Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/11/2016 (1409 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Fed up with a strike that's disrupting their education, University of Manitoba students are taking action — with an online petition and a "day of action" in the coming week.

"It's really important to me that students don't get beaten down by this strike," said U of M student Emily Hajer Sunday. Her change.org petition titled Student Rights Stripped by the Senate's Changes to the U of M's Term Schedule was posted Thursday with a goal of getting 5,000 signatures. On Sunday afternoon, there were more than 4,300.

SUBMITTED Emily Hajer

The petition says the academic schedule revisions made in response to the strike that began Nov. 1 may adversely affect job opportunities for students graduating at the end of the term. Condensing the January exam schedule to seven days with shorter-length exams and possibly forcing students to write three exams in one day "is unreasonably stressful," the petition says.

Conciliation efforts between the school and faculty took place through the weekend and were a failure, U of M spokesman John Danakas said Sunday.

The 21,000-strong University of Manitoba Students Union (UMSU) said on Saturday that it supports the University of Manitoba Faculty Association and is planning a "student day of action" to support the picket lines if a deal has not been reached. On Sunday, UMSU president Tanjit Nagra said they haven't finalized a date yet for the student demonstration. She said she understands why students have signed the petition.

"I believe it really goes to show how frustrated and angry students are with the situation," Nagra said.

The petition was prompted by revisions to the academic schedule that the U of M posted in response to the strike, with four different scenarios based on the ongoing faculty strike ending no later than Dec. 5.

The online petition is posted here.

"There are a million reasons this doesn't work," said Hajer.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Striking University of Manitoba faculty members and students marched to the U of M administration building on Nov. 4.

An international student who signed the petition said she pays upwards of $12,000 a year for her education at the U of M and gets to see her family just twice a year. "Now, because of this strike, those two incredibly important visits home may be cut down to one. This strike needs to end now," she commented.

Another student who signed the petition said "Holding an intense week of examinations right after the holidays is completely unfair as classes won't end until just before the holidays and students will be forced to study and work hard during the time we should have to spend with our families."

One student, who expects to graduate this spring, said the strike is "putting the financial future of many students at risk. It could ultimately put me out of even more money than what I am already losing by not being able to go to three out of my four classes (actually, four out five classes, if you count my practicum that I am not allowed to complete until the end of the strike). We may not be able to graduate when we were told we would, giving students graduating from other universities a big advantage over us when it comes to looking for jobs."

UMSU's vice-president advocacy, Dara Hallock, said UMSU students were at the centre of the senate discussions when the revised academic timelines were being considered. She said part of the reason the senate approved the schedule revisions was so students would have some certainty and ability to plan for the coming weeks. "Unfortunately changes would have to be made to the academic schedule regardless."

That, she said, is a direct consequence of the strike. "...All parties including students, administration, and faculty have been working to minimize the impacts these changes will have on students," Hallock said in an email Sunday.

"It is a complex situation with no one right answer and definitely the academic subcommittee is going to continue to meet almost daily to further discuss how they may accommodate all of our concerns. We have been made aware that representatives from UMSU will be invited to some of these meetings to ensure student concerns are being considered and addressed."

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca