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| Author: stown | Sep 9, 2009 7:47 pm | Top | Reply |
| Does anybody outside the negotiating room know what is really going on? I am personally tired of e-mails coming from both sides of this matter. I do not support either side considering the difficulty of determining what the truth actually is. I wish I would have been made aware of these issues prior to the start of the semester as I would of made plans to take classes elsewhere. Nobody is to be applauded here, and I hope when classes do begin they are not filled with more justifications and excuses for the strike. I have heard enough. I want the best for the students and truly hope this is what this is about. Thanks for the extra break but, GET BACK TO WORK! Edited by stown on Sep 9, 2009 7:51 pm | ||
| Author: achess | Sep 9, 2009 8:29 pm | Top | Reply |
| I agree! This has gone on quite Long enough. I believe that our professors are being unfairly treated by the university administrators but they must find a different way to demonstrate their cause. Instead they are only being selfish and not considering that their students are the ones that they are hurting the most. Michigan is in an economic downturn. Everyone must make sacrifices including university officials. The teachers and staff at my high school just took a Pay Decrease and have not complained because they are THANKFUL for their JOBS that so many DO NOT HAVE. In the end Only Us Students will LOSE. PLEASE End this Disaster as soon as possible. To do this Both sides must make Necessary Sacrifices and Compromise. I want the best for my professors but please find a different way to accomplish this. Edited by achess on Sep 9, 2009 8:46 pm | ||
| Author: pfeiffer | Sep 9, 2009 9:30 pm | Top | Reply |
| I'm sure it's easy to be confused when you have so many voices coming at you from so many different directions, but think about why you chose OU rather than some community college. Isn't it because of the professors, the class size, the academic experience, the reputation? All of those things are on the line in these negotiations. If we faculty have no say in university governance (as the administration is proposing), then the bean counters in Wilson Hall will raise class size, hire contract workers to teach, and control curriculum and degree requirements. Do you want to sit in giant lecture halls where the prof doesn't know who you are? If all of your profs are contract workers, where will you go for letters of recommendation? For academic or career advice? For help with a paper or a project? The only power we have in this situation is to withhold our services in the classroom. This is hardly the same as being on strike, by the way. Many of us have been scrambling in our spare time to write letters of recommendation that we've promised to students, to work on research, to plan future course material, to read the current scholarship in our fields. I can assure you that we are all very grateful for our jobs, every day. But if we accepted their terms, we would be responsible for the collapse of academic integrity at Oakland University and it would undermine the value of your degree, I assure you. | ||
| Author: mmharden | Sep 9, 2009 9:40 pm | Top | Reply |
| It's NOT just about pay. And even if it was, Gary Russi just got a $100,000 raise. Our tuition was raised AGAIN this year, and I would at least like that money to go towards my education. I'm going to be paying off student loans for years and I don't want to write that check every month knowing that it's a higher amount because the administration wanted a fatter paycheck or (who knows) I was paying for a hospital that won't even be built before I graduate. I'm upset about the strike too, but all of my frustration is directed towards the university administration. I trust the AAUP bargaining team (one member especially) and I know that they would have signed an agreement by now if a reasonable one was offered. - OU student | ||
| Author: tjkryszk | Sep 9, 2009 10:47 pm | Top | Reply |
| I'm just curious....Doesn't the president of the United States make just a few hundred thousand dollars each year? I'm not 100% sure about that but if that is the case, what justification can there be for a president of a University to make almost as much or more? I'm also not sure that OU's president has taken a $100,000 pay raise (as I make it a point not to know other people's income). But if this is the case, I believe that more than just the faculty's problems need to be looked at. Just my opinion. | ||
| Author: sdonnell | Sep 10, 2009 0:47 am | Top | Reply |
| As, a Student @ Oakland University, I must say that as of 12:30 AM on Sept. 10th, I still fully support the strike. I completely understand the desire and absolute necessity of returning to the classrooms, but I can also see the writing on the wall..........which is, that the OU Administration will continue to hack away at it's Professors' until OU finally reaches a point were it can no longer attract high quality faculty. Honestly, as a Chemistry Major, I am here to learn something. I don't just want a piece of paper; I want an education. OU's reputation DEPENDS on it's ability to be attractive to prospective high quality faculty;. Kill off the health care benefits enough & cut research money, and the best and the brightest will avoid applying for faculty positions here in the future. They will go and work elsewhere. Like U of M, where they will be respected. I never got a #$%& thing from an of OU's admin. They spend my money on too much non-essentials like Student-Activist clubs, new sidewalks, welcome-week, and Golden Grizzly statues. That's crap. I want my money going towards research and education-based programs. I would be much less emphatic about my support for the faculty if I saw ANY signs of genuine commitment on the administration's end. Like voluntary pay cuts. Even 5% would be symbolic enough for me to believe they were willing to make compromises.. FACULTY MEMBERS: Don't back down. If you give in, the administration will only rob you even more next year. I'm reading my textbooks and studying all the same. We'll figure something out regarding making up instruction time later on. In the mean time, fight hard. I'm tired of giving Russi pay raises! | ||
| Author: mitton | Sep 10, 2009 1:07 am | Top | Reply |
| Like the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy says- DONT PANIC- University professors have been away from classes longer than just a few days on many occasions around the US and Canada, while collective bargaining. Do not panic, you will be taught well by excellent tenure track faculty who are active producing new knowledge in the topics of your classes. Many colleges will loose one or two weeks from unusual winter weather this year. (like V-tech in 1994/5, and everyone completed their courses. I know I was there.) Many colleges do not even try to start classes until after labor day. As PhDs who excel in our fields, the OU AAUP know how to bargain using standard good practices, with legal council, keeping documentation, curating facts and analysis, making proposals that are backed up with justifications. Thanks for all who kept their cool last September. Always find out the facts, ask. KPM Edited by mitton on Mar 19, 2010 5:34 pm | ||
| Author: mitchell | Sep 11, 2009 8:59 pm | Top | Reply |
Well said. You articulated critical points that need to be made known and recognized by the students and community. | ||
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