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Ventura says the association’s job is to represent students, and they overwhelmingly want an end to the longest faculty strike in the history of Ontario colleges.

“We see the faculty vote as an opportunity to end the strike.

“Students want to be back in classrooms, and at this point they are so frustrated they don’t really care how that happens.”

The three-day ad blitz was expensive, but the association has the money, says Ventura.

“I can understand how some people could perceive (the ads) as choosing one side over the other,” she says. But she says the association is promoting the interests of students.

“Half a million students’ lives are basically in limbo right now.”

A couple of dozen comments were posted on the students’ association Facebook page, mostly critical of the ads. One person accused the association of “effectively siding with the powers that have taken advantage of faculty for years, and by extension are the ones that actually caused this strike. This students association message does NOT represent us all…Even though I am personally affected I still back the Faculty 100%.”

Wrote another person: ” I stand with the teachers and they deserve the right to vote No. They are not striking for nothing. If they vote yes, this strike will have been absolutely pointless… it’s really hard but this is for the better.”

However, others had no patience for the professors. “Screw respecting either teachers or process,” said one commenter. “Get us the hell back in class. Teachers are only using us for leverage, so why the hell should we care about them?”