According to an entry posted five minutes ago on the new blog, uppityvassar.blogspot.com, “an autonomous group of Vassar students” began a hunger strike at 11:59 p.m., today, Tuesday, Dec. 8. Since the strike began, three students were stationed in the Lobby of Main Building, explaining their purpose to passers by. “The hunger strikers will not eat until the administration cancels the layoffs of 13 members of the Vassar community,” reads the post, “who have been notified that their jobs will no longer exist come Christmas break.” The blog, started earlier this week, is known to be run by Royce Drake ‘10 and Robyn Smigel ‘12— though others may be involved. Please continue checking miscellanynews.com for more updates on the demonstrators.
Update: Dean of the College responds to strikers with the following statement:
We are concerned that several students are choosing to put their health at risk by participating in a hunger strike and we urge them to reconsider their decision.
Our financial planning over the past year and a half has had as a priority the reduction of as few jobs as possible at the college. During this time of record economic downturn, we have achieved most of the needed reduction in our workforce by means other than layoffs: by not filling vacant positions, by offering retirement packages to eligible employees and by reorganizing departments and the ways we provide services. We have had to reduce a relatively small number of positions and in all of those cases the college has worked with the employees to assist them in finding other work. Of the 13 layoffs announced this fall, three have taken other jobs at the College; two have taken retirement incentive packages; and at least one has accepted a job elsewhere. All those who have lost jobs have had access to career counseling and employment services as well as funds for professional development.
Because of the realities of the financial constraints the college continues to face, there will be no change in policy on the announced layoffs. We all feel sadness at losing colleagues, and we will continue to provide support to assist them in finding other employment.
On behalf of my senior colleagues,
Christopher Roellke
Dean of the College
Professor of Education
Just a couple of points:
the blog is run collectively amongst a group of students. There are no leaders.
At this point there are 3 hunger strikers, and a fluctuating number of supporters.
Hunger strikers are wearing orange arm bands.
Die, see if I care
how. ridiculous.
we’re in a recession, cuts are necessary, present a viable alternative that will save the College enough money, and i’ll take you seriously.
The cycle continues: no one can propose a viable alternative without all the data. The administration refuses to give all of the data. People who try to make a difference are blamed for not providing an alternative. And we continue to take the administrators’ word that there is no other option.
Royce and “uppitier,” i want to say what most students are already saying to you: the solution to the crisis is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. It’s not your job to ask for data. It’s not your job to question decisions made by the college’s leaders and faculty. It’s CERTAINLY not your job to act all self-righteuos and bother the entire campus during finals. Do you know what 95% of students say about you and the idiots who sit around bitching about solidarity? they say that you are uninformed, unattractive, holier-than-though hipsters who need to get lives and read a newspaper. What exactly are you fighting for? What exactly is your definition of “justice”? It seems as if your moronic definition is “no layoffs, ever.” That is not a principle that any society can live by. And employment is not a fundamental human right. You act as if vassar is oppressing people by locking them up or not allowing them to breath. As a private institution, vassar has the right to determine the employment that it wants. Welcome to the real world.
Listen royce and moronic loud protesters, you all pay to attend this college. If you don’t like it and think it’s horribly unjust, LEAVE. Believe me, as I said, most students couldn’t give a damn if you never come back. Most of us want to be productive, educated, and successful alumni. you are only making our study body look like irrational babies, and for that you should all go to hell.
Hunger strikers,
You should seriously reevaluate your extremist actions. This sort of uncompromising methodology won’t get you anywhere in an environment where everyone is having to reevaluate and make compromises. Vassar is still in negotiations with the thirteen people whose positions were eliminated, and there is hope that most (if not all) will continue to be employed elsewhere at the college as early as January 2010. Of those choosing not to stay at the College, the administration is working with them to help them get retrained and find employment elsewhere.
So I must ask, do you really think a hunger strike is the best way to represent your cause? You are causing greater anxiety and worry for all those at the college who have been nothing but patient with you and, frankly, who have more important and pressing concerns to deal with at present moment. So yes, sadly, the thirteen positions that you are concerned with will not be reinstated in the near future, but my guess is that most of those thirteen people will still be on campus next semester.
The point is, you should try to learn the facts before taking measures that are irrational, futile, and unhealthy. Finals isn’t a time to be starving yourselves. No one can help you but yourselves. My suggestion is that you grow up and eat something.
What a wonderful privilege to be able to refuse food. As surely the strikers are aware, there are many many people in this world who don’t have that luxury. This is activism of the cheap elite.
You wrote the following on your bog: “I’m not eating until I know people can celebrate their holidays without worrying about putting food on their families’ plates.” If I were an employee at this college losing my job this winter I would find your actions vain and offensive.
If these folks are alright why are they also protesting their job cuts?
A hunger strike is possibly the least distracting action while we all go about our business of writing papers and taking finals.
I don’t want to leave Vassar because I LIKE VASSAR. If I didn’t like Vassar I wouldn’t care. I want the place that I chose to be better than it is. Why should I not challenge my school to be better.
And how about this random internet folks: you know who I am. You know where I am. You can even easily find my email. You want to talk shit, say it to my face, and stop hiding behind internet anonymity. You know where I am.
“’no layoffs, ever.’ That is not a principle that any society can live by.”
I would contend that that is EXACTLY the principle that most societies lived by for most of human history. In fact, that’s the principle that IBM lived by (a for-profit corporation) until the 90’s when it changed management.
A note to all commentors: It would be easier for us to take your thoughts seriously if you replied with your real, full names. Also, I wonder why you are so absurdly angry? We aren’t hurting or insulting you. In fact, we’re sitting quietly in Main doing our homework. It would make sense if you didn’t agree with us, or simply didn’t care, but why do you feel the need to attack us personally? It seems excessive.
I hope they’re not cheating using apple juice and gatorade again, like they did last year. That’s not a hunger strike; it’s basically a variation of the Master Cleanse diet. You could survive for at LEAST 2 months doing that.
If you are refusing to eat until the college cancels the 13 layoffs, you’re probably going to starve. I honestly don’t think anyone, especially the administration, cares about your hunger strike. Just FYI.
do these three kids not have any friends? hey communist idiots, go eat a sandwich. no one cares about you anymore, if they ever did. vassar is bored with this mini-scandel of yours. time for something new and different. get over yourselves, please.
As sad as it is, it seems Vassar’s “liberal streak” only runs so far as we never have to look at the problem. The student body (if “john”’s supposed 95% is indeed accurate) will trade jokes about Palin and Bush all day, but when the time comes to actually fight for something, we’ll always fall back on the status quo. We don’t want to see the problem.
In the face of individuals accusing the activists of being “idealistic” or “moronic,” I think this quote holds true in such a context: “Scholars, who pride themselves on speaking their minds, often engage in a form of self-censorship which is called ‘realism.’ To be ‘realistic’ in dealing with a problem is to work only among the alternatives which the most powerful in society put forth. It is as if we are all confined to a, b, c, or d in the multiple choice test, when we know there is another possible answer. American society, although it has more freedom of expression than most societies in the world, thus sets limits beyond which respectable people are not supposed to think or speak” (Zinn, Howard 2000).
If we only work by Vassar College’s rigid confines, then we can only play by their game. If we accept that the only choices are the choices provided to us, we lose our ability to see the world as how we want it. Complacency does not right injustice; being a bystander to a wrong and not acting to prevent or stop it is just as great a wrong as that being committed in the first place.
We cannot hide behind the illusions of invulnerability. We cannot solely place the blame on the global recession for the school’s cutbacks. Perhaps we must examine what Vassar truly values. If you are completely content knowing that Vassar College will be laying off workers this year, then continue to live blissfully in this festive season. I can say nothing that would change your mind, I imagine. Yet, if you have even the slightest reservation about these “cutbacks,” please let them be known. For all: if you ever have reservations about anything, please speak up. One should not sacrifice their values for the preservation of so-called “order” and “peace.”
I await any response, positive or negative. I live on the third floor of Cushing so if you’d really like to see if your aggression really holds true when looking someone in the eyes, I implore you to come and stop by my room. I’ll be hospitable. I don’t have much food around to offer, but I’ll make the best of it. Or; angrily chatter away anonymously behind the security of your computer screen.
Matt, ActOUT!, Operation Donation, Vassar Dems, Hunger Action, and a plethora of other groups prove you wrong. Vassar students care deeply about “real” issues, but they’re also pragmatic, and understand that the global economic crisis has had very real consequences. Many of them share your sentiments, but they also realize that your efforts would be better applied to help the laid-off workers find new jobs, rather than using their futures as collateral in some vendetta against the senior officers. Acting like petulant children will never create well-balanced, lasting results.
Actions like this only serve to greater polarize the community.
That can’t be what you want, can it?
Your hunger-strike is self-marginalization, at best. If you really want people behind you, drop the scare tactics and use some sense. If you want respect, show that you deserve it.
I believe that the senior officers can and should reconsider these cuts. But your extremism has torn our shared sentiments apart. Unclench your fists, open your eyes, and see that you do, in fact, live in a sympathetic community. I care. You care. Most of care. Trying capitalizing on this before you scream at the administration with unfounded information.
The CSWG letter was a decent start, just try getting accurate information next time.
Why do people see that this cause is any different than any other cause Vassar students campaign for? Or rather, any more just? I think this holds the same merit and worth as anything else we devote our attention to and we should not forsake one call for social justice to embolden another. All our struggles are interlinked.
Promoting social change, through any of the school’s organizations, is a great thing and I don’t think ActOUT!, Operation Donation, etc. should stop doing what they’re doing. They all provide valuable services to the community. I do apologize if I misworded anything previously.
Also, I have no vendetta against the senior officers here. I have not claimed to have one at all, so I’m not sure where that assumption comes from.
Lastly, how are these student activists being “petulant children?” Is it because children are known to ask “Why?” when told something that doesn’t quite make sense? Then, yes, perhaps I’d agree that they possess some “childish” notion to understand Vassar College’s reasoning behind the job cuts. However, to say that they are somehow petulant, when this own comment wall shows that students unaffiliated with this cause can be just as rude, seems to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. You do not accuse “Anonymous”, “john”, “Tyler”, “K.S.”, “Adam”, or “Falk” of being insolent, so why point the finger at another group? Do people want to see activism as the problem here?
If I, again, go by “john”’s supposed 95%, that puts these activists in the clear minority of the student body. I can understand why it is so easy to blame the minority because only so few will speak up against it, but that does not make it proper to do so.
Can I also just point out that this argument of “If you don’t like Vassar’s policies, you can leave.” smacks of the “America: Like it or leave it” logos? Just a general point I’d like to make amidst all this.
Regards.
Matt, you misunderstand. these students are not innocently asking “why,” in a curious child-like way. They already know damn well “why” cuts are being made. They met with the senior officers last year who explained it to them carefully. They met with the VSA leaders, who explained it again. And they have access to all of the president and deans’ letters as well as the entire Economy web site. They already have more information than they could possibly go through. So they are not innocent children trying to just get some knowledge from their parents. They are foolishly disagreeing with sound policy decisions. They had their opportunity to ask questions again and again, and when they don’t like the answers, they bitch and complain.
Perhaps if they wanted to actually have a substantive role in financial planning, they should have run for student government. Or they should get their degrees and do a better ob of leading institutions themselves. But they should not think of themselves as being educated enough to make difficult institutional decisions. They’re not there yet. They are, as you say, only children.
“They are, as you say, only children.”
I never actually said that, and I would appreciate if you would accurately quote me. The notion of childishness, which I did not even bring into the discussion, would only apply, as I stated in my comment, if it was seen that they were asking “Why?” like children are known to do. That is the only instance I used the concept of childishness.
Moreover, why does one need a degree or work experience to be capable of adequately handling this crisis or any crisis for that matter? We’re all capable of making these decisions. Perhaps different people will come to different conclusions based on the work they’ve done or the education they pursue, but that does not instantly invalidate any point someone should propose. Each proposal should be measured on its own merits, not the life history of its backers, and to do anything else would be an injustice to the community.
Good evening.
Seriously? Matt, there are valid reasons why Vassar relies on experts with PhDs to make the best decisions for the college. I’m not saying different people without prestigious degrees should not have their voices heard and recognized, but ultimately, we have to trust that our leaders are experts in their fields and that they understand the broader picture better than any of the rest of us and will act in the best interests of the college. I, for one, would be extremely uncomfortable entrusting major financial decisions at this school into the hands of a group of radical extremist, left-swinging rebellious students who think that they know best when really they know only a sliver of the picture. I have yet to hear a viable alternative to the economic crisis coming from one of these “solidarity” groups. If you are gutsy enough to really believe that Vassar is not committed to social justice, it seems you are forgetting a MAJOR piece of the picture. What about Vassar’s sustained commitment to financial aid and need blind admissions? What about the senior class gift? Get off your high horse and donate to a REAL cause:
http://development.vassar.edu/annualfund/seniorclassgift/
Your argument presupposes that “experts with PhDs” are not as dogmatic to their world view as “radical extremist, left-swinging rebellious students.” They’ll only be seeing a different sliver of the picture. This is why it makes sense to have the entire community have equal say in this decision. By putting everyone on equal footing, it’ll be easiest to complete this mosaic and make the most-informed decision.
You also presume that because someone is interested in one social cause that they cannot also devote time and resources towards another. I think any individual involved in multiple social causes can tell you that that is not the case, and they might even point out just how all our troubles can be interconnected.
Good morning.
Who ever said us radical extremists wanted to control the finances?
Ultimately we want, as we have said over and over again, an EQUAL distribution of power in decision-making. You know… democracy.
Matt, I would like to personally invite you to Main lobby. I want to give you a high five. All of us here appreciate so much your efforts to debate constructively on the internet, since we’ve honestly lost the stomach for it — debating with annonymous people is tiring and futile. Seriously, come by. We’ll share our gatorade with you.
(For the record, it is considered kosher for hunger strikers to drink translucent liquids. For those of you who consider it cheating, I suggest you try it for a few days. It does eventually result in death, which is something I’d like to avoid — I would have thought that others wouldn’t have a problem with that, but as usual misc commentors have gone beyond my wildest imagination in terms of cruelty.)
Robyn, isn’t that kind of the whole point of hunger striking?
The average human body can survive for 4-6 weeks without any caloric input at all. I’m sure gatorade, cranberry juice etc. could extend that by at least a few more. I guess I know how the hunger strikers will be spending their winter breaks…
I really don’t understand where all of these horribly nasty comments come from. If you don’t agree with the hunger strike, then don’t participate. If you want your opinions to be heard, then express them in a civil, intelligent manner. Writing unnecessarily nasty comments gets you nowhere. You present yourself both as dumb, for it seems that you do not know how to articulately express yourself without being nasty, and as a coward, for you refuse to attribute your nasty comments to yourself. Instead, you choose to be anonymous. I have no respect for these anonymous nasty commentators.
Even if you believe that the hunger strike is “stupid,” as least realize that it is admirable for people to stand up for what they believe in. Attacking people because they choose to express their beliefs is wrong. Instead, try to foster an intellectual atmosphere and start a civil debate. Seriously, kids, stop being so ridiculously nasty. There is absolutely no need for it.
If the hunger strikers are only doing this because they want to “question everything,” why do they presuppose that Vass is needlessly and cruelly firing workers? Questioning something, especially in a child-like way, indicates that you don’t really know the full details of a situation and therefore are open to other outcomes. But saying you won’t eat until layoffs have been cancelled shows you aren’t questioning, but that you’re suspicious, you’re in opposition, but most importantly, that you’re all-knowing when it comes to Vassar’s finances. Shouldn’t you be saying you won’t eat until you have all the information to know, really know, that there was nothing else administrators could do? And take action afterward based upon the answers you find? Or do you agree with shooting first and asking questions later?
It’s not that I necessarily disagree with what y’all are doing and trying to accomplish. But I don’t think you explained your thoughts and your positions well at all and I think you sort of need to.
i find it really disturbing that so many people insist that students should not question the administration and the powers that be – how could anyone have so much trust in administration? some people find it within themselves to question the power, while others blindly follow it. the cswg and the hunger strikers are asking questions because obviously there is a problem in this community. how dare someone say that it is not their job to question? we pay to go here! of COURSE they have the right to question the admins!
The Board of Trustees has the right to question the actions of the administration, not students. As a consumer, if you disagree with some aspect of a company’s practices, the greatest power you have is to not buy the product. If you disagree with the methods of the administration, you should consider finding another school that is more suitable to your particular needs.
Matt Allan said:
“This is why it makes sense to have the entire community have equal say in this decision. By putting everyone on equal footing, it’ll be easiest to complete this mosaic and make the most-informed decision.”
Royce Drake said:
“Ultimately we want, as we have said over and over again, an EQUAL distribution of power in decision-making. You know… democracy.”
Newsflash for you both: This institution, just like ALL institutions in the United States, is not a democracy. If you’re looking for a college that puts students on an equal footing with administrators… well, I don’t think they make colleges like that. Good luck.
And so why should we dream only of what already is, instead of reaching for something better.
From above: “uppitier says:
December 9, 2009 at 6:26 pm
The cycle continues: no one can propose a viable alternative without all the data. The administration refuses to give all of the data. People who try to make a difference are blamed for not providing an alternative. And we continue to take the administrators’ word that there is no other option.”
I find this not only a problematic statement, but one that is somewhat strange. That key information and data relevant to this topic have not been provided. I have both attended *many* meetings now that have walked very carefully through absolutely every vital relevant aspect of the current and upcoming future finances for Vassar, as well as having provided a great deal of the data for these meetings, for the economic website, etc. I know for a fact that the Office of Institutional Research has provided all data for which it has been asked, by key committees, by key administrators, by the Board of Trustees, by the Priorities and Planning Committee, by students, by the Misc., and others. It is hard to understand how someone can say that they have not been provided data/information relevant to the topic of Vassar’s economies, employee base, etc.
Just exactly what is it that is missing?
David Davis-Van Atta
Director of Institutional Research
David, you’re absolutely right. I read an article in The Misc a couple of months ago (http://www.miscellanynews.com/2.1576/confusion-surrounds-recent-exchange-of-financial-data-1.2041264) that was so heavy and rich with important financial data that was actually provided to the writer by your office. It’s clear that the data is there. Students have to just go looking for it. So for all you people complaining that there is transparency — if you ACTUALLY have a specific question about the endowment or about our faculty size or our administrative bloat (which I doubt you do, since you’re so poorly read on those issues anyway), then please, please e-mail David Davis-Van Atta. Read a Misc article. Look at the economy website. Just because you don’t see what you’re looking for right in front of your face doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist or that someone won’t make it available to you. And don’t be surprised when the actual numbers — when the raw, indisputable data — doesn’t give you the perfect conspiracy theory you’re looking for. No matter how much you want it to be, this administration is not evil — the senior officers, Cappy and the Trustees are intelligent people who have invested their lives into pulling this College out of an economic crisis.
This actually touches on a huge problem with this hunger strike.
1. These students say that need more data and transparency, but they can’t talk about specifics, because a) they don’t even know what data they would ask for, and b) because all the data is already there. As David said, “just exactly what is it that is missing?”
2. These students say they want the 13 eliminated staff positions reinstated, but they won’t acknowledge that nearly all 13 employees whose positions have been lost will find work at the College or elsewhere.
3. These students say that the College is being run like a corporation, but when you ask them how that’s so, they won’t answer. Why? Because actually the College has taken an anti-corporate approach to cutting back. We did not cut jobs across the board. We did not take a percentage off of every department or every office. The President and the senior officers have what they call a “messy way of doing things,” in terms of time, imagination and constant rethinking. This kind of planning is not quick, it’s not neat, it’s not clean—and it’s certainly not corporate.
4. And finally, when you ask these students what the point of this strike is—as so many have done on this forum—they won’t even give you a response.
I should be sure that I clarify a mis-perception that I think is possible from my first post. I am definitely not trying to criticize the hunger strike, nor esp. not to criticize the strikers themselves. That would be altogether inappropriate for me to do, either in my position as Director of IR, nor (for me) personally. If my post reads as if I do this, I want to be sure to say here that I did not mean to do so. And I don’t make such criticisms.
But I do draw an earnest, and an important question when it comes to the availability of good, relevant data and information. Particularly when someone indicates that such information or data has either not been forthcoming, or simply is not available. Because providing this type of info/data is the central task of my office (which is me!) and of the IR function. IR, and others here, have done a great deal of work toward this goal, and have provided I think at least almost all of the relevant data asked for from a number of quarters in the Vassar community, have provided a great deal of directly relevant data and information on Vassar’s finances, economies, and planning in many forums, meetings, and media over the past 12 months or so, including many this fall.
So my question of what info/data is missing arises from this central role of the IR function. I want to be sure that it is not heard as an incredulous question, or as an unfriendly one. Rather, it should be heard as an earnest one. This is what IR is here to provide. To hold up the mirror. To try not to distort it, nor to select who gets to look into it, and who does not. Good information, for everyone who is interested, is critical at times such as these. We can have different interpretations, views, feelings, ideas, and suggestions. However, we should not be operating on our own, individualistic facts. Nor should we be genuinely in the position of saying that relevant data have not been provided. So I am concerned reading something that indicates this. Good data/info supports good decision-making and planning. Such information is IR’s role. IR’s role is not to take sides. And as such, in this case, it is decidedly not to criticize actors or actions, nor to sound incredulous or unfriendly. Rather, to pose an honest question, because it is not clear to me what the missing data/information is.
David Davis-Van Atta
Director of Institutional Research
My only problem with the hunger strike (problem in that I would chose not to support it personally) is that hunger strikes are traditionally a last resort for a very dire situation, one which the striker feels so passionate about they are generally willing to die if their demands are not met.
I would ask the hunger strikers if this is in fact a cause they are willing to, quite literally, starve themselves for. If not, I think it becomes very easy to view their actions as a childish temper tantrum; “I won’t eat until you give me what i want…or until I get hungry.”
I would also ask them why they would chose such a drastic protest strategy for an issue like this; of all the problems and travesties that could currently be addressed, starving to try and save the jobs of thirteen well educated, very employable and most likely economically secure (relatively speaking) employees at a private institution, many of which will be rehired at the school or have already found other jobs, does not seem like one worth potentially hurting yourself and starving for.
In true, earnest interest, I would be interested in finding out. Hearing exactly why the strikers feel so passionately about this issue might be constructive for the community, and I would certainly like to learn more about the thought process that went into the protest; in the midst of all these posts, I feel like that is one of the few things I havn’t learned, and what I would consider the most important.