

Associates in Teaching

Read Next Article