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The Guilfordian April 17, 2015 | 3 , I ; t t NEWS WWW.GUILFORDIAN.COM/NEWS GUILFORDIAN@GUILFORD.EDU Community members join the Fight for $15 BY BRIANNA PARKER Staff Writer Twenty-four Guilford community members boarded a bus to Raleigh to demand living wages at the Fight for $15 rally on April 15. The steady flow of rain did not dampen the energy buzzing among rally attendees gathered in the Shaw University quad. The rally was part of a national movement of protests and walkouts, all in the name of union rights and a higher minimum wage. The Fight for $15 movement began in 2012 when hundreds of fast food workers went on strike in New York. Since then, workers across the country have joined the protest, demanding better wages and worker protections. Sporting signs with sayings like “NC can’t survive on $7.25” and “We have nothing to lose but our chains,” the protesters marched through Shaw and out onto the streets of Raleigh. “After college, a lot of students can’t find the jobs they expected and have to (work) minimum wage jobs,” said Mariah Tillman, a protester and first-year at North Carolina A&T State University. “Also you (have to) pay back student loans. By working (minimum wage) jobs you won’t be able to pay off the loans quickly, and interest will build up.” The hard truth about minimum wage in America is that it simply is not enough to support a working class family. According to research done at MIT, two working adults with two children would need to work over three full-time minimum-wage jobs to support their family. That is the equivalent of 68 hours of work each week per adult. Salaried workers log around 40 - 44 hours a week. “I believe in increasing the minimum wage because I work three minimum wage jobs to support myself,” said junior Walid Mosarsaa. “Increasing minimum wage would help me focus on my studies.” The march also stopped in front of a memorial for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, a civil rights group that originated at Shaw and played a major part in the Civil Rights Movement. Speakers commemorated SNCC’s accomplishments, including voter registration efforts and assisting the organization of the 1963 March on Washington. April 15 marked 55 years since the histone committee’s inception. Before the Raleigh protest, Guilford students and staff gathered in front of Flendricks Hall for a pre-rally to connect the goals of the Fight for $15 movement with struggles that the Guilford community currently faces. Despite large bonuses to administrators, Guilford’s faculty remains the lowest paid among comparable colleges in North Carolina. Matthew Armstrong, former adjunct instructor of English, spoke at the pre-rally regarding the pay gap between administrators and students. “I am poor,” said Armstrong in his speech. “I have taught at UNCG, Greensboro College, North Carolina A&T, Guilford Tech and FORUM On April 15, people from all over North Carolina gathered at Shaw University in support of campaigns demanding a fifteen-dollar minimum wage. Guilford College. Everywhere, the story’s the same. The adjunct professors, the people who teach the biggest classes, are paid the least. “When students see their colleges exploiting adjuncts, we send those young people a powerful message: certain people don’t matter. Instead of finding money in the bloated salaries of administrators ... we’re just laying people off like we’ll be doing at Guilford College next FaU.” Instructor of English Caroline McAlister spoke out about working part-time for Guilford for the past 16 years. This year, McAlister was offered a full-time position in the English department. However, now that the budget cuts have hit, she is becoming the first in the department to be cut back to part-time, even though other full-time non-tenure-track instructors have been at Guilford for less time. “My family was finally able to be middle class,” McAlister said at the pre-rally. “Adjunct professors have no protection. I am 55 years old, and by cutting my position, they are taking away my retirement benefits and my family’s financial security.” CCE sophomore Luvinia Carter was disheartened to hear the stories of her professors. “It’s our adjuncts who are giving us the tools to go out and meet the public,” said Carter. “They have more than earned their right to decent pay. Caroline and Matt have pushed me towards critical thinking. You would think that would count for something.” Students express mixed feelings about the forums Continued from page 1 administration plans to cover through these personnel cuts. Monica Jones, CCE senior and president of the Student Government Association, however, voiced her skepticism towards the administration at the CCE budget forum in Hendricks Hall. “As a student, it’s hard for me to understand that there is no plan to do anything when you have contractors coming in and measuring the space (in Hendricks),” said Jones. “It makes me feel like I’m not being told everything, or really anything, even though I’m searching for information. “Sometimes I feel what we’re being told and what we see don’t match. It causes me to question my faith and my confidence in the leadership of this college and the administration.” Jose Oliva, sophomore and president of Community Senate, focused on the importance of Hendricks Hall to CCE students. “I think, whatever happens, there has to be a place for CCE,” said Oliva. “I would be the first to protest if we returned after summer break to find that the advancement office moved into Hendricks.” As Jones’ and Oliva’s statements suggest, there appeared to be a great deal of tension in both the CCE and traditional student forums. Some students have been calling for accountability, the removal of Kent Chabotar’s cabinet and even the prevention of Chabotar’s return to campus. “Everybody’s pissed off because we don’t know where we are, and that’s a big challenge for everybody,” said Oliva. “We know that there are going to be changes, but we don’t know what those are. Even Jane doesn’t know. “But one thing that I can see tonight is that Jane is trying to make this as soft as possible, and I think that says a lot about her personality. You can tell that she has her heart in the right place, but that doesn’t mean the end picture is going to be beautiful.” President-elect of Community Senate and sophomore Molly Ann Marcotte hoped for students to continue to be involved in the decision-making process. “I appreciate the attempts at transparency that are occurring in these conversations,” said Marcotte. “However, I feel this transparency needs to continue when there are clear decisions made. It concerns me that some of these decisions will be made when students’ voices aren’t as present on campus in the summer, but if there is clear communication between the administration and the student body, we can try to make decisions for the future of this college financially that will be with the students’ best interest in mind.” For some, the news was not all doom and gloom. First-year Ben Levin walked away from the meeting encouraged. “I thought it was very positive, but I’m an optimist,” said Levin. “I came into Guilford knowing that things were going awry and, as a first-year, I know that things have to be done. “But if I’m worried or depressed about things or blaming people based on rumors, then it’s just going to be a bad situation. I just came to the forum to ask what I could do.” On April 20, Jane Fernandas heard student concerns about budget cuts.
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
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