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Mixed feelings by students about strike

BY HEIDI ULRICHSEN [email protected] Students at Cambrian College have mixed feelings about their professors? strike action. Students Mike Green and David Courvoisier are concerned about missing too much time at school.
BY HEIDI ULRICHSEN

Students at Cambrian College have mixed feelings about their professors? strike action.

Students Mike Green and David Courvoisier are concerned about missing too much time at school.
They support their drive to decrease class sizes and get more faculty, but they?re also worried what a prolonged strike will do to their school year and job prospects.

?I personally think our teachers should be out there for smaller class sizes, but I?m just scared that I?m going to lose so much precious time with our
schoolwork,? says chemical engineering student Ashley Theriault.

?It should be OK, as long as it doesn?t go on too long. The teachers are fighting for a reason, so let them be out there for as long as they need to be.?

Theriault, who has a hearing impairment, says smaller class sizes make it easier for her to learn. She wants her professors to fight so students like her can get more one-on-one attention.

But she?s also concerned that a prolonged strike may affect her summer job if college administration extends the school year to make up for any missed weeks.

?I actually do have a summer job lined up, and I?m supposed to start May 6. If the strike continues any longer, I won?t be able to meet that deadline. I don?t even know if they?ll give me the job after May 6,? she says.

David Courvoisier is in the middle of an eight-week Cambrian course necessary to complete his carpentry apprenticeship.

Although the man belongs to a union himself and supports his professors? position, he?s also losing a lot of money each day the strike continues.

?I make $22 an hour when I?m at work, but I?m currently on EI. I can?t go back to work until my course is over, and it?s been extended for at least two weeks now,? he says.

?But being that I?m a carpenter and I?m on the job site, I?m also in a union, so I?m completely supportive of the teachers. Smaller class sizes are definitely
something worth fighting for because with larger class sizes, the quality definitely goes down.?


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