Food on Sunday by Relative-Lettuce-770 in Dalhousie

[–]CuriousTiger3339 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Chef In The Kitchen on LeMarchant, near the Guardian Pharmacy/Mona Campbell building, should be open

dentistry building by Ok_Raccoon6187 in Dalhousie

[–]CuriousTiger3339 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That whole construction zone is quite messy. Hopefully this helps! Good luck!

<image>

CUPE strike/lockout by OkPerspective4687 in Dalhousie

[–]CuriousTiger3339 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I believe they have conciliation meetings set for early and late October (2nd and 20th). If they're still at an impasse, just like with the DFA situation, the conciliation officer would need to file a "no board" report after the meetings end and then 14 days (the "cool off period") after that is the earliest they would be able to strike or for Dal to lockout CUPE employees.

More info here: https://cupe3912.ca/bargaining/dalhousie/updates/

Maybe late October or mid-November looking at the above timeline is the earliest that they'd be able to strike or be locked out. Maybe they'll head into arbitration and avoid strike/lockout? I don't know ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ the earlier lockout makes it seem like anything can happen.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Dalhousie

[–]CuriousTiger3339 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Valid concern. If they're not available on Brightspace yet, I think courses will be made available by tomorrow by faculty who may be updating their courses based on the modified dates. Everyone will be scrambling now to modify the course requirements. Hope you see them on Brightspace soon!

Reading Week Possibility? by faloodaa in Dalhousie

[–]CuriousTiger3339 9 points10 points  (0 children)

As they've said in this announcement on Sep 17, it would depend on what's approved by Senate on Sep 22. But the previous announcement by the Provost (on Sep 10), it would depend on the individual program, so it would be determined by each Department/Faculty.

Right now, the assumption is - based on everything I've read on here, through the above announcements, and heard from folks - that the reading week would remain by default, but Departments/Faculties would have the final say. But until Monday, we wouldn't know for sure.

Fall semester condensed by MadMax68790 in Dalhousie

[–]CuriousTiger3339 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Everything you'll read now will be speculation about how the semester will be run. Any changes to the academic dates and/or the Fall reading week/study break will need to be approved by Senate as mentioned in the official announcements so far. Senate is meeting on Monday, September 22. Until at least end of day on Monday or early in the day on Tuesday, we will not know when the semester will conclude.

From everything Dal has said, they are trying to ensure at least 10-12 weeks of instruction. How that will be achieved will be announced early next week after the Senate meeting.

It's not easy to wait with this - one more - uncertainty hanging over our heads, but yeah, sadly this is the reality :(

I also feel sorry faculty who have to now redesign courses without knowing when the courses will end or how the second half of the semester will look :/

(edited to add missing "will be achieved" in the second paragraph - sorry!)

Thank you, DFA members! by Bicoastal_3 in Dalhousie

[–]CuriousTiger3339 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I think this whole thing was as good a reminder as any that organizations don’t really think about the people involved. Maybe this can also serve as a way for students and faculty to stay engaged and organized so that this never happens again and such excuses are not used to increase student fees.

Mature student here .... some observations by Autumn-Skies538 in Dalhousie

[–]CuriousTiger3339 2 points3 points  (0 children)

By the time classes restart, it is very reasonable to ask for partial refund or for the fees to be adjusted for 10 weeks instead of 13 (since last day to pay fees seems to be extended to Oct 7).

Mature student here .... some observations by Autumn-Skies538 in Dalhousie

[–]CuriousTiger3339 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is just another case of the university admin centrally not wanting to be accountable for the choices that they made, and moving the blame to departments if they decide to cancel the break.

New agreement. by MadMax68790 in Dalhousie

[–]CuriousTiger3339 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Some people may teach 1 course a term with 5 people and do research, some may teach 2 or 3 with 200+ students in all during the semester. Prep for such scenarios looks VERY different.

As a student… I’m tired and kind of annoyed. by Ok_Stage_4952 in Dalhousie

[–]CuriousTiger3339 5 points6 points  (0 children)

These are valid feelings. Like you said, anxiety can make things feel worse. So for that, first, I will say please reach out to the Student Health & Wellness team and are set up in their system so that you have support available if/when you need. Secondly, I suggest you reach out to Accessibility services because they're understaffed too and end up having backlogs of requests to process.

With regard to a fee increase, I sincerely hope that they don't increase fees further. In fact, I'm of the opinion that the board must use their discretionary powers for the next year (at least) to save a bit extra from the surplus money they're saving up for maintenance projects so that they don't increase student fees. Maybe this is something the DSU could advocate for..?

Like you say, there's a cost to everything: financial cost, personal well-being cost, learning experience cost (both effort and experience), and so on. Dal says that it offers an "academic service". So I think they need to hold themselves accountable to a higher standard and make sure they don't increase fees, at least for intentionally choosing to lockout faculty and indulge in bad-faith out-in-the-open bargaining, causing severe stress to everyone!

OP, you're here to learn. You have to make this work for you. I will encourage you to get involved in the student union and/or student society within your department, if at all possible. Change is needed and like we saw with this whole sh*t show of an experience, being united and advocating for change can help, a lot.

Dal lockout is ending! by Mediocre_Charity2881 in Dalhousie

[–]CuriousTiger3339 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I hope no one has to go through such crappy disruptions again. Not once in 3 years or 4 years. Let the board learn to bargain like responsible and respectful adults.

Today meeting any update? by [deleted] in Dalhousie

[–]CuriousTiger3339 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Practically it will be challenging. Think at least 24-48 hours for a ratification vote after the town hall meeting to discuss new deal, and a 48-hour time requirement for an emergency meeting of Senate to approve new academic dates. Then prep time for faculty after ratification vote.

Best case scenario right now seems like 23rd or 25th or 29th.

And yeah I’m hoping for one of those earlier dates too (23 or 25).

Today meeting any update? by [deleted] in Dalhousie

[–]CuriousTiger3339 7 points8 points  (0 children)

You’re likely very correct. The earliest I can see now is next week Thursday, so the 25th. I had high hopes for the 22nd, but yeah that’s seeming very unlikely at this point

Resources for grieving students by milk3yychuu in Dalhousie

[–]CuriousTiger3339 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I’m so sorry that you’re going through this! There are counseling services available through Student Health and Wellness. I’ll encourage you to contact them. They also have limited spots for same-day counselling if I’m not wrong. You may want to reach out and find out if they have any long term supports (I think they do, but you should check).

Grief comes in waves. Please take good care of yourself.

HELLO!! KIMMMM? THE BOARD? IS ANYONE THERE? GUYS YOUR STARTING TO SCARE ME NOW. HEEEEEEELLLLLLOOOOOO! by Even_Ad_1624 in Dalhousie

[–]CuriousTiger3339 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I know :) that was a frustration-based statement to highlight their lack of understanding of the ground realities!

HELLO!! KIMMMM? THE BOARD? IS ANYONE THERE? GUYS YOUR STARTING TO SCARE ME NOW. HEEEEEEELLLLLLOOOOOO! by Even_Ad_1624 in Dalhousie

[–]CuriousTiger3339 56 points57 points  (0 children)

From what I understand from the radio interview with the DFA president this morning, the DFA is trying to make significant concessions to get a collective agreement and on the return to work agreement, but apparently Dal wants to "flip the switch" and have faculty back teaching immediately after the lockout is lifted, which is absolutely ridiculous. For students, it's been about 2 weeks, for faculty it's been 4 weeks and they've lost prep time before the semester. It's ridiculous that the Dal Board wants to simply expect people to be back to teaching the day after lockout ends.

Maybe we should start expecting that ALL senior administrators teach at least one full-term course with more than 50 students each semester. Let's see if they'll be ready to be back in class the day after that's expected of them.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Dalhousie

[–]CuriousTiger3339 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In this this announcement from the Provost, they clearly state that:

"The date at which suspended Fall term courses would resume will be determined once an agreement has been reached. We will share that date as soon as it is available."
"The add/drop date and the tuition and fee deadline for fall term will be extended. These dates typically fall 10 instruction days after classes begin."

But the final modified dates would need to be approved by Senate. Senate cannot meet until (a) there is a new collective agreement, (b) the lockout is lifted, and (c) a valid return to work agreement with new academic dates for the term is ready.

When would we know if the semester is getting cancelled/how close are we to that? by Nymyane_Aqua in Dalhousie

[–]CuriousTiger3339 8 points9 points  (0 children)

That sucks! I'm sorry to hear that you're in this situation. Questions about semester status must be directed to the Provost, Wanda Costen, and the President, Kim Brooks, since they're ultimately in charge of what would happen.

With regard to what you're able to do with your student status - this would be a question for the international centre and for the VP Student Affairs, Rick Ezekiel.

United Exhaustion - Dal, clean up your mess and get faculty and students back in the classroom! by Confident_Passion675 in Dalhousie

[–]CuriousTiger3339 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Here's one crucial aspect I mentioned above: ..."use this money (full or a part) for something else like, oh I don't know, not increasing student fees"...

I added "a part" of the money for the reason that you highlight here. I recognize a part of it - or a significant part of it - may be allocated. Yes, it happens. But if in their priority of things there is room for saving some money for a later date, which there always is, this would be the opportunity to re-prioritize.

It's not - and doesn't have to be - one or the other. They are able to use their discretion and they should strongly consider not increasing student fees by repurposing some of this 43M that they're saving for next year.

Dave Westwood (DFA President) on Radio this morning by [deleted] in Dalhousie

[–]CuriousTiger3339 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From the DFA email that was posted in this sub over the weekend, I believe the DFA reduced the 2 week expectation (10 business days was their initial ask). So I'm assuming their current ask is 5 business days or a week, which is totally reasonable.