“As the bar descended I thought: my eyes — no vision insurance. My mouth — no dental. Nose it is. The ER bill was $1,069.05. After insurance, $293.81. I applied for the UVM Emergency Grant to cover it — and I'm grateful it exists — but a grad student working full time needing an emergency grant for a workplace-adjacent injury is its own sentence.

“The medical follow-up my doctor recommended after the injury? I still haven't gone. Not because I don't want to. Because the math doesn't work.

“I delayed getting checked for persistent fatigue and heart palpitations because I was scared of the cost. It turned out to be severe iron-deficiency anemia. No student should have to weigh the price of care against getting evaluated for symptoms affecting their daily life.

“I had emergency surgery in the fall to remove my gallbladder. We've been trying to move out of Burlington to save money, but we can't cover the overlap between a security deposit and first month's rent.

“My partner and I are talking about starting a family. I paid over $500 out of pocket for one video appointment and one blood test — which I was initially told would be covered.

“I had a knee injury and the bill came to about $1,000 after insurance. It took me eight months to pay it off, plus a late fee I didn't see coming.

“Chronic pain and untreated conditions erode focus, stamina, and cognitive performance — the very things that teaching and research demand.

“When prospective students walk past the graduate student food pantry on the third floor of Given, they see it. They know what it means. They do the math. And then they look at me.

“There's no oversight on time off, so I just stopped taking it if I can help it. I put in twice the hours around any break just to get a few days away.

“Financial pressure is a constant source of stress and distraction, making it harder to focus on research, teaching, and professional development. Increasing stipends would help ensure we can actually do the work we came here to do.

“I'm capped at 20 hours of paid work per week by law. I already work what amounts to a full-time job in the lab and the classroom — those 20 hours are spoken for. There is no room, legally or practically, to earn a single additional dollar.

“My stipend is not a supplement. It is my only source of income, with no exceptions and no fallback. And international students are taxed at a higher rate than our domestic peers for our first five years.