The Huntington News Vol. XII No. 5
File photo by Alyssa Lukpat Former SGA president Nathan Hostert, left, resigned.
The independent student newspaper of the Northeastern community
November 29, 2018
HOSTERT RESIGNS
ENDING STIGMA
Nathan Hostert resigned from his position as president of the Student Government Association on Nov. 19. According to the meeting minutes, the Executive Communications Director requested that Senate members not make his resignation public. His resignation means Executive Vice President Dylan Balcom is president. Story on Page 2
Very few students say they personally would think less of someone for seeking mental health treatment, but nearly half of students say most people would think less of someone for doing so. This negative stigma surrounding mental illness is largely perceived because of widespread silence on the topic, researchers say. Story on Page 6
Photo courtesy Isaac Feldberg Izzie Irizarry, right, organized two campus suicide prevention walks.
Photos by Dylan Shen In a demonstration Nov. 15, full-time non-tenure track faculty marched to President Joseph E. Aoun’s office requesting the administration recognize their right to vote to form a union.
FULL-TIME ADJUNCT FACULTY PROTEST FOR RIGHT TO UNIONIZE By Christopher Butler Campus Editor Full-time non-tenure track faculty members of Northeastern marched from Centennial Common to President Joseph E. Aoun’s office Nov. 15 to deliver an open letter requesting their right to hold an election to form a union. The demonstration was organized in part by Service Employees International Union Local 509, or SEIU, which is the Massachusetts union for human service workers and educators. The purpose was to deliver an open letter to Aoun asking the administration to reconsider their response and grant the faculty the right to vote to form a union. “We want [Aoun] to recognize our right to go to an election, which is something that is being contested right now by the university,” said Somy Kim, an associate teaching professor of English. On Nov. 5, Northeastern’s full-
time non-tenure track faculty, a group of teaching staff hired on a one-year renewable contract, submitted a signed petition to the National Labor Relations Board, or NLRB, stating they wanted to vote on whether or not to form a union. After submission, the university responded, deeming the faculty as managerial staff. Managerial staff cannot form a union and hold financial, admissions or curriculum development responsibilities. “The university has come back and said they don’t agree that we even have the right to form a union because they consider us managers,” said Pete Fraunholtz, an assistant teaching professor of history. “I have none of those [responsibilities]. I never have. None of my colleagues here do.” In an email sent to faculty Nov. 8 and obtained by The News, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Debra L. Franko said that having
SEIU represent the full-time adjunct faculty would hinder the university’s One Faculty model as the union would exclude clinical faculty members, who are staff that fulfill specialized teaching or supervisory roles. “Northeastern has worked hard over the last several years to build its One Faculty model,” Franko wrote. “Excluding some colleagues from the petition is inconsistent with One Faculty, and would splinter the faculty, undermine our shared sense of community, and hamper our collective work to enhance the role of full-time faculty in college and university governance.” Franko further explained that having SEIU represent the faculty would hinder communication between them and the university. “If SEIU becomes your exclusive representative, you may lose your ability to have a say in your employment terms through participation in governance committees or the
Faculty Senate. It would also make it more difficult for the university to communicate directly with you — on issues ranging from leading a Dialogues program to employment benefits.” Renata Nyul, Northeastern’s vice president of communications, added in an email sent to The News on Nov. 16 that “the NLRB determines who will have the opportunity to vote, not the university.” The open letter contained more than 305 signatures supporting the faculty, said SEIU Local 509 Lead Organizer Ally Little. Nyul accepted the letter on Aoun’s behalf while he was out of town. The full-time adjunct faculty revoked their petition to the NLRB Nov. 14 after hearing the university’s response, noting it was unlikely for the NLRB to vote in their favor. “We withdrew our petition, knowing that there were hurdles ahead of us,” said Megan Piccirillo, SEIU
Local 509 Communications Director. Fifth-year psychology major Gaby Thurston was among the two demonstrators who delivered the letter to Nyul, representing the Progressive Student Alliance. “Without faculty, without adjuncts, there would be no university. And they invest so much of their time and labor into making this university function,” Thurston said. “It’s important for us to be aware of that and do everything we can.” The demonstration was held in hopes to gain support from the university for the full-time non-tenure track faculty demands. “We always teach our students to work together, to get together to unite on common causes, and this is a way for the faculty to actually come together,” said Vaso Lykourinou, associate teaching professor of chemistry. “We want to make this university better. We want to make each other better.”