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More than 250 students, faculty and staff attended a rally at the foot of Fogler Library at the University of Maine Wednesday before marching to the offices of President Robert Kennedy and Provost Susan Hunter in Alumni Hall.
The rally, named Reclaim Your Education by organizers, was held in response to proposed academic cuts that would result in 16 fewer majors and 80 fewer faculty positions at UMaine by 2014. Among programs recommended to be cut are foreign languages, music, theater and women’s studies. The cuts would save the university more than $12 million by 2014, a large chunk of the projected $25 million budget shortfall.
Many speakers at the rally advocated overturning or changing the proposals. Others, frustrated by what they perceived as a slight to the university’s academic programs, advocated for abandoning the proposals altogether in favor of cutting payroll and staff at the administrative level and chanted “Chop from the top.” throughout the rally.
“This is not only an issue for the departments that will be cut,” said Alexander Grab, a professor in the history department. “All of us are going to lose a lot from these cuts.”
Chairman of Theater and Dance Tom Mikotowicz said the process was rushed, and that the administration is “unaware of the damage it would inflict” on students.
University of Maine System board of trustees member Benjamin Goodman spoke to the crowd as well, instructing them on what he said was the most effective way to make their voices heard.
“These cuts go too far,” Goodman, also a UMaine student, said into a megaphone. “I hear you loud and clear, but the rest of the board needs to hear you.”
The board of trustees must ultimately approve the elimination of any major or department. Goodman said contacting board members was a way for students to “put the pressure where it is most constructive.”
Though neither Kennedy nor Hunter were present at the rally, Dean of Students Robert Dana addressed the crowd, urging students to provide suggestions to the administration.
“They are frustrated, concerned and worried,” Dana said. “Some of these students have to work through their anger to get to the other side, toward a solution.”
“It’s not our job to figure out the cuts, to propose solutions,” said Yann Dupuy, a French instructor who organized the rally with students Kalie Hess and Danielle Laliberte. “The students’ job is to raise their voice and ask questions, to be involved in the process.”
To that point, Dupuy lamented the lack of student involvement in the restructuring process spearheaded by the Academic Program Prioritization Working Group, which issued the recommendations several weeks ago. He said the university should have offered more than one solution to the budget gap and let them choose what course is best.
“We are simply asking for teachers to be able to teach, and students to be able to take classes,” Dupuy told the crowd. “And everyone is acting like this is some radical request.”
After a 30 minutes of rallying at the library, a group of approximately 80 protesters marched into Alumni Hall to bring their opposition to the president and provost. Students sang the Maine Stein Song outside the president’s and provost’s office, and renewed their chanting of “Chop from the top.”
Students left their signs — sporting slogans such as “Don’t wager my major” and “Our Money, Our Choice!” — at the president’s office, and passed around a sign-in sheet to demonstrate their numbers. The rally dispersed shortly after.
Hunter and Vice President for Administration and Finance Janet Waldron spoke with the handful of students still waiting after the rally ended.
“We know that you have a lot of concerns,” Hunter said. “We are grappling with this in every way we can.”
“No one goes into my line of work and wants to eliminate academic programs,” Hunter said, adding that “there has been an erosion of state appropriations, so the money has to come from somewhere.” The provost stressed that the process is ongoing, and that the administration is considering student and faculty input in its decision-making process.
Dupuy said that while students may have been impassioned, the protesters rallied in good spirit.
“I would not consider them angry,” Dupuy said. “People want to be listened to. We just want a dialogue. We want the process to be more open.” Dupuy also decried the administration for giving students and faculty so little time to react to the proposal.
APPWG will issue its final recommendations to Hunter today, who will work on the proposals with Kennedy before sending them off to the chancellor’s office and, ultimately, the board of trustees.
Bangor Daily News