BY ELIZABETH EDNIE AND KELLY LEWIS
Speakers at a vigil hosted by Students In Action (SIA) Monday said at least 30 faculty and staff members left the College in the last 18 months, leaving colleagues left behind overworked and under appreciated.
“I have given up so many hours of my final semester at Stonehill because I cannot ignore the fact that the people who have shaped my college experience are struggling. These are the people who have advocated for me, encouraged me, and made me who I am,” Senior Karly O’Keefe, a Students In Action representative, said.
At least 300 members of the Stonehill community gathered on the quad on Monday, (February 21) from 1 to 2 p.m., for the rally, billed as a vigil, where students, staff, and faculty members spoke on how faculty and staff are overworked and underpaid, with some leaving the College. Protestors then marched up the hill to Donahue to place battery operated candles on the steps where they will light up when it gets dark.
Jill Goddard, spokesperson for the College, said that the College affirms the rights of students to assemble and voice their perspectives and lived experiences.
"Since the pandemic began everyone has experienced incalculable losses—both personally and professionally. College decisions have always been guided by what is in the best interest for the entire community. While other colleges and universities chose mass layoffs due to the financial impact of the pandemic, Stonehill did not," she said in a statement to The Summit.
Bronwyn Heather Bleakly, the Biology Department chairperson, said that three full-time members of her department have left, and adjunct professors hired cannot bring as much to the College because they often work elsewhere.
“All of you [students] come to class, office hours, and events with your dedication, ambitions, and talents. Many chose to come to Stonehill because you wanted to work with the faculty that have the expertise to help you achieve your dreams,” Bleakly said.
She said it is difficult to replace what the full-time professors provided.
“Each one of these faculty members had expertise that no one else on campus had, they taught classes that no one could just step in to. Instead we had to cancel classes and hire adjunct faculty members,” she said.
With many of these professors leaving, she said that students have lost out on those relationships.
“We can’t actually replace those professors, the relationships they had with their students or colleagues,” Bleakly said.
Anne Mattina, a professor of Communication, said she has worked at Stonehill for 24 years and that while she is happy to see that the school has changed so much over the years, she said she is noticing that things are starting to go backwards.
“There are so many good people here at Stonehill who want the best for all of you [students]. That’s what makes it something special. Stonehill is special because of the people who work here. But my colleagues are demoralized, unhappy, frightened, and disappointed,” Mattina said.
Danielle M. Carkin Lacorazza, an associate professor of Criminology, said that she moved her family from Chelmsford, Massachusetts to Easton, Massachusetts to be closer to her students and to commit more time to her work on campus.
“I moved to a town that is incredibly expensive, I thought that I was getting a bump in pay per the salary grade that our Stonehill faculty have come to know and now hate…it doesn’t exist,” Lacorazza, who also oversees the Criminology Club, said.
Lacorazza said she has had to take on extra jobs to cover the cost of living, working as an editor of a journal and at other institutions.
Megan Mitchell, associate professor of Philosophy and the president of Stonehill’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), said that she works to promote the interest of teaching on college campuses.
“In a small community like Stonehill, every person lost, every faculty member, every staff member, every administrative assistant, or librarian, represents not only a colleague, but a friend, a mentor, and an advisor,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell, who read off an unofficial list of staff who have left over the last couple of years and what department they work in, said the list was compiled through word of mouth because no one from the senior administration will reveal it.
“The list begins with a sad, defeated, slump of the shoulders and the question ‘did you hear that they’re leaving Stonehill?’” Mitchell said.
Mitchell said plenty of faculty and staff are struggling to make ends meet.
“It’s a dirty secret that Stonehill is rapidly becoming the kind of place where you can only afford to work if you have a rich spouse to support your family,” Mitchell said.
Student Body President, Tahj Valentine said that the students have the power and the responsibility to advocate for fellow members of the Stonehill community.
“It’s been proven that Stonehill has the money to fairly pay our staff and faculty and ensure that they have the capacity to provide us with the educational experiences that we all deserve,” he said.
Students who spoke at the vigil encouraged members of the audience to take action and to not let it stop here.
Lauren Anhalt, a junior, said she volunteered to speak at the protest because she had strong thoughts on this issue for months. She said she was relieved to finally get on stage and express her opinions out loud.
“I volunteered to speak because I had thoughts on this issue for months, so I was relieved to finally express my opinions out loud,” she said.
Valentine left his speech with a quote from the song, “Good Fight,” by the band Unspoken. He said that it sums up the reasons SIA and the AAUP are continuing to fight.
“This quote has really stood out to me, and it expresses our fight that we need to keep fighting and pushing forward,” he said.
“‘As long as we can see, we’ll keep looking. As long as we can walk, we’ll keep moving, and as long as we can stand, we’ll keep fighting. So keep on that good fight. Fight on, fight on, fight on.’”
Faculty applauding at as students speak to the crowd. Summit photo by Abby Campbell.
Students gather on the quad to listen to speakers on Monday. Summit photo by Kelly Lewis.