"To me, it's unacceptable that the richest university in the world is losing some of its best students because it cannot mitigate their financial problems somewhat," Lauterbach said.

Yet, despite all of the trouble they face, no substantial protests have been lodged by the graduate students.

As graduate students at other schools began to unionize after the practice was approved from the National Labor Relations Board last April, GSAS student leaders told The Crimson that there was no compelling reason for them to join their counterparts in collective bargaining. Most everything, they said, was well.

By Lauterbach's estimate, GSAS students will weather the housing crisis with the same resolve that keeps them at school through the six or seven years it takes to complete a humanities Ph.D.

"They may get into a bad situation, but they don't have the luxury or the wherewithal to take time away from their studies," she said. "They'll suck it up for six years."