Leaders of the GESO were in Hartford for the hearing yesterday and were unavailable for comment.

Response and Ramifications

For some, this case is seen as a test case for similar attempts at unionization by graduate student TAs across the country, and there has been both support and condemnation in response to the case.

The American Association of Universities' Executive Committee has publicly voiced its opposition to the graduate students' charge.

An Executive Committee news release reads:

"The proposed filing [by the NLRB against Yale] presupposes a view of graduate education that fundamentally misconstrues the actual nature of graduate education in the United States and could produce damaging alterations in the conduct and financing of this exceptionally effective enterprise.

"[A ruling in favor of the graduate students] would undermine the defining characteristics of American graduate education, characteristics which have produced some of the world's strongest graduate programs."

At least a few Harvard professors and administrators have voiced their support for Yale.

"I believe that the NLRB has been correct in recognizing, for more than two decades, that graduate teaching fellows should not be characterized as employees of their universities, but as students enrolled in degree programs," says Harvard President Neil L. Rudenstine in a Harvard news release.

"I very much hope that the board will ultimately reaffirm that long-standing principle," Rudenstine says.

Harvard Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Christoph Wolff says he agrees that a ruling for the students would have negative ramifications.

"I think it would fundamentally alter the landscape, changing the relationships between professors and students," Wolff says.

"The mentoring function of professors is severely affected if students are considered primarily [employees]," Wolff adds.

Harvard

Students and administrators at Harvard say they don't see similar conflicts at Harvard.