Faculty congratulate grads from picket lines
As 967 students from 39 Niagara College programs graduated Friday morning at the Welland campus, their professors were outside on picket lines.
Unlike the rest of the past two weeks of the strike, faculty represented by the Ontario Public Service Employee Union weren’t walking with picket signs or stopping traffic to share why they were on strike. Instead they walked around with signs showing support for the students who were graduating.
Picket captains and professors Aaron Shatkosky and Amanda Johnson said Friday wasn’t about politics or making sure people knew the reasons for the strike, which includes issues such as job security and having more of a say in what material is used in the classroom. They said instead it was about congratulating the students, wishing they could be inside celebrating with them.
Unable to cross the picket lines, they opted for a silent protest, holding signs expressing congratulatory and “wish we could be there” sentiments.
“We are disappointed that we can’t be there to support them (on stage). We’re just trying to show how much we wish we could be there and how much we’re proud of them,” Shatkosky said.
The general feel from students about their professors being outside was also disappointment, as they couldn’t celebrate the culmination of their hard work with the people who helped get them there.
Student Daniela Mesa, graduating from the practical nursing program, said her teachers played a big part in getting to her to graduation.
She said crossing the picket line to get to the school was a bit scary because she wasn’t sure what was going on and if the school was even open for graduation, but then realized it was about the strike and that she could still get through.
Typically during graduation ceremonies, program faculty are take part by placing the hoods around the students’ shoulders. Because of their inability to be there, Michael Wales, communications manager for the college, said the role was carried out by associate deans or program staff.
Niagara College president Dan Patterson said during an interview Friday afternoon the college went forward with the convocation out of respect to the students and their academic acheivements. He said it’s an important part of their journey and gets them on their way to the next stages of their lives.
He said the gynmasium was packed with family and friends coming to celebrate their loved ones graduating.
“Not having our faculty there was difficult for me personally,” he said, noting the hard work teaching faculty also put into getting to this moment.
When he arrived Welland campus before the ceremonies, he also saw the signs the pickets held, he said. He said he admired how the faculty was showing support for the students and commended them for the way they handled the strike during convocation day.
Johnson said besides not being able to see their students cross the stage, the biggest frustration at this point is that there are still no negotiations happening between OPSEU and the College Employment Council, the two disputing sides of the strike.
Shatkosky said OPSEU has made several offers, but the CEC doesn’t seem to want to hear them. Asked why he thinks that, he said it would only be speculation, which he and the faculty didn’t want to take part in.
Johnson said what they’re asking for, in particular the job security and expertise input, is not a request unique to college professors.
“We’re taking a stand here in education, but people in all different industries are experiencing the same problem. Our hope is that we’re going to get in there, improve our environment and maybe that will help set a standard for the rest of the industries that we’re seeing have these same issues,” she said.
Patterson said the strike is frustrating on the college’s end of things as well, noting the “whole issue needs to be resolved.”
In a notice sent out by the CEC Thursday, the organization indicated, “The colleges remain available to return to the bargaining table to negotiate a settlement based on the final offer they made prior to the strike starting.”
The notice asserts the final offer made to OPSEU before the strike began is fair and the best option for both parties. The full notice can be found on the CEC website at thecouncil.on.ca.