water the world

8 / 1 / 2018 //

thursday, 28 december — studying for finals and journaling, trying my best to enjoy the little things and start living without over thinking for everything.

Cozy evening revisions + coffee || Nov 9th, 2017 

spent the entire morning cleaning up my room (and my head) (both have been messed up since exams started); figured that i needed a fresh environment to begin my revisions again. 

nothing better than sipping warm liquid with the andrews sisters playing softly in the background on a chilly evening. ahhh, i’m just waiting for exams to be over. 

11.19.17 // spring day inspired spread!! posting in anticipation of BTS at the ama’s!!! 

You may have heard that some assholes in the US government want to tax, among other things, the tuition waiver most PhD students receive as if it were income. This is stupid for several reasons. 

Yes, I receive a tuition waiver in exchange for teaching. But if I were to take less credit hours, I don’t get to keep that difference. When I finish my coursework, the tuition waiver I was receiving doesn’t go into my bank account even if I keep my job as an associate instructor; I just stop getting it. That’s not income.

Further, I have no control over that tuition money. If it were actual income, I could manage my budget to account for the higher taxation, perhaps take fewer credits in a year and put some of that money into a 401k or something. But I can’t because it’s not income. 

Also, it’s not like PhD students are making that much money in the first place. My stipend is $15,000/year and my tuition is maybe $20,000 for out of state. So I’m “making” $35,000/year if you want to be an asshole about it. I’m really not the person you need to be taxing, mate.

You can read more about this here: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/11/7/16612288/gop-tax-bill-graduate-students

More importantly you can send an email to your representative here: http://p2a.co/Lj6tdvS . All you have to do is fill out your information and press enter. However, I added a personalized opening paragraph to give them an example of what we’d be losing by making PhD programs untenable: 

“I am currently a Criminal Justice PhD student. Much of my research investigates sexual assault and domestic violence. These are not only unconscionable crimes; they also represent a massive public health issue and cost the country millions of dollars in medical expenses. My work represents another step towards reducing and, eventually eliminating these devastating crimes. However, my work is only possible in large part due to the untaxable tuition waiver provided by my university in exchange for teaching undergraduate students.”