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For area students attending state colleges where faculty went on strike Wednesday, the question could be as simple as whether or not to go to class one day, and as complex as whether half a semester of classes will be swept away.
“We’re just in limbo,” Shippensburg University junior Alex McGee said. The Wyoming Valley West High School graduate is studying criminal justice, and for him the only sure thing about the strike is that nothing’s certain.
Members of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties went on strike at 5 a.m. Wednesday because no agreement was reached with the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. The union represents more than 5,000 faculty and coaches at 14 state universities.
No updates were provided from either side Wednesday evening on whether negotiations might resume.
Shippensburg was open Wednesday with teachers picketing in two locations, but students received conflicting signals about whether they should go to class, McGee said. The state has advised attending class because teachers are not obliged to join the strike, but many teachers have said bluntly they won’t be there, he added.
There’s also no indication of how long the strike will be. Unlike strikes by public school teachers, which are limited by state law to ensure students get 180 days of classes, the faculty union has no such restrictions.
“They said if the strike lasts three weeks or less, we’ll be able to fit the semester in before the 2016 calendar year ends, dipping into winter break,” McGee said. “But if it goes past the New Year, they are going to void the semester.”
In that case, even if students get a full tuition refund, they lose something more precious. “It’s time,” McGee said, noting they already put seven weeks into this semester, with many professors poised to give — or already giving — mid-term exams when the strike started.
“Time is invaluable,” McGee said. “I agree with the teachers. I feel they have the right to strike, but I feel students are the ones hurt the most.”
Crestwood graduate Adam Kreuzer said his apartment is across the street from the faculty picket line at Bloomsburg University. “I’ve seen many, many people from Bloomsburg driving along and honking their horns in support of the teachers and staff.”
Like McGee, Kreuzer said information about the strike has been vague. “As far as I know, if the strike goes for two or three weeks, we go into a condensed schedule” to complete the semester before the end of the year.
That could include class during a winter break that’s supposed to start Dec. 11 and end Jan. 22, Kreuzer said. If the strike goes much longer, Kreuzer said he risks more than graduating late.
He’s studying secondary education and history on the path to teaching in high school, and a delay in classes means a delay in state-mandated student teaching — which tumbles other dominoes, including obtaining a teaching certificate and applying for jobs.
Even if a short strike and condensed schedule get students through the semester, the strike can impact academic opportunities between semesters. Schools often offer short courses, usually called intersession courses, for ambitious students.
McGee said he planned on taking one this winter, a plan that could go out the window if the strike lasts even a few weeks.
Andrew Spina at East Stroudsburg University is watching chances to finish his degree this December grow slimmer with the strike. A senior in communications, he said the strike “threw me into complete limbo, I’m not sure how this is going to work out.
“It’s probably the scariest thing as a senior,” Spina said. “I’m trying to get a job, so I’d like to have my bachelor’s degree, but I don’t even know if I’m going to have to be back in school next semester.”
While the state and the colleges are urging students to go to class, “it would be kind of a slap in the face to the teachers if we show up for class and they don’t. It would be like telling the university we don’t need them.
“We have personal relations with these teachers,” Spina said. “They are very personable people who work very hard and take the job seriously.”
Kreuzer said he already plans to go home early this week for a visit, ignoring a class scheduled for Friday because “the professor canceled it ahead of time.”
Asked if he picked sides between the union and the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, Kreuzer said it was no contest. Like Spina, he has high regard for the faculty.
“I support the teachers,” he said. “Every single one of my professors has earned a doctorate or are national board certified. Whatever pay they want, they deserve.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.