By Kara Paternostro, May 13, 2016
As the semester peaks, two students interviewed for this article said they were starting to feel on edge.
The possibility of a strike by CUNY faculty and staff has added to the normal anxiety of classwork, jobs, and family responsibility. The Professional Staff Congress, which represents more than 25,000 professors and instructors, recently received strike authorization from its membership for the job action if the union can’t get a decent contact from the University.
Natalie Popoter, 18, who lives in the Bronx, said she would be upset if a strike occurred because she would be “paying for school and not getting it.”
Popoter, a freshman who has not yet declared a major said, “America needs to invest in young adults education and that means investing in our teachers.”
The interviewed students were also asked about their other concerns. Discussing the terror attacks that occurred in Brussels, Max Pecora, a 19-year-old who lives in Brooklyn, said “It makes me nervous.” The music major also said, “I don’t know what kind of precautions you can take. You have to live your life, you can’t live in fear.”
Despite a high of 73 degrees on March 31, Popoter and Pecora said they were frustrated with fluctuating temperatures. During the interview on the bridge connecting the Hunter North and West buildings, Popoter who was wearing leggings and a Hunter sweatshirt, said the weather was “Bipolar.”
Pecora, who wore shorts and a light jacket was interviewed on the fourth floor of the North Building, said, “It needs to stop being cold, my joints hurt. It’s almost April.”
Kara Paternostro can be reached at Kara.Paternostro61@myhunter.cuny.edu