Empty Spaces: A Reflection by UCI Graduate Student Karem Delgado

How has the coronavirus affected you? Chances are, you are not infected. But like most of us at UCI and at other universities worldwide, you may be living and working in a different space: a place outside of the university campus and graduate housing. For example, I have had to move back home with my parents.

In my new space— which is actually a house all too familiar— I have grappled with food and toiletry insecurity. You too, may have had to visit supermarkets stores only to find that the bottled water you normally purchase is no longer available. Like many other customers, I stood in an empty room at my nearest Costco. I was amazed to find that the stacks of paper towels and toilet paper were not in their usual places. It was eerie to see that room devoid of many products.  The emptiness of that space marked a new existence for all of us, who stood in silence, and waited in vain for workers to bring more merchandise. Frantic, I went from store to store, looking for bare necessities. Like most customers, I endured long lines and weary staff. I surfed the web to find products that were sold out in stores. You probably have a similar story.

With at least some bare necessities in hand, I prepared my study space. I spent finals week grading the last essays and make-up work of some of my students. I input their last scores and submitted grades to the registrar online. I spent the week of Spring Break cleaning my old bedroom and converting my parent’s study room into my new study and work space. I also invested a considerable amount of hours familiarizing myself with Zoom, Yuja and other sites, like the rest of UCI faculty and graduate students who will begin teaching exclusively online this Spring Quarter.

Are we ready? We have experienced shortages of all sorts, dealt with sudden and dramatic living space changes, and are still learning to navigate virtual teachings sites. Considering the challenges we have faced in recent days, we may not be ready. Nevertheless, we as graduate students will provide instruction and continue with our graduate education and write our dissertations in different physical and virtual spaces. I echo the optimistic slogan ‘todo saldrá bien’ (everything will turn out well) — of children in Spain during this worldwide crisis. I hope UC graduate students across the state can reengage in talks with the University of California that were put on hold by the coronavirus crisis. Humanities graduate students are among the least paid graduate students at UCI. And while most other graduate students only facilitate discussions, most humanities graduate students are the stand-alone instructors of record. We, the graduate students, petition the University of California to acknowledge our hard work by increasing our salaries and benefits. Or will we continue to receive unfair wages, even after this coronavirus epidemic ends?