A professor at McGill University is coming under fire for taking her university class off-campus to avoid crossing picket lines of striking workers, according to the Montreal Gazette.
Michelle Hartman, an assistant professor of Islamic studies, moved her class on revolutions and people struggles in the Middle East to her home as a way of showing solidarity with the striking support staff of the university.
She felt it was a compromise between crossing the picket lines and canceling class altogether, reported the McGill Daily.
Christopher Manfredi, dean of arts, sent an email to Hartman, which stated that teaching off-campus would not be condoned. If continued, Hartman’s salary would be deducted, the McGill Daily said.
Professors have the right to not cross the picket line, but not to hold classes outside of the university, according to an email sent to staff by provost Anthony Masi. Issues of liability, safety and inconvenience for students were cited.
"[The dean] said you can't do your job properly if you're not on campus," Hartman told the Montreal Gazette. "I told him I'm moving it back under protest. That was the most inflexible and disingenuous interpretation of the rules I've heard."
Though Hartman is in the spotlight at McGill, she told the Gazette that many other teachers have held classes off-campus at nearby cafés. Presently, no other professors have been publicly reprimanded.
The issue of crossing picket lines started Sept. 1, the first day of the fall term. The support staff at McGill, the McGill University Non-Academic Certified Association (MUNACA), had previously met with the university 23 times since January. No deal could be made despite negotiations.
Students are feeling the effects of the strike in more ways than one.
“A lot of the labs were cancelled for the first and second weeks of school,” said Sindy Hou, a first-year student at McGill. “The administration office closed earlier, which was extremely inconvenient if you had any sort of problem like getting student IDs or meal plans.”
“It’s really annoying walking to campus because [the strikers] are always chanting with their signs at every McGill entrance door. It’s been going on for three weeks now. I don’t understand how they still have the energy to go on,” Hou said.
Hartman is back to teaching on campus. She told the CBC she wishes for her students to learn something from the ordeal.
“I really encourage [students] to get involved however they want to get involved in our McGill community,” Hartman said. “Find out what people are talking about, find out why people are on strike . . . and think about how what we do here is related to what others are doing in other parts of the world.”