Gabriela Basel
Gabriela is a second year PhD student in Chemical Engineering at Stanford University. She is the FY21 Affinity Group Liaison on the GradSWE Diversity and Inclusion Team.
An Introduction to Mutual Aid
Mutual aid, at its most general, involves a community of people who collect resources and redistribute them to members of the community in need. Although the concept of mutual aid is not new, many (myself included) had never heard of mutual aid pre-pandemic. Among those experiencing disenfranchisement, such as LGBT+, disabled, and BIPOC communities, mutual aid has long been popular, but the pandemic brought unprecedented disruption to much larger groups of people. Many more local communities were and are forced to bring much needed aid to their own members in the wake of economic disruption, and thus mutual aid became a nationwide norm. In May, the New Yorker published a useful albeit long-winded introduction to the concept and emergence of mutual aid into the mainstream social order and provides access to more resources to learn more about mutual aid and specific efforts.
Mutual aid is traditionally small-scale and sustainable. Stories of one-off altruism in American residencies -- providing your neighbor who just underwent surgery with a homemade casserole, for example -- depict such efforts. Mutual aid is founded in the belief that community members support each other, always. However, the pandemic necessitates widespread assistance, and thus pandemic-generated mutual aid often takes the form of large-scale fundraising -- far beyond neighborly support. In such an endeavor, a network of organizers comes together to lead efforts to collect money, often through GoFundMe, Venmo campaigns, or similar. Organizers simultaneously reach out to their community in an attempt to find those in need of help. At universities, these attempts frequently utilize existing email listservs and other communication tools to distribute forms for people to note the amount of aid they seek. The core of large-scale mutual aid involves directing funds collected to those who need it -- a logistical task requiring serious community efforts. Mutual aid also often takes the form of non-monetary resources, such as food distribution or services like childcare. Networks can be any size, ranging from single apartment buildings to entire universities and beyond.
Financial Struggles as Students
The financial struggle of graduate school has long been a running joke even beyond the academic sphere, but we know that the reality is much more complicated. Especially in engineering, PhD students often make above the median income of the area in which they reside. At most institutions, PhD stipends are enough for a single student with no extenuating circumstances to live comfortably. This is my case, and it’s important to recognize this privilege if you have it. In a perfect world, those with the most money (such as university administrators, in the academic domain) would provide the most to community aid efforts. This is rarely the case because the very concept of mutual aid necessitates communal connections -- understanding the struggles and needs of your peers -- from which those with power often by definition are isolated. The burden of giving then falls on those like myself -- members of the community whose situations allow them to live comfortably on their income. Recognizing this, I regularly give what I can to mutual aid funds supporting university workers, other students, or even members of the broader community -- those who live near the university but are not associated with it.
On the flip side, all too often, many graduate students struggle financially and would benefit tremendously from community efforts such as mutual aid. I have many peers who fall under this umbrella for many reasons. Financial commitments such as spouses, children, or other family; unexpected or constant healthcare costs; issues requiring time off; and poor funding at the university, department, or advisor level are all common causes of financial stress which many graduate students face. Many of these challenges are exacerbated for students pursuing master’s or professional degrees. As engineering students, we know all too well the ingrained expectation of suffering during a graduate degree. While many universities and departments are moving away from this embarrassing history, discussing financial hardship in academia is still largely considered taboo. Recognizing if and when you need help is just as if not more important than recognizing your privileges. One of the additional positive side effects of the increased popularity of mutual aid is the increased normality of discussing financial burdens. Graduate students needn’t suffer in silence, and, if you feel you are struggling, chances are you are not alone.
University Mutual Aid: Giving and Receiving
Between the financial burdens of university affiliates and pandemic-generated disruption, mutual aid networks have cropped up at universities nationwide. At my own university, an existing organization of students for workers rights have been running an aid campaign for employees and contract workers laid off or furloughed by the university. Similarly, a student network to support basic needs like housing and food not met by the university during the pandemic was launched by the university’s undergraduate student leadership. Graduate students have been among the many involved in these efforts -- as givers, receivers, and organizers.
One of the primary principles of mutual aid networks is that there are not those who give and those who receive, but rather everyone is an equal member of the community. There have been times in my life where I searched frantically for grants, fellowships or odd jobs to obtain emergency funds to pay for rent or tuition. At these times, I would have benefited greatly from a mutual aid network, and, in hindsight, I regret my ignorance and pride which kept me from considering such an option. Now, I make more than enough money to support myself, and I donate regularly to mutual aid campaigns at my university. Especially during such a tumultuous time, peoples’ economic standing can change in a heartbeat, and an individual may give to a mutual aid network one day and receive from it the next.
Mutual aid networks rely on the honesty of individuals to support the collective conscience -- something which everyone on earth has become all too familiar with during the pandemic. I hope that anyone who reads this will consider searching for mutual aid efforts in their own communities or universities and donate if they can, or humbly apply or ask for assistance if necessary. Many facets of American society push individuals to “fend for themselves” until situations deteriorate to the point that one can’t continue without outside help. Proponents of mutual aid hope that the popularization of mutual aid during the pandemic will help build strong community structures to constantly and consistently support each other at the practical level. As graduate students, we’re all in this together, both in and out of the lab.
Mutual aid, at its most general, involves a community of people who collect resources and redistribute them to members of the community in need. Although the concept of mutual aid is not new, many (myself included) had never heard of mutual aid pre-pandemic. Among those experiencing disenfranchisement, such as LGBT+, disabled, and BIPOC communities, mutual aid has long been popular, but the pandemic brought unprecedented disruption to much larger groups of people. Many more local communities were and are forced to bring much needed aid to their own members in the wake of economic disruption, and thus mutual aid became a nationwide norm. In May, the New Yorker published a useful albeit long-winded introduction to the concept and emergence of mutual aid into the mainstream social order and provides access to more resources to learn more about mutual aid and specific efforts.
Mutual aid is traditionally small-scale and sustainable. Stories of one-off altruism in American residencies -- providing your neighbor who just underwent surgery with a homemade casserole, for example -- depict such efforts. Mutual aid is founded in the belief that community members support each other, always. However, the pandemic necessitates widespread assistance, and thus pandemic-generated mutual aid often takes the form of large-scale fundraising -- far beyond neighborly support. In such an endeavor, a network of organizers comes together to lead efforts to collect money, often through GoFundMe, Venmo campaigns, or similar. Organizers simultaneously reach out to their community in an attempt to find those in need of help. At universities, these attempts frequently utilize existing email listservs and other communication tools to distribute forms for people to note the amount of aid they seek. The core of large-scale mutual aid involves directing funds collected to those who need it -- a logistical task requiring serious community efforts. Mutual aid also often takes the form of non-monetary resources, such as food distribution or services like childcare. Networks can be any size, ranging from single apartment buildings to entire universities and beyond.
Financial Struggles as Students
The financial struggle of graduate school has long been a running joke even beyond the academic sphere, but we know that the reality is much more complicated. Especially in engineering, PhD students often make above the median income of the area in which they reside. At most institutions, PhD stipends are enough for a single student with no extenuating circumstances to live comfortably. This is my case, and it’s important to recognize this privilege if you have it. In a perfect world, those with the most money (such as university administrators, in the academic domain) would provide the most to community aid efforts. This is rarely the case because the very concept of mutual aid necessitates communal connections -- understanding the struggles and needs of your peers -- from which those with power often by definition are isolated. The burden of giving then falls on those like myself -- members of the community whose situations allow them to live comfortably on their income. Recognizing this, I regularly give what I can to mutual aid funds supporting university workers, other students, or even members of the broader community -- those who live near the university but are not associated with it.
On the flip side, all too often, many graduate students struggle financially and would benefit tremendously from community efforts such as mutual aid. I have many peers who fall under this umbrella for many reasons. Financial commitments such as spouses, children, or other family; unexpected or constant healthcare costs; issues requiring time off; and poor funding at the university, department, or advisor level are all common causes of financial stress which many graduate students face. Many of these challenges are exacerbated for students pursuing master’s or professional degrees. As engineering students, we know all too well the ingrained expectation of suffering during a graduate degree. While many universities and departments are moving away from this embarrassing history, discussing financial hardship in academia is still largely considered taboo. Recognizing if and when you need help is just as if not more important than recognizing your privileges. One of the additional positive side effects of the increased popularity of mutual aid is the increased normality of discussing financial burdens. Graduate students needn’t suffer in silence, and, if you feel you are struggling, chances are you are not alone.
University Mutual Aid: Giving and Receiving
Between the financial burdens of university affiliates and pandemic-generated disruption, mutual aid networks have cropped up at universities nationwide. At my own university, an existing organization of students for workers rights have been running an aid campaign for employees and contract workers laid off or furloughed by the university. Similarly, a student network to support basic needs like housing and food not met by the university during the pandemic was launched by the university’s undergraduate student leadership. Graduate students have been among the many involved in these efforts -- as givers, receivers, and organizers.
One of the primary principles of mutual aid networks is that there are not those who give and those who receive, but rather everyone is an equal member of the community. There have been times in my life where I searched frantically for grants, fellowships or odd jobs to obtain emergency funds to pay for rent or tuition. At these times, I would have benefited greatly from a mutual aid network, and, in hindsight, I regret my ignorance and pride which kept me from considering such an option. Now, I make more than enough money to support myself, and I donate regularly to mutual aid campaigns at my university. Especially during such a tumultuous time, peoples’ economic standing can change in a heartbeat, and an individual may give to a mutual aid network one day and receive from it the next.
Mutual aid networks rely on the honesty of individuals to support the collective conscience -- something which everyone on earth has become all too familiar with during the pandemic. I hope that anyone who reads this will consider searching for mutual aid efforts in their own communities or universities and donate if they can, or humbly apply or ask for assistance if necessary. Many facets of American society push individuals to “fend for themselves” until situations deteriorate to the point that one can’t continue without outside help. Proponents of mutual aid hope that the popularization of mutual aid during the pandemic will help build strong community structures to constantly and consistently support each other at the practical level. As graduate students, we’re all in this together, both in and out of the lab.
