Dear President Stanley, We, the undersigned, would like to welcome you to the Stony Brook University community. We warmly embrace the change in leadership, and we look forward to working with you. We ask that: -all graduate student employees be paid a stipend that would enable them to keep up with the high cost of living in this area; Over the past several years, an increasing number of Long Islanders have chosen to relocate to cheaper areas of the country (1). According to a recent U.S. Census report, this trend has continued throughout 2008. Stony Brook is 32% more expensive than New Brunswick, NJ; 36% more than Albany, NY; 45% more than Buffalo, NY; 77% more than St. Louis, MO; and 84% more than Binghamton, NY (2). -the Graduate Student Employees Union and the Research Assistants Union be provided with their own office space on campus; Both chapters of the United University Professions (West and HSC), the Civil Service Employees Association Local 614, and the Public Employees Federation are provided with on-campus space. There is no reason why graduate student employees at Stony Brook should not be afforded the same. - Teaching, Graduate, and Research Assistants receive a full tuition waiver; Doctoral students have traditionally received full tuition waivers. If these tuition waivers are not maintained in the future, many current students would be forced to leave the university. In addition, full tuition waivers are necessary in order for Stony Brook to remain competitive with other top universities. Without a full tuition waiver, many future graduate students would choose to go elsewhere, thereby limiting the amount of top-quality graduate students who would choose to study/work at Stony Brook. -you work collaboratively with the graduate student leaders from the Graduate Student Employees Union and the Research Assistants Union to ensure livable wages and fair contracts for all graduate student employees; The members of the Graduate Student Employees Union and the Research Assistants Union are open to your ideas on how to accomplish these goals and are eager to meet with you regularly concerning these issues. 1. Olivia Winslow, "Leaving Long Island: For many, high cost is issue" Newsday, April 25, 2009. 2. Sperling's Best Places, http://www.bestplaces.net/ July 19, 2009 Graduate student employees do the bulk of research and undergraduate teaching. Stony Brook works because they do. Sincerely, The Undersigned

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