North Vancouver high school students took to the streets, staged a "walk in" at their school and crowded into their MLA's office this week to vent their frustration at being caught in the middle of the ongoing teachers' strike.
Sarah Jordan, a Grade 12 at Sutherland, was one of about a dozen students who stood with a placard on Grand Boulevard Monday, to call attention to students' concerns.
"I'm hoping to bring attention to the fact there is a third party. Students are being affected by the strike more than anyone," she said.
Jordan said she's continued to work at her job as a grocery checkout clerk while school is not in session, but she'd rather be in the classroom.
Julia Kadi, another Grade 12 student at Sutherland, said the strike is creating extra stress for students in their final year.
"For some of the universities I'm wanting to apply to, the deadlines could be Oct. 15," she said. "There's rumours saying we might not be back to school until October."
A short distance away, Peter Schultz, a high school physics teacher, stood on a picket line outside Sutherland. Schultz said he's also concerned about the strike's impact on students. "We all take their Grade 12 year very, very seriously," he said.
But Schultz said the issues in the dispute stand to impact many other students in the future.
Louise Legris, Simon Fraser University's admissions director, said B.C. universities are waiting to see how long the strike continues before changing their usual admissions procedures but will make sure students aren't put at a disadvantage by the strike. "We're not going to penalize students for something that is beyond their control," she said.
Andrew Arida, associate registrar for undergraduates at the University of British Columbia, had a similar message, adding most admissions are based on grades that are available in March.
Also on Monday morning, a group of about 35 Argyle students crossed picket lines to stage a "walk in" at their school, before marching to North Vancouver-Seymour MLA Jane Thornthwaite's office.
Bridget Trerise, one of the students who met with Thornthwaite, said afterwards the meeting didn't give her much hope the dispute will end soon.
"Obviously the government has more power and they have more money. They're not really losing a lot in this dispute..." she said. "I'm not sure what the government's motivation is to get this deal done."
Trerise said when she put that question to her MLA, "I didn't really get a good answer."
Thornthwaite said later she told students she would relay their concerns to her cabinet and caucus colleagues, as she does for all her constituents.
Thornthwaite said it would be difficult for her to have any direct impact on the dispute. "I'm not the one who's at the bargaining table," she said.
Thornthwaite said she's had a number of visits from individuals and groups concerned about the strike. Recently her twice monthly "Join Jane" coffee meetings with constituents have been "very much taken over by this issue," she said.
Thornthwaite said not all of the meetings have been calm. "It's very difficult when you have people yelling at you. There's a mob mentality."
Thornthwaite said she's called the police on more than one occasion because of threats she's received.
The teachers' union was set to hold a vote Wednesday, asking their members if they would return to the classroom if the government agreed to binding arbitration. That vote, however, was seen as largely symbolic after the Education Minister Peter Fassbender rejected that option.
"Arbitration is not something this government is going to consider," he said. "That is not in the cards."
