Strike!

[SongDragon]

School is out and I'm upset about it?

Yup.

I can't say I necessarily blame them, they are fighting for their rights, and the board is just as much at fault as they, since neither can come to an agreement, but the faculty are on strike.

Which means I have no school tomorrow.

And this bother's me why?

(a) Now school costs money (university).

(b) If the strike had been just slightly earlier I could have used the time to visit with my family when they came up. Now I'm just going to have spare time, and I know all that comes with spare time is homesickness and sleepiness.

(c) If this is going to be like an elongated weekend with everyone still here rather than going away... Heck no! Weekends are loud, boisterous, and fun, and I can only take a small dose of them.

(d) Where did all the teachers go? No contact with them whatsoever, I think... Which means we're on our own as far as studying and homework go (except for the rare teachers that are part of the administration rather than the faculty).

(e) It's sort of like a vacation you don't know when it's going to end: not worth having. A snow day is only a day, so you enjoy that day. A strike could end with less than twenty-four hours, but could last much longer (i.e. one or two weeks), so one can't go home without risk of not being back in time, so one must be bored stuck upon the campus?

(f) Welcome week activities all over again? Welcome week was fun. We don't need it again. We need our schooling back.

Most of the people are excited about this, and in a way I am, too, because it still means that that pile of homework has let off its pressure, some. They're racing around the house (sounding like a bunch of elephants about to come through the roof, as my Mom would have told me) crazy.

Guess I'd better get a shower, get some sleep, and finish cleaning up my room. Might even do some homework. Hey, who knows? The administration could be so terrified of the sudden chaos all over campus that they make a deal with faculty quickly tomorrow.

~SongDragon

[DaveM]

Song--you're in college. You're supposed to get out and raise hell when things like this happen. So get to it before the opportunity passes!

[RedjackRyan]

I'm with Dave.. raise some hell lil dragon! Enjoy it while you can.


Shame i'm not 20 years younger and closer, i'd show ya how to raise some hell alright!

[Eva]

I actually agree with these two...

Eva

[SongDragon]

Can't I stick to just raising hell on the weekends?

Okay... I'll try...

I actually had a good day. I spent it at the animal shelter playing with the kitty cats.

Then we went out to a somewhat bigger town and got halloween costumes. My first store-bought halloween costume.

Don't know when school will be back on, but I'm waiting patiently for news...

And even doing my homework.

~Song

[Randy & Betty in Pa]

And this is why I detest unions... I mean there were days when they were needed... That i will grant you but now it's all about greed... You've seen the standard that the professors live by... I'm not certain that it is so bad as to actually justify a strike... I mean really, If the pay and benefit packages are near the state average the only thing missing is the pay increases for the union reps and school administrators.... I for one think the students should rally and strike against the unions who deliberately time these things to create the biggest possible inconvenience (and costs) for the students and their families... I think back when people got raises based on the merit of their efforts not to just push for a higher and higher standard which in the long run we all pay for... Educators as with most other professionals used to perform their work out of a desire to do well, for that matter many still do yet they are not or CAN NOT carry out their responsibility to the students which should be the priority because if they do what they are truely there for they will be screwed over by Unions people claiming to be their brothers... Screw the Unions and get rid of the over paid administrators... Our educational standard is declining at an amazing rate within this nation but I haven't heard the Unions or the Universities actually expressing outrage about that... Both the Unions and Universities use the students as mere pawns in these endless negotiations for their principal philoshy of more for me... Song Don't raise hell... Go to the Newspapers and cable tv networks and express outrage at whats wrong with our system... It's your turn Song... Today is your 1960's... Give em' hell...

Oh and by the way, more emphasis on music and the arts and less on sports!!!!! If the music program in a school suffers a reduction in funding then the sports program should as well...

Best to you

R. from Pa

[hoops]

Song,
whatever you believe, this is th time to make it known. you have power, find it, nurture it. I am the sister of 7 teachers and 1 professor. the teachers all work their hienies off and my sisters husbands work full time jobs too, my brothers have to take on second jobs and coaching jobs to make ends meet. my brother the professor...on the other hand, works 3 days a week and makes enough money...etc...to take care of his wife and two kids, have 2 new cars and a 300,000 house. makes me angry to think about it all, my sisters and sisters in law who have to take time away from their families to work. my brothers and brothers in law who seem to always be working all 4 seasons of the year. i support the teaches in my area, cause i know how they live. college, university, whatever you want to call it is a whole different ball game. so song, tell people what YOU think
peace
hoops

[SongDragon]

Randy,

The problem is I see the teachers as having a right to strike. Their pay is nowhere NEAR the provincial average, let alone the country average. Starting out they make less than highschool profs. And while the facultys' pay has increased steadily, the administrators' pay has increased exponentially.

So while I'm upset about being out of school, I don't believe the union is all that at fault based on the evidence shown to us. The only issue is, where would more money for them come from? This is the highest-costing college in Canada (nowhere near the cost of most universities in the states, still, especially for students within the country). Would they gut the students for even more?

That would just put them in more of a bind, as students attending would drop even lower. Acadias' student number has been decreasing steadily, yet I don't see administrators or faculty taking pay cuts. If they gouge us more, they will go further in debt. Students have other options, even if they may not like them, they'll take them over a consistently spilling hole in their pocket.

Yet, I support the faculty over the board, if only because the board came off sounding quite snobbish and evasive during the informational session. They keep laying a "final offer" on the table that does not meet the promises of the "Letter of Understanding" from the 2004 strike.

So I may be wrong about this, but I think the teachers have a right to strike, though normally I do not like unions because they seem to threaten way too often.

The main issues: Board wants to cut faculty numbers (students are often drawn here because the student-faculty ratio is favorable), and offers a pay raise that means in the future the pay will actually decrease, while still being way below Nova Scotia average for university teachers' wages.

That's my take on it, even while I don't like the sittuation.

~SongDragon

[Dee]

How frustrating this must be. I hope they reach an agreement without too much delay, Song.

[aabram]

Sorry to hear about this, Song. Take the time to go out, enjoy some local tourist attractions (if there are any) and not study.... Well if the teachers are on strike, that makes them worse than the students who want to study like you do. It's time the students told the teachers they need to take the responsible attitude you are taking and just how childish they're being.

Take care, have fun and make sure you get your message home.

Annabel