English majors organize discussion over faculty cuts

Approximately 50 concerned students met for over an hour in the Rose Parlor on Dec. 10 to discuss the College's plan to reduce the number of creative writing professors.


The meeting, organized by English Majors' Committee co-Chairs Kate Fussner '09 and Sarah Yurch '09, focused on "the situation sadly befalling the English Department," according to Fussner. Attendees signed an e-mail list and brainstormed solutions to changing the administration's mind about not renewing the contracts of two adjunct professors.

Some students hoped to persue diplomatic solutions, such as meeting with Dean of the Faculty Jonathan Chenette. Others complained that when they tried to meet with Chenette, his office simply directed them to the Dean of Studies and refused to meet with them. Chenette has declined to comment on the situation until a faculty meeting on Dec. 11, after which point an all-campus e-mail will be sent out.


Nevertheless, many students at the meeting tried to think creatively about ways in which to save the faculty positions and creative writing program. One student suggested a fundraiser between students and alumnae/i to raise to money required to pay their salaries.

Vassar Student Association (VSA) President Jimmy Kelly '09, a sociology major, was also present at the meeting. "I want to be your advocate on this," he said. "I'm not an English major, but my job is to represent student voice, and I have about 50 e-mails already from concerned students." Kelly will be meeting with Chenette, along with Dean of Planning and Academic Affairs Rachel Kitzinger and College President Catharine Bond Hill. "I would love to show up to that meeting with a stack of e-mails from concerned students," he said, urging attendees to e-mail him their thoughts.


Other students were less inclined to attempt diplomatic solutions or work within College structures. "I came to Vassar for the creative writing program," said one attendee. "If they cut it, I honestly have no reason to be here. I think I would transfer, and that makes me incredibly sad. We need to do something radical." Some students thought about a sit-in in Main Building, akin to the one held in 1968 by African American students who felt that their voices were not being heard by the College administration. "That would be incredibly symbolic," said another attendee.


Some students said that they had told their parents to write letters to the administration, and were using the Blackboard e-mail service to send messages to hundreds of classmates to encourage them to write directly to the Dean of the Faculty. Others hoped to contact trustees, including those in artistic fields such as Meryl Streep '71. The idea of contacting outside media sources such as MSNBC, whose president is a Vassar alumnus, and the Poughkeepsie Journal were also discussed.


Students seemed to become increasingly hostile as the meeting progressed. "This is a total breech of Vassar's core values," said one student. "The administration gives time and attention to a student issue as trivial as Killer Coke, and then doesn't even involve students in this kind of significant downsizing."


"They're banking on us losing steam after Winter Break," said Yurch. "They think we'll stop caring, and we need to prove them wrong."


Ultimately, the group decided not to pursue more "radical actions" until after Kelly's meeting with Chenette, Kitzinger and Hill on Friday. "We really don't know what is being cut from what," said Kelly Stout '10. "I think we need to have all the facts before taking bolder action." Fussner and Yurch will e-mail the attendees to encourage them to send messages to Chenette, along with The Miscellany News and Kelly. They also vowed to not give up their positions, regardless of the results of Friday's meeting.

"We need to stand strong," Fussner said. "We can fight this."