So what would you say about a group of academics who for no particular reason and in the absence of any pressure whatsoever voted to amend their college’s operational papers to give an administrator the power to veto any decision they make for their departments?

I think they are doing this on purpose. The more they self-sabotage, the greater chance they will have to write weepy “This Job Can Kill You” posts.

I’m very very annoyed right now. We waste our time on organizing committees, voting, making decisions only to be vetoed by the administration with zero explanation given. And the only reason this can happen is because we voted for it.

15 responses to “Self-Government”

  1. David Gendron Avatar

    Vive nos chaînes!

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  2. David Gendron Avatar

    It’s like a beaten wife’s syndrome.

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    1. bloggerclarissa Avatar

      Oh come on. We have great working conditions so there is no reason for a pity party.

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      1. David Gendron Avatar

        Oh, I agree with you. They should not have voted for that veto.

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  3. musteryou Avatar

    They want to be watched by a potentially scolding parent. It provides comfort barriers.

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    1. David Gendron Avatar

      This is smart. Oh yeah! 🙂

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  4. Evelina Anville Avatar
    Evelina Anville

    The department voted for that????? Did they get somethng in exchange?? This is nuts!!!!!

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    1. bloggerclarissa Avatar

      Not the department, the entire university. No, we didn’t get anything good as a result of this.

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  5. Evelina Anville Avatar
    Evelina Anville

    The entire university voted for that? What? What was the justification or argument in favor of this terrible measure? I’m completely flabergasted!

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    1. bloggerclarissa Avatar

      I have absolutely no idea. My best guess is that people didn’t want to invest any time into reading the proposal and just voted “yes” automatically.

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  6. cliff arroyo Avatar

    For some reason my first try didn’t go through.

    Anyway, my best guess is something about legal responsibility? By letting administration override anything they do they think they’re protecting themselves from lawsuits (as in “it’s the administration’s fault for not stopping us!”)

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    1. bloggerclarissa Avatar

      This has to do with the internal management of the department that doesn’t even influence anybody on the outside.

      People really puzzle me sometimes.

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      1. cliff arroyo Avatar

        So maybe they’re afraid of internal law suits? Same idea, they’re not responsible because the final authority rests higher?

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        1. bloggerclarissa Avatar

          “So maybe they’re afraid of internal law suits? Same idea, they’re not responsible because the final authority rests higher?”

          – I haven’t thought about this but now that you say it, it just may be true. I will never learn to think like Americans do.

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A conservative literary critic and college professor