Tap the screen
30-05-2006, 05:49
It appears that for some unknown reason the UofM administration are clamping down on legitimate student protests campaign for the rights of underpaid janitoral staff. this is seems crazy. Are there any other institutions doing the same thing. The letters of address by the President of the school are so contradictorary it is almost funny. Below are some faculty responses to the farce ...
I have kept many of you informed about the now-resolved janitors strike
at UM and the role of a group of students who supported them. I have
decided to add to that list current students who have been in my classes
in the past several years and are majoring in my department. I think it
important that you get a perspective that is a bit broader than that of
the PR notices and self-serving op-ed pieces placed in the press by the
university administration.
A group of up to twenty students are still charged with largely
unspecified "crimes" and have been threateend with possible suspension
or explusion. President Shalaa [explicitly] and the administration
refuse to accept the argument that the matter is one of free speech.
That has perhmitted her publicly to urge graduates to act on principle,
while noting that the issue of the students threated with draconian
penalties is a matter for their and the university's lawyers. You may
find the following items of interest. The first are exceprts from the
speaches of President Shalala and former Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright at commencement ceremonies this week. The second is an open
letter to the faculty from Professor Hugh Thomas.
Roger E. Kanet
I. Closing comments by Donna Shalala at the commencement for Graduate
Studies: "Make your mark boldly. ... Don't be afraid to stand up for
what you believe and to support others who do likewise." What she
forgot to note is that in acting on your beliefs, be prepared to suffer
the consequences, especially while still a student at UM. [editorial
comment by REK]
Former Secretary of State Albright told the students that "To run from
risk is to run from life." One of life's greatest challenges is "the use
we make of the time we have." "Many have the intention of acting on bold
plans" but wait until they graduate, pay off the mortgage, and keep
waiting until it's too late. She encouraged students not to wait, to
dedicate themselves to freedom and human rights, and to use their gifts
"to help, heal and teach." Albright's advice seens to dexcribe
exactly what the students under threat of disciplinary action have done.
[editorial commen by REK]
II. The following is a letter Hugh Thomas , professor of history
and academic senator, wrote today to the all-faculty listserve :
Dear Colleagues,
Many of you will have seen yesterday's advertisement in the
Miami Herald condemning a planned protest of today's graduation.
Although I am a strong supporter of unionization efforts and of the
students who have supported it, I was never in favor of the protest,
partly for some of the reasons the ad stated. I was relieved to learn
yesterday that the protest had been cancelled at the request of the
students whom it was intended to support. Nevertheless, this extremely
expensive advertisement seems to me to form part of a troubling effort
on the part of the administration to intimidate student attempts to
support the unionization effort.
Since the last week of April, approximately 20 students received
Official Notices to appear before Dean Singleton. The notices indicated
that they were being investigated for "major violations" (a technical
term) which could possibly lead to suspension or expulsion. When union
representatives asked for amnesty for the students as part of the
negotiated settlement on May 1, they were told that was not on the
table. When the students appeared before Dean Singleton, each of them
represented by a lawyer working pro bono, they were advised that the
charges related to violations of university rules on disorderly conduct
and failure to comply with the university's requests or orders. They
were also asked to identify pictures of themselves or others in pictures
of demonstrations. On the advice of their attorneys they said nothing. A
few days ago, the attorneys representing the students asked for a
meeting with President Shalala. Their request was rebuffed and they were
referred to a private law firm hired by the university.
Many of the students involved are members of STAND, the same
group that President Shalala praised in a letter for telling "outside
agitators" they were not welcome on campus. This letter came out around
the same time the administration banned STAND from holding events on
campus. At the last faculty senate meeting, in reference to the charges
against the students, President Shalala stated that they were not about
free speech. I wonder. Peaceful protests, such as the one called today
in support of the students, are an expression of free speech, whatever
one may think of the causes they support. A peaceful protest counts as
free speech even if one doubts the propriety of holding it during a
festive celebration such as graduation. I have no doubt that the
students opposing the protest in yesterday's Herald Advertisement were
freely expressing their own understandable views. I doubt, however, that
they organized and paid for the ad; the Miami Herald apparently charges
$11,466 for such an ad for not-for-profit institutions. Although I
opposed demonstrating on the day of graduation in the first place, I
can't avoid the suspicion that the administration was employing
considerable resources to try to bully those who disagree with it by a
very public condemnation of the protest that did not mention at all what
the protest was about. At the graduate convocation, yesterday, President
Shalala urged students to act on their convictions. One of my faculty
colleagues who was there commented that "She didn't add: And if I
disagree with you, I'll threaten you with suspension or expulsion."
The processes against the students remain in progress. Since at
this point the charges remain quite nebulous, it is hard to respond to
them, and of course the administration will not discuss ongoing
investigations, which in the abstract is a reasonable enough stance.
What some of us fear, however, is that the administration is waiting
until everyone goes away for the summer in order to lower the hammer at
a time when people can hardly react. Suspending or expelling activist
students would certainly have a chilling effect on student activism and
free speech in the future. At this point, I would simply like to ask all
of you on the faculty to keep an eye on this issue and to make sure that
the administration treats our students fairly. Hopefully, it will do so,
but as a faculty we have a responsibility not just to hope, but make
sure.
Hugh Thomas
Department of History
I have kept many of you informed about the now-resolved janitors strike
at UM and the role of a group of students who supported them. I have
decided to add to that list current students who have been in my classes
in the past several years and are majoring in my department. I think it
important that you get a perspective that is a bit broader than that of
the PR notices and self-serving op-ed pieces placed in the press by the
university administration.
A group of up to twenty students are still charged with largely
unspecified "crimes" and have been threateend with possible suspension
or explusion. President Shalaa [explicitly] and the administration
refuse to accept the argument that the matter is one of free speech.
That has perhmitted her publicly to urge graduates to act on principle,
while noting that the issue of the students threated with draconian
penalties is a matter for their and the university's lawyers. You may
find the following items of interest. The first are exceprts from the
speaches of President Shalala and former Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright at commencement ceremonies this week. The second is an open
letter to the faculty from Professor Hugh Thomas.
Roger E. Kanet
I. Closing comments by Donna Shalala at the commencement for Graduate
Studies: "Make your mark boldly. ... Don't be afraid to stand up for
what you believe and to support others who do likewise." What she
forgot to note is that in acting on your beliefs, be prepared to suffer
the consequences, especially while still a student at UM. [editorial
comment by REK]
Former Secretary of State Albright told the students that "To run from
risk is to run from life." One of life's greatest challenges is "the use
we make of the time we have." "Many have the intention of acting on bold
plans" but wait until they graduate, pay off the mortgage, and keep
waiting until it's too late. She encouraged students not to wait, to
dedicate themselves to freedom and human rights, and to use their gifts
"to help, heal and teach." Albright's advice seens to dexcribe
exactly what the students under threat of disciplinary action have done.
[editorial commen by REK]
II. The following is a letter Hugh Thomas , professor of history
and academic senator, wrote today to the all-faculty listserve :
Dear Colleagues,
Many of you will have seen yesterday's advertisement in the
Miami Herald condemning a planned protest of today's graduation.
Although I am a strong supporter of unionization efforts and of the
students who have supported it, I was never in favor of the protest,
partly for some of the reasons the ad stated. I was relieved to learn
yesterday that the protest had been cancelled at the request of the
students whom it was intended to support. Nevertheless, this extremely
expensive advertisement seems to me to form part of a troubling effort
on the part of the administration to intimidate student attempts to
support the unionization effort.
Since the last week of April, approximately 20 students received
Official Notices to appear before Dean Singleton. The notices indicated
that they were being investigated for "major violations" (a technical
term) which could possibly lead to suspension or expulsion. When union
representatives asked for amnesty for the students as part of the
negotiated settlement on May 1, they were told that was not on the
table. When the students appeared before Dean Singleton, each of them
represented by a lawyer working pro bono, they were advised that the
charges related to violations of university rules on disorderly conduct
and failure to comply with the university's requests or orders. They
were also asked to identify pictures of themselves or others in pictures
of demonstrations. On the advice of their attorneys they said nothing. A
few days ago, the attorneys representing the students asked for a
meeting with President Shalala. Their request was rebuffed and they were
referred to a private law firm hired by the university.
Many of the students involved are members of STAND, the same
group that President Shalala praised in a letter for telling "outside
agitators" they were not welcome on campus. This letter came out around
the same time the administration banned STAND from holding events on
campus. At the last faculty senate meeting, in reference to the charges
against the students, President Shalala stated that they were not about
free speech. I wonder. Peaceful protests, such as the one called today
in support of the students, are an expression of free speech, whatever
one may think of the causes they support. A peaceful protest counts as
free speech even if one doubts the propriety of holding it during a
festive celebration such as graduation. I have no doubt that the
students opposing the protest in yesterday's Herald Advertisement were
freely expressing their own understandable views. I doubt, however, that
they organized and paid for the ad; the Miami Herald apparently charges
$11,466 for such an ad for not-for-profit institutions. Although I
opposed demonstrating on the day of graduation in the first place, I
can't avoid the suspicion that the administration was employing
considerable resources to try to bully those who disagree with it by a
very public condemnation of the protest that did not mention at all what
the protest was about. At the graduate convocation, yesterday, President
Shalala urged students to act on their convictions. One of my faculty
colleagues who was there commented that "She didn't add: And if I
disagree with you, I'll threaten you with suspension or expulsion."
The processes against the students remain in progress. Since at
this point the charges remain quite nebulous, it is hard to respond to
them, and of course the administration will not discuss ongoing
investigations, which in the abstract is a reasonable enough stance.
What some of us fear, however, is that the administration is waiting
until everyone goes away for the summer in order to lower the hammer at
a time when people can hardly react. Suspending or expelling activist
students would certainly have a chilling effect on student activism and
free speech in the future. At this point, I would simply like to ask all
of you on the faculty to keep an eye on this issue and to make sure that
the administration treats our students fairly. Hopefully, it will do so,
but as a faculty we have a responsibility not just to hope, but make
sure.
Hugh Thomas
Department of History