It is with regret that I announce the annual Campus
Appreciation Day, normally held in early June, will be deferred
for this year. The Chancellor's Executive Advisory Committee made
the decision after consulting with members of the long-standing
Appreciation Day organizing committee and after conducting an
informal survey of employees across the University.
Several factors were considered in the conversation
about whether to sponsor this event this year. First, in consideration
of the budget situation, we want to be respectful of the many
changes that have taken place and be judicious with the allocation
of limited resources. Second, we recognize that employees within
those departments that provide primary support to this event are
overwhelmed with reduced staffing, new systems and special programs.
Finally, we recognize that a great number of the core-volunteers
for this event are retiring from the University. We wish them
well and hope they will join us at a future event.
On behalf of the University administration, I wish
to acknowledge and applaud the resiliency, the creativity and
the dedication of the members of the University community. I sincerely
hope that we are able to re-institute a campus-wide event in the
future that will celebrate the many contributions made by our
staff and faculty.
MARCELLETTE G. WILLIAMS
Interim chancellor
I am writing to you in regard to the
picture featured in the March 29 edition of The Campus Chronicle,
which shows a University employee erecting a fence. The caption
reads, "A worker erects fencing for a temporary holding facility
for Afghani prisoners near the Fine Arts Center." I found
this caption to be inappropriate and racist.
As University employees and students,
we interact with a vast and diverse population every day. As new
employees, we are required to attend a two-day diversity training
workshop to reaffirm the University's policy that people of any
race, color, creed or sexual preference have available to them,
the same opportunities as any other employees or students on campus.
The dining commons offer vegetarian
and vegan menus; we have ALANA, CCEBMS, University Without Walls,
English as a Second Language Program, China exchange program,
Bilingual Collegiate Program, Center for Latin American Studies,
Foreign Language Resource Center, gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-gender
resource center, Hillel House, Caribbean and Latino Studies. I
could go on and on with other specific examples of how the University
maintains equality among us, yet the Chronicle felt it appropriate
to mock Afghani prisoners in its publication.
Someone please enlighten me.
RAMONA M. BALICKI
clerk III,
Housing Services
