GESO scores another win as the Yale administration, continuing its pattern of trying to stall organizing through partial concessions to demands, raises stipends: The raise, which brings teaching assistant salaries to as much as $7,760 per semester, will not affect graduate students in their first five years, when teaching assistant pay is included in a fixed annual stipend of $17,000. The increase shrinks the gap between students in the first five years and students in their sixth year or beyond who this year will earn University pay ranging from $1,940 to $7,760 per semester by working as teaching assistants. Last year, graduate teaching assistants earned between $1,790 and $7,160 per semester. "It actually slightly closes the gap for students who are no longer on stipend," Butler said. "Let's put it this way: in a stagnant economy, we raised teaching fellow rates 8.4 percent." Many graduate students applauded the administration's efforts to increase teaching assistant pay, but said it is likely to remain difficult to manage on the stipend alone. "Obviously it wasn't a living wage and cost of living is ever-increasing," said Ariel Watson GRD '08, a teaching assistant in the English Department. "Obviously, everybody is pleased with getting a raise." Jeff Glover GRD '08, another English Department teaching assistant, said he welcomes the raise, but worries about making ends meet once he enters his sixth year and no longer qualifies for the automatic $17,000 stipend. "I am concerned about the sixth year, especially given the fact that at that point people have families and people have children," Glover said. The other top story in tomorrow's Yale Daily News assesses the impact of President Levin's lobbying on visa reform for international students - lobbying which itself is a victory of lobbying by GESO.