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University of Manitoba strike impacting Flin Flon students

Professors at the University of Manitoba are on strike, and students who moved from Flin Flon to attend class there are feeling the pressure. The University of Manitoba Faculty Association (UMFA) went on strike Nov. 1.

Professors at the University of Manitoba are on strike, and students who moved from Flin Flon to attend class there are feeling the pressure.

The University of Manitoba Faculty Association (UMFA) went on strike Nov. 1. At least 1,200 faculty members had been on the picket line for a week as of Tuesday.

Much of the student body at the U of M lives in Winnipeg full-time, but the strike presents a unique challenge for students originally from the North. With most classes now either cancelled or postponed, they are left scrambling.

“A lot of my friends have as many as four of their classes on strike right now,” said Kris Sattelberger, a Hapnot Collegiate grad in his sixth year at the university. “It’s really inconvenient, especially for somebody who’s a ways into their degree.”

Students from Flin Flon have been left with little reason to stay during the strike, paying fees for classes they can’t attend. While some have part-time jobs or are on work placements, the strike still means challenges.

“The strike presents a unique problem for people who have to travel to university,” said Sattelberger. “For somebody from
Flin Flon, they would have to move here, they would have to pay to live here and have a job to live here. It presents a challenge.”

The strike has caused internal conflict for many students: while they support the faculty’s right to strike, they’re concerned for their own academic futures.

“It’s very conflicting,” said Sattelberger. “Speaking from my ideals, I do support the strike. I support UMFA’s ability to call a strike and negotiation and democracy, but personally I’m kind of angry about it.” 

For some, the strike brings back memories of a similar faculty strike at Brandon University in 2011. That strike lasted 45 days, long enough to cancel several classes and cause many students to redo classes or transfer to other schools.

“I think for a lot of people who were aware of that strike, it weighs heavily on us,” said Sattelberger. “We can’t help but imagine the worst when you hear a strike has been called. I do know a lot of people who left Brandon because the strike basically ruined their entire year of education.”

Despite the situation at the U of M, Sattelberger said student morale is high.

“A lot of students tend to be taking a kind of happy-go-lucky approach,” he said. “Because we don’t know, it’s better to keep a positive spirit about it. A lot of them are just grateful for the chance to catch up with their homework.”

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