On the night of January 7, when, I would assume, more people than usual watched The Daily Show because it was coming back from its strike-related hiatus, one of Cornell’s own, Industrial and Labor Relations Professor Ron Seeber, was Jon Stewart’s guest on the show.

Unfortunately, Seeber’s appearance created a backlash of epic proportions — opponents are angry because he crossed a picket line when he entered the studio.

I spent three-and-a-half years in the School of Industrial Labor Relations. I took classes on labor history, collective bargaining, labor law, labor economics and arbitration. I’m pro-union. I support the writers in their strike.

But I also support Professor Seeber.

I support his decision because I believe that the labor movement, like any political or social movement, needs to be understood and supported widely if it is to prosper.

The ILR School only educates around 800 students at a time. The rest of the world has to learn about these issues in order to understand them. What better place to start than America’s favorite fake-news show? A show from which, some studies have shown, a substantial — and maybe alarming — number of young people get their news.

For one night, Professor Seeber made the entire audience of The Daily Show, inside and outside of the studio, his classroom. He helped to give viewers a better idea of what was going on and why the strike was occurring in the first place.

So, my question to those of you out there who are angry with Professor Seeber is this: What difference does it make that he crossed (or, rather, went around) the picket line? Doesn’t the Writers Guild’s cause gain more from an information campaign than from what seems like stubbornness and arrogance?

Don’t mistake me. I’ve taken enough classes on labor relations to know how important strikes and picket lines are. But, don’t you think, just in this case, you guys might just be taking this a bit too far?

It’s crazy. This quote by labor activist Jonathan Tasini on workinglife.org really says it all:

“Why would Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations continue to let a strikebreaker hold a top administrative job? That’s what appears to be happening. As far as I know, as of this morning, Assistant Provost Ron ‘Strikebreaker’ Seeber still has his job. Strikebreaker Seeber, as we discussed the other day, let his quest for fame and cultural relevance overcome any semblance of morality when he crossed the picket line of the Writers Guild of America to appear on the Colbert Show.”

First, I’ll point out the obvious. It’s clear that Tasini didn’t even bother to watch the show that night, or even bother to watch a clip of it on the internet. Otherwise, he probably wouldn’t have mistakenly called it “the Colbert Show.” But, I suppose that’s neither here nor there.

Second, is this really what the labor movement has come to?

My ILR education taught me that a strike is a negotiating tactic that is only performed when necessary for the good of the union and its workers. And yes, this strike by the Writers Guild is, in my opinion, a good strike for a good cause.

However, I was always under the impression that a strike shouldn’t be instituted in a manner where it could actually hurt the workers, or keep them from advancing their cause. I always assumed that, given the opportunity, a union should try to end a strike as quickly as possible. I always assumed that, given the opportunity, unions would want to spread their message far and wide.

Please, those of you who have been criticizing Professor Seeber, explain to me exactly how his appearance on The Daily Show harmed labor’s cause. How could his appearance have done anything but HELP the striking writers?

News flash: the show was going on with or without Professor Seeber that night.

The Sun’s editorial board said it best last week, so I’ll just let them say it again:

“[Seeber] went on The Daily Show . . . to present a pro-union point of view to a pro-union host with a pro-union audience. In the face of controversy, silence is more damnable than speaking out. Seeber’s appearance was in keeping with the notion that you can’t make a case for change by keeping yourself on the bench. When all’s said and done, we share Seeber’s faith in the values of openness, inquiry and the free exchange of ideas.”

I unfortunately never had the opportunity to take a class with Professor Seeber. But, as an ILR alum who supports the Writers Guild’s strike, I’d be proud to say that I had.