The three students had planned to continue their strike despite statements from Senior Officers that the positions would not be re-instated. Though the positions were not reinstated, Roellke’s e-mail included information from Human resources about 10 of the staff members whose positions were eliminated. According to Roellke, three of the employees whose positions had been eliminated will take other positions at the College,  “three have decided not to bid on other available positions at  this time for which they would have been eligible; two have accepted  retirement incentive packages; one was recently informed that the  layoff was withdrawn due to a voluntary transfer of another employee  in the same department to another opening at the College, and at least one has accepted a job elswhere.” 

 The email also states, “All those who have lost jobs have had access to career counseling and employment services as well as funds for professional development.  The College continues to work closely with those administrators and staff members who have had positions eliminated this fall to help them secure employment.”

Roellke and President Catharine Bond Hill will hold a debriefing meeting with the students involved in the strike on Sunday morning, Dec. 13. “Personally, I have found my own  conversations with the students engaged in this protest to be  fruitful, despite my serious concerns about their choice to conduct a  hunger strike,” wroted Roellke. ”I wish to thank all members of our community who have  expressed concern about the hunger strike.”

 The full text of the e-mail is below:

 Dear Members of the Vassar College Community,

Based on information from Human Resources, I am providing an update for the community on the 13 administrators and staff who received layoff notices this fall. Three are moving to other positions at the College; three have decided not to bid on other available positions at this time for which they would have been eligible; two have accepted retirement incentive packages; one was recently informed that the layoff was withdrawn due to a voluntary transfer of another employee in the same department to another opening at the College; and at least one has accepted a job elsewhere.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. The College continues to work closely with those administrators and staff members who have had positions eliminated this fall to help them secure employment.

 I am both relieved and pleased to report that the hunger strikers have decided to end their protest. President Hill and I will have a debriefing meeting with the students on Sunday morning and look forward to additional opportunities for our community to reflect on this exceptionally difficult period. Student engagement in these issues is both an opportunity for powerful learning and allows for divergent perspectives to emerge. Personally, I have found my own conversations with the students engaged in this protest to be fruitful, despite my serious concerns about their choice to conduct a hunger strike. I wish to thank all members of our community who have expressed concern about the hunger strike. While the College’s employment policies could not be amended, the strikers highlight the empathy we all feel with those affected by the economic downturn. I want to assure the community that the College is acting in every way possible to find appropriate employment for those whose positions could not be continued, through no fault of their own.

 Sincerely and with appreciation,

Chris Roellke

Dean of the College

Professor of Education

So far this semseter Marsala has sent out several emails reporting three incidents of sexual assault and two incidents of physical assault. This is many more than in previous semesters, and Marsala commented to the Miscellany News that he doesn’t “ever remember having this many incidents” and that “to have them all at once like this is kind of strange.”

Patrols all around the campus will be stepped up and the Police Department has promised added patrols in and around the campus as well.” When asked to elborate further, Marsala explained that “campus patrol is on added alert” and that there are more people patrolling on foot and on bikes.

Student officers who patrol the grounds are “allowed to challenge anybody”, according to Masala. But, when they are faced with more serious situations their protocol is to contact security officers through their walkie-talkies.

One of the individuals involved in last night’s assault was arrested earlier today when he was stopped on the premise of driving a suspicious vehicle. He was taken into custody and, according to Masala’s email, “he is currently at the County Jail awaiting arraignment.” Masala expects that the other individuals will be apprehended shortly with help from the individual in custody.

Masala concluded his email cautioning students to remember “that we are living in a world that isn’t always safe” and to report “any suspicious activity” to the Campus Response Center (CRC).

In attendance were members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), as well as members of the faculty such as Professor of English Donald Foster.  Foster described the problem at Vassar as “systemic” and said that it’s in the best interest of those in control of the economic information to keep it under wraps.  Speaking in a raised voice to the eager crowd, Foster testified, “A few of us are trying to speak out to the administration, and we are getting stomped on.”

The demonstration started to break up around 10:15 am, although a lingering group of people remained to discuss the issue further. For more information on the recent decision, please read President Hill’s letter to the student body and see recent coverage from the Miscellany.

Squillace warns that if anyone has had contact with the bird, which was treated with arsenic, they are advised to “seek medical attention through Health Services or your doctor.”

Karl-Dietrich Wolff, a former student activist and German publisher, was denied entry into the US at JFK International Airport this weekend, according to British newspaper The Guardian.  Wolff was set to attend and speak at the conference, “African American Civil Rights and Germany in the 20^th Century”, October 1-4 at Vassar College. 

 Other speakers are to include members of the Vassar community and international activists and educators related with the history of African Americans in Germany, including Associate Professor of History Maria Hoehn and Angela Davis of the University of California, Santa Cruz.

 Wolff spoke to The Guardian and said that as he went through customs, “They filtered me out of the line right away. They had a print-out which had my picture from my visa [saying] in big spelling ‘revoked, revoked, revoked’. They told me I was trying to enter the country with an invalid visa.” 

 Wolff was under the impression that his Visa was valid until November 2010, but found out that the US had considered his Visa revoked as of 2003.  According to The Guardian, he was questioned for six hours, during which his fingerprints and photograph were taken, and then sent back to Frankfurt.

Wolff, now 66 years old, became involved in the civil rights movement when he visited the United States as a high school exchange student in the 1960’s.  Since then, Wolff has served as the head of the Socialist German Students’ Organization and in 1969 founded Germany’s Black Panther Solidarity Committee.

 Many international civil and human rights organizations have spoken out against the United States’ treatment of Wolff, including PEN, the international writer’s organization, who has condemned his denial of entry and said the actions of the US are “outrageous and must be interpreted as a curtailment of human rights”.

 President Hill issued a statement expressing her disappointment in the decision to deny Wolff entry and said that at the conference she had hoped that Wolff could “share his biographical experience with the international academic community.” 

 Speaking about the conference and his ability attend, Wolff stated to The Guardian that he will not return to the US without a letter of apology, and that “the University is trying to get some video conferencing going so I can speak at the conference after all.”

The decision to reduce library hours starting this semester was met with serious concern and disapproval from students.  After a petition signed by over 10 percent of the student body asking for the reinstatement of the original hours, the administration has responded by reinstating the original hours. However, “because of the nature of staffing constraints, the library may have to close on any given day at midnight, if there is illness or any other reason that staff cannot be present,” wrote Kitzinger.

“We also plan to continue offering extended hours during study and exam periods,” she added.  “I would like to thank Security for their contribution to this solution and all the students who have made constructive suggestions. I also offer my thanks to the whole community for your patience.”