Every school day I find myself dreading getting up for my 8 a.m. or hating myself for scheduling a lab in prime naptime hours or loathing every second of every cursed lecture.

OK, this may be a bit dramatic, but we’ve all been there. School sucks sometimes.

Thankfully, fall break is a thing and because of it I was able to catch up on some much-needed morale.

Oddly enough though, this morale didn’t come from some extra sleep and some Netflix binge watching, but from being around another college campus that is experiencing some troubles that we are very fortunate not to have here at Gannon.

Over break I visited my boyfriend and some other high school friends who attend Slippery Rock University.

Slippery Rock is one of 14 Pennsylvania state schools now being faced with a potential strike of faculty in the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF).

The strike is set to commence Wednesday, unless the State System of Higher Education negotiates a fair contract agreement with APSCUF. APSCUF members have been working under expired contracts since June 30, 2015.

APSCUF members are unsure how long the strike will last, but it will continue until negotiation teams reach an agreement.

Specific details about the state of the potential strike are uncertain as APSCUF and the state system declared a news embargo on Saturday stating that neither side will discuss any details of the negotiation during the time of the embargo.

Being around students who may be affected by this strike had me thinking, “What if this happened to us? How would I feel about a strike?”

At first glance I think most students would be a bit happy about the idea of not having to attend classes due to a teacher’s absence. It’s like getting an indefinite about of snow days but in mid- October.

After time, though, any rational and concerned student would realize that the amount of schooling that he/she is missing is an actual problem.

Every week, day and hour of class missed is an amount of time not spent learning valuable information relevant to a student’s future career.

Students preparing to take MCATs, studying for board exams and learning information that pertains to their future are going to be behind when compared to others not missing classes.

It’s also important to consider the amount of money that is being lost with each tuition dollar you’re spending for a lack of education being provided.

As mentioned before, this strike is set to occur Wednesday and may or may not actually occur.

Regardless of the state of the strike though, it’s an interesting situation to look at as someone who is not directly involved in the situation.

Hearing the concerns of my close friends has made me appreciate the education I am receiving. It is a privilege to attend higher education and it’s a privilege I often forget in the midst of the stress and turmoil of the semester.

Next time I find myself cursing my 8 a.m. I will try a little harder to give myself a reality check and remember that it could always be worse.

OLIVIA BURGER
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