Watching the university administration fight the GEO is like watching your two best friends fight. Both sides keep insisting you choose a side. You realize that the two need each other and they need to stop yelling and talk. Here is my advice to the administration and the GEO as both, due to their stubbornness, lead us to a strike:

Both sides need to stop sending aggressive e-mails and press releases in which they blame each other for this mess. These are not helpful. People on campus are nervous and the messages are simply making us more anxious. Do not just talk at us; talk to us.

The administration needs to hold a town hall where it answers questions such as: What will happen to grades during a strike? What should students do if a TA does not teach? The GEO also needs to hold a town hall where it answers questions such as: What should TAs do if they have no choice but to teach? What should staff and professors do?

They are many professors, grad students, staff, and undergraduates who refuse to take sides in this issue and feel trapped in the middle. Our loyalty is not to the administration or the GEO: it is to the University of Illinois. What we care about is the future of this institution, which will be here many years after those who are arguing are gone.

The administration can make some concessions and so can the GEO. Try to reach an agreement instead of fighting in the media. No one will “win” this strike. If the administration railroads the GEO, it will have lost support from future alumni. If the GEO steamrolls the administration, the future is grim. Stop yelling and start engaging in true dialogue.

Owen Kulemeka,

graduate student