In light of comments about dining services, etc., i feel the need to make a point regarding faculty and their fight against Thames: USM faculty will fail to defeat Thames because of their lack of resolve and failure to learn from history.

During the Revolutionary War period, soldiers fought under strict rules of engagement, marching and fighting in rows and columns. Officers were off-limits, so that the better military strategists and leaders (most of whom were noblemen) were safe from harm. This meant that the army with the greatest numbers almost certainly won the battles and, hence, the wars, because it was truly attrition that determined the day. The American Revolution was won (at least in part) because the outnumbered Colonists chose a different path: early forms of guerrila warfare. Breaking with tradition, teh Continental Army chose to include such tactics to help them win their freedom from the tyrannical government that was opressing them. They knew it wasn't "fair" under the rules of the day, but they wanted to win. They did whatever it took and, with a little luck and what some believe was divine providence, they succeeded.

What did the Army of the United States do immediately after the Revolution? They went back to fighting in columns! In fact, the column method was used up until and including World War I. Our military leaders either learned nothing from their experiences, or they were so proud that they had to prove they could fight within the stilted rules of war. Forget what got you here, go ahead and play somebody else's game.

The faculty at USM are doomed to fail against Shelby Thames. I can see it all over this board. Here are some quotes from the past few days:

"I've been eating every day at the eatery in the new CICE building, and I personally think it is wonderful!! The food is of high quality. The place is beautifully decorated, and I think it will be a draw for encouraging new faculty hires in CoAL." -- shesays

"I've had the opportunity to visit several major universities in the past few months, and sub-contracted eateries on campus are very common, including within libraries. If anything, USM is behind the curve here. I don't fully understand all of the objections, other than the perception that their very presence is an extension of the evil Thames regime. I'm sure there are other issues. I just haven't heard them articulated, here or anywhere else." -- PseudoNym

"a major digression. since there seems to be a real cynicism on this thread--watch MASH. If you're in the burg, it's the hallmark channel (channel 17). does wonders for me." -- stinky cheese man

"Well said my friend, and without vitriol." -- Least Venerable, responding to the above quote by scm

All of these quotes come from the "eatery" thread -- the thread most likely to be divisive due to its preference-driven nature. However, they are indicative of the softness that pervades faculty at USM.

This is a war, people. The first shots were fired when SFT fired all of the deans and replaced then with what he believed to be puppets; at least one of them has the guts to stand up to him and to speak up for his faculty. A second shot was fired when email monitoring commenced, though this was, for the most part, a silenced shot. War was declared when SFT initiated termination proceedings against Glamser and Stringer. War has been raging every day, if only from the dome and aimed at the faculty...God knows that there are so many faculty who are of the mind to sign a truce. There will be no truce. SFT will shake your hand with his left and stab you in the back with his right. He will run off faculty, mistreat staff, alienate the community, lie to the media, shirk SACS duties, rig state contracts, and cook the USM books to avoid scrutiny. We are at war, whether you want to admit it or not. Have you forgotten the margin of the first vote of "no confidence"?

How do you win this war? Do you "fight fair"? No! You use any and every means at your disposal. You oppose SFT and his minions at every turn. Any SFT idea, plan, concept, action, or recommendation is poison. Whenever possible, avoid supporting those activities. Campaign against SFT. Fight dirty. Fight to win. This means deriding his choices of administrators' actions. This means pointing out the dysfunctional nature of his athletics hires and their performance AND recruiting methods. This means walking your sweet butt off campus and never, ever giving the university any of your money again. This means turning your textbook order form over to the Campus Book Mart, not Barnes & Noble. This means buying coffee from off-campus providers, not Starbucks or the International Building. This means making it a point to view your money as a vote: you either vote for SFT and spend money on campus, or you vote against him and go elsewhere. Thsi means that, when asked by community members you trust, you don't sugar coat what's happening at USM. It means saying things like "I wish the Alumni Association would help do something about the mess at USM," rather than "Things are fine on campus."

This IS a war, people. Faculty/staff/students/Hattiesburg/residents of Mississippi will lose unless we start changing our ways and learning from the past. Or, we could go back to fighting in columns.