April 2016 by The Gradzette

Gradzette The university of mANITOBAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S GRADUATE STUDENT Magazine APRIL 2016

Undergraduates debate shutting the door to health and dental Page 6

Gradzette THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA’S GRADUATE STUDENT MAGAZINE

CORRECTIONS In the previous issue, we mistakenly printed the same interview responses for both vice-president marketing and events candidates for the UMGSA executive. We apologize for the error. The interviews on our website are correct.

APRIL 2016 Gradzette c/o The Manitoban Newspaper Publications Corporation 105 University Centre University of Manitoba Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2 General inquiries and advertising Phone: (204) 474.6535 Fax: (204) 474.7651 Email: editor@gradzette.com Editor:Tom Ingram Copy Editor: Katy MacKinnon Designer: Marc Lagace Staff Writer: Ryan Catte Contributors: Jason Bone Cover: Tom Ingram The Gradzette is the official student magazine of the University of Manitoba’s graduate student community and is published the first week of each month by the Manitoban Newspaper Publications Corporation. The Gradzette is a democratic student organization, open to participation from all students. It exists to serve its readers as students and citizens. The magazine’s primary mandate is to report fairly and objectively on issues and events of importance and interest to the graduate students of the University of Manitoba, to provide an open forum for the free expression and exchange of opinions and ideas, and to stimulate meaningful debate on issues that affect or would otherwise be of interest to the student body and/or society in general. The Gradzette serves as a training ground for students interested in any aspect of journalism. Students and other interested parties are invited to contribute. Please contact the editor listed above for submission guidelines. The Gradzette reserves the right to edit all submissions and will not publish any material deemed by its editorial board to be discriminatory, racist, sexist, homophobic or libelous. Opinions expressed in letters and articles are solely those of the authors.

Get your research featured in the Gradzette If you are a graduate student interested in being profiled in the Gradzette, contact editor@gradzette.com with a brief summary of your research, thesis, or other project.

In this issue

3 4-5

6 8

Rising up by Jason Bone

An analysis of graduate student finances by Ryan Catte

Health and dental up for debate by Tom Ingram

UMGSA elections results report

APRIL 2016

Photo by Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair.

Rising up

An overview of the native studies graduate conference

Jason Bone

he Native Studies Graduate Student Association and the department of native studies hosted “Rising Up,” their inaugural call for papers conference on March 4 and 5 at the University of Manitoba. The conference hosted 34 graduate scholars from across the country in nine fields of interdisciplinary study.

For me, aside from gaining valuable experience presenting, the highlights of participating in the department’s first conference included hearing, providing, and receiving constructive criticism, meeting other researchers, and hearing how they intend to apply their research. One interesting presentation came from Lakehead University student Melissa Twance: “Pictographs as Sites of Critical Inquiry in Environmental Education.” Twance said at one point she wanted to be an Ojibway language instructor, a goal I also had, but she is pursuing a larger discussion of how sacred legends like Mizhi Bishu (Water Panther) can teach valuable lessons about living within our means in education and environmental stewardship. This caught my attention when she began speaking Saturday morning as it falls in line with my own current and planned research (my presentation was titled “Baakag: Guardian of the Forest”). This kind of research aims to share a beautiful world-

view within languages that hopefully can develop into something larger than language revitalization. Another highlight of the conference was the honouring of Emma LaRocque as an honoured guest. LaRocque is a U of M professor of 40 years who built the native studies department from the ground up to what it is today. Graduate student Belinda Blair, communications director of the NSGSA, and Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, acting head of the department, honoured her for her life’s work. LaRocque gave one of the keynote addresses, after which she was paid tribute. Her address was reflective, beginning by thanking the NSGSA for the honour, and thanking a number of colleagues for having been supportive throughout the years. She spoke fondly about personal friendships and thanked those who had a hand in advancing her career and making it a little more enjoyable. She told a story that marked a turning point in her life, “when a stranger from the East arrived in 2000, I told him, Dr. Peter Kulchyski, that I was going to go to Calgary for a better contract. He told me, ‘but I came here to work with you.’ He took my contract to the dean and got terms matched. The rest is history.” She thanked Chris Trott, who was hired in 1998, for nominating her for the National Aboriginal Achievement Award that she received in 2005. She also acknowledged Jill Oakes, who was instrumental in developing the master’s program. LaRocque has long been a leading figure in the growth and development of native

studies as a teaching discipline, developing or helping to develop most of undergraduate courses in the department. In an interview for this article, LaRocque took pride in the department’s reputation as likely the strongest native studies department academically in Canada, testament to its staff of six professors with PhDs. She recalled how she went from instructor to full professor in her career (a huge professional jump). LaRocque was frustrated that “in the 1970s and even into the 1990s, many people thought of native studies as a cultural awareness and remedial program.” As a result, she helped outline the substance of native studies as an intellectual discipline. The conference program noted that in her career LaRocque has advanced an indigenous-based critical resistance theory in scholarship and specializes in colonization and its impact on native-white relations, particularly in the areas of cultural productions and representation. She authored Defeathering the Indian in 1975. Her 2010 book When the Other is Me: Native Resistance Discourse 1850-1990 won the Alexander Kennedy Isbister Award for non-fiction. Jason Bone is a master’s student in native studies at the University of Manitoba and does outreach and education for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.

Gradzette

Graduate student finance: an analysis of debt and funding

Grad students are working and paying off loans, but still in debt

Ryan Catte

his article is about a four-letter word that says so much with so little. A four-letter word that everyone has felt in some way. A four-letter word that some only speak in whispers...debt. As Canadians we are proud to be modest, however still enjoy to gloat every once and while about being first on the international stage. For instance, hockey comes to mind, or pop stars (depending on your taste in music), but according to a report by the Parliamentary Budget Officer released

in January, we are also number one on the international stage for household debt amongst G7 countries. Awkward. Debt has become a pervasive issue among Canadians. For many years Statistics Canada has tracked Canadians’ debtto-income ratio as a measure that shows how much Canadians owe and the ability for them to pay it off. According to data from the third quarter of 2015, Canadians are in the danger zone of 171 per cent. Essentially this means that for every $100 of disposable income the average Canadian makes, they are spending $171. Debt is an issue that students know all too well. A 2014 Statistics Canada report showed that over 50 per cent of undergrad-

uate students relied on loans to finance their degrees, along with 44 per cent of master’s and 41 per cent of PhD candidates. In raw numbers students with bachelor’s and master’s degrees had $26,000 of student debt, while doctorate graduates had $41,000 on average. You might be saying to yourself, so what? If I land a high-paying position then it does not matter what debt levels I have while obtaining my post-secondary education. This is sound logic, but the report shows that three years after graduation only onethird of bachelor’s and PhD graduates (and less than half of master’s graduates) had paid off their student loans. Although, who cares what the national

Table 1. Graduate students’ self-reported data on debt, work, and finance commitments. Source: Manitoba Canadian Graduate and Professional Student Survey, 2013. Measure Description

Master’s with thesis

Doctoral

Percentage of graduate students with some form of student debt from their undergraduate degree

30%

25%

Percentage of graduate students with some form of student debt from their graduate studies

52%

44%

42%

Percentage of graduate students using loans, savings, or family assistance

54%

34%

25%

Percentage of students that work off campus

36%

24%

20%

Percentage of students that work on or off campus as a research assistant or teacher assistant

18.4%

75.8%

99.5%

82%

76%

72%

Percentage that report work/financial commitments are an obstacle to their academic progress

Master’s without thesis

APRIL 2016

Table 2. Percentage of students that believe the following factors are an obstacle to their academic progress. Source: Manitoba Canadian Graduate and Professional Student Survey, 2013. Master’s without thesis

Doctoral

Measure Description

Minor

Major

Minor

Major

Minor

Major

Work/financial

43.1%

38.2%

39.6%

36.1%

40.1%

31.6%

Family obligations

42.8%

24.6%

38.7%

18.3%

42.5%

18.1%

Availability of faculty

31.7%

5.5%

27.9%

7.7%

25.2%

8.7%

Program structure or requirements

46.7%

13.5%

37.6%

12.9%

38.2%

10.3%

Course scheduling

45.5%

16.1%

33.6%

10.0%

32.4%

7.8%

Immigration laws or regulation

3.5%

2.6%

10.5%

6.7%

17.6%

9.4%

Other

7.0%

23.9%

10.1%

36.2%

15.9%

50.0%

trends are? This is a paper for graduate students attending the University of Manitoba. Don’t fret – let’s take a look at the Canadian Graduate and Professional Student Survey administered to U of M students in 2013. Using the numbers in Table 1, two trends are apparent: first, graduate students are paying down their debt as they progress through their academic career; second, work and financial commitments become gradually less cumbersome for graduate students. Additionally, graduate students are less likely to use loans, savings, or family assistance to pay for their graduate studies as they progress. This may be explained by the fact they are able to find either research or teaching assistantships. Overall it appears that graduate students are financially responsible individuals who are covering the costs of their education with funding and assistantships. At the same time, graduate students are paying off their student debt during their studies. However, Table 2 shows that finance and work issues are the largest obstacle to graduate students’ academic progress. At face value this seems to be at odds with the findings depicted in Table 1. Why are graduate students worried about work and finance being an obstacle to their academic progress, since the numbers in Table 1 show that graduate students are employed,

Master’s with thesis

funded, and paying down their debt? Based off the findings I would argue that graduate students are in general disciplined and capable of creating and sticking to a personal budget and managing any student loans they have. Consequently, if personal finance and loans are not a primary concern of graduate students it would only leave their internal and external funding opportunities as well as rising tuition fees. Generally, funding opportunities are lacking, with more students applying for stagnant funding. This seems counterintuitive since universities have been steadily increasing tuition fees for decades. Between 1993-94 and 2015-16 tuition fees tripled for undergraduate students across Canada. One of the reasons for tuition increases is because government funding as a share of universities’ operating revenue declined from 77 per cent to 55 per cent during this same period, according to a report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Tuition accounted for 20 per cent of universities’ operating budgets in 1992-93, but in 2011-12 the figure was over 37 per cent. Continual tuition fee increases and stagnant grant opportunities are leading to higher student debt levels. Consequently, those surveyed at the U of M may be worried about a compounded problem of how to finance their education as it grows in-

creasingly expensive. Unfortunately, the U of M graduate student survey was not representative of the U of M graduate student body. Many departments and programs were drastically overor under-represented in the survey, and a few had no students participating at all. Therefore, the survey results are descriptive, not inferential – the findings cannot be inferred to represent the U of M graduate population. Even with an issue of representation, the national and U of M student survey results illuminate the financial issues facing graduate students that may be broken down into three categories: personal, student loans, and funding. The data could be better, but it seems to suggest that one area for improvement is in graduate funding. Do you have thoughts or experiences on the subject of graduate student finance that you’d like to share? Drop me a line at ryan@gradzette.com

Gradzette

UMSU execs sound off on graduate student health and dental Graduate students to remain on UMSU plan, but questions linger

Tom Ingram

he issue of graduate student enrolment in the University of Manitoba Students’ Union’s (UMSU) health and dental plan has been raised for the second time this year. At the 2016 UMSU annual general meeting March 28, UMSU president Jeremiah Kopp suggested that undergraduate students could save money on their health and dental fees by removing graduate students from the plan.

Since 2007, the U of M Graduate Students’ Association (UMGSA) has been fully separate from UMSU. The only respect in which the two unions remain joined is the health and dental plan. The details of the plan have changed over the years, but this core feature has stayed constant: UMGSA members remain eligible for the UMSU health and dental plan, enabling them to get a rate much lower than the UMGSA could achieve on its own as a small union. While this reduces costs for graduate students, it also leaves them vulnerable to decisions made by the undergraduate union without UMGSA input. There is a graduate student representative on the health and dental committee, but overall UMSU has far more control over the plan. In 2013, UMSU switched insurance providers, moving away from the Green Shield plan negotiated through the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) and signing up with StudentCare. StudentCare is a broker and plan administrator that operates by finding the best price it can from a variety of providers and acting as an intermediary between student unions and insurance providers. After one year with StudentCare, UMSU signed on to a five-year agreement with the rationale of providing long-term price stability. In the second year of that agreement (summer 2015), fees increased in response to increased usage by people enrolled in the plan.

“[Graduate students] don’t want to be involved in the same administrative functions as us, or in the same governing processes as us, but they want to take advantage of our membership’s lower premium fees” – Jeremiah Kopp, president, UMSU About the same time, UMSU surveyed its membership on the possibility of segregating graduate students from the plan in order to reduce costs. Zach LeClerc, UMSU’s vice-president internal and the executive responsible for overseeing the plan, said in the summer there would be no segregated plan in the near future. However, the possibility being raised forced UMGSA president Kristjan Mann to look for quotes elsewhere in case UMSU changed its mind. UMSU AGM Graduate student enrolment in the health and dental plan was raised for the second time this school year at the 2016 annual general meeting of the UMSU membership on March 28. In response to a question from a student, Kopp said he had a “philosophical disagreement” with the way in which they plan is set up. “[Graduate students] don’t want to be involved in the same administrative functions as us, or in the same governing processes as us, but they want to take advantage of our membership’s lower premium fees,” he said. Kopp noted that graduate students are more likely to be enrolled in the family plan, which provides a significant cost advantage compared to the single-user plan, and estimated that UMSU members could save between $70 and $80 on their premiums if the graduate students were to be removed. However, in an interview with the Gradzette LeClerc said that while he can’t speak on behalf of Kopp, he did not have any firm numbers on graduate student usage of the plan and does not envision a segregated plan in the near future. “I don’t have tangible numbers that say grad students use it more. It’s just the perception is typically grad students will have families enrolled in the family plan and thereby use it more that way. But I don’t

have those numbers.” LeClerc said StudentCare is compiling detailed usage data for the plan for presentation to the health and dental committee and UMSU council. In the meantime, he discussed other possible avenues for cost savings that he said would be better than separating out the graduate students. One example was switching to a provincially recommended formulary for prescriptions that includes more generic drugs, which typically cost less than branded drugs. LeClerc also said the health and dental committee will have to look at the cost of the family plan. Currently the two-person plan (a student plus one dependent, either a spouse or a child) costs $437.98, while the family plan (a student, a spouse, and an unlimited number of children) costs only two cents more, at $438. “I want a creative solution to properly share the cost for every person enrolled in the plan to hopefully reduce the cost of the plan, or at least reduce the rate of increase moving forward.” “I mean, that’s what a health and dental plan is – you’ve got everyone paying in, not everyone necessarily using it,” he said. “But there are definitely [...] people who arguably aren’t paying for what they’re taking out.” LeClerc said the issue of separating out the graduate students from the plan was raised at the UMSU executive level in May 2015 but was shot down, and that he personally would not support it. Instead, he said costs could be managed in a way that benefits everyone by restructuring the family plan so that each additional child costs the student rate. “Any student who has a family will still be getting a really good deal compared to external offers, but everyone will be paying – whoever’s enrolled has put money forward for their health.”

APRIL 2016

Diversions Words, Crossed.

By Shane Gibson (@tsgibson) 13

Across 1. Mr. ___ (US Dr. Pepper competitor) 5. It comes before a countdown start 11. His, in Quebec 12. Turn 13. Bank workers, Abbr. 14. Natural gas component 15. Heart chart, for short 16. Like the sound holes in a cello 17. Set free 19. Less dumb 20. Patriotic US org. 23. Founder of O 24. Sovereign lord 26. Opp. of days 27. Narcissist’s vacation? 29. Get a diploma 30. Wood of film 33. South African flyer, for short 34. “Today I ___” (three words) 35. Rocker Joan 36. Pine-tar product 37. Sting ending 38. Caked with dirt 39. Group that opposes DUIs Down 1. New Jersey’s third biggest city

19 23

29 30

39 3-3

2. Messy 3. Break-in specialists 4. Again, in music 5. French braid? 6. Jackpot 7. “___ to Be You”, hit from 1924 8. US gp. for ArabAmericans in business 9. Alternative magazine founder, Eric 10. Plant starter 16. Country of origin? 18. Historical period of time 20. Words after “Que” in Doris Day song 21. Upset 22. Said again

25. Printer’s org. 28. “Lost” actor Gainey 29. Enjoyed the craps tables 30. Undercover agent 31. Part of USA 32. Giant armadillo 35. Peanut butter buddy L A S S O A L O O F S E R I F B R E S T E A R A R A T A K E T E L I E R O I N L I M D I A N A A L I G N S S S S S

I D E B A A S T H E T A U T B O V E R

B E L L Y A C H E

S E L L

E R I E

N E E R

R A O M

I K E A

N E S N

O I L A M B E R E S E T

PREVIOUS ANSWERS

The Gradzette Bulletin Board Elections Results Report A fully detailed elections report will be finalized for the April UMGSA council meeting. Voter turnout A total of 680 students logged into the voting website. This number is 19.6 per cent of the total registered voters. 626 students voted for at least one position (18 per cent of total voters) and only 489 students voted for all categories (14.1 per cent).

Results President Enoch A-iyeh – 312 (elected) Carl Neumann – 176 Write-in/spoiled – 15

VP marketing and events Md Waliullah – 276 (elected) Ehsan Tahmasebian – 236 Write-in/spoiled – 10

VP academic – Kathryn Marcynuk* Yes – 447 (elected) No – 43 Write-in/spoiled – 5

Senator Mohammad Emrul Hasan – 212 (elected) Md Monjurul Islam Khan – 189 (elected) Amin Yousefi – 157 Patrick Eleazer Ndolo – 150 Ramin Naseri Oskouie – 145 Sampath Liyanage – 145 Write-in/spoiled – 10

VP internal – Ben Akoh* Yes – 430 (elected) No – 52 Write-in/spoiled – 6 VP external Albert Boakye – 329 (elected) Abdullah Al-Abassi – 148 Write-in/spoiled – 14 Keep up to date with all the latest from the Gradzette: