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The University of Michigan has completed its investigation of a professor who paid a student for sex and allegedly assaulted her.
As we reported at the time, a Michigan law student told police last December that Yaron Eliav, an associate professor in the Department of Near Eastern Studies, had struck her with his hand and a belt in the course of a sexual encounter they had arranged through Craigslist.
Police refused to arrest Eliav, who claimed the acts were consensual, for assault, instead charging both student and professor with misdemeanor offenses relating to the exchange of money for sex. Both were ultimately fined and charged court costs.
A university spokesperson told the Ann Arbor News last week that Eliav is currently on paid leave, and that an internal investigation of his role in the incident has been completed. She refused to comment on the outcome of the investigation, or to say what administrative actions, if any, had been taken against Eliav, who has tenure.
Not long ago, the York Federation of Students raised the idea of a tuition rebate for students affected by the strike. This morning’s Globe and Mail notes that there’s some precedent for such a move, and that some politicians don’t seem averse to it now.
The same article quotes New Democratic Party leader Howard Hampton as suggesting that his party’s refusal to grant consent to a back-to-work bill may delay the legislation’s passage by only “two or three days.”
Meanwhile, the York administration has released a timetable for when classes would resume if a back-to-work law passes this week. In short, if the law is enacted today, tomorrow, or Wednesday, classes would start up two days later. If it passes on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, classes will resume next Monday.
Finally, there’s the question of what’s likely to happen if CUPE fights a back-to-work law in court. York law professor David Doorey posted some thoughts on that question on his blog last week.
10:44 am Update: Journalist Sarah Millar of the National Post is liveblogging (livetweeting?) the legislature’s question time on her Twitter feed.
1:36 pm Update: Liberal Party sources are now saying that Thursday is the earliest the bill could pass, which would make Monday the earliest York could re-open.
There’s a calm before the storm this morning, as observers wait to see the results of the session of the Ontario provincial legislature scheduled for one o’clock this afternoon.
The legislature is expected to take up back-to-work legislation aimed at ending the 81-day York University strike. The two largest parties in the legislature are on record in support of the bill, but with the New Democratic Party opposed, it is likely to be days, perhaps weeks, before any legislation takes effect.
Higher education writer Joey Coleman argues this morning that a brief delay is a good thing, as it will give the union, CUPE local 3903, one last chance to strike a deal and avoid binding arbitration. He’s hoping to see NDP agree to let the law be enacted on Wednesday if the union doesn’t approve a deal on Tuesday.
The Toronto Star is reporting that if the bill does pass on Wednesday, classes will not resume at York until Monday, February 2.
Meanwhile, the text of the bill has been posted on several blogs. It would impose fines of $2000 a day against individuals who continue to strike in the face of the back-to-work order.
2:20 pm Update: As expected, the eight NDP members of the provincial legislature voted against the back-to-work bill. The Star is now reporting that a final vote is “likely later this week or early next week.”
2:35 pm Update: As the York Strike 2008 blog points out, union spokesperson Tyler Shipley is quoted in the Star as saying that CUPE is looking into challenging the back-to-work order in the courts.
2:40 pm Update: More from the Star — applications to York for the fall semester, previously reported to be down 15%, are now said to have slipped 26% in the faculty of arts, York’s liberal arts division, and by as much as 40% in some graduate programs. The university is anticipating that the decline in admissions will lead to decreased enrollment, and consequently to faculty cutbacks.
The York University strike appears to be nearing an end, but the timing of any resolution remains unclear.
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty will recall the provincial legislature to session at one o’clock tomorrow afternoon to take up back-to-work legislation aimed at ending the York University strike.
In a statement this morning, McGuinty said he had been advised by the strike mediator “that there is no reasonable prospect of a negotiated settlement between York University and CUPE Local 3903.” He is asking the legislature for unanimous consent to the measure, and is hoping to have classes resume “this week.”
2:14 pm Update: News outlets are reporting that if the legislature unanimously approves the bill tomorrow, classes could resume as soon as Monday. If any legislators vote against it, passage could take as much as two weeks.
3:05 pm Update: Initial responses to McGuinty’s action from York and CUPE are online.
3:08 pm Update: The Globe and Mail is reporting that the New Democratic Party will not agree to unanimous consent to the back-to-work legislation, delaying passage until “at least Wednesday.”
January 24 Update: Our coverage continues here.
Just for the record, and because I haven’t seen the specific numbers anywhere else…
The York University Strike hit a milestone today: At 79 days, it became the longest strike in York history, and the third-longest in the history of Canadian higher education.
The second longest strike in Canadian higher ed history was the Laval University strike of 1976. A bunch of online sources say it lasted for “four months,” but I’ve been able to confirm that it clocked in at exactly 108 days.
The longest such strike was the 1976-77 strike at the University of Quebec, at 123 days.
To sum up:
- On January 23 the 2007-08 York University strike became the third longest university strike in Canadian history.
- On February 22 it will become the second longest.
- And on March 9 it will enter the record books as the longest higher education strike in the history of Canada.
Mark your calendars, kids.
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