I apologize for the late reply...

The month of December was an interesting one in the UWSA Presidential office.  In November I was away quite a bit lobbying in queens park and then attending a CFS national meeting in Ottawa.  As such I got behind in emails, and then behind in projects until I was drowning in a sea of work I didn't know how to get out of.

Fed up with my inability to get back on top of my game I came in to work at 3am Monday December 15 and worked another one of those 24h work days until I was done answering all of my emails.  Most of the emails began with the quote "I apologize for the late reply" because the person had contacted me weeks prior and while I had made a mental note to reply it took a long time to get around to it.  

There is a constant demand to be on top of your game as the president.  I easily get 30 important emails a day (20 more spam), that all require concerted effort to reply and do the work requested in the email.  Meetings run all day rarely with breaks in between and before I know it, the day is over and it feels like nothing was accomplished.  

My breaking point came when I received my first UCAPT package (a committee which decides the promotion and tenure for faculty members).  It was the size of a large text book and I had to read and assess it in only a few days time.  I did not take this responsibility lightly, it was imperative that I represented students and did the best job possible on this committee.  Which by the way is only one of over 25 committees I sit on to "represent students".  

If I could summarize December, I would say it was the month that I picked up my life.  After I spent a week getting back on top of all of my work I was able to truly rest.  I spent time at home, cleaned my room, saw my family, did laundry, organized my personal life, got my personal finances together (My OSAP loans became payable in November :S)  and visited with my friends who I hadn't seen in what seemed like years.

I'm rejuvenated and ready for the New Year, hopefully I can STAY on top of my game now that I've got my act together.  

Queens Park

I apologize for the blog hiatus but I assure you it has been for good reason.  Last week I had the opportunity to participate in a provincial lobby conference with the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA).  

OUSA is a coalition of elected university student councils from across Ontario, 

Your new OUSA campus coordinator Laine McGarragle and I represented Windsor in several lobby meetings with members of provincial parliament and various post secondary education stakeholders (Council of Ontario Universities, Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations...).

We spoke about three main issues:  Student Financial Aid, Funding and Access to Education.  We spoke about the problems with OSAP that need to be addressed and the necessity for continued and greater investment in post secondary education from the provincial government.  We spoke of the need for government support of early outreach initiatives in their grassroots forms across Ontario.  

We shared the sentiment with OCUFA that "quality matters" and discussed ways in which we could work together on campaigns about quality education.

Perhaps the most interesting discussion that took place during the lobby conference was one with Steve Peters (the speaker of the house) about the necessity for there to be a united student movement.  Why is it that the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance and the Canadian Federation of Students can not work together?  It is the age old question, and Windsor just might be the only school with the ability to bridge that gap.  

I returned to Windsor that Thursday at 12pm only to discover that I was TRIPLE booked at 3pm for three very important meetings.  Since I am unable to clone myself it was a challenge addressing that issue.  

Lobbying at Queens Park was fun, but nothing beats a day on the job in Windsor.

The Co$t of an Appeal

Today was a good day.  

I entered the office just in time to make it outside for the Remembrance Day service and sing the Anthem.  I was honoured to participate in the service to pay tribute to those soldiers who gave their lives in wars past.

Early in the afternoon I was scheduled to have a meeting with President Wildeman to discuss unique Windsor related government funding issues and strategies to get them on the provincial agenda.  The meeting was short but quite effective.

Immediately after the brief discussion with Dr. Wildeman I made my way over Toldo 203 to prepare for the Senate meeting about to take place.  After weeks of preparation and heavy lobbying the day had finally come for the vote to take place for a proposed bylaw change.  A proposal was going forward to change the wording of bylaw 51 which originally read that Appeals would cost $20, and would change to "applicable fee".  

It was argued that such a change was necessary because the senate should not be setting fees and it was inappropriate to have a monetary amount in a bylaw.  

I am omitting quite a bit of information but it should also be noted that another body within the University that has no student representation changed the fee back in April to $35.

I busied myself handing out a document which I had prepared the night before to all of the senators and briefly explaining to all of them that the students were recommending that this motion be defeated.  Further, I requested that answers to the following questions be brought forward to senate:

1. What is the make up of the committee that will set this fee?

2. What will the ratio of student representation be on this committee?

3. What other fees does this committee set?

4. How many students were charged $35?

5. Since the bylaw was noticed have students since been charged the appropriate $20?

6. Can students who were wrongfully charged $35 be refunded the $15?

7. What is the rationale for changing the fee according to the working group?

8. Does unsuccessful appeal money go to a bursary/scholarship fund?

9. What is the process for appeal fees at comparable institutions?

In the end, the motion failed (meaning that the fee will remain $20).  And those students who were wrongfully charged $35 and had unsuccessful appeals will be credited $15 to their accounts!

Later in the evening I chaired a board of directors meeting at which many funding requests were vetted and the WUFA emergency fund framework was approved.  It should also be noted that money was set aside from the WUFA donation to be used for appeals this semester (please speak with Mohsin Khan vpuauwsa@uwindsor.ca to seek information for access to appeal money).

The next challenge we will face is actually implementing the Emergency Strike Fund distribution framework.  I'll keep you updated.

-Gooch

...comes great responsibility.

I attended the Afrofest event this evening in the CAW student centre and watched the American election develop on the big screen.  I was nearly brought to tears the moment when Obama and his family graced the stage in Chicago as the First Family (elect).  

As I soaked in the moment it dawned on me that this was merely the beginning of a long road for Obama.  He would be placed under close scrutiny and expected to do the impossible with the American political system.  I thought about the great responsibility that he now had to carry out the election promises that he had been preaching about for over a year.

This lead me to reconsider my position as President of the University of Windsor Students' Alliance.  I am at the half way mark in my term, how have I represented students thus far?  I took some time out to take a look at those election promises I spoke about during my own campaign back in March and carefully reviewed each point.  Am I carrying out my own campaign goals?  Am I living up to the expectation that students had for me when they voted me into this office 6 months ago?

There have been some great successes this year so far, but I have certainly lost track of a few key ideas I stood for when I was running.  I still have time to refocus my priorities though, and I have no doubt in my mind that I have the tools and experience to accomplish the goals I set out to accomplish when I was first elected. 

I desperately need some sleep before the long day of meetings I have tomorrow, but here is a snippet from a poem I discovered that a friend of mine (Crystal Patterson) wrote during the UWSA election last spring:

Alliance: A close association of groups, formed to advance common interests or causes

Using the power of information 

Gooch is here to restore communication

Bridging the gap between students and administration

 

Embodying Hillary & Obama - two forces in one

She brings, experience, change, & inspiration

 

Our university experience she hopes to advance

By bringing awareness she gives us a chance

 

To be involved in decisions that effect us each day

She’s providing a forum to hear what WE have to say

 

Equipping us with the necessary knowledge to progress

She’s bringing back the alliance to ensure our success

 

Celebrating the unique diversity at this school

Uniting our talents and using them as tools

 

I wanna see a President who is genuine and true

With the knowledge and integrity to know what to do

 

Who is involved on this campus in many different ways

With a variety of achievements – I want to be amazed

 

Because I want to see a president who will get the job done

Who will stop for nothing until we unite as one

 

And I'm tired of seeing presidents who accept the status quo

and do nothing to help our student alliance grow

I want a speaker who will say what needs to be said

There's no room to be silent when you are the head...

The 23h Work Day

Remember that kid in elementary school who always wanted to be ahead? They did their homework and then read the next chapter in the text book for no reason at all?  Well... I was that kid.  

Being ahead helps me feel like I am on top of my game, it is simply the way I operate.  I can't stand the thought of emails piling up unanswered or various unfinished projects sitting in my office.  Yet this is precisely the situation I have found myself in.  

Today I decided to end this situation.  I refused to leave my office until I was caught up and organized.

The morning began with back to back interviews for Afrofest workstudy candidates.  I admired the variety of skillsets the candidates brought and imagined how phenomenal the Afrofest team could turn out to be.  (I wish I had more time to volunteer).

Every moment I had to myself I spent answering emails and phone messages assisting with the organization of the Ontario Undergraduate Students' Alliance conference taking place next weekend.

Hannah Larking (The Lance News Editor) interviewed me for a couple of articles she was writing for next weeks paper.

After, I marched along the river with students supporting the Engineers without Borders "Make Poverty History" campaign.

Following this event Mohsin and I made our way to a meeting with Alan Wright the Vice President of Teaching and Learning to brief him as the guest speaker for the OUSA general assembly.  It was like Christmas in October when Dr. Wright ended up being an amazing choice for guest speaker having written papers on the very issues OUSA is currently researching.  Mohsin and I walked out of the meeting ecstatic about having an excellent guest speaker AND equipped with new mugs from the Teaching and Learning office.

I returned to my office and phoned Dr. Wildeman to see if he had chosen a song for me to sing at his installation service,  we brainstormed a few ideas and decided to have a final decision made by Saturday so I would have enough time to learn the song.  

At about 6:30pm it occurred to me that with all of the running around I did all day I forgot to eat.  Theresa Trad (the walksafe coordinator) and I made our way to the pub for dinner before heading to a play at Assumption University "Dead Man Walking".  The play was fantastic, it will also be playing on Saturday and Sunday so I recommend that you check it out.

After the play I returned to my office, and still felt swamped.  No matter how hard I worked, or how much I tried I was still behind and I decided not to accept this.  I stayed in my office until every document was filed and project was complete... this brought me to 7:30am.

It felt amazing to watch those dreadful piles of paper disappear into easy to access organized labelled folders.

I have the whole weekend to sleep now, and when I return on Monday I start with a fresh slate.

Enjoy the Weekend!  See you at the Finger Eleven concert!

Breakfast At Tiffany's

I know I know,  what is the point of a blog if I don't update it?  In my defense I have been very busy trying to catch up with all of the work that piled up during the strike.  I'm buried in meetings, emails, phone calls and unfinished projects.  (If you sent me a message and I have not yet replied I would recommend you send a follow up... it is probably lost in my inbox).

A lot has happened in the last two weeks: Students FINALLY went back to class and the "aftermath" began, We enjoyed thanksgiving dinner, and we got a new government!

The transition back to class has not been easy for anyone.  We lobbied heavily to be sure that there would be heavy student consultation before new syllabi were created.  The concerns constantly rolled in regarding the new exam schedule and we spoke up about the unfairness in the new exams affecting student travel plans (and sleeping patterns).  The 7am exam for example had everyone up in arms and still is a problem. The closest to a solution that has been suggested is the ability of professors to begin those exams at 8am.  

Overall, it is clear that we will continue to see the affects of the strike for a while.  

I'm feeling pretty isolated from the campus these days while playing catch up with all of the work on my plate.  I ran on a platform that promised I would make every effort to stay connected with students, but it's easy to lose touch when I'm sitting in my office at my computer all day or in meetings.

A friend of mine (Jessica Courtney the clubs coordinator) came up with an awesome idea to rectify this situation.  I could get donuts & coffee and have weekly "focus groups" called Breakfast At Tiffany's!  I'll supplement that by making time to hang out on campus more, talking to students in the marketplace/ residences/ pub/ gym/ toldo and all of those other places on campus where you are.  I would do class talks too if they weren't so invasive on the precious class time since the strike.

Either way, it's important that I get out of this rut and back on my A game.  

P.S.  We are looking for a few delegates for a conference next week (Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance conference)  It would be a commitment for Friday Oct 24- Sun Oct 26, free meals and a chance to meet student leaders from across Ontario.  Delegates will be here from Laurier, Brock, Western, Queens, McMaster and Waterloo.  If you are interested contact Mohsin Khan at vpuauwsa@uwindsor.ca.

And if you have any suggestions as to how I could reconnect with the campus please feel free to comment or email me at puwsa@uwindsor.ca.  OR stop by my office, I'd love to talk to you.

I'll also make an honest attempt to update this blog at LEAST once a week.  Why have one if I won't use it?

Don't forget to vote in the UWSA by-election taking place this coming Monday and Tuesday!

The end of Strike '08

Where were you when you found out a tentative agreement was reached?  I was at home, recovering from a day full of brainstorming issues that will arise during what I call the strike "Aftermath".  

I was so relieved I didn't know exactly what to do, made the necessary phone calls of course and decided to write this blog entry in the excitement.  It feels so satisfying to know that students will be in class on Monday (once the agreement is ratified by the WUFA membership and approved by bog).  I can't wait to go back to normal work hours!

Tomorrow is filled with meetings with Deans and the works to be sure that students' rights are not trampled over when we return to class.  It has become quite clear to me that everyone won't be happy with how the remainder of the year will play out.  Some people want to see the "UWIN"  week used to make up lost class, others are angry at the prospect of losing the week because they have planned vacations.  

Here's hoping for a remarkably smooth transition back to class...

Not Alone

The Faculty Association at Brandon University announced that they are going on strike on Monday September 29.  As soon as I caught word I called and emailed the President of the Brandon students' union to talk - whenever he has time.  

There is no way to know how to deal with these sorts of situations.  There is no instruction manual that gives a step by step breakdown explaining what to do.  There are no files in my office that offer wisdom from past presidents who experienced this.  

I even made my way down to the UWSA archive room to see if I could find minutes from the council in 1982 when the last faculty strike of 6 days took place.  The extent of my findings was the following:

Sac B of D Minutes September 8, 1982

Page 2

5.0 Other Business

Professors' Strike:  It was made clear that the professors are now in a legal position to strike.  We have an assurance by the administration that there will be no strike.  Jim mentioned that the administration has been very cooperative.

What is the role of the Students' Union in a faculty strike?  My guess is as good as yours.  Perhaps when this is over I should make it my thesis.  

The formula I have come up with is as follows:

1. Meet with both parties and gather information 

2. Plead both parties to reach a fair agreement that recognizes the fiscal restraints of the institution

3. Write formal letters to the government, both parties, and both negotiating teams

4. Ensure the impact being felt by students is well known by both parties

5. Hold a demonstration/rally to inform/involve the student body

6. Solicit support from students' unions from across Canada

7. Investigate legal options 

Repeat 1-5 until agreement is reached.  In case of stalling substitute 7 for "Implement legal options"

8. Post agreement:  Demand student involvement in back to work protocol

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The faculty association donated $5000 + to an emergency student strike fund.  If you have ideas as to how we should distribute the money please make them known, our board will be meeting soon and would appreciate your input.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There will be another demonstration on Monday at 2:30pm.  The council has planned a memorial service for the education we have lost.  We will also be signing a petition to be presented to the ministry who seems to be ignoring our letters.

At 3:30pm on Monday Dr. Wildeman will be hosting a briefing for UWSA, GSS and OPUS elected representatives.  The UWSA reps will make ourselves available at 5pm in the pub for an informal discussion about the briefing.  If possible we will see to it that this briefing is recorded and made available on our website.

Expectations

When I was first elected I spent quite a bit of time imagining what this year would look like.  I imagined the challenges we would face carrying out our plans to improve services.  I wondered how I could be the strong voice needed to represent the students on this campus at the administrative level.  I searched for the student issues that needed to be answered and began formulating a plan to fight institutional racism, provide support for students living off campus, and bring an environmental sustainability officer to our campus.  Of course I imagined different issues would come up throughout the year, but nothing could have possibly prepared me for this catastrophe.  What's worse is the fact that what is going on is so completely out of my control.  It doesn't matter what I do, how many hours I put in (9am-1am), or how hard I work:  This strike will continue until the Administration and WUFA reach an agreement.  

 

Theodore Roosevelt once said:

 “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

 

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Memo I sent to the chief negotiators for both teams (and each member of the teams), Alan Wildeman, Brian Brown: 

 

I am writing to you within my capacity as President of the University of Windsor Students’ Alliance on behalf of 12,000 undergraduate students.   

From what I have come to understand the University left the last offer on the table and is waiting for a counter from WUFA.  I have also been informed that WUFA has prepared a counter to the offer and is ready to return to the negotiating table.  As far as I am aware the mediator has been informed that WUFA is prepared to resume talks and has informed the University of this fact. 

If all of this information is true, and both negotiating teams are at the hotel or within 15 minutes of the hotel what is stopping the bargaining process?   

Thousands of students have invested millions of dollars into their education at this institution.  

Please go back to the bargaining table and end this strike immediately.    

I have the utmost respect for each and every one of you; all I ask is that you step up to the plate right now and set a time to resume talks. 

Our education is at stake; please do not take that lightly. 

Sincerely,  

Tiffany Gooch  

President  

University of Windsor Students’ Alliance  

 

Responses:

 

Dear Tiffany,

Thank you for your email.  Please rest assured that our negotiating team and I did everything in our power to avert the strike.  We scaled down our expectations and our proposals significantly before the strike deadline.  The University administration then gave us what they called their best offer on tuesday just before the strike deadline.  It was an all or nothing offer.  There were too many features - including clawbacks  - that the Union simply could not accept.  

On Sunday evening I indicated to the mediator that we were willing to come back to the table with our entire team and we had a written counter that we were willing to table.  The Administration team has not expressed a willingness to return to the table.  Currently we are communicating through the mediator.  We remain totally committed to attaining a fair and equitable collective agreement because that is in the interests of everyone in the University, students and faculty and librarians alike.

Please feel free to contact me if I have not been clear on any aspect of what is going on.   All of us on our side of the table are professors/librarian.  We are as anxious as you are to return to school.

 

Emily Carasco

Dr. Emily F. Carasco 

Professor, Faculty of Law

University of Windsor

 

Hi Tiffany:

 

Thank you for your letter. We share your concerns and are working hard to achieve a Collective Agreement. 

Sincerely,

Gwen

Shine Day

Shine Day!!

The one day in the year when hundreds of students come together to raise money in a combined effort to fight cystic fibrosis.  Up until shine day $24,000 was raised through various fund raisers in the summer.  The shinerama committee faced tons of obstacles for their biggest fund raiser which is shine day.  On the day it was supposed to take place two weeks ago it was postponed due to the rain (which cleared up only a few hours later), and then the next week it was postponed again due to the rain.  Even though today was a beautiful day for weather, the campus is a ghost town due to the strike.  Nonetheless, shinerama carried on and raised thousands more for cystic fibrosis research.  And I got to sing!  Overall, it was a great start to the day.

I engaged in several conversations with students today about the strike and how long it could last.  Building on one another's ideas we came up with a silent rally event to be held on Tuesday.  We decided to focus on students, join all of us together regardless of our views about the strike to send a clear message: we want to get back to class.

The timing couldn't be better since there is a Board of Governors meeting to be held on Tuesday September 23 in the Toldo Health Education Centre.  We decided to hold a mass study session outside of Toldo at 3:00pm while the board members are entering the building.  

(For those of you who don't know, the Board of Governors is the highest financial decision making body at the University, it is the body that holds the administration responsible for their actions.  It is made up of various community members: http://www.uwindsor.ca/units/bog/main.nsf/inToc/68595772C935B9F985256D6D0062C1D2?OpenDocument )

We named it "Take It To The Streets: Study Session on Sunset"

The goal is to get together, bring our lawn chairs and laptops, blankets and text books and study together.  All of this to show the Board of Governors (the highest financial decision making body at the University of Windsor) that we want the education we paid for.

We will also have standardized letters to be filled out "Hello my name is ______ this is how the strike has affected me ___________".  It is clear that the strike is affecting so many students in different ways, by personalizing these letters we are able to show how important it is to each and every one of us that this is settled immediately.  

The UWSA agreed to sponsor cold drinks for the study session and the deal was done.  

Seeing as this is nothing more then a peaceful rally I hope no one attempts to change the location of the Board meeting.  We aren't being adversarial, we simply want to send the message loud and clear that an agreement needs to be reached for the good of everyone, especially students.

Anyways, I'm off to a birthday party.  I'll see you all Tuesday.

Spread the word.  

ENVER!

CBC radio woke me up at 7am Thursday  morning, not because my alarm was set to the channel but because I was scheduled as a guest on the show.  I spent a few minutes trying to get my fading voice back and woke up enough to articulate the points I needed to make.  "Students are upset! They want to go back to class! They want to see the faculty reach a fair and equitable agreement that preserves the quality of education at our institution... and quickly".

I won't lie, I was too tired to function, these late nights and early mornings aren't really doing it for me, so I slept a little longer after the phone interview before heading in to work.  And boy was the work piling high.  
I will admit I was happy when I noticed a message from Clayton Smith in my inbox stating that classes were cancelled.  Not because the classes were cancelled of course, but because of the time I received the email: 3:02am.  This was a full 6 hours earlier then the email I received Wednesday which spurred my urgent request that Clayton inform students of cancelled classes as early as physically possible from that point forward.

I spent some time replying to emails from students and returning calls before heading out to deliver the promised Pizza to the strikers outside. 

They were incredibly grateful to receive the Pizza, not only because it was delicious (made at the pub!) But because it was a validation of the support students had for them.  I most enjoyed the time I spent on south campus with the drama faculty who lifted my spirits as they thanked me for my kind words of support on the radio and in the newspaper.

By the end of the night I made my way to the theater to see "The Dark Knight" for it's last night in theaters.  I hadn't seen it yet and I couldn't find one of my friends who hadn't seen it at least 3 times in the theaters so I just went alone.  Don't feel bad for me, I've never really considered the movies a "social" outing, it's not like you can talk during it anyway.  As expected it was amazing!

Today was action packed beginning for me with the rally outside of Chrysler Tower.  I was amazed to see so many other students there supporting WUFA.  About halfway through the speeches from other faculty unions from across the country, I realized there was a possibility that Brian Brown (President of WUFA) might invite me to the microphone for a few words.  This shouldn't have come as a surprise since I am the "Official" spokesperson for the students, but I was incredibly intimidated to be speaking after a variety of incredibly charismatic speakers.  I formulated a few key points in my mind and readied myself in case I was called on, "These empty buildings surrounding us are not the University, the people behind us in this building in particular are not the University... WE are the University".  "Get back to the table, so we can get back to class" So maybe it was cheesy, but true nonetheless. 

After the rally I went back to my office for the usual: return emails, return phone calls, prepare for meetings and imagine my surprise when I saw Enver Villamizar standing in the hallway!  

Enver!! The man, the UWSA legend himself!

I had never met him before but I recognized him from all of the pictures I had seen.  Call me a geeky UWSA historian but this man spent 3 years of his life serving as a UWSA executive.  One year as the Vice President University Affairs 99/00, and 2 consecutive years as President 01/02-02/03.  I spent a week going through his files in the office this past summer, and the manual he had prepared for the incoming president after he left.  It was amazing to finally meet him and Laura Chesnik (former VPUA) even if only for a brief moment.  He complimented me on my blog... Enver Villamizar read MY blog!  

Later in the afternoon I had a meeting with SAABR to work towards standardizing procedure for student groups who have events in the pub.  We came up with some great ideas and ended the meeting hopeful for some positive change working together this year.

By the evening I made every attempt to get back to work, answer some emails and hopefully get cracking on policy.  But of course I was sidetracked by various distractions: CBC called to see if students are politically active in youth parties and volunteering for local federal MP campaigns.  The reporter asked if we had anything planned for the election on campus, like a "Rock the Vote" type of event.  I let her know we were hoping to have an all candidates debate, but that the success of such an event would depend completely on the length of the strike.  (PS, if anyone is interested in assisting with organizing this event PLEASE contact me!)

Thank goodness for 24/hour Walmart!  At one in the morning I bought a minifridge!!  I filled it with healthy snacks as per the recommendation of my friend (and head bouncer at the pub)  Rob Ouellette.  "It's 80% food and 20% working out" he says.  Hopefully having fruits and veggies in my office will keep me from eating out as much.  And perhaps I'll find my way back to the gym at some point soon as well.  

That is, if I can find the time.

I know I promised a short blog entry, but in my defence, this entry represents TWO days! I'll try harder next time...

Strike 1

Hello Blog world!

While I have never been much of a blogger I am definitely a talker so I don't think this should be too difficult.

I was hoping to write a blog to keep students informed as to what I have been doing to represent them in the UWSA presidential office; hopefully through all of the craziness I'll be able to keep this up!

I've titled today's post "Strike 1" because this is day one of the faculty strike on campus, if you don't know about it yet I recommend that you check out www.uwindsor.ca/strikeinfo, www.uwindsor.ca/wufa http://www.uwsa.ca/wufa-negotiations/ and www.pastthepages.ca. Or join the active facebook group: http://www.new.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=41401863456&ref=nf (login required).

The last 24 hours have moved very quickly beginning at 8pm last night with a council meeting at which council reiterated our official support for WUFA. Stephen Pender, Clayton Smith and Anna Kirby attended the late night council meeting to answer questions from students about the strike. By the time council ended at 10:30pm it was nothing more then a waiting game to hear information about the strike. At 11:30 I contacted Wildeman to be sure that a mass email would be sent to students upon immediate notice of cancelled classes and he assured me that negotiations were continuing and that new information would be posted at 7am on the website.

Forgetting that Tuesday nights are open mic night I was pleasantly surprised as I went to the Pub to see and hear a couple friends on the microphone (Jasmine Ball and boyfriend Sam), I hung out with them for a short while before heading back to my office just in time to get the 2am phone call. I spent some time posting the news of the strike on relevant facebook groups, sending it out to anyone who I had an email for and then got some sleep.

This morning the media frenzy began much more quickly and aggressively then I expected. My phone didn't stop ringing with requests for interviews with CKLW, CBC Radio, CBC French Radio (the interview was conducted in English thank goodness), Canada post, and the Windsor star alike. They asked what students are thinking and doing about the strike, what the side effects are and how long we expecting for the strike to carry on.

After receiving the letter from Dr. Wildeman I spent some time verifying the validity of the statements with WUFA representatives and got the ball rolling on clear UWSA literature to be distributed Thursday and Friday.

By early evening I was sitting in a meeting with the UWSA exec brainstorming ways by which we each can personally show our active support to WUFA. We decided to serve pizza to WUFA on Thursday (Vegetarian for Pender) and construct witty signs to rally with everyone on Friday at 12pm.

I spent a little time stressing about whether the UWSA was doing enough to serve students and support the faculty in their plight. After a few conversations I came to the conclusion that while there is no way to please everyone - the action that is being taken by the UWSA elected officials and UWSA members this year is electrifying. UWSA students are mobilizing in support of WUFA in great numbers - Kudos to my grade school friend Emily Wunder for her essential role in this movement.

Like you all, I hope the strike is very brief. If you have comments or concerns that I can address please do not hesitate to comment below or email me at puwsa@uwindsor.ca

I assure you that my next blogs will be much shorter :P