While their teachers walked the picket line last week, high school students walked the Trent line.

        Campus tour guides had three times the number of people show up to see the university, said liaison officer Kate Knight. Where they might show five or six, guides were leading tours of 18 to 20 twice a day.

        Trent's four liaison officers had to return to Peterborough from all over Ontario because high schools cancelled their visits. But they've been busy answering phones, talking to visitors and following up inquiries.

        "Although it's a disadvantage that we couldn't get into schools, it's to our advantage that they're coming to visit Trent," said Knight.

        Her colleague Susan Deefholts, who made a point of suggesting high school students visit Trent during the strike, agrees. "What's nice is that students I've had contact with in schools are following up my presentations by coming for a tour. It's a good sign."

        Because of the strike, liaison officers had to cancel visits to schools in Toronto, Peterborough and Ottawa regions last week. In some cases, the scheduled visits were organized for students from an entire school board which could be difficult to reschedule.

        "Regardless, it will be necessary for us to make an effort to cover these schools," registrar Paul Thomson said in a memo to staff last week.

        As the strike continued for a second week, they were helping assistant registrar Jim Riva recruit three-year grads for a fourth year. If the strike stretched into many weeks, the officers would make return visits to colleges and private schools in Ontario and possibly out of province, said Thomson. His office would also consider planning a promotional fair at a non-school venue.