Fellow IU Grad Workers, we’re aware that the Office of International Services (OIS) sent out an intimidating email today to international students about consequences for withholding our fees. We are deeply disappointed that a deliberately vague & obfuscatory email with such few details about deadlines & procedures is being sent to us. The Coalition reassures all our international grad workers that we have not and will not plan any actions based on misinformation.

We engage with IU administration in good faith but every now & then they like to remind us that they don't. Last Fall, the Division of Student Affairs invited students to apply to serve on a Committee for Fee Review, which reviews IU's mandatory fees every two years. All current students are welcome to apply & there's no clause barring students involved in other groups from serving on the Committee. However, we heard this week that grad worker & Coalition member, @Alipour2030, was removed the Committee BECAUSE of his affiliation with us.

As today is #MoneyMonday, let's talk $$$. IUB's annual mandatory fees have always exceeded monthly rent. But in the last 3 yrs the difference rose exponentially. Some students pay nearly 2 mths rent worth of fees every year, shoving us headfirst into poverty. #EndTheFeesIU At anywhere between $1000-$1400 a year, IUB's prohibitive fees currently rank only second to U-Nebraska among the Big Ten schools. Something they do not put in your offer letters or warn you will bleed into the little income you make as a grad worker. #EndTheFeesIU