This news item caught my eye:
Secretary Cardona cancels UW commencement speech amid researchers strike
Hours before he was scheduled to give the commencement speech to the University of Washington’s graduating class of students, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona canceled his appearance, citing a strike by graduate and postdoctoral researchers.
“Secretary Cardona will not cross the picket line to give the commencement address,” a spokesperson for Cardona said in a statement. “We respect the collective bargaining process and hope the parties can reach a resolution soon.” . . .
Cardona’s commencement address was scheduled in early March, according to UW spokespeople. There wasn’t a replacement speaker.
A UW faculty member of my acquaintance passes along some additional information about how the ceremony went off:
After the PhDs received their recognition and walked across stage, they kept walking out of the stadium to join their fellow picketing picketeers. (Rather selfish that you want your recognition but then tell everybody else that you are not going to stay for theirs.) This was followed by the M.A. students. Ball rolling faster now.
The undergraduates followed suit by leaving after walking across stage. After the stage walks, there was still some program left, including the big congratulations, the roar of the crowd, the tossing of the caps, etc. However, the stadium was 90% empty by that time.
I wonder how many of the undergraduates who walked out did so because of peer pressure or fear of peer pressure?
Interesting that the graduate student strike was called after the semester had ended. If they had gone on strike in the middle of the semester, it would have disrupted many classes and perhaps prevented many students from getting grades and assignments done and prevented their graduation. (This almost happened with Berkeley’s graduate student strike earlier this year.)
On the other hand, I’m sure many students were relieved they didn’t have to listen to Secretary Cardona.
Here are before and after photos (the second one taken before the formal program had ended).
P.S. The UW graduate students are being organized by the . . . United Auto Workers. Auto Workers? Well, perhaps it makes sense on some deeper level, since leftist academics have become virtually interchangeable automatons.
[Hat tip: TG]
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