My faculty is not disposable- PUSH PAUSE NOW

By Carina Masters

Editor’s note: Carina Masters, a sophomore, Child Development major, attended HSU’s California Faculty Association ‘Push Pause Action Meeting’ on Feb. 18.

The meeting gave students, staff and community labor leaders the opportunity to share their experiences and why they supported the “Push Pause Campaign”.

Here is the transcription of her comment at the meeting:

I’m asking this administration to Push Pause because my life has been completely changed due to the labor of precarious faculty.

The faculty that this administration is threatening with pay cuts, class reductions, and even job loss are the same faculty that have been my shoulders to lean on through some of the greatest turmoils of my life.

They are the same faculty who have introduced me to a world where I have a voice, the same faculty who not only encourage me to learn, but also to teach.

The same faculty who do not know if they will have a job come fall, if they will have healthcare, if they will be able to pay rent; are the same faculty who have empowered me to be an award winning debater, an educated and invested voter, and a dedicated community volunteer.

My life, along with the lives of my peers, is carefully balanced on the same backs that this administration hopes to cripple. I know that I am not alone in seeing the hypocrisy between calls from this administration to “cultivate a new generation of leaders who have the skills, knowledge, and resilience to address the most pressing issues facing the world today” and simultaneous efforts from that very same administration to disempower and destabilize the very faculty who does that cultivation.

By cutting our faculty, you not only destroy the livelihoods of dedicated people who have given their lives to their students, but you also destroy the hopes of students to access the education you claim to provide.

My faculty is not disposable, they are not replaceable. They are absolutely invaluable.

I know many students who would not be here, at this institution or on this earth, if it was not for the efforts and the hearts of our faculty. I cannot begin to express the gratitude I feel for the precarious faculty that I have had the privilege of learning from.

So thank you. Thank you, and I desperately hope to see you again next semester.

Thank you,
Carina Masters.

Humboldt’s California Faculty Association chapter has been pushing for a pause on reductions. Their “Push Pause” campaign circulated a petition that raked up a bit more than 3,000 signatures. Here is an excerpt from Humboldt CFA’s website explaining their “Push Pause” campaign.

“HSU administration insists there is a budget crisis that can only be addressed by cutting classes and consolidating departments. This is causing the most contingent faculty to lose work and healthcare in the midst of a global pandemic while limiting student access to classes and faculty support, delaying pathways to graduation. We believe these decisions are immoral and urge the university to Push Pause on cuts.”