Our Word

Some people have told the Daily Egyptian that we appear biased toward the unions in our coverage of labor issues on campus.

The Daily Egyptian wants to make one thing clear: We are not pro-union. We are not pro-administration. We are pro-SIU. We want the issues settled in good faith and as quickly as possible.

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It may seem we’ve only been covering the unions’ side, but that’s only because the unions talk to us more. Administration has been pretty tight-lipped about the subject, relying on emails with its spin on the issues to the campus community. It has chosen not to bargain through the media, and certain discussions at the negotiating table could be illegal to leak to the press.

One reason it may seem easier to side with the unions is because we have a direct relationship with the faculty and staff who are part of the negotiations. In class, professors can give students personal insight into the strike from a faculty standpoint. Emails sent by the administration to update the campus community are impersonal. Sometimes students even feel insulted by certain dialogue such as, “Students … should not be used as unwilling pawns in the disagreement between the parties.”

But are we just pawns? How far does the student voice really go in this situation? The unions have encouraged students to take a stand against the administration, but are they just using us?  We’re caught in the middle, but it doesn’t seem like we can do much to sway either side. And why would we want to sway to one side anyway? None of us know enough about the bargaining  to fairly judge the situation. We only know what the unions and administration tell us. The negotiations are behind closed doors. The information both sides present could be easily skewed to persuade us to rally for them.

It’s frustrating that we pay our tuition and expect quality education, but we might be cut short. While we think it is selfish of teachers to walk out on us, it is also ignorant of the administration to think replacements could give us the same level of wisdom as seasoned professors.

As student reporters, we carry a dual relationship with the contract talks. Our student life is affected by this but we also must remain as neutral as possible. The situation is not in our control, but the Daily Egyptian hopes for a speedy agreement between both parties.