Self Service

This week I saw the impossible. An English Teaching Assistant stood on the Lawn and demanded a pay raise. Not for herself, mind you, but for the thousands of part time workers at the university who receive low pay and virtually no benefits. Okay, so probably also for herself. But the point remains the same -- somebody stood up and spoke out for workers' rights.

Workers' rights are a pretty hard sell to a university raised on the middle class value of education. We attend this school because we wish to be paid more than those who didn't. I doubt there is a student here (sit down, Brishen) who could deny that they believe that no matter how hard secretaries work, those of us who have attended college deserve more. Teaching Assistants, especially those in the humanities, don't get their PhD.'s for the generous financial awards awaiting them in the workplace. They spent up to seven extra years in school because they want to feel inherently better than others. It's the American way.

Still, the people of SLAC (Student Labor Action Committee) and LAG (Labor Action Group) were willing to try to sell it. It's been a long time since people have tried to sell anything on the Lawn other than rice krispie treats and adopt-a-grandparents. They ask some tough questions -- how many volunteers would be willing to offer those living on subsistence wages a permanent pay raise, for example -- questions that I won't be prepared to answer anytime soon. But that's okay. Their efforts are impressive enough to make me think about their demands, whether or not I agree with them.

I would love to believe that the demonstration Tuesday and the Wake-up Week that preceded it represented a rebirth (or perhaps birth?) of student activism here at the university. But I am not an optimist, and the University of Virginia is not Berkeley ca. 1963. Our involvement in the environment around us ... well, look at U-Union if you're unsure. And all you have to do to change it is to listen to the hard sells. Pay attention to what's going on a little beyond the front page of the Cavalier Daily. It's not as easy to do as it is to write, I know, because there are many days when I don't even get to the front page. But I'm willing to pat myself generously on the back when I do more. I take pride in the small achievements -- that SLAC and LAG exist at all.

The demonstration Tuesday showed exactly how far the proud history of student activism has fallen -- while a handful of SLAC members listened to a speech about higher wages for university workers, the rest of the university looked at their feet.

Well, you don't have to grab a megaphone to be an activist at the university anymore. All you have to do is not look at your feet.

Viewpoint consists of the majority opinion of the managing board of The Declaration and is written by the executive editor on a weekly basis.