Students take a seat on campus to support faculty

In a Sept. 16 joint statement, Dalhousie University and its faculty association announced they reached a tentative agreement to end the labour disruption. This article was produced ahead of that announcement. 

Dalhousie University students gathered for a sit-in in front of the Henry Hicks Building on Sept. 9 to support the Dalhousie Faculty Association, as negotiations continue with the university’s board of governors.

Equipped with signs and chalk, students used their time away from classrooms to demonstrate their frustration with the ongoing lockout.

While the protest was peaceful, students still wanted to ensure that their frustrations were heard. 

“What matters most to me is that Dalhousie knows we’re watching,” says Rose Silivestru, the sit-in organizer. “I think that students are constantly a bargaining chip, constantly a last thought, and that’s just truly unfortunate.”

Many attendees found themselves a spot in the quad to sit with a group of friends, laid down a blanket and enjoyed the sunny day to support the DFA in their negotiations with the university’s board of governors. 

“I think it’s really important for students to show that what the board of governors is doing is affecting us, it’s not just affecting the faculty,” says Dalhousie student Roxy Mason. 

“We want our profs to have fair wages and fair treatment, and we want to go back to classes,” says Dal student Wren Jarek-Simard. 

Silvestru says the response from students at the sit-in was “overwhelming in one of the best ways possible.”

“It’s the community that I thought I was getting when I came here to Dal, I’m really glad to have found it,” she says.

Silivestru, who recently moved to Halifax to begin her first year in Dalhousie’s law program, is the student behind the @dallockedout Instagram account. Silivestru’s account advocates for the DFA and keeps students up to date on the lockout. 

“I was mad, and I’m not good at being mad on my own,” she says. “The least I can do is pick up a $40 microphone, sit myself in front of it and scream into the void.

“It turns out that the void screams back.”