University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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Contemplating a student ' s ques- tion, a Budhist studies GSI postu- lates a response. In April, 2001 the University established an Asian Studies concentration for under- graduates, photo by Betsy Foster Helping sophomore electronic en- gineering Lawrence Kennedy in physics 1 27, GSI Heather Flewelling uses the course pack to determine whether the circuit should run on AC or DC current. Through her role as a GSI, first-year physics Ph.D. student Flewelling gained useful experience for a future in teaching, photo v Kristin Sinner 72 I Graduate Student Instructors

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Pulling in a gillnet, Teresa Carrey retrieves a sample early in the morning in the Muskegon Harbor for NRE 306. Because of the environmental impact, only re- searchers and Native Americans were allowed to use gillnets; students studying with professors also had access to the nets, which provided more of a represen- tative sample than other methods, phoio cmrtesy f ' .hiymc Lorn Outside the NOAA station in Muskegon, Michigan, Dr. Ridinsky, an environmental chemistry professor from Grand Valley State University, demonstrates proper methods for seprating micro-organisms from sediment. NRE 306 students lived at the station for one week in May while taking the class, pimio c,mnes -afjarme

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rs and tests raduate student during student instructors niversity run smoothly Grading papers. Running discussions. Holding review ses- sions. Graduate student instructors were depended upon to facilitate undergraduate courses. While GSIs were a mainstay of undergraduate courses, coursework still relied upon professors. This created an atmosphereof mutual dependence, allowing undergradu- ates the experience offered by professors and the atten- tion offered by GSIs. Second-year nursing student Tracey Streiff explained, GSIs, in my experience, often appear to be learning, or relearning, material right along with stu- dents. They can stimulate thought processes and answer questions, but don ' t have as extensive a knowledge base on some subjects as professors. In order to protect themselves from unfair or arbitrary treatment, University GSIs were members of the Graduate Employees Organization. No one single individual gradu- ate student can make a change; we must stick together, explained GEO president and sociology graduate student Cedric De Leon. He said the University ' s union was the strongest graduate school union in the country. GEO represented 1,600 graduate students. Volunteer-run, it was a democratic organization that attempted to improve wages and working conditions. Some of the issues the GEO dealt with included increasing benefits, obtaining better wages, improving affirmative action, and providing child care. GSIsdevoted ten to twenty hours a weektotheircourses, from planning classes to holding office hours, from lead- ing discussion sections to grading papers. Many under- graduates took them for granted, expecting them to be ready and willing to answer last-minute questions any time of day or night, thanks to email and the Internet. At a large research school, undergraduate education, particularly in introductory courses, rested on this system. Although a trade-off, this did not mean an undergraduate was receiving a substandard experience. Alumnus Rodolfo Palma-Lulion said, My education was made great by GSIs who were trained well and who loved to teach. By Carly McEntee Academics 73