11/18/2022

Dear JRB,

My letter today is written to my colleagues. I thought you should see it. I have edited it down to fit the limit on your website.

Dear Colleagues,

 As I have visited campus this week, I have been impressed with the number of people participating in the march around campus. It took the group 7.5 minutes to walk by me on Tues, as they chanted, “48000 workers strong, we can fight all day long.” I haven’t seen anything like it in my 20 years at UCD. Our upper-level administrators are working on a plan so that we can get through this with the least harm. That being said, we may have to make some difficult choices to make when closing out courses should the strike continue.

 I believe that we all share the sentiments of UC-SC professor of literature theory and criticism, Joseph Holsworth, whose opinion piece appeared in the LA Times yesterday.

 “I support the strike because I support my students. I am still figuring out what that means right now for me as a professor.”

 As I navigate the strike, I see it as evidence of a broken system that is harming its most vulnerable people. Public funding of universities is drying up so we have switched from having tenure-track faculty do most of the work, to having lower paid employees do it. Those who are suffering are those with the least power in the system, and things have gotten so bad for them that they have united to make it clear how dependent we are on them. This analysis helps me avoid directing my frustration at individuals and instead consider ways that we can convince our fellow citizens to reinvest in higher education. 

I hope we can continue to work together to improve all levels of education and to bring out the best in our students and one another. If you have questions about the strike, I will do my best to answer them. 

In solidarity,