This Thanksgiving, about 40 percent of UF’s 4,000 graduate assistants will earn salaries below the federal poverty line. Many will struggle to feed their families.
UF’s Graduate Assistants United hopes to help fill that gap.
The organization will collect nonperishable food and household items today and Thursday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on the Plaza of the Americas.
Organizing chair Sebastián Sclofsky said items will be distributed to graduate students Monday on a first-come, first-served basis.
“It’s a very difficult situation for all of us,” Sclofsky, 37, said. “We shouldn’t be wasting time fighting these fights, but unfortunately, administration policies give us no alternative.”
Due to high fees imposed by the university and their current salaries, graduate assistants often can’t afford Thanksgiving dinners for their families.
According to the organization, last week it was expected to pay about $700 in fees to the university.
“Working people shouldn’t have to go to charity,” said Sclofsky, a political science graduate assistant from Uruguay. “Working people shouldn’t be on food stamps.”
Sclofsky said he hopes the drive serves a dual purpose of raising awareness to the challenges graduate assistants continue to face, particularly those from abroad.
“When you are coming from abroad and you are coming to a place like the University of Florida, you never think these are the working conditions you are coming to,” he said.
Graduate students have also expressed concern over paying the mandatory fees as a result of UF’s campaign to become a top-10 institution.
Graduate assistant Taylor Polvadore, 22, conducted research based on U.S. News & World Report’s Top Public Schools of 2014 that suggests that, on average, universities ranked in the top 25 cover half or more of graduate students’ fees.
According to the data, UF requires graduate students to pay nearly all the fees.
“The fees are astronomical when you look at all of the other universities that are in the top 25,” Polvadore said. “I’d like to have better communication and more transparency about what exactly our fees are being used for.”
Sclofsky said the organization would like to work with university administration to alleviate the issue by increasing graduate assistants’ salaries, lowering fees and increasing health care coverage.
“I think the university should open their doors to us and come and talk to us,” Sclofsky said. “They are not going to be able to do it without us.”
Other drives in the area:
St. Francis House Food Drive
Where: 413 S. Main St.
When: Through the holidays
What: Frozen turkeys (preferably) and side dishes, such as canned green beans, fruit cocktails, chicken broth, gravy mix and stuffing mix
Contact: 352-378-9079
Southwest Recreation Center Food Drive
Where: In the lobby of the Southwest Recreation Center, 3150 Hull Road
When: Until Dec. 18
What: Stove Top stuffing, chicken or vegetable broth, bags of rice (1 pound), canned fruit, corn, chunky soup, sweet potatoes, boxed instant mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, canned milk, cranberry sauce and green beans
Contact: 352-846-1081
UF Mobile Outreach Clinic Food Drive
Where: In the Stetson Medical Sciences Building, 1938 W. University Ave., Suite NG3. The office is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to at least 4 p.m.
When: Until Dec. 22
What: Canned and nonperishable foods, warm clothing and blankets for local homeless shelters
Contact: 352-262-0162
Bread of the Mighty Food Bank Food Boxes
Where: 325 NW 10th Ave.
When: Through the holidays
What: Bread of the Mighty is a nonprofit food bank that collects a wide range of donations of food and basic need items and distributes them throughout the community
Contact: 352-336-0839 or foodbank7@bellsouth.net
UF College of Veterinary Medicine Holiday Drive
Where: Bins around the veterinary college, 2015 SW 16th Ave.: in the dean’s area, the Office for Students and Instruction, the break rooms of the large animal clinical sciences, infectious diseases and pathology, and physiological sciences departments, the reception area of the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, next to the ATM at the Small Animal Hospital, Deriso Hall and the Center for Environmental & Human Toxicology
When: Until today for Thanksgiving and through the holidays
What: Nonperishable food, including rice, pasta, canned vegetables, fruits, juices, proteins or chili, stew, meat-based products and paper products
Contact: 352-294-4242 or email careysk@ufl.edu
Alachua County Public Schools Winter Break Food Drive
Where: Education Foundation of Alachua County, 1725 SE First Ave.; Abraham Lincoln Middle School, 1001 SE 10th Ave.; Myra Terwilliger Elementary School, 301 NW 62nd St.; Lawton M Chiles Elementary School, 2525 School House Road
When: Until Dec. 10
What: Canned soup, fruits, vegetables or sweet potatoes, cereal, oatmeal, ravioli, SpaghettiOs, macaroni and cheese, boxed meals with meat, boxed milk, brownie or cake mix and frosting, bags of rice or $10 gift cards
Contact: 352-955-6900
— CHABELI HERRERA
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 11/19/2014]
