Strrriike!

This image is the closest I could get to one of a picket line without having a stranger’s face featured on my blog post. That said, it is an apt representation, given that the origin of the term “picket line” is the same as the origin of “picket fence.” Ok class, that concludes our etymology lesson.

Back when I was studying abroad in London, professors across the city went on strike for over six weeks. While it was less than ideal—since I was enjoying my classes and paying for them—the strike gave me some free time to explore the city. It also allowed me to write all of my final papers mid-term, because I am a nerd.

Right now, the part-time faculty at The New School are on strike, and many of the other professors are striking in solidarity. I have not had class for the past few weeks, and it is unlikely I will have class through the end of the semester, given that the end is only weeks away and that the parties have yet to agree to terms.

Basically, the part-time faculty has been paid abysmally, and granted very few benefits, while handling far greater course loads than do the full-time faculty members. For the numbers and a look at how things have progressed (or not) since the strike started, this is the union’s great Instagram account.

I have mixed feelings about all of this, of course. Once again, I am paying decent money to attend The New School, despite the fact that I am currently unemployed (see my last post). I am missing out on valuable face-to-face workshopping time with my classmates, despite the fact that the purpose of the entire degree is to get eyes on my work. And because professors sending emails from their school addresses counts as crossing the picket line, a lot of the information we’ve been receiving about the whole thing comes filtered through the University itself, despite the obvious bias.

Teachers’ unions of all sorts are incredibly important, for ensuring that our country’s most important professionals (in my opinion) are being properly treated and compensated. It has been wonderful to witness the outpouring of support from full-time faculty, administrators, other staff, and students. The bottom line is that the University owes the faculty a lot. It’s just too bad that it’s come to this.

I have been keeping up with the homework for both of my classes—because, like I said, I am a nerd—but I miss sitting around a table with my peers and discussing authorial intent or how to increase tension in a scene. Again: nerd. For now, we are figuring out ways to meet online without our professors and making the most of a semester that hasn’t gone according to plan.

I have had a bit more free time to work on my job hunt and shop for holiday gifts, but I miss the classroom. Ner—people like myself love the atmosphere that a classroom provides, the energy emitted from the many passionate brains, the diversity of ideas born from true, in-person collaboration. This strike feels awfully reminiscent of how remote work has taken the joy out of many jobs. As humans, we need to be in the room with other humans, share space, share warmth, spar over trivial things, and point out each other’s shortcomings.

But alas, there is nothing I can do but keep up my support, stay on the right side of the picket line, and get what I can from the semblance of school I still have. There has been talk of students withholding tuition next semester if the University can’t meet demands, which I support both as a supporter of teachers and a struggling New Yorker.

Give the professors what they want! It would still be less than they deserve.