Ottawa Citizen

Carleton strike weighs heavily on students

- DEVYN BARRIE

As a support staff strike at Carleton University reaches the end of its second week, one student is worried the closing of a mentor program means science students will be without guidance at a critical time of year.

Biology student Jared Browning, in his sixth and final year at Carleton, said because of the strike, the Science Student Success Centre (SSSC) has been shut down. He’s worried fellow students will struggle without the peer mentoring program he volunteers for.

“After midterms, we contact every single science student that is failing or at risk, telling them to come to the SSSC for help,” Browning said in an email.

“We help hundreds of students turn their grades around, and now we can’t.”

About 850 support staff represente­d by CUPE 2424 went on strike March 5 after talks with the university broke down over a dispute about pension language in the collective agreement.

Browning said he is also missing out on valuable experience as a lab teaching assistant because the lab component of his anatomy class has been cancelled for the duration of the strike. Entire lab-based classes have also been cancelled, preventing students from getting the full education they paid for, he said.

“While Carleton may not care, master’s students like myself and fourth-year honours students who are trying to finish their research in order to graduate are finding this difficult,” he wrote.

“I can no longer (help teach), I can no longer mentor and this is my last year to do so before I leave.”

Della Woodger, a bachelor of psychology student, said she has struggled in school since the strike began because she is unable to see her school therapist, whom she would visit weekly for help with school and managing anxiety.

While she’s generally coping without her therapist, she said it has not been easy.

“It’s definitely not ideal and I’ve had some rough days,” she said. “It’s been harder to focus on school, especially during midterms because I don’t have access to these services.”

Her therapist also helped with study strategies. Woodger said since she stopped seeing the therapist, her ability to focus has slipped and she has struggled more in class.

“Now I’m just sitting around trying to focus on my homework, trying not to think about how stressful it is,” she said.

Full-time counsellor­s are on strike, causing regular appointmen­ts to be cancelled. Carleton’s health services has invited students who need help to use its walk-in clinic to talk to someone, but Woodger said most students have a strong relationsh­ip with their counsellor and likely wouldn’t feel comfortabl­e talking to one they aren’t familiar with.

“It’s nice that they ’re trying,” she said. “But the best thing they can do is get back to the negotiatin­g table.”

Woodger sent an email Wednesday to Carleton’s interim president, Alastair Summerlee, urging him to get the university back to bargaining and end the strike. She said Summerlee had not replied.

Rob Thomas, Carleton’s assistant vice-president of human resources, said in a news release Wednesday that the university is interested in returning to talks, but “we are too far apart at this time for talks to be productive.”

No new talks had been announced as of Thursday at noon.

 ?? ERROL MCGIHON ?? Carleton University student Della Woodger is unable to access counsellin­g services during the strike by support workers.
ERROL MCGIHON Carleton University student Della Woodger is unable to access counsellin­g services during the strike by support workers.

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