Diandra Bihanskyj is missing the mark by labeling additional health care for graduate students an undeserved contributor to rising undergraduate tuition.

Graduate study is far from profitable. The most fortunate graduate students pay no tuition and receive $1,000 a month for living expenses in exchange for a minimum of 20 hrs/wk of research or teaching.

Do the math. Assume cheap monthly costs: rent: $300, car/insurance: $200, food $200. This leaves $300 for personal expenses, medical costs, undergrad loans, etc. So why not get a part-time job to cover these extra expenses? Maintaining an assistantship demands students accept no additional employment. Now toss in a spouse, child, and costs of health insurance.

As for Bihanskyj's claim that graduate students are "training themselves" at her cost she forgets that graduate students are also training us at minimum cost.

Replacing full professors with cheap graduate student labor allows universities to significantly lower tuition costs. Those not teaching receive research assistantships funded by government and private contributors, not general university sources.

As university students, I hope we recognize the goals of higher education that reach beyond financial gain. Few sane individuals enter into five years of grueling graduate study merely for "better jobs," that could be obtained in easier, more profitable ways. Commitment to education benefits society in countless directions.

I thank graduate students for choosing to pursue knowledge and for playing an important role in my education. New health care benefits for families are a well-deserved thank you.