As students passed the One Day for Iowa celebration on the University of Iowa Pentacrest Wednesday, some stopping to play one-on-one basketball or take a free sticker from university staff promoting the fundraising drive, a crowd of about 50 organized by UI’s graduate student workers’ union, gathered steps away, urging passersby not to donate.
One Day for Iowa is the UI’s annual 24-hour fundraising drive in which several departments, student groups, and teams compete to raise money for the university — with an extra $40,000 in funding split between the 10 groups garnering the most donations.
This year, the UI’s graduate student union Campaign to Organize Graduate Students, or COGS, boycotted the fundraising drive for the second time.
At a planning meeting earlier this month, COGS steward Regina Napolitano said she didn’t think the UI should be asking its graduate students to assist in fundraising following the union’s recent bargaining session because, she said, the university refuses to pay its graduate workers a living wage.
“They gave us a 6 percent raise over two years. We asked for a 25 percent raise over two years,” Napolitano said previously to The Daily Iowan.
With signs reading, “Grads deserve a living wage,” “Demand raises now,” and “Why don’t you listen to grad workers,” COGS members distributed literature stating the following demands the union has for the Iowa Board of Regents:
- End graduate worker semester fees
- Reinstate living learning communities
- Adopt academic freedom standards from the American Association of University Professors
- Retain wording in the student handbook section on student rights to equal treatment
- Promise to protect graduate worker jobs regardless of cuts to funding
The fifth demand is a direct response to a March 12 message from the UI to graduate students, which stated that due to uncertainty surrounding federal funding under President Donald Trump’s administration, the university could no longer guarantee the pay promised in previously signed funding package contracts.
The demonstration remained on the Pentacrest for several hours, coinciding with the One Day for Iowa celebration.
Greg Wickenkamp, press and publicity chair for COGS and a third-year Ph.D. student, said the union will host several speakers for a teach-in covering a variety of topics, and the demonstration will conclude with a sing-along featuring protest songs from the ‘60s and ‘70s and earlier labor movements.
“I will be talking later today about the history of student protests here at the University of Iowa,” Wickenkamp said. “I think with enough pressure, anything can happen. It might not happen immediately or as soon as we’d like. But this is a public university, and we are the public. We need to demand what we deserve.”
Rebekah Tilley, assistant vice president of communication and marketing for the UI Center for Advancement, said she supports COGS members’ right to protest but said she did not appreciate the timing and proximity to the One Day for Iowa celebration.
“We are disappointed that they decided to try to hijack a day that’s dedicated to raising money for patient care, for student support, and for research,” Tilley said.
One of the speakers at the COGS protest was Marie Krebs, a graduate student in the UI’s School of Social Work. She recently decided to leave the university after facing backlash for a presentation she co-led last year with colleague Kimberly Long addressing measures within the UI and the state legislature that oppose diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
Many participants held signs reading, “I failed to comply. I will carry that with honor,” quoting Krebs from a previous DI story about her refusal to submit her presentation for university review.
Krebs said she no longer feels comfortable at the UI, describing the backlash she faced as an infringement on her rights and part of a broader trend of college students being penalized for exercising free speech.
“Compliance doesn’t help us. Our silence isn’t going to help us,” Krebs said. “It’s not the time to be silent. It’s the time to fight back, and we need to do that in solidarity.”
Krebs expressed disappointment at the UI’s recent decisions to close its Division of Access, Opportunity, and Diversity and Living Learning Communities — believing the university is engaging in pre-compliance and over-compliance with Iowa state laws.
“I understand people are scared of losing their jobs and things of that nature. I think that’s valid,” Krebs said. “What I don’t think is valid is the over-compliance. Stand with your student body. At least try.”
Also in attendance was Johnson County supervisor Mandi Remington, who voiced support for COGS and the boycott of One Day for Iowa.
“The university needs to be prioritizing people who are doing the research that is helping our community and bringing in money — making sure that those folks are well cared for,” Remington said. “If that’s not what they’re going to be doing, then it makes sense to bring attention to that on a day that’s all about fundraising.”