Concordia takes away student's reading week. Students want it back.
Concordia takes away student's reading week. Students want it back.
The Issue
Concordia University of Edmonton recently had 81 members of its Faculty go on a legal strike due to disagreements during collective bargaining between Faculty and the Administration in regards to salary, intellectual property, and workload. The strike began on Jan. 4th, 2022 and ended on Jan. 15th, 2022. Classes will resume on Jan. 19th, 2022, however, students have missed 11 days of classes due to the strike. While majority of students stand with the Faculty in their choice to strike for what they deserve, students have been affected too. They were provided little information and guidance from the university during the strike and now that the strike is over and classes are resuming, students are the ones who will be paying the price.
Their reading week has been taken away and the semester, along with exams, has been pushed to end on April 29th, 2022. While this may seem small, university students count on, look forward to, and make plans during their reading week each year. Reading week provides students the opportunity to catch up on assignments, mentally relax and reset, and spend time with their friends and family that can be hard to do while managing our workload. By removing reading week, Concordia is informing its students that their time and mental health is not important. That students should cancel previous plans because the Administration decided that week reading isn't important or needed.
During the strike and due to the Concordia's lack of communication has left students feeling lost, frustrated, and forgotten. The time between Jan. 4 and Jan. 15th was the exact opposite of relaxing and stress free. Students were unsure if classes would resume in time for the semester to continue, many were worried they would not be able to graduate or apply to jobs in time, and many were disappointed in Concordia's lack of regard for the students during this stressful time.
Again, while majority of the students stand with the Faculty in their legal right to strike and stand for what they deserve, the students should not be the ones to pay the price. Administration deciding to push the semester to the end of April already messes up many students plans for their future. They should not lose their reading week on top of that.
Sign, share, and speak up about what we, as students, deserve and need from Concordia University of Edmonton, our READING WEEK.
2,522
The Issue
Concordia University of Edmonton recently had 81 members of its Faculty go on a legal strike due to disagreements during collective bargaining between Faculty and the Administration in regards to salary, intellectual property, and workload. The strike began on Jan. 4th, 2022 and ended on Jan. 15th, 2022. Classes will resume on Jan. 19th, 2022, however, students have missed 11 days of classes due to the strike. While majority of students stand with the Faculty in their choice to strike for what they deserve, students have been affected too. They were provided little information and guidance from the university during the strike and now that the strike is over and classes are resuming, students are the ones who will be paying the price.
Their reading week has been taken away and the semester, along with exams, has been pushed to end on April 29th, 2022. While this may seem small, university students count on, look forward to, and make plans during their reading week each year. Reading week provides students the opportunity to catch up on assignments, mentally relax and reset, and spend time with their friends and family that can be hard to do while managing our workload. By removing reading week, Concordia is informing its students that their time and mental health is not important. That students should cancel previous plans because the Administration decided that week reading isn't important or needed.
During the strike and due to the Concordia's lack of communication has left students feeling lost, frustrated, and forgotten. The time between Jan. 4 and Jan. 15th was the exact opposite of relaxing and stress free. Students were unsure if classes would resume in time for the semester to continue, many were worried they would not be able to graduate or apply to jobs in time, and many were disappointed in Concordia's lack of regard for the students during this stressful time.
Again, while majority of the students stand with the Faculty in their legal right to strike and stand for what they deserve, the students should not be the ones to pay the price. Administration deciding to push the semester to the end of April already messes up many students plans for their future. They should not lose their reading week on top of that.
Sign, share, and speak up about what we, as students, deserve and need from Concordia University of Edmonton, our READING WEEK.
2,522
The Decision Makers
Petition created on January 15, 2022