Speaking as a (former) partner of a University of Oregon grad student, what it actually came down to was that folks weren't paid enough to even live in the comm

Speaking as a (former) partner of a University of Oregon grad student, what it actually came down to was that folks weren't paid enough to even live in the community they worked and taught in. I was making more at my shitty retail job for $8.50/hr, 25 hours a week, than my partner was making working 60+ hours a week, in a job that required a college degree. I was not contractually barred from taking other work, unlike my partner. And most terms, my partner was expected to teach or TA classes for the university as well as working on their dissertation. This is common for most grad students, and has been for decades. Based on average cost of living in that community, a $54k Stanford grad student stipend is fair, perhaps low: you shouldn't have to take on an additional $40k a year in debt just to afford the privilege of accepting a "full ride" graduate fellowship.