MHCC campus evacuated four times in six days VOLUME 46, ISSUE 17
page 3
FEBRUARY 11, 2011
MHCC board faces triple whammy in next four months By Jordan Tichenor The Advocate As MHCC reaches the midpoint of the academic year, the district board has at least three major challenges looming over its head: a projected $5.5 million budget shortfall, the unresolved faculty contract negotiations and the search for a new president. The most vocal and visible challenge is the unresolved faculty contract negotiations. The faculty association made their position clear Wednesday as they demonstrated in the Main Mall at noon. To chants of “negotiate now” and similar mantras, a crowd of faculty members and students held signs and moved through the campus. At 7 p.m., the crowd reconvened to march to the district board meeting. Randy Stedman, the labor relations consultant hired by the board to bargain the contract for the administration, gave an update to the board on the progress of the negotiations. Stedman said the faculty and administration are $3.75 million apart in their proposals, and then said the board could consider raising tuition $15 per credit to make up the difference. Jack Schommer, the president of the faculty association, said to the board, “It’s up to you to get back to the table,” addressing some faculty members’ feeling that the admin-
istration has been avoiding negotiation in favor of running the clock until they can impose their last best offer. MHCC District board chair Brian Freeman said Thursday, “I think it will take some patience. Contract negotiations are never easy but we have gotten through them in the past and we will again.” Associated Student Government held a rally in the Main Mall Thursday in order to raise awareness about the contract negotiations (see the story about the rally on page 6). The budget shortfall was addressed by MHCC President John Sygielski in a Feb. 4 email. “We had anticipated that state funding for community colleges would be at the $400-million level and thus create a significant shortfall at MHCC. Despite funding at a slightly higher level, the college’s budget hole will still be deep – in the neighborhood of $5.5 million,” said Sygielski. Freeman said Thursday, “Thirty-five percent of our revenue comes from the State of Oregon and we have no control over that. The state is thinking ‘you can always raise tuition.’ That’s what we’re battling with.” Schommer Thursday referred to the budget shortfall as “the most daunting” of all of the challenges the board is facing. In April, Sygielski will present a proposal of a balanced budget to the District board, which will serve as the District
budget committee. In May, the budget committee will approve the budget. In June, there will be public hearing on the budget held by the Tax Supervising and Conversation Commission, and then the District board will adopt the budget. The board also has to address the problem of finding a new president, either permanent or interim, by July 1, when Sygielski leaves. The president announced Jan. 12 he has accepted a position to become president of Harrisburg (Pa.) Area Community College “I want to look at the people interested in a permanent job,” said MHCC District board member Ralph Yates, a sentiment the rest of the board echoed. During Wednesday’s district board meeting, the board voted to begin the search for a new president by looking first at MHCC employees to take on the job permanently. If that yields no results, they will continue to look at MHCC employees to find an interim president. If there is still no one available, at that point the search will expand outside the college. “I think it’s a great idea for them to review anyone who wants the job internally for one reason: they’ll hit the ground running. There won’t be a learning curve,” Schommer said Thursday. Freeman said the board is dedicated to “finding someone who can build on Ski’s (Sygielski’s) success.”
Black History Month Portland State poet brings racial awareness to MHCC By Jill-Marie Gavin The Advocate Controversial discussions surrounding racism and inequality were the subject of debate Wednesday in the Town and Gown Room. As part of Love Week, the Student Activity Board invited Portland State University Black Studies instructor Walidah Imarisha to read some of her poetry and take questions from the audience. Tra’ Ford, ASG director of diversity, opened the event with three of his poems: “Dedicated,” “My Love ” and “Cool Summer Breeze.” Imarisha followed with three poems which focused on racial tension and the inequality she said occurs daily in America. A poem about Hurricane Katrina was followed by Imarisha stating that women of color were affected more than others in the 2005 Gulf disaster due to a cross-section of race, gender and class prejudice in the South. In a conversation about healthcare, in which Imarisha spoke about the difficulty for black Photo by Jill-Marie Gavin/The Advocate Americans and other Walidah Imarisha discusses race in society in minorities to obtain the Town and Gown Room Thursday. coverage, event
Stalled negotiations cause faculty and students to rally
attendee Aaron Harris said, “A lot of white people don’t have healthcare either.” Harris said Imarisha stated blacks are struggling for care but he added that everyone is struggling. He also said what he heard was only blacks are struggling for coverage when he and his girlfriend also, until recently, have been uncovered. Asked if he knew that it was a Black History Month event, he said he understood that but added he thinks healthcare should be recognized as a common struggle. Imarisha said after the event that race is the number one indicator of whether an individual will receive coverage or not, making it the number one indicator of whether we live or die. Ford asked Imarisha what her perspective of using the ‘N word’ was since it has become commonly used by blacks as a form of camaraderie. Imarisha said she lived in Philadelphia in a predominantly white neighborhood and encountered racial slurs daily. She decided to move after she saw the N-word written on a wall outside her home. She said the word is not a word of the past, but is
See Race on page 3 Guest column: MHCC speech teacher Larry Dawkins provides perspective for Black History Month.
see page 2 See page
6 for the story
See www.advocate-online.net for a slideshow of the events