Comments on: Students and staff demonstrate for ‘justice,’ job security

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 18:06:50 +0000

Probably because that’s what we were shouting at the rally.

By: Sarah Muenzinger

Sarah Muenzinger — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:00:12 +0000

Why is justice put into scare quotes?

By: Board of Trustees invite student representatives from Campus Solidarity Group to present demands « From the Newsroom

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:00:01 +0000

[...] Advertise « Students and staff demonstrate for ‘justice,’ job security [...]

By: Unsigned for reasons shown below

Unsigned for reasons shown below — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:45:43 +0000

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!

By: it’s been a long fall… « S.A.V.E. Creative Writing

it’s been a long fall… « S.A.V.E. Creative Writing — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:58:59 +0000

[...] one more about the recent demonstrations in protest of the latest staff cuts, where a faculty member accuses [...]

By: Nathan

Nathan — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:00:18 +0000

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.

By: Barry Lam, Faculty

Barry Lam, Faculty — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:52:16 +0000

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.

By: John Joyce, 2012

John Joyce, 2012 — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:23:03 +0000

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.