University of Lethbridge student solidarity groups show support for faculty association amid job action

Two groups representing University of Lethbridge students say they are concerned about the ongoing faculty strike at the post-secondary institution.

Faculty took to the picket line on Thursday and the student organizations are accusing the university’s board of governors of using “aggressive tactics.”

“We demand that the board and upper administration start putting actions behind their words and put students first,” said Angie Nikoleychuk, a third-year undergraduate student in the department of psychology. She is also an executive with the U of L Student Solidarity and Action Council and the U of L Student Action Assembly.

The student-led organizations said they feel the University of Lethbridge’s board of governors are putting out misinformation about bargaining and trying to create a rift between faculty and students.

“They have used what appears to many students to be dishonest framing of the faculty, threats and political theatre to win points at the bargaining table and in the public eye,” Nikoleychuk said.

The student organizations said the U of L board and administration have interfered with the pay of some student employees and failed to provide students with practicums currently in place with solutions.

Karina Almeida, another executive with the student groups, said the board is also impacting critical research projects by locking faculty out of their emails and the facilities.

“They are preventing faculty from continuing their research, which can cause unnecessary and likely irreparable damage to the university’s reputation as a research facility.”

The university responded in a statement, saying “it would be unfair for ULFA (University of Lethbridge Faculty Association) members to engage in non-essential research for professional and academic benefit, while at the same time withholding instructional services from students.

“Regarding critical or time-sensitive research, faculty members through ULFA can request access either physically or electronically to their research,” the university said.

Students are still able to access the campus, however, the university formally closed all workplaces to ULFA members Friday morning.