Day Eight of the Columbia strike brings John Sweeney and a thousand picketers: After eight days of striking, the University's policy is still to wait until the NLRB rules on its 2002 appeal. To minimize disruption during the strike, provost Alan Brinkley has demanded that every student receive marks in all classes and that seniors' grades be reported in time for them to graduate... At 12:20 p.m., the picketers stopped marching, and Maida Rosenstein, the president of Local UAW 2110, rallied the protesters by asking, "What do we want? Union! When do we want it? Now!" Rosenstein then introduced Sweeny, who had spoken in favor of a unionization ballot on the eve of the strike vote on April 13. Yesterday, he reiterated his and AFL-CIO's support of GSEU. "We're standing with you. We'll fight beside you as long as it takes to bring Columbia to justice," Sweeny said. Sweeny has tried to meet with University President Bollinger to discuss the strike, but Bollinger has not returned his calls.