In an intense hour of testimony from 15 different speakers, a mix of students, staff, faculty, and community members asked PSU’s Trustee to:
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Reverse the most recent budget cuts which have had a devastating effect across the campus, including mass layoffs of adjunct faculty, cancellation of summer classes, the risk of losing key academic programming that will harm students’ academic progress, and the cancellation of key faculty and AP hires.
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Keep the ASPSU Children’s Center open. Parents, community members, and alumna spoke out against the closure of this center (they challenged its portrayal as a “merger” with the Helen Gordon center), which primarily serves parents and children of color and whose long-term staff are persons of color. They detailed the crucial role this childcare center plays in helping low-income students complete their education, and the unique role it plays in caring for children with special needs.
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Restore trust and transparency around decision-making on major issues. Several speakers addressed the recent decision to re-arm campus police officers without any input from the campus community - not even the University Public Safety Oversight Committee (UPSOC). One speaker brought forward data indicating that more than 60% of PSU students do not feel safer with armed officers on campus; several pointed out the pain caused by making this decision in secret, just as we reach the fifth anniversary of Jason Washington’s death.
I would like to call out the powerful remarks delivered by AAUP’s Vice President for Organizing & Membership, Óscar Fernández, especially on the high workloads and classloads being carried by faculty and academic professionals. Please take a couple of minutes to read them; they are republished below.
I’d also like to let you know that the report from our armament survey will be coming out later this summer or Fall 2023.
If you’d like to watch this commentary yourself, you can view the video of the June 22nd Board of Trustees meeting here. (Scroll down to “Past Meetings.” Once the video is available, it will appear there.) The commentary begins around 10AM and lasts for about an hour.
What Can You Do?
After taking a break, the Trustees responded to the hour-long series of intense testimony with deep concern and care. This is appreciated, but we have to continue to press them until we see real change on the ground.
PSU has a bright future if we get engaged and involved in large numbers. This will be especially important as the new University president, Dr. Ann Cudd, arrives on campus.
There are many different ways for you to be active, some with time commitments as little as 30 minutes a month. Others require only 1 - 2 hours a month.
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Sign up online for PSU Board of Trustees updates. It takes less than a minute and it will set you up next year to be in the know about Board work.
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Consider becoming a Unit Representative or a member of an AAUP committee or team in 2023-2024. (Contact deborah@psuaaup.net for details.)
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Ask new colleagues to join PSU-AAUP when they arrive on campus this Fall. (Want some training on the best ways to ask? Contact Deborah for more information.)
Please feel free to email me your thoughts at aaup@psuaaup.net.
Emily Ford,
President