Faculty Perception By Public Is Bad - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: Jul 4, 2004

Faculty Perception By Public Is Bad

Date: Jul 4, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: N2ME
"Judging the anti-faculty letters in HA and my personal experience at Burger King, I just want to let those of you writing to HA know how some of you look to those on the outside.
A few weeks ago I was eating in Burger King. While I was waiting in line, I heard two employees in the lobby talking about the Thames-Faculty problem. I actually heard the workers taking out the trash in the lobby say they would take the teacher’s jobs if they were so unhappy. I actually heard one of them say “the president should fire more of them so I can work there.”
In the famous words of Dr. Parker's letter, maybe we "should think twice before we speak" publicly?"

N2ME,
Next time please ask those people if they think Forrest General Hospital is being run correctly. Maybe they could replace some of those high salary doctors.

Why do these people think their opinion is valid for USM, but not for FGH? Please ask them when you can.

Date: Jul 4, 2004

You've got the right troll-name at least...it's all about you, isn't it Into-Me?

Date: Jul 4, 2004

I would agree with you up to a point. I don’t wish to engage you in a war of words, but discuss with you as intelligent individuals, that our goals may be same, but our opinions may differ. The public perception of our faculty is somewhat negative. Faculty if brave enough to exercise their freedom of speech must write letters to the editor(s) in a way that are not perceived as elitist or negative. We must state our position, present facts and statistics and correct misinformation and “spins” of the truth. Unfortunately, some of us must keep our heads low. On an other note, we should support our campus leadership (Faculty Senate, Staff Council, Academic Council, etc) and push for shared governance. As “foot soldier” stated in an earlier/different post we must “educate Mississippians about higher education”. I believe this comment was to inform the public of our concerns. Not to be malcontents, but to present our concerns as stakeholders in our campus community. Our faculty and staff have suffered from the policies, salary increases, nepotism and cronyism implemented by this administration and should work to correct these problems.

Date: Jul 4, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Otherside
" Why do these people think their opinion is valid for USM, but not for FGH? Please ask them when you can. "

Why do you think your opinion is valid for the public and all the faculty?

Date: Jul 4, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: truth4usm/AH
"You've got the right troll-name at least...it's all about you, isn't it Into-Me?"

Apropos for the intellectual comments that emanate from this board. Because my opinion differs from yours, I am a troll? Is the truth finally sinking in to the extent that you have to resort to name-calling and erroneous labels?

Date: Jul 4, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Green Hornet
"Our faculty and staff have suffered from the policies, salary increases, nepotism and cronyism implemented by this administration and should work to correct these problems. "

I agree with you 100%, but the media campaign should be going through one professional person rather than coming from some faculty who do not know how or do not want to express their case in a professional non-caustic manner. I would bet money that with every public embarrassment by an individual faculty member, the IHL becomes more determined to leave Thames in place.

I do not want the faculty to stop going to the media in order to make it easier for Thames. I want them to stop because they are embarrassing me, the students, and USM altogether. See the "reinventing PR" thread on the main page.

Date: Jul 4, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: N2ME
" Because my opinion differs from yours, I am a troll? "

No, you're a troll for 2 reasons: 1) you personally attacked LVN, one of our most valued (and long-time) voices on this message board and the one before it. 2) your exhortations for all of us to listen to your "opinions" are merely thinly veiled attempts to put forth your pro-SFT agenda.

More sophisticated than some, you are still a troll.

Date: Jul 4, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: N2ME
"Why do you think your opinion is valid for the public and all the faculty?"

What??? You never answered the question asked.

I don't understand your question. So I will try to answer it based on a guess.

I'm not giving "my opinion". Isn't it a fact that "experts" in any field (plumber, mechanic, surgeon etc.) know more about that field than the "general public". That is just the meaning of the word expert.

Academics collectively, not individually, are the experts in questions of higher education. They are the ones who established the principles of shared governance, academic freedom, etc by which real universities run. Just as doctors/surgeons establish standards for various medical procedures. Other experts establish correct building code etc, etc.

Isn't this just common knowledge?

Now will you please at least try to answer my questions to you in the previous post?

Date: Jul 4, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: N2ME
I do not want the faculty to stop going to the media in order to make it easier for Thames. I want them to stop because they are embarrassing me, the students, and USM altogether. See the "reinventing PR" thread on the main page."

And I want SFT to stop embarassing me as an alum of USM.

Date: Jul 4, 2004

It is difficult to tell if N2ME thinks that the faculty at USM differ from faculty at Ole Miss, State, Alabama, or LSU or that the citizens of the greater Hattiesburg community differ from Oxford, Starkville, etc. Actually the faculty are similar and the towns have similar populations. Moreover, if the faculty are bad people and the town folk do not care for them, why has it not become evident before now? Regardless of all the talk by N2ME and others about how faculty have been a major contributor to this problem, the only thing different is SFT. When he leaves, things will improve, albeit slowly.

Date: Jul 4, 2004

Wow!!! Now N2ME = Seeker = Roy Klum = truth4usm/AH

Wow!

Date: Jul 4, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: LeavingASAP
"Wow!!! Now N2ME = Seeker = Roy Klum = truth4usm/AH Wow!"

I can't go sharing my brain with that many people! Sorry, but I have to take it back full time now. Buh-bye, N2ME!

Date: Jul 5, 2004

kick