Temple’s grad student strike is over, but some haven’t returned to their old classrooms

Zoe Bagenstose was enjoying the last class she needed for a philosophy minor at Temple University when the graduate student who was her teacher went on strike.

The class, Introduction to Philosophy of Mind, was moved online and turned asynchronous, much to her chagrin. She had so looked forward to the class and even waited through the pandemic so she could take it in person. When the strike ended earlier this month, Bagenstose and some classmates eagerly looked forward to the return of their graduate student instructor.

“We couldn’t wait to have a normal class again and commiserate over the month of stress we were subjected to in our Philosophy of Mind class taught by a subpar replacement,” said Bagenstose, 23, a global studies major from Reading. (An email to Bagenstose’s current instructor seeking comment was not returned.)

» READ MORE: Temple grad students overwhelmingly ratify agreement, ending their six-week strike

But that’s not what happened. Students were informed that the class would remain online and continue to be taught by the replacement professor.

Bagenstose wasn’t having it. She dropped the class and will not graduate with the minor.

Even though the 42-day strike by the Temple University Graduate Students Association is over, some classes have not quite returned to normal at the 33,600-student university. Temple had to figure out how to accommodate the teachers it had hired to replace striking graduate students and the graduate students who were ready to return to their jobs. In many cases, the replacements have stayed with their courses.

» READ MORE: Without grad students, the classroom has changed for the worse, some Temple undergraduates say

“To ensure continuity and to minimize further disruption to the students, we have elected to keep many of these instructors in place, and the returning instructors are instead being assigned new courses, research, or other academic responsibilities,” the university said in a statement. “There are some sections where striking instructors are returning as the instructor of record.”

The university did not offer a breakdown of what portion of classes got their old instructors back but said it gave students time to drop courses without penalty and receive an excused withdrawal. They also were given the option of adding another class, the university said.

Bagenstose, who is set to graduate in May, said that didn’t work for her.

Her former graduate student instructor, Hans Shenk, said he was disappointed, too.

“I am disappointed for myself because I really love teaching,” said Shenk, 32, a second-year doctoral student in philosophy from Columbus, Ohio. “I’m also disappointed for my students, and I’m disappointed that the university couldn’t find a way to offer us a contract that we could have accepted sooner or arrange a replacement in a way that would have allowed us to return.”

He said he will be working as a research assistant for the rest of the semester.

Shenk said he does not regret striking, noting that he has three children to support.

Under the agreement, the minimum pay for graduate students will increase about 30% over the life of the contract — closer to 40% for some in the lower-paid tier. That means the minimum pay for a graduate student will rise to $24,000 in the first year of the contract and to $27,000 by year four.

Graduate students — who work part time over nine months, receive tuition remission, teach core undergraduate courses, and assist professors with research — also will receive a $500 one-time payment this year, and the university will begin to pay 25% toward health-care insurance subsidies for graduate students’ dependents. The university already pays the full subsidy for the students.

TUGSA represents 750 graduate student teaching and research assistants. The university estimated that only 30% went on strike, though the union maintained the number was higher.

A source close to the union said many of the striking graduate students got their former jobs back, including those who worked as research assistants, helped with grading or other assignments, and taught in classes where longer-term replacements were never hired.

Grace DiMartini, a sophomore from Gaithersburg, Md., had complained about the same Philosophy of Mind course as Bagenstose, although she’s in a different section.

She said she plans to finish the course, given that it’s only a month more.

But she, too, said she was disheartened not to get her graduate student instructor back. In the meantime, DiMartini said her former teacher invited her to reach out if she needs help through the end of the semester.

“She’s been really awesome,” DiMartini said.