Vol. 18, No. 3                                                                                   December 12, 2000

      Since the publication of our last Patriot Returns, we have noted that our wonderful secretaries appear to be smiling more, with the prospect that the VIP room may soon be open to all; the paper pushing Dean appears to be walking around with a long face, not knowing what is coming next; the needle in the park, the non-sundial clock, is still standing in the vast Library courtyard with its insignificant presence; the statue of a woman in bondage appears to be searching the sky in desperation; the pompous parking signs displaying the importance of Deans and Provosts continue to be prominently displayed; and the sale of potato chips has decreased considerably. Oh, yes, we received several calls of concern and inquiry as to whether or not the editor has tenure and can be fired, and does he wear a bullet-proof vest. Some members of the Art Department questioned whether we should comment on campus decor. Some also assured us that the Queen of Released Time will not run for office again, for she has no credibility on campus. The readership of the Patriot appears to have increased. We also received an item for the Patriot from a member of the community about the perennial problems of parking on Manhattan Beach streets.

      Some called to tell us that they do not expect Her Majesty the Queen of Released Time Susan O'Malley to run for elected office any more. If she does, they will confront her about assurances she made a few years ago to some members of the faculty that after this term in the Senate she will not run for any university-wide or college-wide office and that she will give other members of the KCC community an opportunity to serve. However, they are fearful that the Queen, a shrewd and conniving person, will put up someone else to run whom she can control, and finagle her released time as part of the bargain. She recently recruited Larry the Loner Simon from the Department Of Behavioral Sciences, who is looking for attention, to write a memo to the faculty calling for something called a Faculty Assembly meeting on December 8th to discuss college governance. On December 5th, at the College Council, our new President, in his gentlemanly Southern style, informed the instructional staff that Governance is the domain of the College Council and not of any other group. It was Larry the Loner not Susan the instigator, who was left alone to apologize on Dec. 5th, and again on Dec. 6th. He said that it was just an error on his part and that it was not his intent to stage a coup d'etat.Susan was right there, but not a word from her mouth. Why? She knew that she had made a fool of herself. In keeping with her selfish character, Susan made someone else take the heat. McClenney had made a fool of her, and she was cowardly enough to set up Larry the Loner to take the heat in public. What is Larry to do now? Our advice to Larry and to others : Stay away from Susan O.

      It is a shame that Susan, after more than twenty years at CUNY, does not know that issues of governance have to be brought before the College Council. What Susan is trying to do here is to try to bully the new president and give the false impression to new faculty that she is fighting for them. What Susan fails to understand is not to underestimate President McClenney. He is a veteran, skillful administrator, who with gentle manners will act swiftly and decisively, where appropriate. She should also not underestimate the faculty, who will see through her selfish grabs for power.

THE PSC HOLIDAY PARTY & COMRADE BOWEN'S POLITICKING

      Once, a year, members of the PSC look forward to enjoying good food and chatting with friends and colleagues before the holidays. Once in a while, the PSC representatives speak a few words of greetings. However on December 5th, when Barbara Bowen was introduced, she seized the opportunity to tell us, in her jittery manner and in ten long minutes or more, how hard she and her comrades are working on the contract negotiations, and what some of the contract demands are. She was very selective in the demands she mentioned, focusing only on demands of those she perceived to be there, and ignoring the multitude of demands put forth for part-timers. She also urged everyone to write letters to the chancellor. Our Lady Chattery Chase (alias Norah) who has always a question or comment at every meeting on everything and anything, tried to make her presence known by moving around to distribute samples to be used. Bowen also invited faculty to demonstrate in the street -- the tactics of the sixties. Comrade Bowen, if you think that you are going to get us a new contract by getting us to write letters to the Chancellor and demonstrating and parading in New York's ten-degree temperature, you must be hallucinating. When you had to rehire as a PSC negotiator, an employee who had just left the PSC because of unhappiness with you, it seems that you must realize that you are in trouble. In our judgment, fruitless marathon discussions and meetings will not result in a contract even in the next century. Only serious, reasoned negotiations will. Please get down to serious business.

       By the way, we heard you advising at least one member of the KCC faculty to contact Comrade Susan O. for her problems. In our judgment, this is very wrong. Faculty having difficulty should be advised to speak to the KCC Chapter Chair or other members of our locally elected PSC Executive Committee. You know who our chapter chair is and who the members of the KCC Executive Committee are. DO NOT INTERFERE IN KCC LOCAL CHAPTER POLITICS.

PAPER PUSHING DEAN OF FACULTY & THE REVIEW COMMITTEES

       The remarks in our Patriot evoked the following comments from faculty on the functioning of the Office of our paper pushing Dean of Faculty: 1) Why does the Dean of Faculty control all personnel files? Why can they not be in the chairpersons' offices as they are in other CUNY colleges? 2) Does he maintain a third file where he shields material unfavorable to candidates he favors, choosing not to share this file with the department or college P&Bs? Does this comply with contractual requirements? 3) Why do members of the department committees have to walk to the dean's office to meet for actions of the department? They do not do this in other CUNY colleges. Why can they not meet in the chairs' offices? 4) Our college governance plan does not provide for the Dean of Faculty to be present at all meetings of all the Review Committees. Why does our Dean of Faculty find it necessary to attend all the meetings, whether he is a member of that committee or not? Is it to influence the outcome of the committees, or does he not have confidence in the chairs of the committees he helps the president select? According to some, the Dean of Faculty steers the committees to the desired outcomes.

A MUTILATED WOMAN: AN ART OR AN AGONY

       Don't think we are prudish or believe in censorship. But in front of our Performing Arts Center, there stands on a stone pedestal a statue of a bare-breasted mutilated woman, cut in the middle of her head down to the upper portion of her torso up to the waist. Whether you are going in or out of the Performing Arts Center or just passing by, you will not fail to notice this statue. Reaction to this has been varied. Many just ignore it and pass by quickly. Others, however, feel shocked. Some feel insulted that only a woman is portrayed this way, and not a man. One woman who had gone through a mastectomy was very much offended. One student said, "Can we not have some decent sculptures that have some meaning? This is rubbish!"

PAIN IN THE BUTT

       Members of the maintenance staff responsible for campus upkeep should be congratulated for placing new benches throughout the campus and for creating the flower area under the concrete stairway outside the cafeteria on the beach side where people were bumping their heads. However, people are also bumping their heads under the stairway leading into student cafeteria. Perhaps this should be corrected as well.

       In a small but pleasant area outside the faculty dining room, surrounded by ives and trees, one will find three wooden tables with four narrow wooden blocks each to sit on. That presents a totally different problem. One does not need to be a rocket scientist to know that sitting on those wooden blocks is nothing but a pain in the ----. For the last twenty years, nearly every day, someone brings out a few white plastic chairs to sit on. These chairs disappear after few hours. Can we not replace these uncomfortable wooden blocks with decent chairs made of cement, wood, plastic or iron? They need not be fancy, only comfortable.

A WALK THROUGH THE GRAVEYARD

       On the way to the Library, housing literary treasures of living and dead authors, one walks through an imposing courtyard. It has been said that this is marred by semi-circular cement blocks. approximately twenty feet long and three feet high, curved on the top giving the distinct appearance of tombstones. These are supposed to be benches where students and faculty can sit in comfort. However, they do not have backs, and are unbearably uncomfortable both during summer heat and during winter cold due to its cement composition. Can we not have some simple comfortable benches with backs, so that one can truly enjoy the beauty and serenity of our campus?

HAVE A GOOD HOLIDAY

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