I am all for the TAs and CIs getting what they are owed and deserve. However, I don’t think downvoting and piling on every student who says the slightest critical thing is a good look.

4 months of 5 courses at this piece of shit institution cost me $24000. I have been on antidepressants since my second term. I lose 15-20 pounds every fall because I can’t gather the appetite to eat. The tuition makes me so nervous that I throw up before tests and exams because I cant stop thinking about how much it would cost if I failed them. I am a different person than who I was before I got here. I cant even look at my family out of shame.

It is obviously not CUPE’s fault and pretty much the entirety of blame is on the institution. Yes, TAs are students too but you need to see and hear the student who are not only not getting paid enough, but are literally paying to get jack shit in return.

Not blaming the TAs or CIs, but refusing to acknowledge that students (YES TAs ARE STUDENTS TOO, WE KNOW) are the ones suffering the most is kind of a dick move. I think it is safe to say that we are more stressed because we don’t get credits (academic, not praise) for picketing or supporting your rights. Just my two cents. Do with it what you will. Nothing I say or think matters because I’m just a cheque book.

I will also delete my comment in the morning regardless of how many downvotes or upvotes it has.