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immediate resignation of Dick Greene. The ballot vote was 96 in favor, 0 opposed. It was then
agreed that each constituent group (staff, faculty, students) would be polled on this issue
separately at a later time (see page four for the results of the faculty vote taken. Off-campus
students can use the ballot enclosed and should expect to be contacted by telephone in the near
Surprisingly, there was a scheduled student meeting with Greene about the budget which was not canceled (this meeting was prearranged before any of the above happened). Approximately 40 to 50 students attended along with a few staff and faculty(?). This was a frustrating time (approx. 2 hrs) both for the students and apparently for Greene. Students found that their questions about the budget or the community vote for immediate resignation were not being answered in a straightforward manner. However, there was an important concession made by the president during this meeting. |
Greene, when questioned by several students about the College Executive Committee's progress,
agreed to extend the deadline by at least one week. The original deadline was to be the following
day (Friday 4/12).
This could be considered a victory because several committee members on CEC felt that the extension would give them more time to fully explore the alternative faculty budget proposals (which I think the faculty report to the students will include) as opposed to balancing the budget by firing staff and faculty (Greene's plan). There were meetings over the weekend of the 4/13 and 4/14 that I do not know much about because I was in NYC. All that I can say about this for now is that Jane Sanders, the chair of the board, attended one of these community (or student) meetings with Greene. I hope to get more information about this. In addition, the Executive Committee of the Board has already had a conference call regarding the recent activity and protests on campus, but I (and I assume other board members) have not been informed about any decisions made by that group. Manuel O'Neill, a financial aid staff member, initiated a three day fast on Monday 4/15. Approximately 20 students joined the fast in solidarity. The fast was initiated to bring attention to the president's unjust treatment of labor (staff and faculty) in so far as: 1) workers are denied binding contracts that have legal standing and are enforceable in court (although the president has one), 2) there is not a fair and just grievance procedure for workers that has arbitration as the final step, 3) workers have been terminated without due process or "just cause", 4) the continued use of harassment and intimidation in managing the college, 5) and continued violation of the spirit of participatory democracy, which inspires the College's governance documents. The fast is also in honor of Peter Burns, in light of his resignation, and a call for board members Jane Sanders (who is considered an outspoken voice for labor and workers' rights along | |
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