Due to the overwhelmingly positive feedback I received after I posted my letter to Ramapo's administration on Facebook, I decided to start a petition to let them know that the student body is serious about coming to a compromise that will work towards the ultimate benefit of the entire Ramapo community. The school's current scheduling system consists of 4 classes that meet 2 times weekly for 1.5 hours, with the addition of one 5 hour Course Enrichment Component per class each semester.

The scheduling changes taking effect next semester would change this to 4 classes per semester that meet either once weekly for 3.5 hours, twice weekly for 1 hour and 50 minutes, or three times weekly for 1 hour and 10 minutes, without the Course Enrichment Component, although the vast majority of classes are only being offered 3 times weekly.  The school has neglected to think about how these changes will negatively impact field-work based majors such as the Social Work, Nursing, and Teacher Education programs. All of these programs require several hundred hours of unpaid work in the field each semester in order to earn a degree. With classes 3 days a week and field work on another 2 days of the week, students in these majors have very limited time to work, study, or complete coursework. Ramapo's expectations have become unrealistic, and the administration needs to at the very least consider exemption from the schedule changes for the Social Work, Nursing, and Teacher Education programs.

The student body has expressed an outcry of dissatisfaction to the school with the 2015-2016 schedule, and they have not taken our concerns seriously whatsoever. The student body is more than willing to work with the administration to come to a compromise that will benefit the entire Ramapo community. There are alternative solutions aside from what Ramapo has proposed. We, the RCNJ community, possess the ability to create change on this campus; this is where it starts. The letter that I sent to President Peter Mercer and Beth Barnett (Provost and Academic Vice President) is shown below, if you have a few minutes to spare, please read it and share this petition wherever you can. Thank you so much.

"Dear President Mercer and Ms. Barnett,

My name is George Saives. I am a second semester junior enrolled in the Social Work program at RCNJ. As a student that is already feeling the negative impact brought on by the schedule changes coming to Ramapo next semester, I would just like to voice my opinion in the hopes that either of you will read this and be able to feel at least an ounce of empathy for the hundreds, if not thousands of students trapped in the same position as I am.

I pushed myself to the best of my ability in high school to maximize the chances of earning an acceptance to Ramapo. I can't even describe the overwhelming joy that I felt upon learning that I earned acceptance to my dream school. Over the six semesters I have been enrolled at Ramapo, my expectations have truly been exceeded in nearly every way possible. I've made more connections than I could have ever imagined. I've earned far better grades than I thought I was capable of. I've been deeply rooted in extracurricular activities since freshman year. With the amazing things I have accomplished thus far at Ramapo in mind, I strongly believe it is fair to say that I took Ramapo's mission- to "push boundaries"- in a quite literal manner.

To say that I struggled with adjusting to college in the beginning would be an understatement. I had lost all hope in succeeding, and was set on dropping out as soon as possible. Over winter break following my first semester, I decided to come back for a second semester with the hope that things would get better. It wasn't easy, but I cleaned up my act, earned far better grades, and finally began to understand the feeling of being a part of something much bigger and much more important than myself. To say I was proud of the change that I had made for myself over the duration of my freshman year would be a gross understatement.

Early on in my sophomore year, I decided that I wanted to become a social worker to help people that found themselves struggling in similar situations that I had faced. The fact that Ramapo had such a strong program, boasting a staff comprised of professors hailing from prestigious Doctorate programs such as NYU and Columbia only boosted my excitement leading up to my acceptance into the program. Another extremely important factor that influenced my decision to enroll in the Social Work program was because of its unique structure. The fact that I was able to schedule all my classes on two days and my Field Work (680 hours of unpaid labor over the course of the program) on another two days was extremely enticing, mainly because it left three days per week open for me to work and to earn income.

Just as so many Americans have encountered over the past decade, my family fell victim to the harsh aftermath stemming from the decline of the USA's economy. As a child of parents that once belonged to the upper class in the early 2000's, watching my family's financial status rapidly decline as I've grown older has not been easy. Now as a 20 year old man, although things have gotten better, I still see my parents struggling to keep themselves afloat. I am not telling this story to gain sympathy; I feel the need to say this because I know with 100% certainty that I am not alone in this vicious cycle. As a child of parents in a situation such as this, I earn almost no financial aid because on paper my family earns too much to qualify, but they earn too little to support me in my educational endeavors. Due to this situation, I have to find time to work whenever I have the chance in order to get a jump start on paying off the estimated $100,000 in loans that I will owe after I graduate in 2016. It hasn't been easy by any means, but I was making it work until I was made aware of the scheduling changes coming into effect next semester.

As I was in the process of creating my schedule for the Fall 2015 semester, I noticed that the scheduling changes were created with the obvious intention to force students into having zero days off per week- and I can't help but have a strong suspicion that these schedule changes were intended to be paired with the absurd new alcohol policies in order to combat against drinking on campus in response to the sexual assault that occurred in Mackin Hall last semester. I refuse to believe for one second that these schedule changes were proposed due to the failure of the Course Enrichment Component. It is no coincidence that these changes were proposed less than one semester after Ramapo's cherished reputation was tarnished following news headlines across the country detailing the arrest of 5 Ramapo students in connection with a sexual assault that occurred on campus. Not only am I appalled that it took a student getting raped on campus to influence these drastic changes, I am appalled at the blatant disregard that the school's administration has expressed in response to the massive outcry of its student body in opposition to these changes.

A petition on change.org surfaced a few months ago stating the student body's disagreement with the updated alcohol policies, and proposed several well thought out, alternative options for the school to consider. This petition was signed by more than 1,000 Ramapo students and alumni. 1,000 current and past members of Ramapo College expressed their opposition with vital changes occurring within our community on a petition that was hand delivered to President Mercer, and those 1,000 signatures did not earn a single acknowledgement from the President or any other RCNJ representative. I find it unfathomable that the administration could ignore the voices that comprise Ramapo's campus. After all, the college wouldn't be anything without its students, but apparently our voices are not important enough to be acknowledged by the very administration whose own salaries are funded by the student body.

Ms. Barnett asked for our opinions on the schedule changes. Students responded, and the solution was to add jobs on campus!? To me, that sounds like the administration would rather trap students into working for the benefit of the school rather than proposing ACTUAL solutions to help students make the most out of their time and money spent on Ramapo College. It feels as if the school is proposing an ultimatum to its students: we have the option to accept the new schedule changes, quit our current jobs, and work for the school in order to appease these changes- or we can pack our bags and leave altogether. It is no secret that long lasting relationships cease to thrive once ultimatums come into play; I do not foresee this circumstance becoming an exception.

How are students expected to find time to work? With the way my schedule is looking for the Fall 2015 semester, I will be in class from 8:30 AM- 9:40 AM, 11:30 AM-12:40 PM, and 6:00 PM- 9:30 PM on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, on top of working 10 hours (without compensation) on Tuesdays and Fridays to complete my 200 hours of field work. That leaves me with Saturdays and Sundays open to work, with the slight possibility of finding a shift in between classes or after my 10 hour days of Field Work, and that is only if my job has any openings within an extremely specific time frame (which is highly unlikely). In essence, this means that I will be forfeiting the option of earning any more than $90 per week, I will have absolutely zero free time to study and complete coursework, and I will be faced with the addition of unnecessary stress due to the fact that I won't even have the time to sit on my couch and relax for a half hour if I so please to. I cannot understand how I am expected to pay off $100,000 of debt earning such a small amount of money per week, let alone earn a degree under these conditions.

The administration of Ramapo College cannot continue to avoid acknowledging the student body's dissatisfaction with the changes that will come into effect next semester. This college is filled with hundreds of bright, flourishing minds that are willing to work with the administration towards a compromise to make Ramapo College the best that it can be. I can guarantee with full confidence that Ramapo will begin to see a rapid decline in alumni donations and support, enrollment, and student involvement on campus once these changes come into effect. It is undeniable that change is upon us, but this is not the way to go about it. Something needs to be done- at the very least, the Social Work and Nursing programs must be exempt from these changes in order for those enrolled to make it out of college with a degree.

I spent nearly three hours writing and editing this email to make sure that my voice was heard and that the student body's opinions were accurately conveyed. A simple acknowledgement is the very least I could ask for in response. A more appropriate response would be for the school to take an objective look at what is happening around us and to do something about it in conjunction with the student body in order to maximize the potential success of Ramapo and its community. I plead with the administration to use the resources available directly in front of their eyes to stop the imminent downfall of Ramapo College of New Jersey before it is too late.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any feedback if you so please. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

George Saives"