Vol. 14, No. 2                                                                                       January 10, 2000

(SPECIAL PSC ELECTION ISSUE NO. 1)

GIVE US A BREAK, RICHARD!
Whose union is this anyway?

"Do not dispute anymore or grieve for the death of this lewd traitor. I myself will be your King, I will be your captain and leader. Follow me to the field and you shall have everything you desire."

RICHARD II (1365-99): King of England.

To the rebels at Smithfield after the death of Wat Tyler, 15, June 1381.

Alan and Veronica Palmer, Quotations in History. Sussex, England: Harvester Press, 1976, p. 197.

"Do not debate anymore or feel sorrow for Polishook's unceremonious departure from the PSC; nor should you ask me who I am or who are the candidates on my slate. I myself will be your President, I will be your captain and leader. Vote for me and you will have everything you desire."

RICHARD BORIS, First V.P. of the PSC

Remarks allegedly made by Boris after Irwin Polishook's announcement of not seeking PSC reelection, December 1999

       The recently distributed one-page, black-and-green bordered flyer announcing in bold letters, the top four candidates of the Unity Caucus appears to suggest Richard's dicta as expressed in the above statement. For example:

• The flyer fails to indicate that two of the four candidates are non-teaching members of the instructional staff. Why Richard would give two of the four top spots to non-teaching members of the instructional staff (Secretary for Ruth Frisz, Student Counselor and Treasurer for Carlos Hargraves, HEO) of a union which is primarily established for the teaching faculty is beyond our comprehension. Furthermore, if Richard wants to win this election, he ought to know that the largest voting block is that of the teaching faculty and that he ought not to insult and offend the teaching faculty by ignoring their rightful representation on the top spots of the slate. This is particularly true in light of the fact that HEOs have their own cross-campus Chapter and the union has provided a Vice- President for that Chapter. We believe that the members of the teaching faculty must confront Richard by asking him "Whose union is this anyway?"

• The flyer fails to indicate institutional affiliations of the candidates on Richard's slate. Why? Is it because Richard does not want members of the teaching faculty from the large senior colleges to know that three out of four candidates including himself, (Richard Boris from York, Jo-Ann Graham from Bronx C. C. and Carlos Hargraves from Hostos) running on the top spots of his slate come from the smallest of the smallest units of CUNY? Ruth Frisz does come from Queens College. However, she is a counselor and her track record on behalf of the Unity Caucus is zero. Queens College has been controlled by the New Caucus for the last several years, and we have been told that in the recent Spring 1999 Chapter election Ruth did not even attempt to put a slate together, thus handing the New Caucus a total victory. So, my fellow members of the teaching faculty of Brooklyn, Hunter, City, Baruch and Lehman, in spite of your huge voting power you are being ignored. You have a right to be apprehensive about how your interests will be protected by these individuals from small colleges on Richard's slate. Also, my fellow members of the instructional staff from York, Bronx and Hostos, you have a right to feel insulted and offended by Richard because of his failure to identify the affiliations of his slate members to your colleges. I believe that Richard feels embarrassed and ashamed that the members of his slate are affiliated with your colleges.

• The flyer also fails to identify the rank and job functions of the slate's candidates. We wonder if this is because Richard is just an Associate Professor who was promoted recently to that rank after twenty some years as Assistant Professor at York. Or, is it because Carlos Hargraves, a HEO, is assistant to Hostos College President for Governmental and External Affairs and that may rightfully raise conflict of interest questions for his being one of the top four officers of the union.

• The flyer is silent as well on the union experience of the slate's candidates. One would expect that when someone seeks the union office he/she will prominently display his or her union experience. But not Richard and his slate. We believe that we know why. To many people's surprise and dissatisfaction, Richard came from nowhere in 1995 as First Vice President. His tenure as First Vice President has been rated by many as poor or mediocre, if not a total disaster. Some people even tried to seek his resignation as First V.P. Jo-Ann, Ruth, and Carlos each have only two years on the Central PSC's Executive Committee. The total experience of all four officers put together is no more than ten years. How can one expect Richard to be able to convince the membership that the people on his slate have the best experience to lead this union and negotiate our next contract?

• The flyer directs us to a mysterious addresss in a town far away in upstate New York. Is this where Richard has his weekend home? Are we to understand that Richard, if elected, is going to conduct PSC business from his weekend home in upstate New York, if not from his apartment in Paris, his other hideout?

SHOULD WE HOPE AND PRAY THAT RICHARD WILL GIVE US A BREAK
AND TELL US SOME TRUTH, IF NOT ALL THE TRUTH?

A QUIZ, therefore is in order:

Where did Richard Boris celebrate the dawning of the millennium?

(Circle one)

A) At the dazzling spectacle of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

B) At the glittering Times Square bash in New York City

C) At the serene weekend home in upstate New York

D) At the The PSC office with the wishful stare at the empty chair of PSC President Irwin Polishook.

For correct answer, ask Boris when he comes on your campus.

PS: Make a few copies and share the joy of reading the Patriot Returns with your colleagues at your college and throughout CUNY

Sharad Karkhanis, Ph.D., Editor:
Kingsborough Community College,
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11235 (718-368-5149)

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