We wore our pins in solidarity for nearly four weeks. “I <3 TAs,” the most notable one read – a statement of affection for CUPE3902 workers who stood out in the cold to demand fairer working conditions from the U of T administration.
After the pickets, rallies, sit-ins, and walk-outs, the strike has ended in an agreement to enter binding arbitration, a process that uses a neutral third party to devise a solution that the union and administration must both accept. Now, our TAs have gone back to the classrooms. The spirited protests on the corner of Harbord and St. George have waned. We no longer hear the sounds of singing, drums, and a recorder through the classroom windows. But their passion and dedication endures beyond the lyrics of Solidarity Forever.
This week, I sat down with Craig Smith, a PhD student and TA in the Department of Political Science, to talk about the strike, TAing, and feminism. It’s the day after the strike has ended and Smith is content yet bleary-eyed, nursing a hangover from the previous night’s celebrations.
“One thing that the strike has shown us is what the contours of the U of T community look like,” Smith says. “There was a ton of solidarity built [across campus]. The strike is over now, but a lot of people in the union still see this as a step toward structural reform, and not just at U of T. The wider conversation about this broken system has now begun, and it’s on everybody’s radar now…it’s amazing.”
Smith’s commitment to education is not only evidenced by his active role in the strike, but also by the trajectory of his own studies. Beginning his undergraduate studies at OttawaU in Philosophy and History, the Ottawa native pursued a second undergraduate degree at U of T in Peace, Conflict, and Justice studies. He went onto complete his MSc in Amsterdam, and returned to U of T in 2009 to begin his PhD.
Alongside studying irregular migration systems on Europe’s periphery, Smith has also been a dedicated TA for POL208, better known as ‘Introduction to International Relations.’ He prefers to lead his tutorials à la Socrates, with most of the interlocution occurring between students. “It’s great when you can have a discussion that you can largely sit back from. I like to see when students flesh out logically the implications of their own claims and their own ideas.” In effect, Smith proves to be a vehement advocate for quality learning, be it on the picket lines or in the classroom.
Yet Smith’s advocacy does not end there. From tearing down men’s rights and anti-feminist posters to assisting in quashing a men’s equality festival by lobbying its sponsors to pull out, Smith could be likened to a feminist vigilante. “It’s just absurd, and it would be funny if the implications weren’t so serious,” he says, chuckling and shaking his head.
Smith’s dedication to education, learning, and broader social change is but a sample of the larger TA population with whom we banded together this past month. The University of Toronto is an impressive institution that attracts impressive individuals. If we are to keep it this way, then it is in all of our interests to uphold the conversation our TAs have already begun.
Photograph by Peter Lusztyk (http://www.peterandrew.ca)