At the Deo Volente web site, an anonymous student posted the following:
"I just want to thank everyone involved in this whole mess, that after 1 month here as a transfer student I will be transferring to another school after this semester....get it sorted out!"This is an open space for students to react to a possible strike by faculty and staff. Feel free to be anonymous but no ad hominem attacks on people.
Any response is fine but I'd also like to know how a strike might alter your plans, if at all. Would you color your view of SIUC as an institution of higher education, either positively or negatively?
FYI: "Anonymous" is boring so feel free to follow our Founding Fathers by using pen names (Cato, Brutus, Claudius, or something modern like "50 Cent" LOL).
Fire away!
2 comments:
I am opposed to a strike at this institution. My father has been union his whole life. Kind of hard not to be in northern Illinois. In my experience with strikes, the union members hardly ever win in the long run. Most end up getting hurt. In a recent Teamsters strike, one member filed bankruptcy, another lost a down payment on his house because he was currently not employed since he was on strike. These were friends of the family. These issues aren't exactly pertinent with the issues at SIU but hopefully they will make some people wake up to reality. Do you want your union to gain more power? My father is a member of IBEW. He works for Nicor gas and had his job changed to a different position within the company. He's been a faithful employee for 35+ with no time lost. He went to the union and filed a grievance and they told him as long as his pay didn't change his employer could do whatever they wanted. SIU has a horrible retention rate, and many students who are admitted aren't exactly top scholars. Adding to these facts that the faculty are negotiating to strike doesn't exactly boost SIU's stock. In an economic climate where very few are lucky to be employed (see laborers across the country among others), your wanting to strike will not look too appealing to prospective students or parents who are going to be putting their hard earned dollar bills into this institution. As students are hit hard with fees and higher tuition along with higher cost of living, you will receive little support from the student body. Many are actually disgusted at your want to strike. Consider whether a strike is fair to students who pay large sums of money to attend classes which well educated faculty are supposed to be teaching.
These are hard times. Think of who will be affected by this strike. I respectfully submit my opinion as being against the strike.
Jason Vollmer
The Daily Egyptian publishes another critical "don't do it!" letter from a student:
http://dailyegyptian.com/2011/09/22/lte_092311_edg/
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