Grad Student Snark

This is hilarious. Even with the drama it's causing the poor English TA's at Iowa State.

The videos feature real Iowa State TA’s — all in good academic standing — in a pseudo-interview format answering various questions. The answers are frequently silly. Asked if “attendance has been a problem,” one TA answers, “I’ve had a really hard time showing up.” ... Asked about his greatest challenges as a TA, one answers that it is “trying not to headbutt or maim” his students.

It's just as well that YouTube wasn't around when I was serving my time in the grad student office ghetto -- some things are probably best not immortalized on video. I do hope the English Department at Iowa State gets over its very temporary embarrassment soon. If they want to look better, they can always put some time and money into making their TA's working conditions better. Or they can just try to make sure no one makes any jokes. It's a toss up.



There's more about the video and its stir in the campus newspaper.