Strike chants and music filled the air on the UW-Madison campus Tuesday as members of the Teaching Assistants' Association began their two-day walkout.
According to Eric Freedman, a TA in the department of curriculum instruction, more than 800 members and supporters of the TAA picketed numerous campus buildings in protest of what they as an deem unsatisfactory contract.
Along with all-day picketing, the TAA held two boisterous rallies at noon and at 4:30 p.m. Organizers said the first rally, which featured guest speakers and a band, was intended to be an alternative to attending classes for undergraduates.
Some undergraduates who attended class experienced a change of scenery, as some classes were moved to avoid picketed buildings. English Professor Henry Turner taught his English 215 class on Bascom Hill.
\I respect the picket line,"" Turner said. ""I think that higher education often suffers in budget crises and in political circumstances because higher education is a soft political target.""
The Office of State and Employee Relations expressed its displeasure with the TAA strike.
""We're disappointed that the TAA has chosen to take this action and disrupt both the bargaining process and the education of thousands of students at UW-Madison,"" OSER director Karen Timberlake said.
While she said the state would like to keep talking and will make every effort to resolve the contract dispute as soon as possible, its options are limited.
""It's obvious that the TAA [isn't] ready to accept the last offer that was presented to them,"" Timbrlake said. ""[But] we don't have any more flexibility ... on the health insurance issue and in terms of economics either.""
UW-Madison Provost Peter Spear exhibited similar remorse about the strike.
""[The university is] sorry that it came to this,"" he said. ""I think we all wanted the TAA and the state to reach a settlement before it came to a strike ... and hopefully it can be carried out in a way that is non-confrontational so when it's over ... we can go on together as a collegial community.""
Spear also said the university asked faculty and TAs to follow normal class-cancellation procedures, rescheduling or providing an alternate classroom assignment for cancelled classes. Students were also told to report to department heads if classes were cancelled, according to Spear.
""Our students ... have paid tuition and we feel an obligation for [students] to get the education that [they] paid for,"" he said.
Still, Spear said the measure was taken to provide students with any class materials they may have missed, not as a means to penalize faculty who cancelled classes.
""We have no plans to punish or retaliate against any TAs or faculty,"" he said.
The vast majority of TAs reported positive feedback from undergraduates on campus.
""I've been handing out flyers and a lot of undergrads have been giving me the thumbs up,"" mathematics TA Ben Marsh said.
Some, however, took a different view of the strike.
UW-Madison senior Frank Harris, president of the UW-Madison College Republicans, said the group wholeheartedly disapproves of the TAA's actions, and criticized the motives behind them.
""[The strike is] a slap in the face to the students,"" he said.
One goal of the picketing TAA members was to discourage students from attending class. Emily Freeland, an astronomy research assistant and ""picket captain"" in front of the Social Science building explained the picketing techniques employed by the TAA members.
""You're not supposed to physically harass anyone, of course, but you are a moral and a visual barrier,"" Freeland said. ""You are supposed to interact with them, and try to convince them of how they are undermining our struggle.""
While the TAs were trying to effectively shut down parts of the university, some undergraduates trying to attend classes in picketed buildings expressed frustration with picket lines. UW-Madison freshman Sky Halverson crossed picket lines to go to class in Bascom Hall.
""I didn't like the fact that they made me feel like I'm doing something wrong when I just wanted to get my education, getting what I'm paying for,"" he said.
Other students viewed the strike as an opportunity to support what they saw as a good cause.
""I feel really strongly in support of the TAA,"" UW-Madison freshman Brian Shactman said. ""When you have a day like this, rather than look at it like a day off, let's learn something and ... help out [the cause] if we believe in it.\
