If one justification for our request for a higher rate of compensation is that, given the special circumstances under which teaching fellows must accept employment, they are not receiving a decent living wage, another is that teaching fellows' rate of compensation has not remained competitive with those of other teachers in Harvard College.

Our analysis of the historical relationship between instructors' and teaching fellows' compensation at Harvard indicates that teaching fellows' compensation has fallen to an historical low point in relation to that of instructors....

Of course it would be misleading not to mention that Harvard has during the same period in which it instituted the retirement benefits for instructors, also offered Staff Tuition scholarship aid exclusively to teaching fellows (though many other graduate students receive scholarship aid of other kinds which pays tuition). We should emphasize, however, that this scholarship aid, though a great booster to many teaching fellows who would otherwise sink deeply into debt in order to pay their term bills is not automatic was given in the past year to only 575 of 926 teaching fellows, does not bear any meaningful relation to the amount of the appointments and thus cannot actually be considered as compensation....

A more direct comparison may be made between the compensation of teaching fellows at Harvard and at other institutions. On the basis of a survey of thirty-four institutions carried out by Dean Elder and kind'y supplied to us, we calculate that the average full time rate for teaching fellows and assistants elsewhere is $5613. Harvard's senior rate, $6000, compares somewhat favorably with this average: twelve universities paid more, eighteen less. Harvard's junior rate. $4400, compares far less favorably: twenty-two paid more, eight less.... For senior faculty salaries Harvard in fact ranked first of all these schools in average compensation and surpassed the general average for the thirty-four schools by a large margin: $17600 average for Harvard as compared with an average of $13,040 for the other schools....

Along with these justifications for our request for an increased rate of compensation, we should at least make some attempt to answer beforehand the most obvious objection that can be made to any such request: That Harvard simply cannot afford it.

In answer we will not attempt here an amateur joy ride through the financial maze of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences' budget nor will we preach a sermon over Harvard's fabled untouched riches. Undoubtedly, though surpluses may turn up in some years and deficits in others, the budget of the Faculty will, when completed, generally show in any year little room for any major new expenditures. What we wish to emphasize instead is the obvious: That all budgets are founded upon a judgement of relative priorities, and that our petition essentially asks Harvard to reconsider her present priorities in the light of our claims. Because teaching fellows occupy a place of importance in the total program of undergraduate teaching at Harvard College, because their need for a decent living naturally commands attention and because in the matter of teaching fellows' salaries Harvard has fallen below the place of high distinction which she occupies in most of her undertakings, we believe that our request for an increase in salary deserves consideration on an equal basis with most of the other programs of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. For the same reasons we believe that we may in addition ask the Faculty to reconsider its priorities in the light of our request.

Our second request is that the present junior rate of compensation be eliminated. Under the present system, teaching fellows are divided for purposes of salary into two groups: Those who have fulfilled their residence requirements, who are paid at the senior rate, $1200 per fifth, and those who have not fulfilled these requirements, paid at the junior rate of $880 per fifth. Several arguments can be advanced to support our request. First, there exists no evident relationship between the fulfillment or nonfulfillment of residence re-