This week, the Scene International visits Arts & Sciences junior and former Creightonian sports editor Christine Pivovar, who is studying abroad at Universite de Picardie Jules Verne in Amiens, France. She is dealing with current French protests that are affecting her classes.

The students sported signs on their backs saying, “Save the university!” and posted on a fence was a sign that read, “Welcome to the University Outside the Walls.” With a thermos of coffee and a couple cigarettes, my classmates were prepared to spend an hour outside in support of the university strike that has been going on since the beginning of February.

When I came to France to study abroad this semester, it wasn’t surprising to find that things weren’t the same as at home. While many things are comparable – dorm rooms, dining halls and the like – a university strike is something almost never seen in the States.

Teachers all over the country have joined the grève to protest against reforms being passed without their consent. The reforms would change the way primary and secondary teachers are educated and redefine the role of professor-researcher at the universities.

Some professors have suspended their classes altogether, while others are finding more creative ways of maintaining the strike. Some, like my English literature professor, have held classes “hors des murs,” or outside the walls, meeting in cafés or public squares in the city center. This way, they can avoid falling behind while making a statement to passersby.

Many students, whose future careers or children will be affected by the reforms, are also taking up the fight, handing out fliers on the street or holding assemblies of their own.

Though many teachers have expressed the desire not to lose an entire semester of courses, there is no fixed end point for the strike. I have discovered that the French have two weeks built into their semester to make up for any missed classes. In the case of a prolonged strike, such as there was last year when students slept inside the school for weeks, make-up classes and exams can be held during the summer.

This could cause a bit of a headache for us study-abroad students who have already booked a return ticket home and are worried about getting enough credits to transfer. We paid a good amount of money to study here, and now we have to wonder each day if we will have class.

Still, frustrating though it may be, I am not sorry I’m here to witness this cultural event and reflect on the different ways Americans and French interact with their government. It’s been interesting, to say the least.