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Protestors advocate for faculty, staff raises at BOG meeting

December 15, 2011

By Lisa Berkman and Anastasia Millicker / Staff Writers

Several faculty and staff members protested during yesterday’s Board of Governor’s meeting, which ended with a closed session that did not have public comment.

Before the meeting outside Winants Hall on the College Avenue campus, a table was set with a toy bone on a plate surrounded by chalices. Garlands strung with cards written to the Board of Governors decorated a wooden Christmas tree on the square lawn of Old Queens — all part of the demonstration against the salary freeze of unionized workers.

“What we’re doing here is the Board of Governor’s feast,” said Mieke Paulsen, a graduate student and teaching assistant. “They feasted on funding for the last several years. The Scarlet Knight was eaten down to the last bone.”

The salary issue and those decisions are ongoing within the University, said E.J. Miranda, a University spokesman.

“When I can’t pay my bills, worry about feeding my kids, while paying off student loans, it’s a problem,” Paulsen said.

The protestors eventually took their seats in Winants Hall, some with blankets and books as part of a sit-in while others held signs with slogans saying, “Give us what we earned” or “We got sold out”, as they waited for University President Richard L. McCormick’s overview of the University’s budget.

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Super Committee cuts threaten higher education budget

November 28, 2011

By Matthew Matilsky / Staff Writer

After the Super Committee’s failure to make appropriate spending cuts, an unspecified amount of federal funding for higher education will be slashed during the 2012-2013 school year.

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the automatic spending cuts will reduce most non-defense discretionary spending, like federal student aid, by 7.8 percent in fiscal year 2013 alone, according to fastweb.com, a website that provides resources for paying for college.

The remaining $2.3 billion in annual federal student aid funding — excluding the Pell Grant — next fiscal year will see about $183 million in cuts to programs, like Federal Work-Study, SEOG and TEACH Grant programs, according to fastweb.com.

The potential cuts in January 2013 could also restructure student loans by eliminating the six-month grace period allowed before initial payments and reducing the funding for research grants, said Matt Cordeiro, Rutgers University Student Assembly president.

“This is a total and utter failure and a bad example of leadership,” said Cordeiro, a School of Arts and Sciences senior. “People prefer communism over the United States government right now. They’re sending the wrong message to kids.”

He said the specific consequences of the cuts are unclear but are likely to affect the 86 percent of undergraduate University students relying on financial aid and funding for research.

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McCormick shares expansion ideas at final annual address

September 19, 2011

But disgruntled faculty and staff interrupted McCormick several times during the first half of his speech, protesting the two-year salary freeze that is preventing them from receiving their raises.

“There’s a lot being built and done, but I work hard — everything is going up but my paycheck,” said Dorothy Broxton, a custodian in the University’s Housing department, who held a sign that read “End the salary freeze!” outside the meeting at the Rutgers Student Center on the College Avenue campus.

Kristen Clarke, the New Brunswick campus’ student representative to the Board of Governors, asked McCormick if he knew what if felt like to stay up all night worrying about paying his mortgage bill during a question-and-answer session following the address.

“Faculty and staff run the University. Without them, Rutgers would do nothing and be nothing,” said Clarke, a School of Arts and Sciences senior. “You’re screwing people over.”

Members of the senate audience were taken aback by Clarke’s language, and Senate President Paul Panayotatos, an engineering professor, reminded Clarke that she is a senator.

“I’m not going to play nice when you’re playing with people’s lives,” Clarke said.

McCormick expressed his hope to settle the contractual issues this year that are continuing the salary freeze.

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