Claire Kelly spent her summer looking forward to her third year in the King’s journalism program. She couldn’t wait to see her old professors, start her new courses and keep learning about the field she’s passionate about.

But before she could get started, she received an email from King’s: all her classes were suspended.

King’s cancelled over 78 per cent of classes for the first two weeks of September after Dalhousie’s negotiations with the Dalhousie Faculty Association fell through. On Aug. 20, while the DFA was campaigning for better wages and benefits, the Dalhousie administration locked faculty out of their classrooms, emails and school accounts. This led to the DFA going on strike 48 hours later.

Despite King’s faculty not being a part of the DFA, all classes open to both King’s and Dalhousie students were suspended.

At King’s, only seven undergraduate classes were exempt from the suspension: the Foundation Year Program (science and arts), classes for the one-year Bachelor of Journalism and fourth-year journalism honours classes. King’s masters programs were also unaffected.

King’s undergraduate students like Kelly were left to their own devices. Many of them joined Dalhousie students in protests and information sessions.

“I don’t have any classes happening right now, so I’m kind of at a loss of what to do,” said Kelly, at a student show of support outside the Henry Hicks building on Sept. 9 while admin and DFA were at the bargaining table.

Contemporary studies and history student Isabella Tapia Daly echoed Kelly’s statement, “It’s really easy to feel really aimless.”

Tapia Daly is worried about the quality of education students will get post-lockout after missing two weeks of King’s classes.

Many students are uncertain how King’s professors are involved in the lockout, according to King’s Student Union president Ellie Anderson. In response to this confusion, the KSU hosted a question and answer period for King’s students and faculty from both universities. One of the professors there to answer questions was Simon Kow, director of the Early Modern Studies Program.

“I really appreciate students wanting to ask those questions and being able to have that conversation,” said Kow.

Faculty members at King’s are not part of the DFA, nor are they unionized at all — with the exception of senior and faculty fellows in FYP who have their own union. Their benefits, including many of the things the DFA is fighting for such as better healthcare, childcare and job security, are all determined by King’s, not Dalhousie.

Yet King’s professors have wage parity with Dalhousie faculty of equal positions, according to the King’s Pink Book, which lays out regulations on faculty tenure, promotion and salary. This means that if Dalhousie faculty receive a wage increase, King’s professors will gain that same increase.

Another layer of complexity is that King’s contemporary studies, early modern studies and history of science and technology programs each fall under the authority of Dalhousie’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

Kow says the relationship between the universities has its “highs and lows” but, ultimately, it gives students flexibility in their education while continuing to have the small, intimate university experience at King’s.

In response to the labour disruptions, King’s administration was following a protocol that was implemented the last time Dalhousie’s faculty went on strike in March of 2002. King’s decided to follow past precedent because “a lot of thought was put into it 23 years ago,” according to Tim Currie, vice-president of King’s.

The protocol sets the qualifications that classes going forward in the wake of a DFA strike or lockout must: 1) be taught by a non-unionized King’s faculty member and 2) be exclusive to King’s students.

“We want to be straightforward to students and not make it complicated,” said Currie.

On Monday, Sept. 8, Currie told The Watch that King’s administration were constantly evaluating the situation and would “make tweaks” to their protocol if the lockout continued to affect students.

Four days later, on Friday, Sept. 12, King’s announced that 84 per cent of suspended classes would resume on the following Monday. They will be open to both King’s and Dalhousie students.

Only 10 King’s classes are not resuming alongside the others. This includes the History of Biology, which is taught by a member of the DFA, and nine other courses taught by Carnegie professors, instructors who have joint appointments at both universities.

Ever since King’s made the decision to entwine itself with Dalhousie in 1923, their relationship has been complex. In recent times, almost every King’s student takes classes at Dalhousie and many complete full Dalhousie degree programs.

During the lockout, the main concerns Anderson has heard from students are about transparency and communication from the Dalhousie administration as negotiations progress.

“I think that there’s been a lot of disappointment in the way that Dalhousie has handled it,” said Anderson. “It makes it really hard to be autonomous from Dal when we are so reliant on Dal. Their decision making has a really big impact on King’s students.”