All posts by Observer Staff

News

HC Media gives future NECC podcasters a space on the air

 

By Thomas Matatall, Correspondent

NECC will soon see podcasters begin recording at HC Media as hosts and co-hosts of their own show. Pre-production will be starting in November.

There will be four podcasts, each having a main topic, consisting of sports, overcoming life obstacles, race and uncomfortable subjects.

Each podcast will be a length of 30 minutes.

An episode may have a guest speaker who will add their own point of view to that episode’s discussion.

For those who don’t know what a podcast is, it is basically a radio show.

It’s a recording of the hosts conversing back and forth. There’s an editor to make it all fit into one episode neatly and add music and jingles.

You can find each show on iTunes and through podcast apps on your phone.

At the first meeting at HC Media, students went around the table and shared what their podcasts were going to be about.

Also in the room were Amy Callahan, program coordinator of the Journalism/Communication department; Executive Director Darlene Beal; Director of Operations Matt Belfiore; and Radio Coordinator Shawn Smith. Smith will be helping out most with all the podcasters.

Expect for conversations to get emotional, controversial, depressing, harsh and fun.

The benefit of having a podcast is to get insight on topics that people are usually afraid to talk about with one another. And remember: it’s OK to disagree with what you’re listening to.

News

Book showdown: Print vs Digital

 

By Courtney Hanson, Correspondent

23-year-old college student Ariana Stevenson wraps herself in a blanket, snuggling up in the warmth and comforts of her bed with her hands wrapped around the folded and worn cover of an old book. As she reads, she basks in the faint, musky telltale scent of a long-loved book. The light crinkle and rustle of the paper as she turns a page is music to her ears.

Looking across her bedroom, she sees her old Nook, gathering dust in its original packaging on her bookshelf. After a brief trial run of reading from her e-reader, Stevenson has put aside the technology and returned to the love and physical comforts of printed books.

After receiving her Nook brand e-reader as a gift in 2013, Stevenson, like many, saw vast advantages in the lightweight and portable aspects of the e-reader. After a brief stint, though, she realized the technology was not all it was cracked up to be.

“After about three months it stopped working, and Nook ended up recalling it and sending me a new one; I haven’t even bothered to re-open it,” says Stevenson.

“That’s not something that happens with books. You can trust that a physical book won’t short out or malfunction. Books are simply more trustworthy.”

With the advantages of technology, there can often be a litany of issues such as having to charge your device, the device malfunctioning and resulting in a sudden loss of books and data, or not being able to transfer or share your property.

“With a printed book, I don’t have to constantly be hoping the batteries will be charged. I can always just pick it up and read it,” says Stevenson, who says she will continue buying physical books rather than contribute to the sales of e-readers.

Stevenson finds joy in her frequent trips to her local Barnes and Noble retailer. As she walks among the vast shelves of books, she reaches out and touches the spines, feels the weight of the books in her hand, loads up her cart, and proudly displays the books on her shelves when she returns home.

For Stevenson, there is no joy or pride in downloading a book and storing it unseen in a digital archive replete with complex technology, and veiled by a set of terms and conditions which often seem longer than the books themselves.

Feelings such as these — the joys in the ritual buying and hoarding of printed books — may contribute to the sales of physical books, which are beginning to rise as e-book sales level off, and in some cases, decline.

Since the book world was seized by e-readers in 2010, avid readers all over believed the end to print was inevitable, yet a surprising turn of sales may depict an alternative future, where print is not entirely cannibalized by technology.

According to Publishers Weekly, “the 2014 figures are further evidence that print books are selling better than they have since sales of eBooks exploded in 2010.”

While these recent sales figures may ignite optimism in the print lover, it is not a guarantee that the book world will not be commandeered by e-readers in the technology based future of this world.

“Online vendors like Amazon have already conquered the book market. However, I think hard copies of books will still be sold online. People stare at screens all day and like how reading a real book is easy on the eyes. Though there are a lot of smart features that come with electronic books, there is still a niche market that prefers a physical book,” says 23-year-old college graduate, Shaylyn Wadsworth.

Wadsworth is an avid reader and frequent user of the Amazon Kindle e-reader. While she relies on the convenience of the e-reader during her daily commute through Boston, she still procures physical books for herself, basking in the nostalgia and joy of holding and reading a book as she did in her youth.

As with Wadsworth’s experience, many see a symbiotic relationship between printed books and e-readers and will incorporate both to feed their reading habits.

A way to view the ongoing competition between print and technology is not as a conquering of one medium over the other, but as a coexistence between the two. No matter what format people are reading in, they are reading, and that is good enough. The increasing sales of e-books doesn’t have to be seen as a take over in the book world, considering that people with e-readers in general, consume more books—both printed and electronic—than people without.

According to a Pew Research Study, people with e-readers read an average of 24 books in the past year (in both formats), and people without e-readers only read an average of nine books. “In fact, of those who read e-books in the past 12 months, 88 percent also read printed books,” the study said.

As Stevenson and Wadsworth frequent their local Barnes and Noble book store, they often pass by a section which seems out of place, almost treacherous in its surroundings — the Nook sales kiosk. The presence of this section in the book retailer does however, prove that rather than a competition between the formats, a mutually beneficial relationship between the two may be on the horizons.

Considering the demise of the 40-year-old book retailer Borders, which declared bankruptcy and shut down its 400 store chain back in 2011, introducing the e-reader to the public may have been Barnes and Noble’s saving grace.

According to a transcript from NPR News, “Not too long ago, company officials and industry observers alike were predicting that the Nook would save Barnes & Noble from meeting the same fate as its biggest rival, Borders, which is now out of business. The Nook gave Barnes & Noble a seat at the digital table.”

Rather than disregarding the quickly advancing e-reading software, Barnes and Noble jumped on the digital bandwagon to keep itself breathing.

Meanwhile, Borders didn’t take the internet and e-readers seriously and quickly caved in on itself in crushing debt, serving as a warning to large scale book vendors all over, that if they didn’t adapt they would likely be met with a fate similar to that of Borders’.

Barnes and Noble proudly pushes sales of their Nook e-reader to their customers while maintaining the sales of physical books. Barnes and Noble Book Seller, Kendra Jones, finds that even though there has been a plateau in e-reader sales, there has been no massive decline in the sales of the Nook in her store.

“Just working in the store, I help more people put physical books in their hands,” Jones said. We have the people who take the time to purchase the e-book in the store so we get the credit from that as well.”

She went on to describe how sales in the location she works in revolve heavily around the sales of books and e-readers in both formats.

Retailers such as this allow us the freedom to incorporate books into our lives in any format we would like, without having to choose a side.

Perhaps buying and using an e-reader doesn’t have to be viewed as treachery to the print world, but as a means of adapting to the coexisting relationship between the two.

During a trip to the bookstore, Stevenson can enjoy the sensory input brought forth by physical books; she can weave in and out of the shelves, touching, smelling and holding her books, return home and proudly display them.

Meanwhile, Wadsworth can take a trip to the same retailer and purchase an e-reader to entertain herself during the long work commutes, as well as buy a physical book or two to satisfy her nostalgia and past-time love of childhood literature.​

Campus Life, News

Student Senate News

 

The Student Senate meets every Wednesday from 3-5 p.m. in A112 on the Haverhill Campus and L244 on the Lawrence campus.

Excerpts from the Nov. 4 meeting minutes:

*Senate welcomed David Gingerella as a guest

*Jaqueline Torres, Programming Chair of Lawrence was relieved of her duties due to excessive absences; Sara Ramirez was elected as her successor

*Senators were allowed 1-2 questions to ask the guest(s)

*Chad Gorham brought up the concerns of students brought on by the police and sheriff’s department on campus, in particular the combat training in front of the D building and the finger gun incident

*Gingerella was told by the Academy that the event regarding cadets pointing finger guns at students had not occurred

*Gingerella said that the police academy is one of the non-credit courses on campus

All members of the NECC community are encouraged to attend the meetings, or to contact the senators at the following locations:

Haverhill, D125 Lawrence, L133

978-556-3731 978-738-7417

“*Student Senate President Chad Gorham is also the Campus Life editor of the NECC Observer.

Opinion

No ifs, ands or butts: the issue of smoking on the NECC campus

 

By Andrea Davis, Correspondent

Students at NECC are prohibited to use any tobacco products while on campus. This includes the parking lots, buildings, walkways, bathrooms and any general area within the campus premises.

The school’s smoking policy reads:

‘“Northern Essex Community College recognizes the medical evidence that indicates that smoking is a serious health hazard, and that this hazard includes those exposed to secondhand smoke.

Where a primary responsibility of the College is to provide a safe and healthful working and learning environment, this responsibility has led to the following policy: Smoking is prohibited within the confines of all college grounds, buildings and property including college vehicles. (Smoking will only be allowed in private vehicles lawfully parked on campus lots that the smoker is authorized to be in.)”

Many students are unaware of the smoking policy on campus, despite the several “NO SMOKING” signs plastered around campus in all areas students are exposed to.

“I had no idea we were not allowed to smoke in the parking lot. “I was sitting on my car in between my classes smoking and I got asked to leave the parking lot by campus security. I was very confused and was not aware of this rule at all,” Alexandria DeLotto, a Psychology major.   

Many students feel strongly that this rule should stay intact at the Haverhill NECC campus. Others have voiced their opinion that the rule should have some boundaries and be reduced to certain areas for those who are smokers.

“I’m a smoker myself and I still think that this rule should be intact. Smoking on campus is really disrespectful to those students who don’t smoke themselves,” said Amanda Atchley, a Psychology major. “When I see cigarette butts scattered around the parking lot, it makes me sick. At least clean up your mess if you are going to break the rules. No one wants to step on that stuff, it’s gross.” 

“I think that there should be a ‘designated smoking area’ on campus. Somewhere that students who are smokers can go in between classes to smoke and not disrupt those who do not,” says Zachary McKallagat, an English major.

“Some people are addicted to smoking, and it makes it difficult to go through a school day without a cigarette.”

Asia Perrano, a nursing major, said, “I see people smoking in their cars, which I believe is not against the rules. But the smoke is still filtered into the air and the cigarette or cigar will (probably) end up on the ground of the parking lot regardless.

“Smoking should be banned completely. No exceptions.”

Campus Life, Editorial

Letter: Police Academy

 

With All Due Respect

In the last edition of the Observer, two separate articles were written about the nuisance created by the police academy now present at the Haverhill campus.

The complaints centered around the supposed intimidating drills the recruits practice on the quad, the amount of parking spots taken up by NECC’s new “student” population and lastly the general anxiety a police presence causes students.

The training exercises specifically have been a sticking point due to the very close proximity between the quad and the daycare facility NECC operates.

In fact, when the children are playing in the enclosed playground area, the new training grounds are directly in their line of sight.

Detractors of the new academy have said the exercises, especially hand to hand combat, could scare the children.

Ben Tavitian a 2015 graduate said he didn’t even notice the new Police Academy which began in his final semester “I also really doubt children are being scared by seeing police officers training, if I could have watched that when I was little I would have been enamored, and I’m pretty sure all my friends would have been too.”

It often seems that the minds of the very young can be underestimated. Has anyone asked these kids if they’ve been negatively affected, or is it just assumed because police officers are being painted as the new boogey man?

The complaint over the parking spots is probably the weakest argument the opposition has made, and frankly barely deserves mentioning.

The C building parking lot has such an excess of spaces available, it is a rare day when it is half full.

Mike Dimanbro an accounting major at NECC who also juggles a full time job at Markets Basket was asked if the reduction in Parking Spots had inconvenienced him in anyway “Are you talking about the people who park in the way, way back of the lot now. Why don’t they just park up front with everyone else?” When informed that they were police officers he responded with a simple “So, they still shouldn’t be forced to park all the way in the back.”

The supposed lack of parking is very simply a fabricated story that people have created who for one reason or another don’t want police on theircampus.

The last major complaint was the general anxiety caused by a large police presence. Some argue that it is not conducive to a learning environment and can be a “trigger” for people who already suffer from anxiety disorders.

First, it is important to note that the recruits are not police officers. They do not carry weapons, and they do not have any of the extra rights police officers have, like searching your car or person if given probable cause, they are students just like me and you.

Erik Goulet, a freshmen physical therapy major, African American, and for full disclosure a close friend of the author, was asked if the Police or recruits had ever done anything that he would consider not conducive to a learning environment, such as having racial epithets yelled at him or possibly being beaten by a group of them. He said “No, the police have never done any of those things to me, in all honestly I’ve found them to be very polite. I always see them waving to everyone and myself. I actually think having them is a bit of a comforting presence, look at what has been happening in America with school shootings, just a couple weeks ago at a CC in Oregon. The fact that the police are here means that we’ll (NECC) never have to worry about that because we’ll never be a target.”

While there will certainly be a continuing controversy over this subject due to the current climate regarding police in America. Generalizing all police is not the answer, it’s discrimination.

Jake Soraghan

NECC student

Editorial

Letter: Film Classes

 

Dear Editor,

I am writing in response to your article titled, “Film Classes Are Struggling At NECC.” 

While it is true that we have faculty, but not equipment to run a film class, we do in fact have the faculty and the equipment to run video, film-based still photography, studio lighting, animation, motion graphics, and 3D modeling/rendering classes. 

We  even have degrees that emphasize photography, and/or multimedia at NECC.

All of our multimedia courses are taught by commercial videographers, animators and photographers. currently working-in-the-field. 

The college has Canon camcorders, DSLRs, a studio complete with chroma key (green screen), high key, low key, hand-painted backdrops, LEDs, monolights, meters, and editing software for students to use while enrolled in these courses. 

If students want to learn more about these classes or programs, I would be happy to help them or they can check with the Art Dept. Chair, Trish Kidney, pkidney@necc.mass.edu or their advisors.

Shar Wolff, Assistant Dean

Technology, Arts and

Professional Studies Division

swolff@necc.mass.edu

Editorial

NECC Observer Honored

and  

The NECC Observer recently learned that it was awarded an honorable mention in the 2014 New England College Newspaper of the Year contest.

The award is bestowed by the New England Society of News Editors.

The awards were handed out at NESNE’s 2014 spring conference at the New England Newspaper and Press Association headquarters in Dedham, but the Observer just received its plaque last week.

The Heights from Boston College was honored with first place, with The Gatepost of Framingham State University capturing second place and The Quinnipiac Chronicle of Quinnipiac University winning third place.

Along with the NECC Observer, The Defender of St. Michael’s College and The Brandeis Hoot of Brandeis University were also named honorable mention award-winners.

NESNE presents several prestigious awards each year, honoring those who have mastered the craft of journalism and “New England journalism’s most promising up-and-comers,” according to its website.

College newspapers at both large universities and small colleges enter the college newspaper of the year contest, which honors the region’s best student journalists

Under the supervision of faculty adviser, Mary Jo Shafer, the NECC Observer staff in 2014 included Editor-in-Chief Matt Gingras, Features Editor Everson Taveras, Opinion Editor Ashlee Ferrante, News Editor Chad Gorham, Campus Life Editor Kathryn Gagon, Entertainment Editor Faith Gregory,  Sports Editor Esther Nieves, Staff Writer Chrstina Hillner and Copy Editor Thomas Shamma.

Returning staff in fall 2014 included Faith Gregory as editor-in-chief, Copy Editor and Web Editor Thomas Shamma, News Editor Chad Gorham, Opinion Editor Ashlee Ferrante and Staff Writer Christina Hillner.

New staff in fall 2014 included Web Editor Danielle Coppola, Staff Writer Joe Meli, Entertainment  Editor Kim Whiting, Features Editor Rebecca Westerman and Sports Editor Mike Alongi.

Previous staff who returned for fall 2015 include Chad Gorham, who is now campus life editor, Joe Meli, copy editor, and Rebecca Westerman, arts and entertainment editor.  Kim Whiting is now the editor-in-chief

The 2014 NECC Observer was also honored as a  silver medalalist by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

News

Comparing online classes to traditional online learning

 

By Courtney Hanson, Correspondent

The likelihood of a community college student failing or dropping out of a course is far greater if taken online rather than in a traditional classroom or face to face setting with an instructor.

According to an April 2015 study done by the UC-Davis Community College, students opting to take their classes online rather than in a classroom are 11 percent more likely to either fail or not complete that course. The researchers behind the study noted that their findings closely match those discovered by others in various states throughout the U.S.

This research shows that online courses are not successful for community college students. This is elaborated on in the New York Times editorial, “The Trouble with Online College,” which reflects yet more research found by Columbia University’s Community College Research Center: “The research has shown over and over again that community college students who enroll in online courses are significantly more likely to fail or withdraw … which means that they spent hard earned tuition dollars and get nothing in return.”

The reason for an online course’s lack of success can be numerous and may pertain to either the student, the instructor, the structure and formatting of the class, or a combination of all.

According to the Times editorial, one of the most likely reasons is a lack of engagement. Many students need contact with their professors in order to find the comfort integral to their success, yet cannot find it within online courses.

Instead, “what they get online is estrangement from the instructor who rarely can get to know them directly.”

Because of the absence of personal contact with professors and other students, NECC Liberal Arts major Shirley Rodriguez said taking courses online would likely be much more difficult for her. “I need to be present in the class, surrounded by others, able to interact,” she said.

Shirley has opted away from taking any of her courses online, and plans to remain in the security of the classroom setting.

Jesse Howlette, a second year Liberal Arts major, said that the lack of success in online courses is directly rooted in their structure.

“To me, it has nothing to do with trying harder,” Howlette said. “It’s because of the vague structure and setup of the classes.”

Howlette said that if there were a more definitive and universal outline put in place for online classes they could in fact, be successful.

The Times editorial supports this criticism of online course structure: “The design and production of online community college courses are decentralized and primitive.”

It proceeds to criticize the often basic, instructor-created PowerPoint presentations, which do very little to engage students and present information in a digestible way.

Arianna Stevenson, an NECC graduate and UMass Lowell business major, has had vast experience with online courses at both institutions.

In her experience, the lack of success in an online course can be directly attributed to the student. Stevenson said that students’ perceived lack of accountability, and lack of motivation, causes them to put forth less effort and thus get lesser results.

“When you’re in community college a lot of people don’t have the motivation to move forward and may not be taking their education as seriously as they do at a four-year college,” she said.

This statement is supported by rigorous research — according to the Hechinger Report — which has found that four-year colleges have vastly different completion results for online classes. Unlike community colleges, four-year colleges see absolutely no difference between the success rate of students enrolled in online courses compared to traditional classroom courses.

Regardless of the research, many community colleges will continue to increase the amounts of online courses offered to the students.

As the Hechinger Report put it, “Community college leaders aren’t blind to research evidence. Many know from their own student records that the students aren’t faring well.

But the community college sector is suffering declines, and offering online classes is a huge selling point to prospective students.”

Campus Life, News

Trainees trigger debate on campus

and  

Opinions on campus regarding the addition of the Methuen Police Academy and Essex County Sheriff’s Department vary widely. The debate began on the quad and in the hallways but quickly has moved into Student Senate meetings, the pages of the NECC Observer and even onto social media. Former student Faith Gregory encountered a training activity on campus in late October that she found to be particularly aggressive and inappropriate for a college campus. She voiced her thoughts on Facebook and a heated argument ensued. She also wrote a letter to the editor which ran in the last issue of the NECC Observer. Also during this training activity, members of Little Sprouts were using the field in front of the D building for their daily walk. Observer staff noticed a child who seemed to be upset by the activities.

After seeing photos of the training, Erin Davis, an Early Childhood Education major and former teacher at Little Sprouts, said, “As a 3-year-old … they don’t understand practice, that they’re not really hurting each other. Shouting messes with a kids head… they think people are mad when they scream, so now they think everyone out on the campus is mad.”

Maureen Bly is the director of the Little Sprouts program. She said that even though their gym time has been limited by the presence of the police academies, she and the parents have been overall happy to have them on campus.

“…They talk to the kids, they give the kids little badges, so we haven’t really had any problems with having them here.”

Bly did say, though, that the teachers should not have continued their walk during that activity and that she was unaware of the level of aggression being displayed on the field in front of the D building.

“No, I’d rather the kids not see all that. I was unaware that was taking place,” Bly said. “I wish they would notify us so we would know. We wouldn’t be out walking around while they’re doing it. I don’t know how appropriate it is to do it out [in front of] the college kids either.”

Students have expressed strong opinions on both sides of this issue. Sienna Smeland-Wagman was taking a quiz in Environmental Studies when the training exercise began that October day. “I heard a violent yell and the first thing I thought was ‘school shooting,’” Smeland-Wagman said. “It seems very dehumanizing. What I see is so violent and aggressive.”

Brian Ducey agrees that the level of violence being displayed can be upsetting. “They are just the most distracting thing I’ve ever seen,” said Ducey, who was particularly concerned with the idea that these trainees had only been training for a few weeks and felt that the emphasis of their training should be on de-escalating violent situations.

“Clearly it’s very aggressive, they’re constantly yelling. Right now, they’re just beating pads with nightsticks just to get … how to more efficiently beat someone down. It just really confuses me.”

Other students, such as Sheila Rivera and Vianca Santa, enjoy watching them practice. “I think it’s cool. I like to watch them,” said Rivera, who felt that it’s interesting to see training drills that many people would not usually have the opportunity to experience.

Devin Ditomaso is also not bothered by their presence on campus. “It doesn’t disrupt me at all,” he said. Although, as we continued to watch, he stated, “A big group of them just ran over there. (Someone close to me) has PTSD… if she was in that group and all those guys suddenly just ran over to her, she would have froze right the hell up in panic.”

The issue was exacerbated a few days after the October exercise, when Methuen Police Academy trainees were running a drill in the stairways of the C building.

In this drill, which was conducted during active school hours, trainees were climbing the staircase with fingers pointed to simulate aiming a gun while shouting “Clear!”

Students entering the stairwell were surprised by the encounter, to say the least.

Concerns were raised in a Student Senate meeting. According to the minutes, NECC Vice President David Gingerella said that “he was told by the academy that the event regarding cadets pointing finger guns at students had not occurred.”

NECC administration has addressed a few of the concerns by moving some of the training activities to the other side of the D building.

In order to better answer questions and address any lingering issues, an event has been scheduled for Dec. 2 in the Hartleb Technology Center in which students, instructors and administrators will be able to meet and express their concerns.

The event will begin at 11:30 a.m. with an opportunity for informal introductions. This will be followed by brief informational speeches by representatives from both academies, NECC administration and Student Senate, concluding with a question and answer session.

In the meantime, any questions or issues can be addressed by contacting George Moriarty, executive director of Workforce Development at gmoriarty@necc.mass.edu.

The NECC Observer will follow up on this story as more information becomes available.

Campus Life, Features, News

MCCC Union

 
unionpicket

At community colleges throughout the state of Massachusetts, 1,400 professors, librarians and other full time professional staff members are currently working without a contract.

“The contract expired at the end of June. We continued to meet with the state over July and August and into September with still no opening financial offer from the state,” said Joseph LeBlanc, “…at some point, the M-triple-C began to lose patience.”

LeBlanc is a professor at NECC. He was the faculty advisor for the Observer for 14 years and he is currently the president of the Massachusetts Community College Council (MCCC) which is the union that represents the 15 community colleges in Mass. A full time professor since 1988, LeBlanc said that he was unhappy with the policies toward higher education in the state under Governor William Weld and took action by joining the union.

“I pursued a pathway to become the president of the statewide union because I was not happy, but that was a long time ago. We were going through a lot of years with no raises,” he said.

After four years as the vice president and nearly ten years as the MCCC president, LeBlanc said that this year is the longest the negotiations have dragged on during his career with the union.

Contracts are negotiated every three years and although the adjunct (part-time) professors are also covered under a union contract, the contracts are not in sync, so theirs was negotiated about two years ago, without incident, under Governor Patrick’s administration. The adjunct professors are receiving a 4 percent raise in January.  

LeBlanc said, “I don’t want to judge the incoming governor too harshly, but time will tell if he’ll be a friend to public higher ed and particularly a friend to community colleges. We’ll see, but as of right now, I’m not enjoying the experience of these contract talks at all. They’re dragging on for too long.”

LeBlanc went on to say that during times of economic crisis, the union has been patient and willing to accept that the state could not afford a larger increase in pay and that they have even gone long periods of time without a contract in the past. The terms of the previous contract continue to apply until a new agreement is reached. However, LeBlanc said, “During normal times, we expect to have a contract in place for a 3 year period…  we’re not expecting to get a 10 percent pay increase but we’re at least expecting to have a fair deal.”

A fair deal would give the employees a 3.5 percent pay increase each year of the three year contract, according to LeBlanc, which would mimic the 2014 contract accepted by their counterparts in other higher education settings.

“The current financial offer from the state is 2 percent in yr one, 2.5 percent in year two and 2.5 percent in year three,” he said. “Everyone else in higher ed, UMass, the state universities and so forth, came to terms in 2014 at 3.5 percent, 3.5 percent, 3.5 percent. That was under a previous administration so this is a new group but we’re trying to push for the 3.5 percent.”

LeBlanc does not think that an increase in professor’s salary would translate to an increase in student fees, since they are voted on by the trustees based on the amount of state funding received that year and not so much on actual operating costs.

Since classes began in September, many NECC professors have been wearing buttons in an effort to raise awareness about the issues. In October, the protest became far more visible when a dozen or so faculty members began to hold informational pickets in front of the main entrance of the Haverhill campus encouraging people to beep and wave “to communicate to the president and his team that this needs to stop,” LeBlanc said. These pickets were informational only. Teachers are not allowed to go on strike, since they are public employees.

On the other side of the issue, The Massachusetts Board of Higher Education (MBHE) has a committee of ten members who are appointed by the college presidents. The board includes lawyers, provosts of academic affairs, human resource professionals and a spokesperson for the MBHE and includes NECC head of human resources.

NECC President Lane Glenn is the chair of the president’s council. He reports to the board on the current state of affairs and he comments on issues that come up related to the community colleges. Glenn is also one of three members that serve on the president’s labor relations committee, according to LeBlanc.

Glenn did not respond to Observer email prior to the printing of this article.

Fed up after months with no results, faculty overfilled conference rooms on both the Haverhill and Lawrence campuses on Monday, Oct. 26 and voted unanimously to implement “work to rule.”

This is when everyone agrees to do their job only to the letter of what the contract requires. “People frequently do a whole lot more than (what the contract requires). They may take on extra advisees, they might do all kinds of things that are in technical violation of the contract, but it’s because we’re here to help the students,” said LeBlanc.

He does not think that the students will be much affected by this development, since the professors are contractually required to hold office hours and to serve on one committee or club anyway.

“We were on work to rule a couple of times when I was the advisor of the paper and I continued to work with the students to help them put out the paper since that was part of my job … I could have cut back, but I chose not to,” LeBlanc said, since the number of hours that he put in far exceeded what was required of him. The only potential effect to students this year is that professors may limit their email responses to office hours and use an automated message to answer for them when they are not on the clock.

The potential also exists for some extra clubs or field trips to be suspended, if a professor is carrying more than what is required of them, but LeBlanc said that the administration is far more likely to feel the effects of this than the students.

“It will take us a few weeks to iron out the kinks of work to rule so that more and more people might become aware of it,” LeBlanc said. “People will still be teaching, they’ll be doing their job, they’ll be holding their office hours.” The difference, he explained, is that while they will still be serving on their college committee’s, their only input will be to move to adjourn them. If anyone seconds a motion to adjourn, it forces the committee to vote. If the committee votes to adjourn then the work of that particular committee will not get done.

Work to rule is now in effect at about half of the community colleges across the state and is expected to grow over the coming weeks to include nearly all of the them. “We’ve been trying to grind this out, we really have,” said LeBlanc, “but we just thought, it’s time to proceed down the road to do some picketing, to go on work to rule.”

LeBlanc said, “Nobody likes this, but from now on in, you’re going to have people going to (a meeting) and they’ll move to adjourn. So, technically, they’re there, but they want to cause the colleges and the state some pain here, some friction, cause some anxiety, you know. We want to move them closer to our position on things, so that we can negotiate a tentative agreement that will have a chance of passing.”

As far as the next step goes, faculty will continue to hold signs to inform everyone that this needs to stop. “If it continues in the spring, you’ll see increasingly public shows of our unhappiness about it, but I’m hoping this will be resolved before break.”

Political Science professor Stephen Slaner said, “I see the problem at NECC as a function of the state policy on higher education in general, and having a Republican governor isn’t all that helpful.”

Though, he deferred to LeBlanc for the specifics of the current negotiations.

LeBlanc said that teachers have gone years without a contract in the past “during really hostile administrations” and he pointed out that Governor Baker was on the staff of former Governor Weld during one such time. “I’m hoping that he (Gov Baker) values public higher ed and really values the community colleges and the role that we play. The smartest thing to do, I think, is to come to terms ASAP.”

 

This is just misc…

 

Email interview with political science professor, Stephen Slaner on Friday, Oct. 30:

I would defer to Joe LeBlanc on the current negotiations.  In terms of your question, I don’t think students would see any impact of the “work to rule” policy – it has more to do with volunteering for committees or being available for special commitments.  Fortunately, Gov. Baker doesn’t seem as fixated as Scott Walker in Wisconsin, where collective bargaining rights were severely restricted for public unions (except for fire and police, who tended to support Gov. Walker).

Why has there been a steep decline in union membership?  (I think it’s especially serious in the private sector.)  I would say it has to do with the indoctrination we’re all subjected to about how unions are “special interests” that are only out to advance their selfish, narrow interests.  Noam Chomsky correctly takes the opposite position, that it’s unions that stand for the general interests of the working class, while corporations and most politicians stand for the special interests of the 1%, as the Occupy Movement put it.  We tend to forget that unions brought us the eight-hour day, paid vacation, and some concern for occupational health and safety, among other things.  As Bernie Sanders points out, our benefits are much less than those of workers in Scandinavia, and they would be still less were it not for unions.  People should familiarize themselves with the great Bread and Roses strike of 1912 in Lawrence to see what impact a union can have.  I don’t know that there are any real downsides to union membership.  Indeed, if God forbid we are to have a President Rubio, the unions will be one force standing against his “help the rich and pass the ammunition” policy for the various wars he’ll get us into.  (Needless to say, the unions would stand up against a President Clinton if she were to pursue similar policies.)  I believe that food service workers and Wal-Mart employees have tried to organize, and there’s a video available on the situation at Wal-Mart.  Naturally it’s an uphill battle, but the struggle is not yet over.

I’ve felt for some time that the TV series EYES ON THE PRIZE (the best series by far on the civil rights movement) should be complemented by a series called, say, ROLL THE UNION ON (to quote from a song about unions).  There are plenty of workers and academics who could help make such a video; the problem is that PBS, with its corporate ties, probably wouldn’t air it.

I hope this answers your questions.  Feel free to get back to me for any clarifications.

 

MCCC union information picket 8:30 – 9 a.m. Thurs. Oct. 22. At the main entrance of the Haverhilll campus.

 

Joe LeBlanc (MCCC_president@mac.com)

 

In attendance: (see pics)

Left to right: Professor Biff Ward; Professor Rick Lizotte; Professor and MCCC President, Joseph LeBlanc; Professor Pierre Leflynn; Academic Coordinator Joseph Scascitelli; Professor Deirdre Eudzyna; Professor Stephen Russell; Professor Suzanne VanWert; Professor Marilyn McCarthy; Professor Chris Rowse; Professor Tom Greene.