The possibility of a faculty strike at Wright State has been looming over the shoulders of the campus community for months; it reached a peak with the faculty union announcing their intent to file for a strike. A tentative strike date has been set for Tuesday, Jan. 22 – the second week of classes.
These updates provoked responses from various members of the campus community.
Wright State President Cheryl Schrader addressed the strike in an email issued to students.
While the union has a right to do this, we are disappointed. The university will continue to provide fair employment terms and benefits in light of our unprecedented financial crisis. The employment terms will keep faculty salaries among the highest in the state,” she said.
After The Guardian reported on Saturday, Jan. 5 that the faculty union intended to file for a strike, people took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the potential staff walk-out.
Student body President Daniel Palmer said that the union’s decision would kill student morale and harm the university’s reputation. “Extremely disappointment by this announcement,” he said. “Definitely not a move that puts students first!”
Additional members of Student Government Association also chimed in.
“During the difficult time that we will face, it is my hope that all student leaders will work to maintain the morale of the student body,” said Ivan Mallett, SGA chief of staff. “We love our school, and we will continue to love our school regardless of the challenges that we face.”
Similarly, students shared their thoughts on social media.
“In the face of these trying times at Wright State, I’m not going anywhere. I’m not backing down. I’m standing with my university and my fellow students. Hold tight. We’ll make it. We’re raiders,” said Lee Huntsberger, a Wright State student.
Others were more critical of the university.
Student Cassidy Rae called on administration to negotiate with faculty. “Come back to the negotiating table and be fair! Bloated administration makes the university look bad,” she said.
Professors also contributed to the conversation on social media.
“I don’t want to go on strike. I love my students. This is not merely a matter of reduced state funding & lowered enrollments. It’s a university culture of kleptocracy that forced a financial crisis. Admin is now using the crisis as an excuse to union-bust,” said English Professor Andrew Strombeck.
Wright State has responded to students’ questions and concerns regarding to the strike on its official social media pages. In one case, it described college teacher titles as a ‘caste system.’
“There’s a whole caste system of college teacher titles. You could have an instructor, lecturer, assistant prof, associate prof, prof, or even a dean or other highly qualified person,” the Tweet said.
The post was met with criticism from the community.
“So far, Wright State has responded to students’ concerns about a possible @aaupwsu strike by cracking thoughtless jokes & suggesting that there’s a whole ‘caste’ of people who can teach classes instead of the professors. Our students deserve better than that,” said Crystal Lake, an English professor at Wright State.
Students responded to the post as well.
“WSU using highly inappropriate and dismissive class ‘humor’ as students, graduate assistants, adjuncts, (and) citizens worry about our university and futures is directly reflective of the environment we find ourselves within,” said Tina Puntasecca Luiggi, a graduate student.
The university’s tweet was later rescinded, and an apology was issued acknowledging peoples’ responses to the original post. “A tweet was sent out earlier today that offended many. It was intended to be humorous, but missed the mark. It was insensitive and an extremely poor word choice; it has been deleted. I apologize,” the tweet said.
Some took to different means of expressing their opinions. A rock mural on campus has recently been twice repainted to read “Wright State, Wrong Faculty” as well as “Fighting for ourselves” and “Our students equal last priority.”
The Guardian reported on the incident in a Twitter post on Wednesday, Jan. 9.
Student Government once again joined in on the conversation.
Gary Dickstein, interim vice president for student affairs, advised that community members refer to the first point of the Rock Etiquette guidelines posted just next to the rock mural.
The line in reference reads: “Be respectful. Do not modify or tag letters, names, or symbols over another groups’ painting. Painting is permitted on the rock only. Painting is prohibited on the surrounding area and all other locations on campus.”
Palmer contributed to the discussion, saying, “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Quit this disrespectful behavior. Everyone should follow the Rock Etiquette (last photo) and remain respectful of one another.”
If a strike does occur, Wright State will maintain normal hours of operation, according to a press release. Students can expect an email notification through their Wright State account if there is a change in a class schedule, the press release says.
The university will also communicate with students over the Wright State Alert system in the event of a strike, according to the press release.
This story has been updated from its original version. The Guardian is actively working to collect opinions from the campus community in regard to a potential strike. Please email us your thoughts at wrightstateguardian@gmail.com.
