Hi all, it has been a while since I last updated everyone who took the time to sign my petition. I wanted to reach out to give you an update, links to a new petition and to more resources. 

Thank you, as always, to each and every one of you for taking the time to sign and/or comment your perspectives and opinions! Despite the overwhelming showing of support and passing 4,474 signatures, I received a response from only one member of the board of trustees. Every single other administrator I addressed in the petition including William Falls, Patricia Prelock, Suresh Garmiella, and the other members of the Board of Trustees, ignored all of us and refused to respond. Therefore, I'd like to humbly request your help once again in order to make necessary changes to our institution to save the religion department and all the other humanities programs that find themselves on the chopping block. 

I'd like to begin by asserting that it is my choice to circulate the following petition and the choice does not reflect any opinion other than my own.

I know that many of you signed this petition because you care about stopping the harmful and corrosive cuts to the humanities at the University of Vermont, or are fearful of the larger societal decline of the supporting the humanities in higher education. That being said, UVM United Against the Cuts recently created a petition to declare no confidence in the leadership of Suresh Garimella, the president of the University of Vermont. You can find the petition at the following link: https://change.org/GarimellaNoConfidence . President Garimella has proven to be unworthy of the power he wields and he betrays the central mission (outlined in the link above) of the University of Vermont. Please help me, and those of us who are standing in solidarity against the cuts, eliminate a fundamental danger to the future of both the University of Vermont and higher education across the United States.

You can find more information about the campaign against the cuts and sign up for the mailing list to stay informed at https://uvmunited.org and if you'd like to be more involved, feel free to email uvmunitedagainstthecuts@gmail.com and they will be happy to direct your efforts. 

If you'd like, please continue sharing the original petition as every signature, commented story, opinion, and out-loud thinking matters both to me and to bettering society, whether the UVM administration agrees or not. https://www.change.org/p/bill-falls-dean-of-uvm-cas-stop-the-university-of-vermont-from-cutting-religion-major

I will continue my efforts to gather our voices together and become so loud and powerful that the University cannot ignore us all.

Again, thank you. We can't do this without you. 

Stay safe, and stay healthy.

Katherine Brennan