The Save My Major Coalition (recently reformulated to Rider
Students Union) and the faculty through the AAUP conducted a vigorous struggle
that created the groundwork and atmosphere to undo the damages attempted by the
Dell Omo led Rider Administration in canceling several majors and minors. While the majors were saved, the faculty was
forced to provide significant concessions even though they are only one year
into a 3-year contract. This gives the
impression that the majors cuts were announced perhaps as a ploy to wring
concessions out of the faculty that the administration was unable to accomplish
last year when it attempted to force faculty to strike to defend the quality of
education at Rider University. For more
background – see:
While students and those in the affected departments can
breathe a collective sigh of relief that the destruction of the majors cuts
being implemented will not occur at this time (though the damages of the mere
announcement of and publicity around the cuts pervade) – the outcome begs the
question that faculty and students and anyone who cares about the future of
Rider University, and Westminster Choir College should be asking . . . WHAT .
JUST . HAPPENED??? And what do we need
to do about it!
Below is a letter that has been sent to various interested
parties including officers of Rider AAUP about a proposal for a university wide
forum to the effect of: “THE MAJORS CUTS SHAKEDOWN: A STUDENT, FACULTY, FAMILY
RESPONSE.” The idea has been discussed
with officers of the newly formed Rider Students Union and initial feedback has
been received from Jeff Halperin, lead negotiator of the Rider AAUP. The feedback has been positive and it looks
like we are going to be looking to do the event toward the beginning of the
semester once winter break is over. With
the participation of Jeff Halperin, other AAUP officers possibly, faculty
members, Rider Student Union members, other students that were impacted when
the cuts were first announced, we can do a full blown analysis of what happened
and how it impacts negatively the quality of education and the reputation of
Rider University.
We are putting the word out now about this event in order to
get the word circulating sooner than later – so that we can have a tremendous
turn out and unified event in January or February. Once more particulars are available,
including participants, location, date and time, they will be announced here
and in the Facebook group:
Please stay informed and hopefully you can become part of making this event a success. For more information, contact: riderstudentsunion@gmail.com
Please stay informed and hopefully you can become part of making this event a success. For more information, contact: riderstudentsunion@gmail.com
Proposal:
Panel Discussion Including Faculty,
Students and Parent(s) (not administration) that provides information about
exactly what happened with the concessions coerced by Dell Omo / Administration
Possible Title of Event: Student /
Faculty / Family Response to Majors Shakedown
Location: Large Hall on
Lawrenceville Campus
Timing:
Timing:
Within 1st
or 2nd (or third) week post winter break
Why:
There needs to be a clear
explanation of what happened, what were the motivations and exactly what the
damages that were done to the university – including the reputation given the
idea that majors can be cut wantonly, the instability of choosing Rider, damages
to WCC and the piano department especially – as well as the damages caused by
the concessions including the adjunct increase and other concessions and how
those concessions impact not only faculty but students and the university as a
whole.
Who should be on panel: Jeff
Halperin, possibly 1 – 2 other AAUP officials, students from Student Union in
formation, students and / or faculty from affected department, piano major
student, one or more parents (I would gladly fill that role lol).
Narrative:
It needs to be clearly explained to
the entire Rider community the context of the announcement of the cuts, the
motivation behind them (to wrest concessions), the context of last years
agreement and how admin was thwarted from it’s worse plans last year, how it used
this pressure cooker tactic to get this year when there was already a contract
in place what it could not get at the table last year, how the Piano Department
is now struggling for survival, how the instability caused by Dell Omo will
further erode student enrollment, how all the departments that were threatened
also suffer lasting damage, how uncertainty that Rider will fulfill its
commitment to the students that do decide to go here damages the reputation of
the university, the hardship of the loss of the increments, especially for the
lower grade professors and staff in AAUP, how the degrading of the agreement
harms the ability to attract the highest level of faculty, etc – all of this
needs to be clearly laid out and delineated.
Furthermore – a going forward
strategy of greater unity and greater year round activity and cooperation
between faculty and students needs to be announced and explained. Too often there is a crisis response but
after the immediate threat from administration is resolved (or implemented) the
unifying structures quickly dissipate.
There also needs to be some work to
end the idea that students should remain neutral on matters regarding
administration decision making and how that affects the faculty. This idea of neutrality is propagated in the
training administration provides to elected GA members and they further promote
the ideas to students. There needs to be
a new understanding that in at least 99% of the time, faculty and student interests
are overlapping and common and neutrality actually amounts to support for
whatever administrations designs happen to be.
WHO:
This proposal has been discussed
with key members of the newly forming Rider Student Union (was Save My Majors
Coalition). There is support there. It was also discussed with members of the
piano department and the political science department. The idea is that AAUP would also be
instrumental, particularly in helping to secure the location and helping to
mobilize faculty and students to attend.
While the event has the potential to be large, even if it is not super
large, this type of forum will be a tremendously valuable step toward starting
to alter the power equation at Rider that recently led to the threats on the
majors, the destruction that did to the university, the horrible concessions
and the further destruction of those concessions, not just to faculty but to
the university as a whole.
I am willing to help organize this
event as a parent but fully supportive of the other interested parties at Rider
(students and faculty) in shaping the panel.
The only consideration I have is I feel very strongly that
administration should NOT be involved in the panel. They had their own panel without student or
faculty involvement earlier after the announcement of the cuts and before the
concessions, that was organized by the Senate.
This response should be solely ours.
I am hoping that AAUP and Rider
Student Union can agree to put this together and that we can get this moving as
early as possible. I am available for
any evening organizing meeting – or weekends – as might be needed.
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