How Constant Strikes Affect College Students in Argentina

It’s been over a month since I’ve written an entry, but there’s a good reason for that. After successfully passing the pre semester from February to March of 2014, I started my first year college semester at the Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, and let me tell you, things have not been going smoothly, and a lot of the blame goes to the country constantly going on strikes.

There have been problems from the very start of the semester, which began on April 7th. It’s no secret that Argentina is known for constantly going on strikes for one reason or another. I’ve also observed that there is a lot of sympathy striking in the country. It seems that whenever the cab drivers go on strike, the bus drivers do too, and then professors across the nation join in, often claiming that they need higher pay.

There have already been about three strikes in the month of April alone. Then came the first holiday, related to what they call “the week of the Saints,” which leads up to Good Friday. The following week, the university’s psychology school held a three day seminar that brought therapists from all over the nation and beyond together. This meant that we had no classes on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. Then, the following week, Argentina celebrated Labor Day on May 1st. Since that fell on a Thursday, the university also took Friday off.

There are two first year courses that have not had classes until now due to all this chaos. The first is psycho statistics, and the other is epistemology. As I mentioned in previous posts, each course is divided into two types of classes. The first is known as the practical class, which requires students to attend and complete coursework. The other is called a theoretical class, which is basically a lecture. This one does not require students to attend, but it is highly recommended, as it provides additional material that can help them pass their exams later on.

Given that I missed an entire month’s worth of classes in these two courses, I decided to go to the lecture. Unfortunately, a problem that is all too common at this university occurred.

There weren’t enough seats! Students were either forced to sit on the floor or stand and look on. Some students had to stand in the hallway and strain to listen to the professor, who typically never speaks loud enough, even with the help of a microphone. Argentines have a reputation of mumbling a lot!

After the lecture class was over, I went to the practical class and encountered the same issue. We were all crammed into a smaller classroom than the one where the lecture had been held. Now I know how sardines must feel.

Some of the first exams will be held as early as next week, while others will take place at the end of May or sometime in June. Either way, I don’t feel motivated anymore. I’m so frustrated by the lack of organization and the poor excuses that the university’s administrative staff provides for their shortcomings.

I started the school year with a great deal of optimism and energy. Now there are days when I don’t even feel like getting out of bed. I’m just stumbling through the week like a zombie. I know I should motivate myself to study, but I’ll admit that I’ve lost interest in psychology and in the university.

My psychiatrist, who graduated from this same university, warned me that I wouldn’t find the level of structure that I had grown accustomed to back in the States. He also told me that most professors at the university don’t really care about teaching. Some don’t even have the knowledge needed to teach, according to him, and they could not care less whether students pass or fail. I have to tell you, that’s the last thing I needed to hear.

So if these so called professors and mentors don’t give a f*ck, why should I?