Tag Archives: News

Uncategorized

No end in sight for contract negotiations

 

This “celebration of solidarity” comes after months of failed negotiations and passive protests by the faculty, including informational pickets and the implementation of “work to rule,” which restricts the faculty to performing only those duties specifically required by their contract. Recently, flyers were distributed by the union asking students to show their support for a favorable resolution by calling or emailing NECC President Dr. Lane Glenn.

Glenn said that he has received a few calls and emails but went on to say that he is not directly involved in the negotiations and that he already fully supports the faculty’s position. “The faculty and professional staff in Massachusetts are underpaid, as compared to the state universities and UMass, and as compared to faculty and professional staff in other states,” Glenn said.

Delays to this new contract exist both in the financial proposal and some changes desired in the language of the contract from both sides, according to Glenn. Though he was not able to discuss the actual details of the contract since the negotiations are ongoing, he said, “This is the first time in many years, I think at least 15 years, that there have been any substantive changes suggested to this contract, so that’s one of the reasons … (for the delay). And there’s a new administration in the state. The last two times were under Deval Patrick, and he just rolled salary increases forward.”

In addition to fair wages, the flyer distributed by the MCCC stated that the union members are fighting for a contract that “protects [their] academic freedom rights.” Dictionary.com broadly defines academic freedom as “The right of teachers and students to express their ideas in the classroom or in writing, free from political, religious or institutional restrictions, even if these ideas are unpopular.” This could include any sort of intrusion by the government including censoring a teacher’s curriculum, the implementation of standardized testing, discontinuation of funding for controversial groups or research and a variety of other interferences. Glenn said he is unaware of anything in the proposed contract that threatens the academic freedom of the professors and that no standardized testing or disruption to the curriculum is in any way being considered by the state.

Joe LeBlanc, MCCC president, said that the flyer refers to “…a possible threat from management’s student learning outcomes proposal,” but that the threat is not specific, and he was not able to elaborate.

He does not feel that any progress has been made towards resolution of the contract and said that the state’s financial offer has stubbornly remained at the initially proposed 2 percent raise in year one, 2.5 percent raise in year two and 2.5 percent raise in year three, which is a rate significantly lower than those employed in similar higher education positions at the state universities whose contracts were negotiated under the Patrick administration.

LeBlanc said in an email interview that since the implementation of work to rule, “many college committees are moving to adjourn. College governance has been negatively affected. This will grow worse over time. Employee morale will also worsen.” About the chances of the contract being settled before the start of the Spring semester, LeBlanc said that he is “not confident, but always hopeful.”

Glenn said that he planned to stop by the tailgate party and say hello to the union members later that day. “I, this college, and the other colleges, to the extent that I speak for them, want a swift resolution to this contract, and a fair one, obviously. And while we work on it, I think it’s important that we are civil and collegial to one another and that students don’t suffer,” he said.

News

Student newspapers go missing

 

The disappearance of up to 450 copies of the NECC Observer was discovered by student staff on Friday morning, Dec. 11.

Observer staff are unsure why anyone would want to destroy or take the newspapers in bulk. The only potentially controversial story in the Dec. 2 issue of the Observer was the front page lead story about the suspended basketball coach, who was placed on administrative leave due to charges of illegal gambling filed against him after an investigation by the state attorney’s general office and the state police.

Observer staff estimated the total number of missing copies of the Dec. 2, issue at between 350-450 newspapers.

Six newsstands were discovered empty by staff members, including all of the newsstands in the C building, all the stands in the B building, and the stand outside of the D building.

An additional three full bundles of the Dec.2 student newspapers were also taken from directly outside the Observer’s office on the second floor of the C building. These copies are kept for archiving and to mail tear sheets to the newspaper’s advertisers.

The staff members reported the theft to the public safety department at NECC on Dec. 11.

The disappearance of the newspapers is currently under investigation, and public safety is reviewing security tapes that show video of newsstand locations. Public safety also searched the Dumpsters on campus on Dec.11, but did not find any of the missing copies.

The Observer staff said the newsstands were full on Wednesday, Dec. 9, and believe the newspapers were removed sometime on Thursday, Dec. 10.

Observer staff members were on campus the evening of Dec. 10, covering a home basketball game and a music performance at the tech center and did not note anything suspicious while on campus.

The Student Press Law Center, a nonprofit dedicated to educating student journalists about the First Amendment and supporting the student news media in their struggle to cover issues free from censorship, says that newspaper theft, even of free papers, is a serious issue, especially on the campus of a public college.

Newspaper theft is a “a terribly effective form of censorship,” the Student Press Law Center said on its website. 

“If the perpertrator is a government official – which would include any public school administrator, employee or faculty member – he or she has likely violated the First Amendment,” the center said.

Even free student newspapers are not free, the center said.  “Publishing a student newspaper is an expensive undertaking; student media lose thousands of dollars each year as a result of newspaper theft.  Like other types of theft, newspaper thieves deprive rightful owners of their valuable property … In almost all cases businesses and others have paid to have their advertisements published – money they certainly would not pay if they knew their ad would never be read.”

In the case of the Observer, the Dec. 2 issue had $539 worth of paid advertising, along with printing costs and student staff and adviser stipends, which staff estimate at a more than $1,000 value total.

“Theft of newspapers is a serious issue. It not only is censorship, but it is a direct violation of First Amendment rights. A reporter’s duty to the public is to accurately account stories going on in the community. If the outlet in which a reporter can spread that information becomes hindered, the very foundation for why journalists do what they do crumbles,” said Chad Gorham, Observer campus life editor and president of student senate.

If anyone has any information on the stolen papers, please contact the NECC Observer at observer.necc.mass.edu, twitter @theneccobserver or contact public safety.

News

Anime club struggles to become reality

 

By Abraham Anavisca, Correspondent

Fans of Japanese animation at NECC will be glad to know that a group of students are working to start an anime club. Jennifer Lebron, an art major here at NECC, is the would–be president of the organization.

“Normal clubs like sports and honors are [here]. Why not have something different?” Lebron said.

Should the club become a reality, meetings will be held weekly with a number of activities. There will be games and events like “Project Cosplay,” where members can compete to see who makes the best costume with the materials given; karaoke, anime jeopardy, and of course, the watching of anime episodes.

The group is hoping to be able to get one of NECC’s projector rooms to watch anime. Unfortunately, due to restrictions set by copyright law, the club won’t be able to show episodes using individual streaming accounts — on popular services like Crunchyroll and Netflix — and will instead have to opt for much more expensive third-party licenses. These may be too expensive for the school to afford.

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.

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.

 

Features, News

NECC/Methuen Police Academy Graduates First Class

 

New part of college off to a good start with 45 graduates

Forty-five new police officers graduated from the first class of the Northern Essex Community College/Methuen Police Academy in a ceremony at the college on June 26.

Michael J. Havey, Jr. of Methuen, who has worked as a part-time police officer and a security guard at Northern Essex, has been hired by the Methuen Police Department, and he was planning to start his first shift that Sunday at 12:30 a.m.

“I loved this program,” he said. “It was very challenging and I learned a ton.”

Havey always wanted to be a police officer and he’s following in the footsteps of his father, Michael J. Havey, Sr., who has been with the Methuen Police Department for 30 years.

His father received his associate degree from Northern Essex.

The 46 graduates— a quarter of whom are veterans—have been hired by 16 different police departments in Massachusetts.

They completed an intensive 21-week program that covered constitutional law, prevention and intervention, community policing, domestic violence, elder abuse, victims’ rights, and other topics.

All training took place on the Haverhill Campus except for fire arms training and emergency driving techniques which were held at off-campus locations.

Features, Lawrence, News

Amesbury Street Property Donated

 

Louise Haffner Fournier’s family make donation

 

The Louise Haffner Fournier Education Center on Amesbury Street on the Lawrence Campus has gone from a rented building to a building that is now owned by NECC through a donation from the EMLO Realty Trust, which is under the direction of Joanne Fournier and the Fournier Family.

A unanimous vote from the board of Trustees brought the donation into reality.  

Kelsey Terry, a recent graduate of NECC and the Student Member of the Board of Trustees for the school year 2015-2016 said, “As I leave Northern Essex, I am glad that this happened while I was a Student Trustee. It is nice to have Northern Essex own the building that is worth so much.”

Joanne Fournier and her husband have been supporting NECC for many years. Fournier has been on the board of the Women of NECC since the group’s inception in 1996, said Jean Poth, the Vice President of Institutional Advancement.

Journalism major Christina Hillner said, “It shows that there are good people out there still. They care what is happening here at NECC, and they prove it with donations like the Fournier building.”

“The estimated value of the property is $1.45 million. The property includes three parcels of land totaling 39,444 square feet and two adjoined buildings totaling 24,008 square feet. It features a 1,500 square foot general science lab built in 2012, as well as classrooms, office and community spaces,” said Poth. “The two labs in the NECC/Fournier Educational Building are state-of-the-art and they were completed in the fall of 2013 and funded through the assistance of a grant and a private donor.”

Some students are excited to see Northern Essex expand in Lawrence. Alba Diaz, a longtime resident of Lawrence and a Business Transfer student, said, “I think this is a great thing, it helps to make Lawrence improve as a city.“

“There is a shining star showing in the city, and that is NECC. I could not be more proud to attend school here in my city and see the transformation that is taking shape,” said Diaz.

Theatre major Nate Miller said, “I was new to the Lawrence campus this semester and I also was an Orientation Leader, so I had to learn about all the building in Lawrence. It was nice to start saying it was our building due to a donation. It is a proud feeling.”

Jasmine Polanco, a Criminal Justice major, said, “I think its great because it shows the school wanting to expand more throughout the city.”

Polanco still had some questions that remain unanswered about how any future construction will affect school. She wondered if the classes that remain there are going to be the same.

The Louise Haffner Fournier Education Center became part of the Northern Essex community in 1999, when classes began to grow in Lawrence and the Dimitry Building was no longer big enough to house all classes. When the property first opened, it automatically allowed student growth in credited classes.