Students on Strike

My Monday has definitely gotten off to an interesting start after a fun weekend. With laundry + Vietnamese with Jason, meeting up with Brussels conference friend Patrick for dinner, celebrating Anna's birthday out and about, and enjoying a lazy Sunday that included a 2 hour bike ride, I was ready to get back into a work week. But today was anything but ordinary for me at the university. The students are officially on strike -- a concept that is so foreign to me -- and the passion was flared high over university reform and implementation of EU regulations. My class was left without a projector, so we held a session debating the actual strike instead of discussing the latest transatlantic security risks and threats. I learned a lot in the discussion. The Bildungs Streik is not only taking place in Berlin, but is a German-wide, week-long organized event -- and is even spilling over into over European countries. The students of the political science department have closed the buildings for tomorrow, so my class has officially been cancelled. It feels like a snow day or some random holiday that you are able to enjoy off, but the climate is completely different. The students have taken to the streets, organized a town hall type meeting, prepared several brochures, spray-painted banners on white sheets, and have even had time for a party at a club downtown on Saturday night.

Students walking through downtown
Protesting in front of the Gate

So I am in the midst of my first European strike! Perhaps a work-from-home day tomorrow : )