UMass Evicting More Graduate Student Workers On April 1

Source: UMass Graduate Employees Organization (GEO)

Continuing with evictions of grad student workers, UMass announced an April 1 deadline when more Assistant Residential Directors must move out of their apartments in the middle of the semester. On February 25, Area Residence Directors (ARDs) were told that their initial evictions earlier in the month, which were publicly described as “temporary” by UMass spokesperson Mary Dettloff, are now being extended through end of July and will include more residents. Because UMass Facility Operations had a renovation project scheduled for the summer, and because the ARDs had already been evicted, UMass  is now starting the work in April. ARDs are graduate workers who live in the Residential Halls with family members, including young children and seniors.

The evictions and renovations are part of a longstanding problem at UMass around graduate student housing; a problem that includes the mass eviction of residents of the 50 year-old housing community at North Village and its slated demolition. Today’s eviction extension started with an unexpected phone call on a Saturday afternoon in early February, when ARDs were ordered to vacate their homes by 10am the next day so UMass could convert the building into a COVID-19 quarantine site. The evicted ARDs are not only growing in number but they have not been informed when they can expect to return to their homes. The new timing of the renovations assumes these buildings are otherwise empty. Ian Rhodewalt, a graduate student and instructor in Labor Studies, said: “The underlying logic is no mystery – the dignity of the three graduate workers and their families who were summarily evicted is clearly not a consideration for UMass.”

In addition to bearing the cost of moving on short notice, ARDs pay rent commensurate with a certain type and quality of housing. The “alternative accommodations” provided by UMass are dorm rooms designed for childfree and single college students. They lack the space, amenities, and layout to accommodate family life. “I have been informed that the kitchens and bedrooms are absurdly tiny, and absolutely not suitable for workers with children or partners,” said Jyoti Iyer, GEO co-chair.

Many of the displaced residents of North Village and the current Res Life evictions are Black, Brown and International graduate students. “It is funny that the university brands itself as being accessible for everyone. Where they spend the money tells a different story,” said Jonas Schmidt, a former resident of North Village. Schmidt explained that the impact of domestic instability, coupled with academic and economic disruption during a pandemic poses threats to degree completion and could reflect poorly on UMass’ program success and retention.

The Graduate Employee Organization (GEO) representing ARDs recently voted No Confidence in the Chancellor and UMass administration, because union members did not feel safe with how UMass’ decision-makers have handled campus plans and responses during the pandemic.