UCSC strike: How much should we worry about lost learning?

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On May 20, University of California graduate student workers kicked off a UC-wide strike to protest the way university leaders have handled pro-Palestinian activism on campuses. Specifically, they are angry that university leaders at three campuses (UCLA, UC Irvine and UC San Diego) called police to remove protesters and break up encampments (sometimes forcibly and with injuries) and punished employees for protesting.

UC leadership has tried – and so far failed – to end the strike by claiming it is unlawful, but what interests me more is an argument some people make against continuing, supporting or participating in strikes like this. They argue that strikes harm undergraduates by disrupting their learning.

I’m a doctoral candidate in philosophy at UCSC and a student worker who’s been involved in strikes in 2019-20, 2022 and now the current one. Much of my academic work is in ethics, and year after year I’ve reflected on this popular claim. So let’s take a look.

Striking teachers stop teaching. They don’t hold classes, grade assignments, input or submit grades into online systems. Is it wrong to do this? Is learning stopped? 

UC graduate students have listed legitimate grounds for striking and they have made their demands clear, but does concern for students’ lost learning override these reasons and aims? 

I think not, so long as we take a more holistic vision of “learning” and striking teachers attend to – rather than dismiss – the concerns.

First, I hope many of us can agree learning is distinct from mere academic progress. Delayed or withheld grades, in my five years’ experience at UCSC, tend to have little academic or administrative impact on students. Undergraduates’ grades don’t suffer long term, nor do students lose their ability to enroll in future courses, get financial aid benefits or visa status, transfer or apply to other programs and scholarships or even graduate with peers. Unofficial transcripts are still available, and blank grades (those that haven’t been inputted) do not lower students’ GPAs. 

In the few cases where withheld grades might harm students academically, striking teachers should and generally do communicate with their students and work to make exceptions (similar to striking nurses). 

Once a strike is over, teachers (or those hired to replace them) will input grades — it’s simply a delay in processing rather than a loss. Teachers often do, and should, adjust how their courses are graded to account for changes in instruction and assessments due to a strike. This ensures students get penalized as little as possible by strike activity. Students who believe their grades have been unfairly assigned may always file a grievance.

But even if students’ grades and academic progress don’t suffer from a strike after days, weeks or months of missed instruction, what about the learning they’re allegedly being graded on? Isn’t that lost? 

Many on the pro-strike side claim a small loss in learning now is worth the long-term educational benefits of healthy, safe and well-paid teachers. I’m not so convinced. Graduating seniors, for example, won’t see any of these alleged improvements in teaching post-strike.

That said, not all learning is strictly course-related. Strikes are outlets for exploring ethical and political positions, activism, organizing and community-building. UCSC’s current strike also includes near-daily teach-ins (topics include radical literature, yoga, labor history, and Palestinian poetry). These may be nontraditional “classes,” but they are unique and enriching opportunities to learn, nonetheless.

Furthermore, teachers strikes provide opportunities for students to practice accountability and — maybe for the first time — take charge of their learning. They can: keep up with coursework, seek support in novel ways (for example, through peers) and communicate less formally with teachers. Often, striking teachers are still available to students. They might not hold office hours, but they can chat as mentors or peers. 

Learning opportunities are only lost during a strike if students are unwilling to seek them out. 

Students enrolled in rigorous courses, or those critical to their major or future academic success (like fundamentals in math or science), might still feel a loss. The enrichment of the encampment lessons won’t help them understand calculus or thermodynamics; there’s still real academic learning to be missed. 

This is true, and it’s not completely avoidable. But it can be minimized.

Most classes taught by faculty and lecturers are continuing despite the strike. All course materials (and libraries! And internet! And resource centers!) are available, and many assignments are still due. 

Some class meetings, discussion sections and office hours — arguably the most engaging aspects of courses — might be paused, but learning needn’t stop. Undergraduates are adults, and their education is their prerogative (university teachers are not “care workers” like grade-school teachers or nurses are). 

Let’s not forget, too, that many undergrads support the strike, and are organizing their own disruptive campus actions in tandem with striking grads. Others relish the opportunity to rest or to catch up on schoolwork. This isn’t to say we should dismiss lost academic learning. But maybe we need to reframe it, with students’ own priorities and decisions taken into account.

Ultimately, supporting or participating in a strike is a decision of conscience and solidarity. Maybe teachers aren’t willing to strike out of concern for students; maybe they are. Maybe students want their teachers to strike; maybe they don’t. 

I hope students and their families and communities understand the value and motivation behind teachers striking, and know their intention is not to harm students.

I hope teachers – striking or not striking – understand the uncertainty and anxiety students face when their schooling is interrupted and their schedules are upended. 

Teachers should offer lines of communication throughout a strike, be honest and invite honesty back from their students. I hope everyone communicates respectfully and that those communications are received with grace. Harm can’t always be anticipated, but teachers – even striking ones – should be receptive to and proactive about responding to it.

Personally, I don’t think lost learning is a compelling claim against university teachers strikes. But I feel good that I’ve taken the time to reflect on it, to weigh considerations, and now, to share them. 

Strike on!

Emily Robertson is a doctoral candidate in philosophy at UC Santa Cruz.