SIUCSETTLE

A gathering place to help expose the SIUC administration.

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Beautiful example of why the strike worked.

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SUCCESS! STRIKE ENDS!

Contract negotiations continue. Please continue to support the FA and the Unions.

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Waving Puny Fists

Op-Ed in The Southern Against the Faculty Strikers:

Local newspaper The Southern has taken not only a stance against the Faculty Association, but a harsh and dismissive one at that.  The article drips with obvious jealousy at the position that tenured faculty have worked hard their entire lives to EARN.  The writer of the opinion piece betrays their clear lack of understanding of what it means to work for tenure.

Here are some highlights:

Striking faculty got salutes and toots of the horn from supporters, but a larger group of motorists responded with silent stares or insulting hand gestures.

A larger group? Really? Unsubstantiated claim that can't be proven. Were you staked at there all day Mysterious Editor?

Employment at SIU is a career goal for many, a source of envy for many more.

The tone of this editorial makes it very obvious which of those groups this writer belongs in.

It was especially troubling to see the highest-paid, most-protected class of workers, the Faculty Association representing tenured and tenure-track educators, feigning hardship because of their inability to attain what they loftily describe as a "fair contract."

Are they the most-protected class of workers when presented with a contract that could lead to any of them being fired at any moment? Are they the most-protected after being told that they will be punished for striking?

The people holding pickets, or raising their puny clenched fists are privileged to live in the Ivory Tower of Academia.

I don't even think I need to comment on this one.

Let me close by saying that if you do not understand what tenure means and how tenure is worked for, voted on, and finally earned then please go research it before agreeing with this editorial.

Obtaining a PhD after years of hard work, research, paying your dues as an overworked graduate labourer, paying your dues as an adjunct, publishing to help your school retain its relevancy, hosting and attending conferences to make a name for your department and school, being there for your students on demand for years and years totally doesn't deserve the respect of the administration and is COMPLETELY comparable to any other job. Those puny fisted whiners!! PUNY FISTS!

The Faculty are WHAT MAKE THE SCHOOL. They are the reason that serious students attend SIUC. I came here due to the reputation that SIUC had as a research institute and to work with specific faculty.

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Rita Cheng's E-mail Propaganda 11-4-11

I will spare you the majority of this official e-mail and instead highlight what I mean when I say the university spreads false information and half-truths. After several paragraphs of explaining the proposals SIUC made to the faculty association Cheng slips this in without any explanation of why it was rejected.

Finally, the University’s wage proposal mirrors the proposals offered to and accepted by other unions on campus. Namely, a 1% increase in January of 2012, a 1% increase in July of 2012, and a 2% increase in July of 2013.

If you watch the video I posted last week or read any of the statements made by the Faculty you will learn that they rejected this because they do not want tuition raised for students.  Instead, the Faculty Association asked that they share in any increased revenue the university makes.  I wonder why the Administration would reject that? Could it be because raising tuition is far more lucrative to them than sharing in profit which would reduce the administrators' raises? (Raises that they all received this year during this financial crisis, by the way).

Now if I had included the full text you could have also basked in Rita Cheng's egregious repetition of the word "Finally". Apparently she doesn't know what it means.

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Large community support of the strikers could be seen today on campus. We demand change!

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For Harry Potter fans this is what it feels like at SIUC right now.  I have heard reports of Grad Assistants being tailed around campus, spied on, and the administration continues to churn out false information and half-truths.  Officially, "qualified substitutes" are in classes to replace faculty, but many of these people merely take attendance and dismiss the students.

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The Administration of SIUC Hurts Student Life

Daily Egyptian reporters were repeatedly told at the beginning of the academic year that if they wished to speak to an SIUC employee, they must first speak with Rod Sievers, university spokesman. In some cases, interview questions were requested beforehand for Sievers’ approval. Some of us were bothered by the thought of an attempt by the administration to censor its employees, while others saw this simply as the administration failing to understand media relations.

As journalists, we strongly believe in the First Amendment. After journalism professors spoke with the SIUC spokesman and asked if the approval of interviews was a new policy, the spokesman said nothing had changed and he was just directing us to the right resources.

But as journalists, we find our own resources. And as public employees, SIUC faculty and staff shouldn’t be required to have media interviews approved beforehand. We all belong to this institution — this public institution — and the gathering of information should be welcomed, not restricted or controlled.

When a power outage led to a mass, disruptive gathering of about 1,000 students in September, they chose to fight amongst each other, light fireworks into the crowd and chant “F— the police.” Officers dressed in riot gear tried to prevent the Daily Egyptian from taking photographs, and Chancellor Rita Cheng said this in an email to parents: “While there was clearly a sense of excitement among many of the students, at no time was the situation out of control.”

Two students were treated for injuries at a hospital, and the only person affiliated with SIUC who would speak to the Daily Egyptian was the university spokesperson, rather than public safety or housing officials, who refused to comment.

Read more: http://dailyegyptian.com/2011/11/06/university-students-relations-hindered-during-rocky-times/#ixzz1d0wqC933

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Rita Cheng E-mail Excerpt 9-23-11

This e-mail illustrates Cheng's efforts to portray not just the administration, but the entire campus as against the concept of the Strike.  She promises classes will continue as usual ignoring the reality that no substitute can truly take over for a professor who's been teaching students all semester and in some cases, for all the years that student has been at SIUC.

Student success is our top priority.  In the event of a walkout by any of the unions, please be assured that we are committed to maintaining normal operations.  Classes will continue to meet as regularly scheduled and will be taught by qualified instructors. Students in good academic standing scheduled to graduate will receive their diplomas as planned. Nor will any University services be disrupted.  You can expect regular hours and staffing at such facilities as Student Health Services, Morris Library, the Student Recreation Center, the Student Center, and in University Housing.  Delivery of food to Residence Hall Dining will continue and dining services will be available at their regular times.  Saluki Express will maintain its regular schedule. Our Department of Public Safety will continue to ensure a safe campus environment for all.  In other words, it will be business as usual. If you have questions related to this situation, several offices on campus may be able to help. Questions related to classes and academics may be directed to the Office of Provost at 618/453-5744.  If you have questions regarding other University services, please contact the Office of Dean of Students at 618/453-2461. In addition, a website will be available next week where you will find additional helpful information and updates on the situation. We understand the concerns you may have.  I want to reassure you that our students’ academic progress will not be disrupted and they will continue to have access to all the essential services they expect and deserve.  Students choose SIU Carbondale for a high-quality educational experience and we will continue to meet their expectations. Sincerely, Rita Cheng

Chancellor

I have placed in BOLD her comment about a website to explain her side of the story.  As an SIUC graduate I cannot understand how Cheng thinks being divisive like this benefits students or leads to their success.  I was still a student last year and the situation even then was stressing out students.

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More deleted posts from earlier this week.

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Students and community members march through SIUC in solidarity with the strikers.

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Only half of the students in my media ethics class showed up on Thursday because the Faculty Association at SIU Carbondale is on strike. But the students who came were eager to discuss the ethics and legality of the university's decision overnight to delete comments about the strike from the university Facebook page. By deleting the comments, the university had unwittingly ventured onto new, uncertain ground and might have violated the First Amendment, legal experts say. Even as the university was coming to last-minute agreement with three of four unions late Wednesday and early Thursday, it was removing critical comments from a Facebook page that had been open to student, faculty and alumni comments. Some of the postings contained foul language and clearly could legally be removed. Others argued the pros and cons of the labor dispute. One message, repeatedly deleted, said, "Please settle."

http://www.stlbeacon.org/voices/in-the-news/114017-free-speech-facebook-and-a-public-university

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The comment about supporting SIUC professors and thus the whole school was eventually deleted, after being up for several hours. I wonder who's giving the orders? It must be someone different from whomever is doing the deleting or someone new took over. I don't feel sorry for this person who has to stay up all night censoring facebook commenters. What a ridiculous task. It'll look great on a resume.

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