Excerpt from the Springfield News-Sun
As Wright State University faculty union members walked the picket line again Thursday, students took a different approach to protesting and staged a sit-in outside President Cheryl Schrader’s office in University Hall.
Participating in the sit-in were 17 students meant to represent a union talking point that faculty only make up 17 percent of the university’s budget. The university needs to rebuild the trust of students and faculty, said Emma Mills, a WSU senior who helped to organize the sit-in.
“What has been going on at this university since the strike began has been harming students, and it needs to come to an end,” said WSU senior Christine Wright.
The sit-in was one of many activities planned by students in recent days to address the ongoing faculty union strike. Students have also hosted marches from the center of campus to picket lines and have occasionally delivered food to faculty protesters.
Members of the Wright State chapter of the American Association of University Professors have been on strike for three days now. Union members began picketing near the entrances to campus and the Nutter Center on Tuesday.
Classes have continued at the university during the strike, though some have been consolidated, moved online or taught by a substitute. President Cheryl Schrader, an engineer, has also returned to the classroom to teach too courses.
