McGill TribuneMore than 65,000 students from CEGEPs and universities across Quebec are currently on strike in opposition to the Quebec government’s plans to raise tuition fees. Classes at the University of Montreal, UQAM, and Laval have been cancelled. The key question is: should McGill join the strike?
The idea of a student strike is not without support. The Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) has recently amended their constitution to make it possible for the AUS to join the Coalition Large de l’Association pour une Solidarité Syndicale Étudiante (CLASSE), the union organizing the Quebec student strikes. Similarly, the Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) will be voting on whether to set up a strike committee at an SUS General Assembly (GA) this Friday, March 3.
However, a strike is more unlikely than it would seem. Both societies need to call a strike General Assembly and reach a quorum of 150 people for the AUS and 500 people for the SUS in order for a strike to take place. And if reached—an outcome which failed to happen at the AUS Winter GA—there is a strong chance of three obstacles preventing a successful strike at McGill.
The first: there will almost certainly be a lack of political impetus from the student population at large. A quorum of 150 people would not necessarily represent an accurate sample of the student body’s opinion of the strike. Many who may not be attending the potential AUS or SUS GA strike vote will still be keen on attending class, working towards graduation, or hoping for their university semester to finish on time. Without a majority of students refraining from crossing the picket lines, the strike will come undone.
The second obstacle is even more critical: the administration is unlikely to recognise the strike in any way. Instead, class attendance will be insisted upon, pressuring students to continue to go class for fear of failure. Few will be prepared to risk their GPAs, especially considering that McGill has a large proportion of out-of-province and international students who pay much higher tuition already, and feel obliged to work hard to justify such a large investment.
The third obstacle is the fact that professors at McGill are not unionised, and therefore have no legal protection if they choose to cancel their classes. Not only do they have a great deal to lose from cancelling their classes without the administration’s permission, but many professors would be reluctant to cancel classes they enjoy teaching. With the continuation of classes rather than their cancellation, the administration will be in a strong position to wait for the strikers’ resolve to fade.
The Tribune is skeptical that a successful strike at McGill is possible, and we believe therefore that McGill students should not join in the strike. This is not a call to apathy, but rather, the reasons for this stance lie in our problems with the strike’s timing, tactics, and strategy.
The timing is too close to mid-terms and finals, demanding sacrifices from many students who are trying to get the most out of the fees they have paid—either off their own backs, or on student loans—to study at McGill. The tactics are also too polarizing. An effective strike against rising tuition costs would demand wholehearted support. Students should not be categorized as defectors in support of raising tuition fees by merely attending a lecture. This would be an unfair and alienating dichotomy a campus polarization that we should be seeking to close.
The strategy of the strike is too uncompromising. Instead of refusing to accept any rises whatsoever, the student movement should be more aware of the practical reality: rises in tuition costs are on their way. What is important now is making sure that what the government takes with one hand, it gives with the other. Put more clearly, the government may be granted the money, but only on a clear set of conditions. These conditions should demand that the money is channelled directly back into improving the quality of teaching; that the government works to improve the accessibility of student loan funding; that universities increase funding pools for financial aid; that summer schooling programs are expanded; and that Quebec universities are compelled to create larger amounts of bursaries and scholarships for those less able to afford the fees. The best way to strike, the Tribune therefore suggests, is to strike a compromise.
