There's one word that has made me more happy to hear than any other lately. STRIKE! While other college students are worried and highly concerned that there is currently a strike going on within all of our PA state schools, I couldn't be any happier. Let's see why…
This is the point of the semester where the stress is at its highest (until finals week). Midterms have been upon us and our 100% participation grade has been declining rapidly. So, what better time than now to have a strike?
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When first hearing the rumors about the strike, I didn't know what to believe. “Oh, it's just a threat. It's not really gonna happen.” I work in our student union at school, and every day, a representative would sit at one of our vendor tables and conduct a vote for the strike, but I still didn't think it would actually happen. Once it looked like it was becoming an actual thing, I was scared at first. I'm graduating in May and didn't know what the strike would mean for my education. Then I realized, I don't have a life plan yet, so as long as my parents get refunded, I'm fine if I don't graduate. I plan to go to graduate school upon graduating, but that can always be pushed back.
This was the point where I started getting a little too excited for the strike to happen. My hopes were sky high and I would've been immensely disappointed if it did not happen because of how much I convinced myself it would.
I received so many mixed reviews about the strike. Some students were extremely worried and didn't want anything to happen because they wanted to complete the semester as it was supposed to be. But, most of the students were as excited as me because come on, we all need a break!
This is also amazing because Homecoming is this Saturday, so instead of a Homecoming weekend, we had a Homecoming week! There are no responsibilities and nothing to do except go to Jake’s at 8:00 a.m. (yup, there's a bar that opens at 8:00 a.m.). The only downfall about the strike, for me at least, is that I now have 0 motivation to do anything. I literally just want to do nothing or go out.
It's amazing to drive down the street and see professors and students picketing together side by side. I am very happy the professors are doing something to fight for their contracts, but I'm most happy that it's giving me and my fellow students a mini vacation. Keep fighting APSCUF, we as students are behind you!
PS: As I was writing this article, the strike ended...
