Dear readers,

For Calin Lisenbee, a student at the School of Nursing, Columbia held the promise of financial stability and success. Lisenbee dreamed of becoming a nurse and midwife, and Columbia’s competitive doctoral program was the key to kick-starting her career. While she was initially hesitant about the high cost of tuition, Lisenbee felt that the world-renowned education and the promise of good job prospects after graduation were worth it...

The cast of characters at bargaining meetings between the Graduate Workers of Columbia-United Auto Workers and the Columbia administration is almost always the same. Ludda Ludwig, a second-year doctoral candidate in earth and environmental science and a bargaining committee representative for GWC, listens patiently to yet another explanation of why Columbia believes that health benefits are outside the scope of a collective bargaining contract. Bernie Plum, the University’s outside counsel tasked with delivering these arguments—he previously represented Disney, the NBA, and the New York Times in their negotiations with employee unions—looks downward toward his screen as he speaks, glasses perched at the end of his nose...