On Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 3 p.m., approximately 100 members of the College community held a demonstration outside of Main Building; though there were several faculty members present, the group was primarily made up of students and staff from the two major campus unions, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
According to a list of demands read aloud at the start of the demonstration, those participating were advocating primarily for the suspension of all further position eliminations; the group also asked that those who have had their positions eliminated be reinstated in their former position or in another College position.
A draft of demands was discussed at an open meeting on Monday in the Gold Parlor, which was attended by about 10 students and briefly visited by All Campus Dining Center (ACDC) Chef’s Helper Cathy Bradford. After the demands were discussed and communally agreed upon, they were formatted on Tuesday by John Joyce ‘12 into the draft presented on Wednesday in front of Main Building.
At the start of the demonstration, Bradford was the first to speak. “Stop the laying off. We have families and children that we have to take care of,” she said. After further remarks from Bradford and from Anastasia Hardin ‘10, Sarah Muenzinger ‘10 and CWA Business Manager Carl Bertsche, the group explained that they would march first past ACDC, then Baldwin Hall and then Rockefeller Hall. Hardin said that once the group walked around campus, they would “present a copy of the demands to the senior officers in person.” All the senior officers, however, were scheduled to be in a faculty meeting in Rockefeller Hall until about 5 p.m.; the meeting was scheduled in May, according to the Dean of the Faculty office. Over the course of the group’s trip across campus, the demonstrators grew in number to over 200 people, according to students involved.
Update: By approximately 4:25 p.m., the group moved from the College Center to Rockefeller Hall, positioning themselves outside the building in hopes of attracting the attention of administrators and faculty meeting in Rockefeller 300. By 4:40 p.m. the group had disintegrated to about 25 people, and about five minutes later the demonstration ended officially.
Update: About mid-way through the faculty meeting, which lasted from about 3 to 5 p.m., the group of demonstrators gathered outside Rockefeller 300, where the faculty meeting was being held. President Hill reported that she heard banging on the double doors of the auditorium, at which point Dean of the College Chris Roellke exited to talk with the group. ”We requested that we deliver the demands to the senior officers,” said Joyce, “when others from the group demanded that President Hill come to us to receive them. Dean Roellke was already outside of the room at this point. President Hill met with the group briefly, and it was agreed that Stephen [Cheng '10] and I would enter Rocky 300 and the rest of the group would wait outside.”
According to Hill, at the time when Joyce and Cheng entered, Dean of the Faculty Jon Chenette was actually already halfway through reading the demands aloud to the faculty in attendance, as he had been forwarded a copy earlier that day.
When Joyce and Cheng entered the room, Chenette asked if they would like to finish reading through the demands and they declined, instead delivering a brief statement to the group. Joyce also presented President Hill, Dean of Planning and Academic Affairs Rachel Kitzinger and Vice President for Finance and Administration Betsey Eismeier with copies of the demands, which were also distributed to members of the faculty at the meeting. “I think it was really good that they sent two students in and that they were given the opportunity to speak,” said Director of Institutional Research David Davis Van Atta, who attended the meeting.
According to Van Atta, the rest of the meeting was spent discussing the original items on the meeting agenda.
This From the Newsroom entry has been updated with corrections and further information since it was first posted at the scene of the demonstration this afternoon. The last update was made at 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 14. Please continue checking miscellanynews.com for more breaking news throughout the week.
First, I would like to say that at the highpoint of the rally, shortly after 3:00pm, I counted roughly 200 people. People came and went throughout the duration of the rally/march, and roughly 300 people total participated in the day’s events.
Second, the demand quoted concerning the renewal of contracts was part of the rough draft of the list of demands, and was taken out before the final draft was completed. I am happy to provide the final list to any interest members of the community.
Third, I did not personally finalize the list of demands, but rather the group that remained in the meeting Monday night. I merely typed up the final list and sent it out. Though a member of the Miscellany was at this meeting, they did not identify themselves as such, and left before the meeting was completed. Again, the group completed the list, and I merely formatted it.
Fourth, a large group of people entered Rockefeller Hall to present the demands to the senior officers. Security was posted at the two double-door entrances to RH300, and as far as I know, no individuals banged on the double doors. I can, for sure, speak for myself and say that I did not bang at all on the doors of the room. We requested that we deliver the demands to the senior officers, when others from the group demanded that President Hill come to us to receive them. Dean Roellke was already outside of the room at this point. President Hill met with the group briefly, and it was agreed that Stephen and I would enter Rocky 300 and the rest of the group would wait outside.
Fifth, when Stephen and I entered the room, Dean Chenette was reading through the demands list. He asked Stephen and I if we would like to finish reading through the list, but we declined. Upon finishing the list, I spoke shortly, attempting to convey that the action was not intended to target faculty members, but rather was used because there is a sense that other avenues of communication have failed. I then presented the List of Demands to President Hill, Dean Kitzinger, and VP Eismeier, among other administrators, and left copies for other faculty members.
I would have liked to have been given the opportunity to contribute to this piece, but, our contribution to the piece was left out, and many facts have been misrepresented. I encourage the author to contact me to straighten this out.
I only speak as an individual here, and I do not claim to represent the entire group that demonstrated today. Unfortunately, I feel that my actions (as well as those of the group) have been misrepresented here.
John Joyce’s remarks regarding what happened at the faculty meeting is true, except that there was banging on the doors of Rocky 300, including some attempts at opening the doors and people trying to shout inside. From my position, I could not tell who did it, but it did happen. Otherwise, what John said about his role inside of the meeting is true, and should be corrected in the official Misc. piece.
I would also like to add that faculty are employees at Vassar, and faculty meetings are an opportunity for us to interact with the administration regarding decisions that affect us as employees and professors of your courses. The faculty meetings this year have been particularly important because we find out and give the administration feedback about decisions that affect us. I think students have showed a lot of sympathy and respect for the needs of non-faculty staff and their role at the college. A similar level of respect for faculty would also be appreciated. I think students would be far more hesitant to disrupt a meeting between the administration and the non-faculty staff regarding their jobs in order to make demands on behalf of the faculty.
I am sorry you don’t feel support from the students on your behalf. I believe when the time comes for faculty termination we, the students, will be there to support the faculty. What troubles me is that you seem to draw lines in the sand between staff, students and faculty. In my eyes we are one community, that hurts together. I think today that a real opportunity was missed, we as a community could have gathered in that room together to hear the demands that affect us all. Professor Lam I hope that in the future we can find ways to work together, in ways that meet your need for respect and my need for a cohesive community.
[...] one more about the recent demonstrations in protest of the latest staff cuts, where a faculty member accuses [...]
Prof. Lam,
You probably have never been to an Administrative Forum. Administrators are that branch of the campus staff that 1) lacks a union, and 2) will never have tenure. Our jobs are the least safe and we make the lowest of waves on campus. I think of you and the other faculty members as fortunate when you can make the statement “faculty meetings are an opportunity for us to interact with the administration regarding decisions that affect us as employees.” Administrators (staff without a union) never ever have that kind of interaction at our meetings. I would welcome a student intrusion during the next Admin Forum meeting for these meetings are more akin to knitting circles or maybe even silent meditation. We sit there and the Administration talks at us. I apologize to you, Nathan, for seeming to continue with the delineation of the employees, and I may sound ‘us’ and ‘them.’ I don’t mean to. Prof. Lam’s remarks set me off. I so much appreciate the work of the students, faculty and staff who have been organizing. Thank you! You may not see many administrator types out there marching but we look out of our windows and cheer you on! Come to the next Admin Forum!
[...] Advertise « Students and staff demonstrate for ‘justice,’ job security [...]
Why is justice put into scare quotes?
Probably because that’s what we were shouting at the rally.