Good evening everyone,

Max and I would like to begin by expressing our gratitude to everyone over the past few weeks for your support in the efforts to end Manhattanville’s negligence of students and staff. Since the last update, Max and I have been intentionally silent as we reached out to administrators and formulated plans of action in case the demands presented in the petition and supported by students were not met with a receptive response. We believe that we have reached a point where we can recount our activities these past few days and present you with concrete results.

As the petition received overwhelming support from the student body, it was clear to us that the concerns listed in the petition resonated with a majority of students. As such, Max and I translated those concerns into concrete actions that we would urge the school to take in order to have our voices heard.  These included:

-       Keeping tenured professors and stopping department cuts

-       Improving student quality of life: mold in bathrooms, congested vents, brown water, unhelpful Title IX responses

-       Improving inefficient student employment services

-       Improving safety and campus security

Having done this, we set up a total of 3 meetings with the President where we would seek to work with the administration to come up with solutions to these issues. However, there was the possibility that we would be met with an unreceptive response. As such, and as many of you are aware, Max and I planned out a potential protest in case we were met with such a negative response, with the top candidates for a potential day for the protest being Sunday, November 13, 2022, during the school’s Open House or Wednesday, November 16, 2022, during a dinner between faculty and President Feroe. We began to reach out to student leaders and prepared ways to quickly inform everyone about the protest in case that was necessary.

While some of the students and student leaders we reached out to were opposed to the protest being held on Sunday, we believed this to be the best day not only because the Open House would be held on this day but because we did not believe it was right for the school to potentially lie to prospective students about program offerings that would not even be available following the proposed department cuts. How could we as ethical students stand by and sit in silence as this institution promises incoming students a holistic liberal arts education, only for those students to begin their school year and find out that their major doesn’t even exist anymore?

Thankfully, however, the meetings with President Feroe (with Susan Boyd, the assistant dean of community life, joining us for the third meeting) were very productive, and we were met with a receptive response. A such, we will refrain from holding a protest at this time, but we are open to using this tool in the future should it become necessary. Outlined below are the results of these conversations:

•       Regarding the issues of laying off tenured professors and cutting departments, we were informed that the faculty had received an additional few weeks to negotiate the layoffs and department cuts, and the subcommittee of faculty appointed to come up with alternative solutions will hopefully benefit from the additional time. There are also talks about creating 4 positions in a certain program that existing faculty will be able to apply for. Of course, these are by no means true solutions to the concerns raised in the petition. However, we’d like to reiterate student support for the faculty as they go through these difficult times and hope that better solutions than extensive layoffs can be devised. We will continue to fight for you on the student front however way we can.

-       While we were aware that cut majors would be frozen (meaning that students already in those majors would be able to complete their majors, but no new students would be admitted into those programs), we were concerned about the lack of specifics regarding how those majors would complete their requirements. If professors were cut, who would teach classes in those majors? Would the format remain in-person, or would it be hybrid or online with no professors? It was clarified to us that the format in those cases would largely be in-person, taught by adjunct professors, though online options will be available if preferred. 

-       Regarding the issues of student housing, nutrition, safety, employment, and many other others, we are working with the administration to come up with long-lasting and effective structures that would allow students to voice their individual concerns and have them delivered to the appropriate administrators

o   Rather than arrange general town hall meetings where students voice numerous different concerns to high-level administrators, we are working to arrange what we call “focused town hall meetings” and think-tank like meetings where students can connect with specific individuals responsible for various aspects of the college. For example, if students want to voice their concerns about nutrition, they will be able to do so directly with a Chartwells representative or Dining Hall manager. These meetings are similar to the ones described by Cindy Porter, Vice President of Student Affairs, in her town hall recap meeting, but with more student involvement. Our goal with this is to allow individual students to have a voice in the issues that matter most to them.

o   Continuing with the issue of student voices, we will work with the administration to create better student representation. This includes strengthening and marketing the SGA and possibly setting up some sort of representation system based on majors.

o   Spellman Hall will be visited by the President and the mold issue will be investigated. We hope to have this resolved by the beginning of the Spring semester and will be involved in this process.

o   We are working to help create more efficient and user-friendly ways for students to submit and track work orders.

o   The inefficiency in hiring student workers has been due to a reduction in federal funding caused by the College having underspent that funding in previous years. The administration is currently working to get that in order. As stated in a recent email by Cindy Porter, gym hours will be extended this month. The administration is also working to get the Game Zone up and running soon.

o   The issue of inappropriate Title IX responses and security not checking ID cards at the desk were brought up. We will follow up on these in future meetings with the president or other administrators.

As you can see, the results of these meetings were promising. However, actions speak louder than words, and we must ensure that the president and other administrators act on their words. That is where you come in. As we work with the administration and Student Government to carry these things out, we ask that you continue voicing your concerns by talking to your student leaders and following @unitedvaliantcoalition where you can submit your concerns through a Google forms link found in the page’s bio. Join us for the town hall meetings when they become available (we will, of course, update you on these). Most importantly, be on the lookout to ensure that what the school says it will do is really carried out. Together, we can make Manhattanville College a better place for everyone and push the limits of its potential.

See you soon, and all the best,

- Victor Jarquin and Maxwell Plenby

P.S. Just to reiterate, we will refrain from holding a protest for now, but should it become necessary to hold one, then we are more than willing to do so.