When Daniel Kayello signed up to study abroad in Paris, he expected to take four classes during the week while traveling Europe on the weekends.
Instead, he found himself unable to get to class or travel freely, as strikes brought much of France to a halt in November.
"Exams have been cancelled, classes have been impossible to reach due to students linking arms in the doorways, riot police can be seen everywhere and no one can say with confidence when normality will return," Kayello, a junior, wrote in an e-mail to The Chronicle Nov. 28.
The Duke in France/EDUCO program was not the only Duke study-abroad program affected by social unrest. Strikes in New York by Broadway stagehands in November caused the Duke in New York: Arts and Media program to adjust its schedule accordingly.
In addition, students travelling to Hollywood for the Duke in Los Angeles program may feel the effects of the Writers Guild of America strike if it continues into next semester.
French workers and students upset
"Almost a third of classes this semester have been cancelled. Weekend trips have been made hugely more expensive and difficult," Kayello said. "We have had to attend private tutoring sessions at the Duke center in Paris in order to catch up what was missed in class."
Strikes by rail workers, postal workers, teachers and many other public employees have brought much of France to a standstill since mid-November. Strikers are protesting President Nicolas Sarkozy's attempts at labor and pension reform.
French students have also protested against Sarkozy's plans to privately finance the university system. Students in France fear private financing will lead to harder admission standards, Kayello said.
"I tried to go to class... and a guard told me I couldn't go in," junior Leah Fisher wrote in an e-mail. "The administrators actually shut the school when they worry about the strikers going in and creating trouble.... They had barricaded the gates to keep people out of the buildings."
She added that some French students she talked to said they disapproved of the strikes.
"According to them, it's just a few guys, usually ones that don't go to class anyway, and they just like causing trouble," Fisher said.
The staff of Duke in France/EDUCO has made arrangements for additional tutoring due to the strikes, Associate Dean Margaret Riley, director of the Office of Study Abroad, wrote in an e-mail.
She added that she is unaware of any student concerns about the riots, but she has been contacted by one worried parent of a student in Paris.
"[Her] concerns were assuaged when it was pointed out to her that the situation that faces her daughter is not unique to the students [in] the program in Paris, but is something with which all Parisian residents are coping," Riley said. "As one of our faculty commented: 'This is a unique historical Paris moment to be savored and experienced to the full in the collective rather than conquered.'"
New York strike causes some delays
Whereas the Duke in France/EDUCO program has changed its schedule considerably due to the strikes, the Duke in New York: Arts and Media program was not similarly affected by the Broadway stagehand strike. The strike started Nov. 10 and ended Nov. 28.
Although the program may miss a live screening of "The Daily Show" and has rescheduled a performance of the play "Rock 'n' Roll," it has continued mostly as planned, Marianna Torgovnick, director of Duke in New York and professor of English, wrote in an e-mail.
Junior Doug Clark wrote in an e-mail that the strike has enhanced his experience in New York beyond what he expected.
"It's actually things like the Broadway Strike that makes being in [New York] so enjoyable," he said. "You get the feeling that you're... part of the 'real world'."
Duke in L.A. not affected by strike
Jim Thompson, director for the Duke in Los Angeles program, said he does not expect the program to be negatively affected by the screenwriter strike.
"Most of the students work for film production companies and their principal job is to do script coverage," he said. "There's no shortage of scripts for these guys to work with."
The strike affects drama, comedy and late-night television shows the most, and few students express interest in working in television, he added.
"I pointed out [to students] that there was some risk that [a television internship] wouldn't be able to take place," Thompson said. "In fact, I probably have more students lined up for more interesting [media] internships this year than any year I can think of."
The strike may actually be beneficial for the program, he added. With many screenwriters no longer working, Thompson said he hopes they will have more time to talk to students.
"We have Duke in L.A. alumni who are well-established screenwriters who now have time to come to the classes," he said. "In a way it's got a beneficial side for us, but not for anyone who wants to find out what happens on 'Lost' this year."
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