<p>xiggi, I think you are making major generalizations. Misuse of TAs is extremely rare these days. There were myths about such practices back in my days, but even then, they were uncommon. However, in the years since then, most universities have intensified the screening process for TAs. English proficiency is now a must. </p>
<p>Although I was not a Political Science major, I assume that Political Science and Philosophy professors will select TAs who share their ideologies. I only took a handful of Political Science and Philosophy courses in college (2 of each actually) and none had TAs, but for the large introductory courses, I am fairly certain that if you are going to have a professor that is on one extreme of the spectrum, her/his TAs are not going to be on the other extreme.</p>
<p>Finally xiggi, I know which university you referred to as being “greatly superior to Michigan for both undergraduate and graduate schools”. Although I agree that as it is one of the 5 universities that I consider superior to Michigan, I do not agree with the “greatly” part. No university is greatly superior to Michigan, particularly not at the graduate level.</p>