The first e-bills are paid, the beds are made, the curfews kissed goodbye, textbooks are purchased and work schedules are adjusted.

The galaxy seemed to be aligned when The Oakland Post ran a “Welcome” cover on the first week back. In retrospect, the sentiment was premature.

The cancellation of classes certainly hinders our ability to get the education we signed up for at Oakland University. But there is one thing we did learn last week. The faculty strike, by any name and regardless of virtue, isn’t a good model for customer service.

What both sides seem to have forgotten is that us students are sitting around waiting for the “merchandise” for which we have already started paying.

Like any paying customer, the students at this university should be treated with respect, and receive a modicum of credit for our intelligence. There is absolutely no reason why students and faculty should be kept in the dark on what it is that’s being negotiated. 

The university keeps reiterating its policy, which is a refusal to discuss ongoing negotiations.

But when we’re at a point where a service is not being delivered upon payment, we should at least have the right to know the specifics about why our lives are being put on hold.

At the July board of trustees meetings, the cost of an OU education was compared to the cost of a 2009 Chevy Impala SS. Both are nearly $34,000. Except if you walked into any Chevy dealership and dropped off a down payment, you’d likely be driving away in your investment on the same day. 

Apparently our education is on back order.

Regardless of the way the administration and the faculty look at it, the students are the consumers. We are the customers, the shareholders and the product. 

We pay three quarters of OU’s salaries and we are investing in not only ourselves but also any capital investments for the university. 

No, we do not want to be taught by professors who don’t stand up for themselves. We want to know that our teachers are role models with a moral compass and strong convictions. But we eventually need to get to those classes to benefit anything from having those strong professors.

Both sides of the negotiation have their reasons for not wanting to settle for the other side’s demands. We understand that, and those issues are laid out in the Campus section of this paper, although reaching an understanding of those issues based on what either side has to say about them is not easy.

In a recent press release from OU, students and parents were assured the university “will do whatever it takes to deliver a top-notch educational experience.” 

Whatever it takes means whatever it takes, not whatever you’re willing to sacrifice to an extent. The AAUP told The Post late Tuesday that OU kept presenting the same contract terms even after a judge ordered negotiations to continue. Hello, you have to be talking and compromising to negogiate. This isn’t a trial, we can’t have a jury.

When we enroll in a class and pay the tuition, we enter into our own contract with the university. And right now, the university administration is not fulfilling its end of the contract. It is on them to work out a contract that our professors’ union finds fair.

Although it’s refreshing to see students getting involved, Picketing 114 is not going to count come time to apply for graduation.