I commend the university's administration for extending medical benefits equal to that of faculty and staff to graduate research and teaching assistants at Penn State. The university has recognized the dual role we play at Penn State as both employees and students and they acknowledge the valuable role we play in the university's mission.

Dean Pell included representatives of the Graduate Student Association (GSA) and the student insurance committee in an open and interactive process to determine how to extend benefits. The position of the organizers of the Graduate and Fixed-Term Employees Organization (GFTEO) that the GFTEO should have been involved in the negotiations is wrong. The GSA is the official voice for graduate students, not them. Until a GFTEO local is established, the GFTEO has no right or authority to represent graduate students. The university did the right thing on two counts; they extended benefits to graduate research and teaching assistants and they included the GSA, not the GFTEO, in the decision making process.

The extension of medical benefits is an excellent example of how graduate students and the university can work together to improve conditions for grad students. Having a GFTEO local will not achieve anything that cannot be achieved by students and the university administration working together to resolve problems. The GFTEO considers the university an adversary which it must work against (and they want to charge union dues). The GSA's elected representatives work with the university, and the positive results are evident.