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Students from the faculties of arts and rural development take part in Friday afternoon’s convocation ceremony.
Through slipping hats, near-missed handshakes and sly stage shuffles, members of the Brandon University class of 2012 proved nothing can stop them from crossing the stage.
Brandon University graduates fill the front rows of the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium during the afternoon convocation ceremony on Friday. (BRUCE BUMSTEAD/BRANDON SUN)
Business graduate Scott Hayward shakes the hand of Brandon University president Deborah Poff at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium on Friday afternoon. (BRUCE BUMSTEAD/BRANDON SUN)
Not even the longest professors’ strike in Manitoba history.
"One of my professors told me ‘we’re in this situation, we just need to get through it’ and that’s what we did and here we are," said a beaming Geoffrey Davison, who received his bachelor of business administration degree Friday afternoon.
Convocation for the 629 graduating students is split into four groups, accepting their honours Friday and today at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium. Students in the faculties of science, health studies and First Nations and aboriginal counselling were first to graduate Friday morning, while the afternoon session was dedicated to the faculties of arts and rural development.
But no matter the discipline, the crowd applauded each student who moved their tassel from right to left. One student even got an upbeat "Atta girl, Carly!"
The excitement was well deserved as those graduating in the 101st graduation ceremony at BU stuck out a 45-day professors’ strike last fall, while 147 of their classmates withdrew from the university.
For more than six weeks, there were no classes for the university’s 3,000 students, after the faculty began picketing Oct. 12, finally ending on Nov. 25. Students had a two-week period after classes resumed to receive full tuition refunds.
For Brandon University Faculty Association president Todd Fugleberg, seeing the students happy on their special day was rewarding.
"It’s such a credit to them for finishing in such a tough year," Fugleberg said. "And to the professors, everyone in the university, for putting in extra time to complete their goals."
To make up for lost time, the fall 2011 term was extended to January for a total of 11 weeks. The university’s second term of the same length started in early February.
"You had to look at your content and say ‘OK, I’ve got 11 weeks, I usually have at least 13, what needs to be covered,’" Fugleberg said."We wanted to make sure students got the content they paid for, not just an abbreviated version cut off at the end."
Bachelor of arts recipient Katherine Christison said for the most part, faculty did just that.
"I felt like our term was rushed, but I’m just happy to be done," Christison said. "I really liked my professors and my department and that made me stay."
Last year’s strike was not the first for Christison and most of her fourth-year classmates. In the students’ first year, 240 full-time and sessioned university employees, including professors, walked off the job on Sept. 29, 2008.
Classes were also cancelled during the 17-day strike, an experience then first-year student Maryam Audu remembers as "frustrating."
"It affected your grades," Audu said. "There was not enough time, you didn’t know if you should study or what you should study."
Despite the hiccup, Audu graduated Friday with a bachelor of arts, cheered on by her sister, brother, best friend and boyfriend.
Convocation for the remaining faculties will be held today at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
» dponticelli@brandonsun.com
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition June 2, 2012
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Through slipping hats, near-missed handshakes and sly stage shuffles, members of the Brandon University class of 2012 proved nothing can stop them from crossing the stage.
Not even the longest professors’ strike in Manitoba history.
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Through slipping hats, near-missed handshakes and sly stage shuffles, members of the Brandon University class of 2012 proved nothing can stop them from crossing the stage.
Not even the longest professors’ strike in Manitoba history.
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Posted by:reader12
June 3, 2012 at 2:48 PM
Could you not have printed something more positive? Everyone knows the strike took a toll on the entire commu ity of both Brandon and Brandon University. Why the reporter chose to dredge it all up again rather than focusing on the achievements of students and faculty, is a mystery to me. I doubt there won't be many grads or faculty that put this in their graduation 2012 highlights scrapbook. Shame on the Brandon Sun!