Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / Dec. 5, 2018, edition 1 / Page 7
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Above: An Elon Faculty Forward supporter dressed as the Statue of Liberty leads the crowd of union supporters in their march on Thursday Nov. 29. Opposite: Jim Bissett (left), professor of history, holds a sign saying “United with SEIU” with other supporters of Elon Faculty Forward on Thursday, Nov. 29. Left: Adjunct instructor in communications Sharon Eisner chants, “We teach. We give. Help us earn enough to live,” during Elon Faculty Forward’s march on Thursday Nov. 29. ABBY GIBBS I PHOTO EDITOR CLASS DEMOGRAPHICS OF STUDENT PETITION I Freshmen (16.3%) H Sophomores (25.6%) I Juniors (31.9%) m Seniors (25.6%) I I Super Seniors (>0.05%) Q 2018 Alumni (>0.05%) SOURCE: STUDENT ALLIANCE FOR ELON FACULTY FORWARD ii IT’S A STATEMENT TO UPPER ADMIN SAYING STUDENTS ARE AWARE AND STUDENTS WILL STAND WITH THE EACULTY. CHRIS ADAMIK JUNIOR, STUDENT ALLY — Similar to the goals of the Elon movement. the contract with Duke "'as implemented, it has had a huge positive impact on my teaching,” said ■^ancy Kalow, a lecturing fellow at uke and member of the executive oard. I can engage more fully with 'oeacademic life of die university be muse I have three years of job securi- 7 hnally. It has been a huge positive for all of us in the DFU” Two significant effects of the ne- liated contract were an average 12 Percent salary increase for all mem- ^rs of the union at the time of nego tiation and the creation of a $50,000 fund for unionized faculty to pursue professional development opportu nities such as conferences. But these benefits come with a cost. In order to be a member of the DFU, faculty members must pay 1.5 percent of their monthly paycheck, which can cost up to $50. Elons union movement has not yet re leased the potential cost of the fees. Working closely with DFU during the contract negotiation pe riod on the administrative side was Kyle Cavanaugh, vice president of administration at Duke. One of his roles was to reallocate the budgets for the different schools in order to com pensate for the then-newly agreed upon contract. “The funds have been coming from our normal sources like en dowment,” Cavanaugh said. Each school is responsible for its own op erational budget, and the additional costs from the union contract come from these budgets. ... I’m not sure I would say there has been a demon strable impact on our budgets.” In September, Dukes endowment hit a record $8.5 billion, a 16.4 per cent increase since 2015. According to the National Center for Educa tional Statistics, a branch of the US. Department of Education, Duke has the 13th largest endowment in the country. This is roughly 36 times more than Elons 2017 endowment, which was 231 million according to the university’s Form 990. Following the signing of the contract, the rela tionship between the administration and DFU has re mained stable. “We are very fortunate that, at this point in time, we have a very productive and collaborative relation with the union,” Cavana ugh said. “We are in the second year of a three-year contract, and we ex pect to have amicable relations going forward.” The three-year contract has af fected the lives of the roughly 250 non-tenure-track faculty members within the DFU. During its formation, the union received support from Duke stu dents. This helped propel the move ment forward, and similar student support can now be seen at Elon. The student side During his freshman year at Elon, junior Chris Adamik fell in love with biology after taking a biodiversity class with a professor who soon be came one of his favorite people at Elon. He enjoyed working with her so much that he later became her research student and teachers assis tant. That professor was Bush. As the two spent more time to gether, Adamik learned of the issues Bush faced as a non-tenure-track faculty member. Earlier this fall. ABBY GIBBS I PHOTO EDITOR Adamik learned of the movement to unionize and immediately joined. As a student ally, Adamik has been garnering support for the Stu dent Alliance by having students sign a petition in support of the union. “It is the students sitting in these classrooms and absorbing all of this information who will leave here and change the world based off of what they experienced in their classroom. We often forget to say thank you,” Adamik said. “This is showing pro fessors that we know that you are going through something, and we want to let you know that you are not alone.” Adamik turned the petition in to Book’s office Nov. 30 with 270 sig natures representing all four classes, fifth-year seniors and alumni. “With this union, its not just picking up the non-tenure-track faculty — it’s pick ing up every single faculty member here,” Adamik said. “At the end of the day, it is these professors that are changing our lives. The univer sity is the home that is housing the students, but it is the professors that show up to class that we will re member for years to come.” These signatures won’t have a direct effect on the unions certifica tion, but Adamik hopes it will sway professors to vote yes and send a message to the administration. “It’s a statement to upper admin saying students are aware and stu dents will stand with the faculty^ ' Adamik said. Now, as a public movement with a student petition, the SGA will be dis cussing its stance Dec. 6 on whether to support the union. “Faculty, students and adminis trators all have the shared mission to come together to make the stron gest learning environment. If fac ulty feel that this union is the best way to achieve this goal, then that is what they need to do,” said Kenneth Brown, SGA executive president. “If there are students and faculty out there that see a problem, then they need to do whatever they need to do to make sure conversations are being had and decisions are being made for the best interests of the students and the faculty’’
Elon University Student Newspaper
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Dec. 5, 2018, edition 1
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