Students and faculty protest funding shortfalls, departmental issues and ICE

On the front steps of Armstrong Student Center, students and faculty from the Faculty Alliance of Miami (FAM), Young Democratic Socialists of America, the Ohio Student Association (OSA) and Miami University College Democrats gathered together early April 10 protesting the lack of action taken by university administration about the cutting of majors, lack of staff pay raises and the approval of the arena project.

“You can’t put your students first if you are putting your faculty last, so we are here to support them in every way,” Kali Barcroft, president of OSA said. “[Our goal is] just to hold some accountability with Miami’s admin so that they know ‘hey, we see what you’re doing, we see that you are not listening to us. Students aren't happy, you need to start listening to students.’”

April 10 was a FAM bargaining day, and faculty and student leaders who helped to organize the protest said it was to influence the bargaining committee for their contract of faculty wages. These organizations have seen greater influence when they protest on Make It Miami days as it targets the incoming prospective student class.

“We have fliered during Make It Miami events before, and it puts a lot more pressure on our administration, because we are targeting prospective students that are considering Miami,” Barcroft said. “We chose Armstrong to really reach out to prospective students.”

Barcroft also said students are not feeling that their voices are being heard. Even with petitions going out about Cook Field and clear fights from staff arguing for fair wages, the administration has not directly addressed many of these issues.

“Listening to students is not an option,” Barcroft said. “It's a conscious choice that [admin] is making to not listen to students. They're actively silencing their students.”

Connor Wike, vice president of the College Democrats of Ohio and Carter Harrold, the vice president of the Miami University chapter of the College Democrats were both present at the protest. They said they came out with the goal of protecting students and the community from the recent attacks from the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“A successful outcome would be to have the administration recognize the threat ICE poses to our neighbors, as well as recognizing the mistreatment of our faculty members on campus,” Wike said.

With Miami being ranked highly in undergraduate teaching, Wike said students don't believe it is fair to be so behind in the treatment and pay of faculty.

“Their voices have not been heard, and their concerns have not been met. We as the students have a responsibility to fight for them,” Wike said. “Miami University loves to tell that they have been ranked 12th for best undergraduate teaching in the nation. By allowing that to continue, we need to treat our faculty and give them credit and recognition.”

Cathy Wagner, a professor in the English department since 2006, said she is upset with the lack of representation and accountability the Miami administration has taken to address the concerns of faculty.

“The Board of Trustees is not listening to faculty, to students, to the community, about what we need. We are defunding academics, and students are not participating in the programs that they want. They're not getting the classes that they want. We are in negotiations right now, [and] they offered us 1% raises per year for the next three years, which is really insulting,” Wagner said. “They're not favoring academics. And meantime, they borrow a quarter of a billion dollars to build an arena, which is going to cost students a lot of money over the years and is not necessary, and absolutely massively unpopular.”

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One reason for staff frustration is the cost of living, which has increased in recent years, according to the Urban Institute. Wagner said many other universities offer a 4% raise every year, while Miami has offered a 1% raise for each of the next three years. The protest was planned to coincide with Make It Miami with the hope that it may force the administration to take accountability as it is seen by numerous prospective students.

“Make It Miami has to do with the choices of timing because it raises the visibility we want,” Wagner said. “We want these prospective students and parents to come to Miami. We think that when they show up here, they see a vibrant culture of freedom of expression happening.”

If Miami does not respond, Wagner said more protests will happen and escalation will continue.

When asked what that would look like, Wagner said, “That is for them to find out.” “We want to see actual attention to faculty in terms of workloads, in terms of shutting programs; we want to see that they care about academics more than they care about arenas,” Wagner said.

FAM has organized another protest on Cook Field on May 1. Students and faculty will be encouraged to barbecue to show use of the recreational space.

whitmokz@miamioh.edu