Category Archives: News

College Community Responds to The Planned Overruling of Roe v. Wade

Samuel Boudreau

News Editor

 

 

 

On May 2, Politico reported that the Supreme Court of the United States plans to overturn Roe v. Wade, a 1973 case that established the constitutional right for a woman to have an abortion, under the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment.  The 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling relied on this clause when it concluded that prohibiting abortion violated a right to privacy under the Constitution by restricting a person’s ability to choose whether to have an abortion,” said Orlando Mayorquin of USA Today.  

In a leaked draft of the court’s decision, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.”

The leaked draft of the court’s decision sparked protests throughout the country, including Wooster, Ohio.

On May 3, Désirée Weber, an assistant professor of political science, announced a Reproductive Rights Political Advocacy Session from noon to 4 p.m. in Kauke Hall’s second floor lounge on the same day. Weber set out a few goals for the session, goals which called for Congress to pass federal abortion protections, drive people to local polls for the May 3 primary election and to research and/or support reproductive healthcare providers locally and nationally. 

A number of students and faculty members attended the session, writing letters to Congress, drawing posters and discussing future steps for demonstrations. One of those students, Samantha Harrison ’23 put the finishing touches on a poster stating, “Abortion Saves Lives.” “Banning abortions affects people of all gender and sexual orientation and is most likely going to cause people to die,” said Harrison. 

At the next-door table, Rachel Catus ’22, Veda Massanari-Thatcher ’23, Grace Braver ’23, Riley Smith ’22 and Katherine Yordy ’22 made plans to hold a demonstration against the Supreme Court’s decision on Thursday, May 5th at the Kauke Arch. “We plan to have an opening speaker come up and help people feel comfortable if they want to speak,” said Catus. 

Numerous faculty members stopped by the second floor to help meet the session’s goals. Beatrice Adams, assistant professor of history, sat down alongside Zoe Carter ’22, Isaac Schwartz ’23 and Beth Ann Muellner, Professor and Department Chair of German Studies and Russian Studies; Global and International Studies. “I am most scared with what this means for a host of other rights and things we assume are already set,” said Adams.

One of those faculty members, Tom Tierney, professor of sociology and anthropology, wrote a postcard at one table. “After waking to the appalling, but not surprising, news that the Supreme Court is poised to overturn a fundamental reproductive right,” said Tierney, “I was heartened by how quickly students (and faculty colleagues) sprang into action.” Tierney continued, “I was glad to be able to spend some time today supporting their efforts, although I wish I could have stayed longer, but I do plan to continue offering as much support as I can in the upcoming days as they organize rallies and other forms of resistance to this impending decision.”

President Holds Town Hall to Address Concerns About Outsourcing

Jonathan Logan

Editor-In-Chief

 

 

 

On the afternoon of Tues., May 3 a small group of faculty members and a handful of students gathered in the Lean Lecture Room of Wishart Hall to hear President Sarah Bolton speak on her administration’s decision to outsource Dining and Custodial Services. A larger group of faculty and staff members also gathered remotely over Zoom. Bolton began the meeting by rehashing the decision-making process and addressing questions that have frequently come up with regards to outsourcing. She described the decision as one driven by a need to “meet the demands of students” in addition to “managing complicated staffing needs.” While the meeting focused primarily on the outsourcing of dining, Bolton mentioned that they are still much earlier in the custodial outsourcing process. In an email sent out on the same day, the College informed the campus community that two final candidates for the outsourcing of custodial services, National Management and Marsden/Scioto, would be presenting on May 5 and May 6 respectively.

President Bolton continued her opening remarks by reiterating the expertise that Creative Dining Services (CDS) demonstrates and by summarizing the driving forces behind the ultimate decision: “The priorities in making these decisions were really, first, [based] around the needs of our students, and also, very much on supporting our staff.”  She concluded by restating that the these decisions were made in response to student demands as well as stating that CDS’s “main goal is to find the right ways to make themselves a place that people want to work – that good people want to work and stay – so, they are not financially motivated to cut costs.” Following Bolton’s opening statement, the meeting took on a town hall format and opened up to questions.

With regards to the outsourcing of Custodial and Dining Services, Dr. Amyaz Moledina, Associate Professor of Economics & Business Economics; Global and International Studies, asked President Bolton “does urgency justify the way folks have been overlooked?” Moledina framed his question by remarking on the lack of transparency and collaboration, “the things we are supposed to teach our students.” Bolton responded by admitting that “there are ways to do the process better than we did it.” She continued, “I can’t responsibly, and I know that the board feels this way as well, we can’t responsibly say we’re [going to] hit the pause button and redo.” Later in the town hall, Moledina also pressed Bolton on why the faculty had not been presented with financial data or a financial report regarding the outsourcing. This was part of the faculty’s demands in the petition released on April 12.

Mark Gooch, the Collection Management and Discovery Services Librarian, followed up by asking President Bolton how she intends to alter the process and include the broader campus community. “There are [going to] be important things for us to think about next year. For example, faculty bringing us their thoughts about financial stability, and there were really important conservations raised yesterday at the faculty meeting about faculty and staff retention,” Bolton responded after saying she is in conversation with incoming Interim President Wayne Webster about issues such as these and how they ought to be included in a new “governance arranged around these questions.” Bolton concluded by saying that she certainly believes they can do better in the future and detailed how some of Wooster’s peer institutions are “formalizing a shared governance process that goes beyond what we have in the Statute of Instruction, which is a document that lays out the particular rights and responsibilities of the board and faculty.” Shared governance lays out a framework for decision-making, advising and how consultation is carried out in conjunction with those roles beyond formal College statutes.

Dr. Ng Wee Siang Margaret, Associate Professor of History; Archaeology; Chinese Studies, inquired about the College’s plans for there being a hypothetical need for the College to breach the contract with CDS. Concerns were further raised over potential financial penalties or other sanctions placed on the College by CDS. Bolton stated that she believes the real penalty would be their inability to provide the campus community what it needs. “The financial penalty is actually not the thing I would worry about. What I would worry about is providing dining to our students; there is a financial penalty because we have a signed contract.”

Also present at the town hall was Jim Prince, Vice President for Finance and Business/Treasurer, who was asked by Voice reporters about his previous role as Treasurer at Kalamazoo College where, under his tenure, Kalamazoo outsourced with CDS (they had already been outsourcing with another company, but had grown dissatisfied with their performance). Mr. Prince was asked if their partnering with CDS was at all connected with Wooster’s decision to partner with the same vendor. Prince responded by saying “My relationship with Creative Dining had nothing to do with my connection to my last institution.” He further elaborated on how the College originally engaged with a consultancy that independently gauged the College’s list of potential partners. Prince continued by saying that this consultancy helped the College “think through who are some of the best companies out there?” Bolton and Prince, throughout the town hall, continued to express their faith in CDS’s future relationship with the campus community.

Cheryl Nuñez Appointed as the VP for DEI

Caroline Ward

Staff Writer

 

 

 

In February, President Sarah Bolton announced the appointment of Cheryl Nuñez as new Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the College. Nuñez was selected as the vice president following a national search conducted by a committee of students, staff, faculty and trustees.

Nuñez has over 24 years of experience working in leadership positions to advance diversity, equity and inclusion. Before joining the College, she served as the first Vice President for Equity and Inclusion at Olympic College, during which she developed the office of Equity and Inclusion and built numerous initiatives to support students, staff and faculty. She also received commendation from the Northwest Commission of Colleges and Universities for her work at Olympic College. Furthermore, Nuñez served as the first Vice Provost for Diversity at Xavier University and at Northern Kentucky University as the Director of Affirmative Action & Multicultural Affairs.

“We are fortunate and delighted that Vice President Nuñez will be joining us to advance equity, inclusion and diversity at Wooster,” said President Bolton. “From a strong pool of national leaders, Vice President Nuñez stood out for the creativity, experience, dedication and blend of scholarly frameworks and effective actions that she brings to her work. We are very much looking forward to collaborating with such a terrific leader on the crucial priorities of inclusive excellence.”

Her past work includes leading and designing various DEI projects. For example, Nuñez has led the process for campus-wide diversity, equity and inclusion strategy development as well as supervised workshops on curriculum redesign and integrative pedagogical strategies. She has also designed strategic workforce diversity and inclusion training efforts, implemented Bias Response Protocols and tracking and reporting tools such as an Equity Scorecard. Her experience further includes launching an institutional diversity supplier program and organizing forums, dialogues, public lecture series and conferences featuring high-profile scholars and activists to build community-wide capacity for diversity, equity and inclusion.

Nuñez earned a Bachelor’s of Arts in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard University and a Master’s degree in Educational Foundations from University of Cincinnati. She is certified in Title IX and Civil Rights investigation procedures, complaint processing, counseling and resolution, as well as Affirmative Action law and plan development. 

Nuñez succeeds Dr. Ivonne García, who left the College in 2021 to serve as senior instructional coach for anti-racist pedagogy at Harvard Graduate School of Education.

At Wooster, Nuñez will oversee the final stages in the implementation of the 2017 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategic Plan, as well as implementing initiatives designed to foster a diverse, equitable and inclusive community at Wooster.

Since August, Associate Professor of English Leslie Wingard has served as Wooster’s interim Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion officer for Academic Affairs, Sháqūez Dickens has served as Interim Associate Director of the Office Equity, Inclusion and Diversity for Staff, and Kayla Campbell has served as Interim Associate Director of the Office of Equity, Inclusion and Diversity for students, also collaborating with the staff of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion in supporting students.

Seniors Look Back At Their Time at the College

Sam Killebrew

Senior Staff Writer

 

 

 

In the week preceding finals, the College of Wooster Class of 2022 looks ahead to their graduation day. The first class to see the beginning and (likely) the end of higher education’s response to a pandemic, the Voice caught up with some seniors to gauge their feelings as their undergraduate careers come to an end.

The first senior we interviewed, Doug Morris, is a neurobiology major from Atlanta, Georgia. A Posse Scholar, Senior Admissions Intern and Secretary on Scot Council, Doug fits under many student identities here at Wooster. 

What are your initial thoughts and feelings as the semester ends?

There is a part of me that is sad to be leaving the friends, faculty and staff with whom I have created such special bonds over the years, but I am also very excited to start a new chapter of my life.

Now that you’ve come to the end, do you think Wooster was the right choice for you?

Wooster was absolutely the best school for me. I have learned to thrive in this environment, and I have learned things both inside and outside of the classroom that I know would not have been possible had I chosen to attend a different school. If I had to do it over again, I would absolutely make the decision to come to Wooster.

What’s the most important thing you’ve gained at Wooster?

The College of Wooster is an incredibly diverse campus. It has allowed me to truly understand and empathize with various perspectives. I believe this is an extremely important quality, especially in today’s climate.

What’s next?

I will be taking some time to shadow doctors in low-resource areas. My travels will take me to Ghana, Tanzania, then Sri Lanka over a six-month period. After returning to the United States, I am hoping to work for the National Cancer Institute while applying to medical schools.

 

The next senior we caught up with was the Voice’s very own Bijeta Lamichhane, a mathematics and communication studies double major from Kathmandu, Nepal. As International Student Association president, News Editor for the Voice and professional hammocker, Bijeta is leaving Wooster–and a notable presence–behind.

What are your initial thoughts and feelings as the semester ends?

I’m overwhelmed, excited and scared. There is so much that I have learned in the past four years, and I’m very excited to go out there and apply those learnings. But leaving Wooster is going to feel like leaving home, so I am terrified as well, especially because I do not know where I will end up next.

What were the best and worst parts of your Wooster experience?

Best part: The community! My friends as well as the faculty and staff members are exceptional. I’ll miss walking into a random residence hall at 12 a.m. for warmth, only to find some friends chilling in the lounge, and joining the conversations. Also, the beauty of this campus, especially the area behind Galpin where I set up my hammock.

Worst part: There have been times when I have felt like our community is more problem-oriented than solution-driven. But I am thankful to have worked with people who always gave me hope, like my co-editor Sam Boudreau.

What will you be taking away from Wooster?

To listen to people and learn from everybody, and to just try to be more accepting and kind.

The last senior we chose out of a pool of valuable students was Frank Adams, a history and Chinese double major from Brooklyn, New York. Like our other interviewees, Frank was involved in many facets of campus life, such as Woo91, holding several executive roles in En Passant Academy (chess club) and frisbee, among other things. 

What’s something you won’t forget about the last four years?

I will never forget the foosball table in Calcei House. I spent so many hours in that room hanging out during house parties and just playing foosball for what felt like all day every day. It’s really all we did for a long time. Jasper, Alison, Mariam and I all got skilled and competitive. We all had distinct playing styles. The most classic matchup was me and Alison vs Jasper and Mariam. To this day Calcei still feels like home. 

What’s your most important takeaway from Wooster?

I have become more confident in my ability to learn. By taking a wide range of courses from history and Chinese to beginners drawing, I feel that my range of skills is growing and my aptitude in learning new things has increased. 

Looking back, was Wooster the right choice for you?

I do think that Wooster was a good choice for me because I have left with a degree, I’m happy and I’m in a great relationship. It’s impossible to say if that’s because of Wooster, but I’m doing well so that’s all that really matters. 

What’s next?

After Wooster I am going on a TREK to Buenos Aires for documentary filmmaking and I hope to get a position in the documentary world after. I am also looking at positions in museums, history research. I’m mostly looking in New York, Pittsburgh and North Carolina. 

 

As students study for exams and prepare to move out of their dorms, our seniors look ahead to the rest of their lives. After completing IS and signing on to opportunities that will utilize their experiences and resources gained at Wooster, the class of 2022 looks ahead at the next chapter of their lives. The Voice wishes them the best of luck.

College Administration and Board of Trustees Respond to Outsourcing Petition

Samuel Boudreau

News Editor

 

 

 

Bolton and Staley defend the College’s decision-making process and outsourcing.

After an anticipative week, President Sarah Bolton and Sally Staley, Chair of The College of Wooster’s board of trustees, responded to the “Statement Against Outsourcing at the College of Wooster, April 19, 2022,” a petition started by Laura Burch and a group of faculty. First, Bolton and Staley addressed the petition’s clause which  states that the administration made the decision to outsource their services without mission-based rationale.” “As shared with the community over the last four months, the decision to work with outside partners to lead dining and custodial services was entirely mission-based,” wrote Bolton and Staley. Bolton and Staley cite food preparation along with “caring for spaces and health” as central to their mission-based reasoning for outsourcing, stating that “…the College has been really struggling to provide these crucial services, and facing increasing difficulties in doing so over multiple years (including before the pandemic),” In a January interview with the Wooster Voice, Bolton cited COVID-19 and the College’s “Connect, Create, Discover” strategic plan for reasons to outsource. “[O]ne of the pieces of  [the strategic plan] is that  we would carefully think about whether there were any places where the college should think about working with outside partners or contractors,” Bolton said in January. 

Staley and Bolton then took on the petition’s claim that the outsourcing decision did not use“precise data.” Our due diligence, involving interviews with people from many campuses, was thorough. While Bolton and Staley did not specifically name these “people from many campuses,” Jim Prince, Vice President of Finance and Business at the College, had experience working at institutions that outsourced their dining services. “My role was to bring to the president some thoughts on [outsourcing],” said Prince in January. “Part of that was due to the fact that I worked at other institutions where we have outsourced so I brought to her my background in both the positive and negative aspects of outsourcing.” One of those institutions was Kalamazoo College, where Prince served as a Vice President for Business and Finance from 2009 to 2019, who also partnered with Creative Dining Services. 

A contradiction emerged from the response and previous statements made by Bolton, as Bolton told the Voice in January that outsourcing dining and custodial services “Once we understood that we really felt we needed to go this direction, we certainly included other people on campus, like Marjorie Shamp and Mike Taylor in our conversation, but the decision is mine and I want to be super clear that that shouldn’t lean on somebody else.” 

While Bolton told the Voice in January that outsourcing was an administrative decision, Staley and Bolton’s response to the petition frame the outsourcing decision as “the Board’s decision. “Once we understood that we really felt we needed to go this direction,” Bolton said in January, “we certainly included other people on campus, like Marjorie Shamp and Mike Taylor in our conversation, but the decision is mine and I want to be super clear that that shouldn’t lean on somebody else.” 

“The last thing I would say is that we did share with the board that we were leaning in this direction but again this is not a board-level decision, it is an administrative decision,” Bolton also told the Voice in January. Staley and Bolton’s response to the petition appear to contradict Bolton’s January remarks, as the response states, “The Statement Against Outsourcing states there is no clear-mission based reason for the Board’s decisions to outsource dining and custodial services.”

One of the petition’s major concerns was  staff benefits, including tuition exchange and sick time. Bolton and Staley assured the community that tuition benefits will continue for dining and custodial staff members. Other benefits, however, are under CDS’ administration. “Partner companies may well have benefits that differ in some ways from ours – perhaps being stronger in some areas and less strong in others.” Several staff members expressed concerns over sick time, as the College will pay out 10% of an employee’s sick time by June 30, 2022, and CDS will honor unused sick time until June 20, 2024, forcing some staff members to spend all their sick time in a limited time frame. “It is unlikely that I can use 960 hours off [sic] sick time in two years,” said one dining employee. 

One of the petition’s main points was “shared governance,” which “refers to the joint responsibility of faculty, administrations, and governing boards to govern colleges and universities.” 

While Bolton and Staley said they “value” the concept, they stood behind the exclusive decision to outsource their services. “The responsibility for effective campus business operations, including the safety and well-being of all members of the Wooster community in support of our mission, lies with the administration and the board.” 

Regarding the petition’s demands, Bolton and Staley wrote that “We cannot responsibly allow the difficult situation with these critical operations to continue when it is clear that outside companies provide the support we need.” 

The College will hold an in-person meeting to discuss this topic on Tuesday, May 3, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. As of April 26, the College has not announced a location for the meeting. 

Low Student Engagement Disrupts Campus

Bijeta Lamichhane

News Editor

 

 

 

On April 4, Scot Council announced executive board candidates for the 2022-23 academic year. With only one student running per position, the election was uncontested, raising questions about the government body’s election processes and the College’s student engagement.

Scot Council President, Emmy Todd ’22, detailed the election process, which Scot Council amended this year to ensure that only candidates with one year of experience were eligible for office. 

“Scot Council’s executive board election process started the week before spring break with us having a final vote on an amendment to our constitution and bylaws that changed eligibility for running for executive board from simply having to have served on Scot Council to having to have served on Scot Council for a full term,” Todd said, “meaning people who quit and first-year representatives are not eligible to run.”

Scot Council made the amendment “after a full semester of discussion, a vote on it passing the Constitution and Rules Committee, and then a vote passing Scot Council,” who unanimously approved the amendment. 

The current executive board encouraged eligible council members to run for the new board. Some students, however, criticized the election process, citing a lack of amendment coverage as well as candidates. Vice President of Scot Council Rishika Todi ’22 said some students personally reached out to the council about the process, leading to a council apology on the amendment. “We will from now have a larger social media presence and are even working on making meeting minutes more accessible to the campus body,” Todd said.

Todd supported the amendment, emphasizing the importance of committed council members to encourage retention and spark interest. “To increase student involvement on the Scot Council executive board, having dedicated and involved general council members is essential to ensure they want to continue their Scot Council work on to the executive board,” she said.

When asked about the lack of student interest for the Council, Todd said elections have been uncontested for “the past four years and beyond.” Todd also said students running for the executive board must be on-campus for the entire academic year, which eliminates those students who want to study off-campus. She concluded, “Finally, the executive board is an extremely demanding position and sometimes students wish to serve on other club’s executive boards and sometimes students will choose paid employment over the unpaid work of Scot Council.”

Although lack of student engagement has been apparent in student government for many years, faculty members have also recognized a decline in student participation and engagement in their classes. Associate Professor of Economics & Business Economics Amyaz Moledina, who has been a professor at the College for two decades, spoke of a shift in participation in his classes. “My classes used to be very well attended,” Moledina reflected. “However, I have seen average attendance decrease since the pandemic.” 

He continued, “Students have been getting sick or refraining from coming to class when they are unwell. It’s great when students inform me that they are unable to come to class. What worries me the most is the population of students I hear nothing from despite me reaching out to them. That population has also risen. Because we have such diverse populations, I hesitate to attribute this all to COVID or the catch-all ‘mental health’ crises.”

Moledina empathized with different situations that students may be facing. “Some of my students come from parts of the world that are suffering from conflict or their families are in economic hardship. Others come from families where they are the primary emotional and sometimes financial supporter.” He continued, “Going to school actually puts a double burden on such students. In some cases, ‘talking to your professor’ is a learned concept that not everyone is comfortable with. So attendance is down, yes, but I have to be careful to understand what is ailing each student — what’s coming in the way of coming to learn in the community. I cannot solve all their challenges but I can try to understand where they are coming from and let students know I am here for them.”

“At best, I have to leave my door open,” Moledina concluded.