By: Hailey Miller, Staff Writer
Picture this: you’re that student who thought there was absolutely no end in sight to the strike, so you neglected three weeks’ worth of materials. You just figured it wouldn’t amount to anything! I bet you never anticipated an actual return to tutorials and a last-minute, unexpected need to submit your unwritten assignments after all. All this talk and no action led you to believe the strike would be indefinite, didn’t it? Some of you have never experienced a TSSU strike before, and it shows.
When the work stoppage came around, you thought nothing would be marked. So, why bother submitting an essay you didn’t even start in the first place, or finishing up an assignment that will no longer be accounted for? Since tutorials were cancelled, you conveniently “forgot” about all those supposed required readings, didn’t you? You stopped attending lectures in person whenever they were behind a picket line, so what’s the point in returning to campus now? Besides, the semester’s almost over anyway, and there’s not enough time to catch up, is there? What is this, your first strike rodeo? What an amateur you are! I bet you had no idea what was about to hit you. Little did you know, the TSSU Contract Committee had been working hard all along and did not give up until there was a tentative agreement. Lucky for you, tutorials are back in action now, but you, most certainly, are not.
There’s no time like the present to frantically cram countless pages of readings and unfinished assignments into one week, to make it look like you did your work on time. You figured that since there was no schedule to follow, and no tutorials required, deadlines went out the window. An unprecedented level of panic set in upon the arrival of the highly anticipated email from SFU stating that a tentative agreement had been reached and a return to labs and tutorials would happen right that second. I guarantee you curled up into a ball and considered dropping out, didn’t you? You contemplated staying in bed just as you have since the start of the strike because there’s no point in getting your act together now. Nothing says strike amateur like an unprepared student.
Those of us who are well-seasoned, strike-experienced scholars know all too well that it wouldn’t be a semester on campus without a strike. A good ol’ work stoppage is just a part of the process. Trust me, this isn’t our first rodeo. The newbies, on the other hand, have never been more stressed than in the mere two seconds they’ve actually been on campus for the start of their degrees. Welcome to SFU, where you hardly attend classes but still have to pay full price. Ever heard of a discount? That’s not applicable here! If you thought you’d be reimbursed for all the missed classes, sorry, you’re out of luck. I’d suggest taking your concerns to the admin and filling out the useless survey SFU emailed. I can guarantee you nothing will happen. SFU will continue to bask in the glory of another tuition hike, yet again.
With backpay not guaranteed, the assignments that you actually did manage to complete will most likely get a measly pass or fail with no mark given. If you strived for 100%, I hate to break it to you, but it won’t matter now. As for your anxiously awaited return to tutorials and labs, your incomplete readings and conveniently “forgotten” assignments, fear not, because the TAs are just as lost as you.
