FAIRBORN — UPDATE @ 9:44 a.m.
Students are continuing a sit-in outside of Wright State president Cheryl Schrader’s office this morning.
The students have asked that they be reimbursed for time missed in the classroom due to the strike and that Schrader apologize for the ongoing labor dispute.
Schrader has agreed to meet with a few of the students leading the sit-in and her office is in the process of scheduling a meeting, WSU spokesman Seth Bauguess said.
INITIAL REPORT
More than 30 students participated in a silent sit-in Wednesday to protest conditions at Wright State University on day 16 of the faculty union strike.
>> WSU administration, faculty union to meet with mediator
Many had tape over their mouths with the words "FIGHT 4 WRIGHT" written across the tape. Many, if not all, of the students also had signs affixed to their backs.
On those signs were written four demands. One asked the administration to allow the faculty union to strike for health care. A second asked the university’s board of trustees to resign so individuals who have educational backgrounds could take over. A third demanded reimbursing students for time missed in the classroom. The fourth called for WSU President Cheryl Shrader and the board to publicly apologize.
The student demonstration followed one earlier on campus that included striking faculty members of the WSU chapter, American Association of University Professors.
Also Wednesday, the university released several statements in reaction to information about the work stoppage published to social media:
- WSU officials deny telling students the university cannot guarantee they will graduate this spring.
- The university is offering to meet with any student affected by classroom disruption to devise individual course completion/graduation paths.
- The university has authorized its colleges and academic departments, if they wish, to commit to using the qualified replacement instructors for the rest of the term.
- WSU continues to welcome back faculty previously participating in the strike. In the last 24 hours, the university has welcomed back faculty from at least seven separate disciplines.
- Uninterrupted class coverage university-wide remains in the range of mid-80 percent. The number is climbing as more union faculty return to the classroom, temporary qualified replacement instructors commit to staying with the university for the full term, and new adjunct faculty join the university.
- The board of trustees and administration are unified in their solidarity for union faculty to join WSU's healthcare plan. All other university employees, including non-union faculty members, unionized staff and administrators, use the plan. Operating with two separate plans is financially unsustainable for the university and fundamentally unfair for our other employees. The university cannot offer AAUP members healthcare benefits that will be subsidized by and increase costs for all other campus employees.
