Cutting costs not the way to keep U of L significant

By Lethbridge Herald on February 12, 2022.

Editor:

A letter to U of L president Dr. Mike Mahon:

I am a recent graduate of the University of Lethbridge, completing my Master of Arts last year, and convocating in October. Previously, I completed my Bachelor of Arts, also at the University of Lethbridge. I am writing to you not only as an alum of the university but as someone who is deeply and irrevocably tied to this institution, not only through my past experiences, but in the future, as my son plans on applying later this year or the start of next year, and my other children will possibly come here, and I will likely pursue my PhD at the U of L. 

My husband Kim and I first came to Lethbridge and the U of L in 1998 so he could attend the university in pursuance of his undergraduate degree; our oldest child was actually born on campus. The University of Lethbridge is my home and always will be. 

 I tell you this, not only to show my connection with this university but also to underline how important it is to me. The well-being, success, and excellence of this university is vitally important to me, personally. I care about what happens to the University and I care about those who are part of the university community. Both my undergraduate thesis and my graduate thesis addressed this quite implicitly.

So, I am writing you to express my deep disappointment with how the administration and the board are dealing with ULFA, and what that means for the university as a whole. 

What is being demanded of ULFA members, the concessions they are expected to make is harmful not only to them but to the entire university community. 

The university is not an entity separate from its community members (primarily students, staff, and faculty). Faculty are necessary for student success. And student success is necessary for the success of the university. Students who receive the excellent education that is available here reflect the university and I am certain you are aware of this. Supporting faculty and treating them properly is vital to the long-term well-being of the university. 

In fact, without the faculty and students there would be no university. I would also add that without staff to support students and staff, the university is in dire danger. I know that decades of cuts and elimination of public funding have brought us to this impasse. 

This is not the first time the university has been “forced” to cut positions and services, and courses (that’s a whole other issue that needs addressing) and so yes, I am aware that you, your administration, and the board feel they are between a rock and a hard place. 

Most, if not all post-secondary institutions in this province are at the mercy of a draconian provincial government that expects them to find a way to make these ongoing cuts work while continuing to keep the institutions relevant. 

However, this is my argument: yourself, along with your administration, and the board have a responsibility to the university, yes, to keep it not just running, but in the public eye as a significant establishment. The way to do this is not continuing with cuts and reductions, including refusing to give ULFA a decent contract. The board and the administration have the crucial responsibility to support faculty and students by representing and advocating for adequate funding and supports for them. Yes, I know you are silently thinking “we have no choice. The money just isn’t there. We can’t do more.” Except, there are options. Broad activism in the past has resulted in social change, and proper support for post-secondary NEEDS social change so that future students aren’t left in the cold with no options for their education; so that current students are left grappling with limited options. Supporting faculty is supporting students, and supporting students is supporting the university; again, they ARE the university.

What I would like to see is our administration, and our board, along with other post-secondary institutional boards and administrations, coming together and demanding that the provincial government step up and do what’s right – properly funding post-secondary education.

 They can find the money, and they will with the right pressure. If all of you, with the power to actually do something, come together and insist, it will force the government to reprioritize and support post-secondary education. Not just trades and easily recognizable disciplines, but all disciplines, including within the humanities and social sciences, as these are all important to society in broad and measurable ways. You can take pointers on activism from students who have engaged in this regularly over the years, and from other examples of activism that have resulted in lasting change we often take for granted now.  

It is possible to force the government to do this and you will get support not just from university community members, but from communities that recognize the necessity of properly funded post-secondary education. 

Neoliberalism is not supportable and hasn’t been for many decades now. Instead of fighting with your faculty, turn your focus to the real adversary, which is embodied in the government (and I don’t just mean our current one, but most provincial and federal governments for the last 40 plus years) and their insistence that public services take the hit. 

ULFA is not your enemy. Students are not your enemy. University staff is not your enemy. So please focus on the real barriers to providing the best research and education vital to this institution.

Mary Siever

Lethbridge