To the Editor:The Daily Business Review is available online, but you need a subscription to read its content. To find a place near you where the Review is sold, click here. If you have comments and suggestions, click the "comment" link at the bottom of this post, then click "other", write whatever name you want to go by, ignore the webpage space, and write your heart out.
While we respect the views expressed by our faculty, it is unfortunate that these particular faculty members have chosen to publicize private, protected information about University of Miami students.
Because the university's principal concern is the well-being of its students, which includes maintaining confidentiality of disciplinary proceedings, it declines the opportunity to discuss the specifics of this matters.
It is worth noting, however, that the faculty letter contains many factual inaccuracies and mischaracterizations with regard to the events to date and is co-signed by only 110 members of the 2,600 faculty body.
The university's actions in this matter have been supported by a number of broad constituencies, including faculty, students, and alumni. The university continues to strongly believe that the students have been treated fairly, responsibly and in accord with its Student Rights and Responsibilities handbook.
University of Miami
Friday, June 30, 2006
The administration's "response" to the faculty letter
Since it looks like the UM administration prefers to publish its response to the faculty letter in a newspaper rather than responding directly to the faculty, we trekked to Barnes & Noble and bought a copy of the Daily Business Review. Here is the administration's response:
Faculty's letter to the UM Administration printed in today's Daily Business Review
The UM faculty's letter to the administration, protesting the latter's treatment of the students being disciplined for their role in supporting the janitors, appears in the Daily Business Review, along with a response from the administration. Unfortunately, you have to be a paid subscriber to read these, so unless the administration actually replies to the letter we sent them, we won't know what they're thinking. (If you haven't already, you can read the faculty letter here.)
Thanks to the Daily Business Review for providing the space for this debate.
Thanks to the Daily Business Review for providing the space for this debate.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Post by Michael Froomkin
We should have posted a link to this interesting comment on the student discipline situation earlier. It is from the blog discourse.net, written by our colleague Michael Froomkin (UM, Law).
The Bush NLRB
An excellent post from Common Dreams about worrying goings-on at the NLRB:
Help Labor Stop Bush NLRB Assault on Workers' Rights
by Stewart Acuff and Sheldon Friedman
The last thing America's workers need is another economic kick in the groin, but the Bush labor board may soon deliver what could be its lowest blow yet. The Bush National Labor Relations Board is easily the most anti-worker labor board in history and has lost few opportunities to turn back the clock on workers' rights, but even against this sorry backdrop, the scope of what they now are contemplating is breathtaking.
In a series of pending cases known as Kentucky River, the Bush board could strip what remains of federal labor law protections from hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of workers whose jobs include even minor, incidental or occasional supervisory duties. The pending cases involve charge nurses in a hospital and a nursing home and lead workers in a manufacturing plant, but these workers could be just the tip of the iceberg.
The AFL-CIO and its affiliates will not stand idly by in the face of this unfolding workers' rights atrocity. We have declared a national week of action starting July 10 to protest against the Bush labor board at NLRB headquarters in Washington and at regional NLRB offices and other sites around the country. Members of Congress have been asked to urge the NLRB to permit oral arguments by workers who will be adversely affected by the pending decisions. This is the least the board can do before ruling in a matter of such importance, but so far Bush-appointed Chairman Battista shows every indication that he will deny even this modest request to allow these workers to be heard. [cont'd]
Help Labor Stop Bush NLRB Assault on Workers' Rights
by Stewart Acuff and Sheldon Friedman
The last thing America's workers need is another economic kick in the groin, but the Bush labor board may soon deliver what could be its lowest blow yet. The Bush National Labor Relations Board is easily the most anti-worker labor board in history and has lost few opportunities to turn back the clock on workers' rights, but even against this sorry backdrop, the scope of what they now are contemplating is breathtaking.
In a series of pending cases known as Kentucky River, the Bush board could strip what remains of federal labor law protections from hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of workers whose jobs include even minor, incidental or occasional supervisory duties. The pending cases involve charge nurses in a hospital and a nursing home and lead workers in a manufacturing plant, but these workers could be just the tip of the iceberg.
The AFL-CIO and its affiliates will not stand idly by in the face of this unfolding workers' rights atrocity. We have declared a national week of action starting July 10 to protest against the Bush labor board at NLRB headquarters in Washington and at regional NLRB offices and other sites around the country. Members of Congress have been asked to urge the NLRB to permit oral arguments by workers who will be adversely affected by the pending decisions. This is the least the board can do before ruling in a matter of such importance, but so far Bush-appointed Chairman Battista shows every indication that he will deny even this modest request to allow these workers to be heard. [cont'd]
Letter Concerning Student Disciplining from UM Faculty to Administration
Today, the following letter was sent to Vice-President Whitely and Dean Sandler, signed by 110 UM faculty members (names posted in the first comment).
Dear Vice President Whitely and Dean Sandler,
It is with a mixture of indignation, sadness, embarrassment and weariness that we find ourselves forced to write another letter to advocate for justice at the University of Miami.
In the course of the last few months, our students have shown an array of human and civic virtues that one does not see often these days. Through peaceful and respectful demonstrations and with minimal disruption to campus life, they supported the fight for justice and dignity of people they barely knew. Anyone who has spent any time with these young people knows that they are gentle and respectful, that they care deeply about their academic careers, and that they have a keen sense of justice. These are qualities we all unequivocally encourage in our students. As former President Tad Foote told one professor, there was something noble in what these students did and he was proud of them. We agree.
The university administration has responded to the students’ actions on behalf of the janitors and groundskeepers first with harshness, and now with underhanded and petty strategies aimed at thwarting their right to an unbiased and fair hearing. We find this behavior deeply reprehensible and unacceptable at a university. A university is first and foremost about its students. These are our students. These are the people to whom we dedicate the largest part of our professional lives. These young people are the raison d’etre of what we do as faculty, staff, and administrators of this university.
The administration has used some deplorable tactics with the students. They served summonses to them in class, a violation of federal law (the Buckley amendment guarantees a student’s privacy) and of faculty rights as well as a disruption of the academic mission. They called students to "preliminary hearings" about potential serious charges, leaving the possibility of these charges hanging over them through commencement. They also were told that they had an "administrative stop" placed on their registration (in the middle of registration period) and they would have to see Associate Dean Singleton to register for classes. He is not an academic dean. He is their prosecutor and ought not to have anything to do with their registration. Along with the students and their lawyers, we see all of this as intimidation, something that should never take place at a university.
We deeply regret that these students have been targeted for disciplinary action for acting on the principles we teach regarding democracy and social justice. As currently implemented, the process by which they are being judged is profoundly flawed and characterized by arbitrary and unfair decisions. Specifically:
Respectfully,
Dear Vice President Whitely and Dean Sandler,
It is with a mixture of indignation, sadness, embarrassment and weariness that we find ourselves forced to write another letter to advocate for justice at the University of Miami.
In the course of the last few months, our students have shown an array of human and civic virtues that one does not see often these days. Through peaceful and respectful demonstrations and with minimal disruption to campus life, they supported the fight for justice and dignity of people they barely knew. Anyone who has spent any time with these young people knows that they are gentle and respectful, that they care deeply about their academic careers, and that they have a keen sense of justice. These are qualities we all unequivocally encourage in our students. As former President Tad Foote told one professor, there was something noble in what these students did and he was proud of them. We agree.
The university administration has responded to the students’ actions on behalf of the janitors and groundskeepers first with harshness, and now with underhanded and petty strategies aimed at thwarting their right to an unbiased and fair hearing. We find this behavior deeply reprehensible and unacceptable at a university. A university is first and foremost about its students. These are our students. These are the people to whom we dedicate the largest part of our professional lives. These young people are the raison d’etre of what we do as faculty, staff, and administrators of this university.
The administration has used some deplorable tactics with the students. They served summonses to them in class, a violation of federal law (the Buckley amendment guarantees a student’s privacy) and of faculty rights as well as a disruption of the academic mission. They called students to "preliminary hearings" about potential serious charges, leaving the possibility of these charges hanging over them through commencement. They also were told that they had an "administrative stop" placed on their registration (in the middle of registration period) and they would have to see Associate Dean Singleton to register for classes. He is not an academic dean. He is their prosecutor and ought not to have anything to do with their registration. Along with the students and their lawyers, we see all of this as intimidation, something that should never take place at a university.
We deeply regret that these students have been targeted for disciplinary action for acting on the principles we teach regarding democracy and social justice. As currently implemented, the process by which they are being judged is profoundly flawed and characterized by arbitrary and unfair decisions. Specifically:
1) Students who pleaded not guilty were denied postponement of their hearings to the Fall, at which time they would appear before a University Disciplinary Hearing Panel including their peers. Instead, Associate Dean Singleton, who is a witness in some of the cases, now serves simultaneously as investigator, prosecutor, judge and jury. There are clearly multiple conflicts of interest here, and the students cannot possibly have an impartial hearing. Moreover, by holding the hearings in the summer, the students are deprived of valued advisors and witnesses to support their cases who are out of town. The first summonses were delivered on 21 April, which allowed sufficient time for hearings to take place with a full panel to adjudicate the cases and with supporting witnesses and advisors still on campus. This was not done, however, because the Dean of Students granted his own office a continuance to do additional investigation. How is it possible that the Dean of Students grant one side a continuance to be able to present its best case but not the other? The cards are clearly and purposefully stacked against the students and they cannot possibly have a fair hearing in these circumstances.We ask that all students who have been charged with offenses in relation to their peaceful and respectful protests during the janitors’ and groundskeepers’ strike be granted amnesty. We need to be a model of openness and dialogue, a beacon for the free exchange of ideas and true learning. To punish these students is to undercut these fundamental goals.
2) Some students have now seen added to their previous charges the further charge of unauthorized distribution of printed material. The violation cited from Students’ Rights and Responsibilities Handbook is B.16, which references the Poster Distribution and Advertising policy on p. 47. The policy refers specifically to advertising, and requires the approval of the Vice President for Business Services. The materials distributed by the students were not advertisements but statements relating to social justice. They were acts of free speech and therefore not covered by any advertising policy.
3) The students who pleaded guilty or no contest to the charges brought against them were given absurd and even insulting penalties, including community service. They are being punished precisely because they did hundreds of hours of community service to improve the University and South Florida’s communities by assuring that workers at UM have freedom of choice, the right to work with dignity and respect, and to earn a living wage. Moreover, these students regularly do other community service, working at clinics and homeless shelters, for various environmental and civic groups, etc. And now you are going to punish them by making them do such work? How inappropriate! Adding to this absurdity, students who have graduated or will graduate this summer or fall have been given two semesters of probation. When asked how this affects them, Associate Dean Singleton told these students that this punishment means nothing for them. Then why give it, except to be vindictive? Finally, two students have been singled out for a particularly spiteful punishment: the loss of campus housing in the fall at University Village.
Respectfully,
dear editor
Saturday, 6/24
Monday 6/27
Perspective on Local Terror Suspects
Fluent in English
It pains me to see several Miami Herald readers write so viscerally against Ana Menendez's June 11 column, English-only proposal will hurt our nation. I am a bilingual speaker. English is not my first language. People often point to me as an example of someone whose linguistic behavior in the United States is the right and commendable one.
I, however, don't see anything meritorious in the fact that I speak English fluently while other immigrants don't. I don't know a single immigrant or, for that matter, anyone who wouldn't like to speak English fluently. Given the opportunity, I'm sure every immigrant would gladly learn English.
We must all work toward a culture of patience, kindness and generosity, not one of harsh and exclusionary laws.
GIOVANNA POMPELE, Miami
Sunday 6/26
UM unjust to students
Ana Menendez deserves the community's gratitude for exposing the University of Miami's unjust treatment of students who protested the salaries and working conditions of UM janitors and grounds-keepers (Janitor's won rights; students weren't so lucky, June 21).
Many faculty are disappointed and bewildered by the administration's persecution of students who worked for the welfare of others. Even some faculty, like myself, who were not completely sympathetic with some of the Service Employees International Union's tactics, deplore the administration's short-sighted punishment of our students.
The punishment is not only ethically questionable but also pedagogically wrongheaded and pragmatically myopic. Educators know that much of what we hope will develop in students' intellects and imaginations happens outside the college classroom. What are we teaching students by throwing them out of university housing for defending their beliefs?
Yes, in a technically legal sense, they broke some rules. But just how disruptive were they? What protests over the past five decades on major college campuses -- including those where President Shalala presided -- did not break rules and inconvenience others?
During the protests, I heard that groups of prospective students touring the campus were attracted, not repelled, by our students' demonstrations of altruism and courage. It is not too late for the UM administration to reverse its course of action. In my 37 years at UM, I have never felt such a reversal is so critical to the ideals of a university.
RONALD NEWMAN, associate professor of English, UM, Miami
Monday 6/27
Perspective on Local Terror Suspects
I am not afraid of seven men who sell shampoo during the day and leap over chairs and do jumping-jacks by night -- even if they did, on occasion, discuss ways to stick it to The Man. I am, however, nervous watching the FBI target struggling young black men from low-income neighborhoods and making terrorists out of them. The 9/11 hijackers didn't hang out in the 'hood. But as the arrests last week show, we get back from our communities what we put into them.
I know Buena Vista and Liberty City, and I've watched urban development in Miami. It destroys the positive culture and social networks that have evolved in low-income neighborhoods over the years. People are run out of these neighborhoods, which are left with no affordable housing. There is no concern for a social safety net, only for real-estate values.
The seven men, it appears, were trying to find meaning and purpose in a time and place that considers poor, immigrant and nonwhite men, at best, disposable and, at worst, an obstacle to progress.
If their resentment built up over the years, they were and are not alone.
They may have talked big, but they were not armed and dangerous. So far, I've seen no convincing evidence of a serious plot or threat. What we have seen is a preemptive strike against our own. Shame on us for spying on and baiting our citizens, rather than making good on our American promises: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Shame on us for congratulating ourselves for putting these men in leg shackles. I will not feel safer until I see politicians actively foster the politics of tolerance, inclusion, dialogue, unity and hope, instead of fear, selfishness and ignorance.
MARTHA OTIS, Miami
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Ana Menendez on Students' Disciplining at UM
Here is a column from today's Miami Herald by Ana Menendez concerning the disciplinary measures being taken against UM students for supporting the striking janitors:
Janitors won rights; students weren't so lucky
BY ANA MENENDEZ
amenendez@herald.com
Almost four months after going on strike, the University of Miami janitors finally got their union last week. The story that began March 1 is almost over now, and the only ones left out of the happy ending are the 18 students who pushed the limits of the accepted in their support for the workers.
Even as the janitors celebrated, UM continued to persecute the students for their nonviolent protests on behalf of the strikers.
Faced with a rigged system -- lawyers say administrators were to function as witness, prosecutor, judge and jury -- students began settling their cases with the university at about the same time the union announced a majority of janitors had voted to join.
The settlements continue. Punishments have included academic probation, a 500-word essay and, most ironically of all, community service.
''Here we are being sentenced to community service when we're being tried for a service we did to the community,'' said Amy Sun, 21, a psychology major who pleaded no contest.
UM'S SIDE
To hear UM tell it, administrators were left with little choice after students repeatedly refused to leave the grounds around the Ashe Building earlier this year. ''They were told there are appropriate ways of recognizing these points of view so you're not disrupting the orderly operation of the university,'' UM attorney Eric Isicoff said.
It's a reasonable argument that would be easier to swallow if this had been the case of a drunken mob. But these are stellar students, many of whom are attending UM on scholarship. For the most part, they camped out peacefully, troubling little more than the conscience of those who chose to simply walk by. They were engaged in a thoughtful act on behalf of a cause they saw as just. Surely the standards for judging them should reflect that.
Far more troubling than anything the students did is the way UM administrators have chosen to deal with it, going after students with a zeal that seems to have more to do with retribution than justice.
First, administrators threatened students with major charges that could get them expelled or suspended. When a who's-who of Miami's legal talent stepped forward to defend the students, UM quickly retreated, downgrading the complaint to ``university offenses.''
''Under their own rules, a student who is charged with a university offense is not entitled to right of counsel,'' said attorney Lida Rodriguez, who is advising Jacob Coker-Dukowitz, one of the student leaders. ``They did it not out of kindness but out of trying to deprive them of the assistance of an advisor.''
Then administrators insisted on holding the hearings in the summer, when students would not be available to sit on the ''juries.'' And in a tactic more befitting a second-rate spy caper, administrators apparently have hauled out photographs to help make their cases.
''They showed me this photograph and all you can see is this red goatee and something that looks like my nose,'' said Daniel Grossman, 21, a film major who lost his housing privileges as part of his settlement.
LAST SETTLEMENT
Late Tuesday, Coker-Dukowitz, who had been one of the hold-outs, joined the others in settling his case. He, too, loses his housing at the coveted University Village, punishment that also imposes a financial burden.
Isicoff maintains that the case against the students is not about free speech. UM, he said, is simply ``representing the right of a whole other group of people who do not wish to engage in this manner.''
In fact, this goes beyond the issue of free speech. In a town that is only now growing into the concept of peaceful dissent, the prosecution of the students -- however legally justified -- sets a sad tone.
Universities ought to be defending the lonely maverick. The world is already full of people willing to argue that the majority has a right to remain comfortable.
Janitors won rights; students weren't so lucky
BY ANA MENENDEZ
amenendez@herald.com
Almost four months after going on strike, the University of Miami janitors finally got their union last week. The story that began March 1 is almost over now, and the only ones left out of the happy ending are the 18 students who pushed the limits of the accepted in their support for the workers.
Even as the janitors celebrated, UM continued to persecute the students for their nonviolent protests on behalf of the strikers.
Faced with a rigged system -- lawyers say administrators were to function as witness, prosecutor, judge and jury -- students began settling their cases with the university at about the same time the union announced a majority of janitors had voted to join.
The settlements continue. Punishments have included academic probation, a 500-word essay and, most ironically of all, community service.
''Here we are being sentenced to community service when we're being tried for a service we did to the community,'' said Amy Sun, 21, a psychology major who pleaded no contest.
UM'S SIDE
To hear UM tell it, administrators were left with little choice after students repeatedly refused to leave the grounds around the Ashe Building earlier this year. ''They were told there are appropriate ways of recognizing these points of view so you're not disrupting the orderly operation of the university,'' UM attorney Eric Isicoff said.
It's a reasonable argument that would be easier to swallow if this had been the case of a drunken mob. But these are stellar students, many of whom are attending UM on scholarship. For the most part, they camped out peacefully, troubling little more than the conscience of those who chose to simply walk by. They were engaged in a thoughtful act on behalf of a cause they saw as just. Surely the standards for judging them should reflect that.
Far more troubling than anything the students did is the way UM administrators have chosen to deal with it, going after students with a zeal that seems to have more to do with retribution than justice.
First, administrators threatened students with major charges that could get them expelled or suspended. When a who's-who of Miami's legal talent stepped forward to defend the students, UM quickly retreated, downgrading the complaint to ``university offenses.''
''Under their own rules, a student who is charged with a university offense is not entitled to right of counsel,'' said attorney Lida Rodriguez, who is advising Jacob Coker-Dukowitz, one of the student leaders. ``They did it not out of kindness but out of trying to deprive them of the assistance of an advisor.''
Then administrators insisted on holding the hearings in the summer, when students would not be available to sit on the ''juries.'' And in a tactic more befitting a second-rate spy caper, administrators apparently have hauled out photographs to help make their cases.
''They showed me this photograph and all you can see is this red goatee and something that looks like my nose,'' said Daniel Grossman, 21, a film major who lost his housing privileges as part of his settlement.
LAST SETTLEMENT
Late Tuesday, Coker-Dukowitz, who had been one of the hold-outs, joined the others in settling his case. He, too, loses his housing at the coveted University Village, punishment that also imposes a financial burden.
Isicoff maintains that the case against the students is not about free speech. UM, he said, is simply ``representing the right of a whole other group of people who do not wish to engage in this manner.''
In fact, this goes beyond the issue of free speech. In a town that is only now growing into the concept of peaceful dissent, the prosecution of the students -- however legally justified -- sets a sad tone.
Universities ought to be defending the lonely maverick. The world is already full of people willing to argue that the majority has a right to remain comfortable.
Friday, June 16, 2006
Encouraging News on a Blue-Green Alliance
This article from Grist Magazine describes a new alliance between labor and environmentalists who have not always enjoyed an easy relationship. Let's hope this alliance prospers.
Labor Gains
New green/labor alliance brings Sierra Club and Steelworkers together
By Amanda Griscom Little
16 Jun 2006
Organized labor and environmentalists -- engaged in an on-again-off-again flirtation for years -- may finally be getting to third base.
Last week, Carl Pope, head of the Sierra Club, and Leo Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers (USW) union, announced the formation of the Blue/Green Alliance, linking the nation's biggest industrial labor union with the nation's largest environmental organization. Their motto: "Good jobs, a clean environment, and a safer world."
"The Blue/Green Alliance is one of the most important initiatives undertaken by the environmental movement in decades," said Pope at the launch event. Gerard said the creation of good jobs requires sound environmental strategy: "We cannot have one without the other." [cont'd]
Labor Gains
New green/labor alliance brings Sierra Club and Steelworkers together
By Amanda Griscom Little
16 Jun 2006
Organized labor and environmentalists -- engaged in an on-again-off-again flirtation for years -- may finally be getting to third base.
Last week, Carl Pope, head of the Sierra Club, and Leo Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers (USW) union, announced the formation of the Blue/Green Alliance, linking the nation's biggest industrial labor union with the nation's largest environmental organization. Their motto: "Good jobs, a clean environment, and a safer world."
"The Blue/Green Alliance is one of the most important initiatives undertaken by the environmental movement in decades," said Pope at the launch event. Gerard said the creation of good jobs requires sound environmental strategy: "We cannot have one without the other." [cont'd]
Fuller Coverage - UPDATED
Fuller coverage of yesterday's events, and a nice picture, from the Miami Herald.
A nice piece from the Orlando Sentinel, here reprinted in the Broward County Sun-Sentinel. According to figures quoted in this piece, the first hard numbers we have seen, 290 out of 385 janitors voted for the union. That's 75%.
And there's a brief mention in the New York Times.
A nice piece from the Orlando Sentinel, here reprinted in the Broward County Sun-Sentinel. According to figures quoted in this piece, the first hard numbers we have seen, 290 out of 385 janitors voted for the union. That's 75%.
And there's a brief mention in the New York Times.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Further charges brought against students
It seems that two of the students facing disciplinary action have had a further charge brought against them: distributing literature. What was, presumably, the distributing of flyers or information supporting the workers' campaign to unionize is deemed, by the University, to be in violation of this paragraph from page 63 of the Students' Rights and Responsibilities Handbook:
Distributing or Posting Printed Materials (Poster Distribution and Advertising Policy on page 47) Unauthorized distribution or posting of printed materials in the University Center, Residence Halls, or other University campus facility is prohibited; failure to comply with the Distribution or Posting Printed Materials Policy is prohibited.
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