AMHERST — A union representing graduate workers at the University of Massachusetts is concerned that some of its members are continuing to be removed from their on-campus homes in the middle of the semester.
The Graduate Employee Organization recently issued an appeal to university officials to stop disrupting the lives, work and studies of graduate students, noting that three assistant residential directors already had to leave their living quarters in dormitories in February, and two more are expected to depart their homes by Thursday.
GEO Co-Chairwoman Dora Tseng said the latest removals demonstrates little compassion on the part of UMass, as many graduate workers live with their families, including young children and senior citizens.
“The assistant residential directors are now living in a dorm where it’s not children and family friendly at all,” Tseng said.
The first assistant residential directors were relocated when a surge of COVID-19 cases necessitated the conversion of more buildings into quarantine space. These relocations have since been extended to July due to renovation work, and it’s uncertain when the students might be able return to their original homes, Tseng said.
UMass spokesman Edward Blaguszewski confirmed in an email that two graduate students were recently relocated due to planned maintenance projects. One of these students was moved from one North Apartments building to another, while the second student was moved from Thatcher Hall to North Apartments.
“In both cases, the university paid to move the students and the students were refunded some of their housing stipend for the inconvenience,” Blaguszewski wrote.
A petition addressed to Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy, Brandi Hephner LaBanc, vice chancellor of student affairs and campus life, and Dawn M. Bond, director of residential life operations, asks that evictions cease.
“All five graduate workers evicted are people of color; four are Black and two are international students. The evictions are not only unnecessary and disruptive, but also disproportionately harmful to the already marginalized,” the petition states.
“The underlying logic is no mystery,” Ian Rhodewalt, a graduate student and instructor in Labor Studies, said. “The dignity of the three graduate workers and their families who were summarily evicted is clearly not a consideration for UMass.”
Tseng said part of the frustration from the union is also a response to the university’s plans for rebuilding the North Village apartment complex. That forced the relocation of a number of families to nearby sites, including Brandywine and Presidential apartments, in the past several months.
While the university is still subsidizing part of the rent, Tseng said the atmosphere at these places is unlike the neighborhood family housing at North Village.
“The feeling of connectivity and community was dismantled. given many of us are international students and students of color,” Tseng said.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
