SGA President Logan Steigerwalt along with other student government presidents from other universities held a press conference Friday to give a brief statement on the possible strike from faculty members.
Steigerwalt said the Board of Student Government Presidents wanted to make sure they got their message out there and encouraged both sides in the contract negotiations to continue negotiating in good faith and keep the students at their utmost priority.
He then read the statement from the board, which said that many efforts have been done on numerous campuses in the state system to raise awareness and promote action, including open forums, letter-writing campaigns and rallies.
“We hope that those efforts have been recognized, considered and heard,” Steigerwalt said.
The statement said it was imperative that the two negotiating teams make progress over the weekend to avoid a strike.
“A strike would be devastating to the 100,000 plus students of the state system,” Steigerwalt said.
The statement said a disruption of the semester could cause various effects, including loss of instructional continuity, financial burdens and time constraints.
“As a group, we stand here in front of you, united in thought, purpose and voice when we say a strike cannot be allowed to happen,” Steigerwalt said.
Steigerwalt said that each side has a commitment to the students that needs to be upheld.
“We stand in front of you today for our fellow students, for our educations and for our futures and we challenge the negotiating teams to do so the same,” Steigerwalt said.
Other student government presidents in attendance included those from other universities in the state system including Cal U, Cheyney, Edinboro, Lockhaven and Kutztown.
