Horns were blowing and voices were cheering by the time the sun came up Thursday, and the wind carried the chants of about 500 graduate students across campus throughout the day.
And although Christy Rentmeester spent Thursday moving from building to building to picket for her cause, the philosophy graduate student didn’t look worn-out. A smile grew on her face as protesters chanted, “We are the union, the sexy, sexy union.”
The Graduate Employees Union, which formed last April, held its first walkout beginning at 6 a.m., with members choosing to stand on the picket line rather than in front of classes.
Members have been negotiating since October and said they will continue to strike during finals week if there isn’t a contract settlement.
MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said the strike was peaceful. People were ticketed for having amplified sound, such as megaphones, at Berkey Hall and the rock on Farm Lane.
“They were cooperative with officers and have complied,” McGlothian-Taylor said.
Anthropology graduate student Robert Edmondson began his day of protesting at 4:30 a.m.
“I think all of us only got a couple of hours of sleep,” the union member said. “There has been a lot more support this afternoon than earlier.”
Edmondson said the walkout went better than union members expected.
“We’ve really had a strong mandate, and the weather is working with us,” he said. “The support we have today from the teachers, staff, undergraduates and our own union members reflects the kind of support we have in our negotiations with the university.”
Despite the strike, some classes were held without teaching assistants.
Pre-nursing sophomore Melanie Zwick said her professor stood in for her TA during her Integrative Studies in Arts and Humanities class.
“We had recitation today, and we were supposed to present our projects,” she said. “Everyone thought they’d have a day off.”
But Zwick said she respects the union’s decision to strike.
“I think it’s fair,” she said. “TAs put in a lot of time and hours.”
And Zwick is not alone. About 300 rocks, each representing one undergraduate student who supports the union, were dumped on MSU President M. Peter McPherson’s office floor Wednesday by student activist groups.
University officials, however, say the strike’s impact has been minimal and they wish to reach an agreement.
“Clearly there are some classes that have not met,” MSU spokesman JT. Forbes said. “But this is usually the time where some classes don’t meet. It will probably take some time to see what classes met and what classes didn’t meet.”
Union members said support also came from United Parcel Services, Federal Express and LaSalle Inc. General Contractors Construction Managers, the contracting company working on the Shaw Lane parking ramp. All three companies refused to cross picket lines Thursday.
But not everyone supported the work stoppage.
History junior Lea Rosen said she found out her morning anthropology class was canceled Thursday via e-mail from her professor. She was disappointed that she didn’t have the opportunity to ascertain material to be covered on the final exam.
“I was kind of excited, but upset because we are supposed to be finding out about finals,” she said. “It would have been nice to review. I wish I had the chance.”
At a noon press conference, union officials said they will negotiate for three hours today. University officials said Thursday they would consider continuing negotiations Saturday.
Michael Frazier, a professor and associate chairman of the mathematics department, said there are six recitation sections taught by TAs on Thursdays.
“We’ve gone to those sections, but we didn’t get news in time to replace TAs,” he said. “In the cases where they didn’t show up, we told students it was canceled.”
Frazier said the lack of math TAs Thursday was a small obstacle for the department - but a walkout during finals week could be damaging for students.
“It’s an inconvenience for the students reviewing for finals,” he said. “We’ve had to take some steps to deal with this.
Staff writer Chad Previch contributed to this report.
