Law students form unions in class, go on 'strike'
By
Kehla West |
POSTED AT
12:00 AM ON Apr. 11, 2003
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Unfair professor? A group of law students came up with a novel way to remedy the problem -- go on strike.
The 35 students in Dr. Ken Dau-Schmidt's labor law class participate in a workplace simulation in order to better understand the fine points of labor law. Students in the class can choose to write papers throughout the semester or to simply take the final for their grade. When Dau-Schmidt attempted to set the curve at two different GPAs for the two different groups, the exam-takers decided not to take it.
"We formed a union, and we've stuck together as a bargaining unit," said law student Cynthia Ipsen. "We've been trying to hammer out a labor contract with him, a collective bargaining agreement. He's agreed to just about everything, except he wants to let the writers have a higher GPA mean. We've been working without a contract, and we have no guarantee about our wages, which are our grades."
Law student Greg Fouts said the strike was necessary because of the unfair labor practices in use.
"This action is clearly discrimination, and in violation of the National Labor Relations Act. That's basically what we've studied throughout the semester. It's the foundation of all the federal law that governs bargaining and relationships between managements and unions," Fouts said. "He has an obligation to treat all of his employees the same. By threatening to raise the grades of some of his workers without cause, he's discriminating against the exam takers."
Last year's students also chose to strike, and they won the right to a 3.2 GPA average curve.
"I think that this simulation brings this whole idea of union activism to life," said Andrea Taylor, last year's union president. "These kinds of lessons can't be learned from textbooks."
During the last few weeks of the semester, the students became upset when they found out their peers would be held to different standards. When Dau-Schmidt arrived in the law school's lobby, he was greeted with a hall full of protesters.
"I'm most disappointed, I think I'm going to have to move my productions to Mexico," Dau-Schmidt said, smiling. "I understand that students in Mexico work for much lower grades than here."
One protester's sign read "Think Globally, Work American, Keep Jobs in America." The students also created an effigy of their professor from a black shirt and Darth Vader mask, and a sign on its chest read "Darth Schmidt-Evil Employer."
"I've been doing this simulation for five years," Dau-Schmidt said, obviously delighted at the students' efforts. "This is the first time they've had an effigy, though."
The professor greeted the protesters and invited them to join him in the faculty lounge to discuss the contract. Law student Debbie Cooper and Dau-Schmidt argued over several points, but the students won the right to a 3.29 average curve.
Dau-Schmidt was recently awarded the Wallace Teaching Award, which is awarded by law students to a professor for excellence in teaching. On Founders Day, Dau-Schmidt was also awarded the Sylvia E. Bowman Award. His innovative teaching style and his real-life simulations are part of what make him a great teacher, Ipsen said.
"He's the only one in the law school who teaches with any kind of innovative pedagogy," she said. "He's wonderful."