So happy I'm on the verge of tears!

[moominmuppet]

We Did It!!!!!!!

BREAKING: College Suspends Negotiations with Sodexo, Will Form Advisory Panel

I'm so far beyond ecstatic I don't even know what to say, except:

Thank You!
Everyone who lent support, private or public, everyone who helped brainstorm ideas, everyone who helped spread the word, you rock my world!

If you contacted the college, especially if you decided to withhold donations, now's a good time to send them a thank you, and, if you feel it appropriate, to reinstate your donation.

If you want to know why I'm passionate about my alma mater, and why I believe I got something deeply valuable from my education and my time there, just look at this! This is what our Kenyon Family looks like. This is what we do. This is how much we care. Today I am more in love with Kenyon College and her difficult but devoted family than ever.

We'll continue to maintain the communities we've formed online and will post news as appropriate, but at this point I expect they'll be pretty silent until we hear from the advisory committee in November. I'll also be changing the Preserve Our Kenyon Community page to note the current status, and to thank everyone who has helped.

I'm calling Alumni Affairs tomorrow to pledge an annual contribution to the Roelofs Fund (tiny, since I'm perpetually broke, but at least a token celebration of Kenyon Community in Action). It's the Peep Alumni favored cause, and particularly apropos in this case since it helps provide Bookstore funds to students from Knox County.

Ah, heck, why wait for tomorrow?

Sarah Young Mon, Jun 18, 2012 at 7:21 PM
To: Kyle Henderson <hendersonk@kenyon.edu>
Subject: Making good...

Kyle,

Given the news today, I'd like to pledge $100 annually to the Roelofs Fund. Could you send me paperwork on
that?

Thanks so much!

Sarah Young '95


The letter I was just about to send out when the news came through, stored here for reference and context:

Dear Episcopal Clergy,

My name is Sarah W. Young, and I write to you as a Kenyon College alumna, class of '95, thanks in part to a scholarship I received from the Diocese of Michigan. I first heard of Kenyon College through a recommendation from Bishop H. Irving Mayson (well, actually he danced a jig in his full robes while singing a Kenyon song after services one Sunday!), and have never once regretted my decision to attend there. In fact, the journey to social justice activist that began for me thanks to a childhood in the Episcopal Church was well-nurtured at Kenyon, and I retain a strong commitment to social justice and deep ties to the community there.

It's on their behalf that I'm reaching out to you now. The administration has come to a disturbingly hurried decision to outsource a precious part of our community -- our unionized Skilled Trades workers. Alumni, students, faculty, and other friends of the college are working together to fight this with everything we have. We do not believe the budget of a college known for teaching about ethics and justice should be balanced on the backs of its most vulnerable employees.

What I ask is that you evaluate the situation, and lend the strength of your voice if you feel so moved. While Kenyon no longer has official ties with the Episcopal Church, we are still well-known as a historically Episcopal institution (http://cuac.anglicancommunion.org/institutions/americas/b15.cfm), and I am hoping that the added voices of clergy in support of our workers could help turn the tide we're fighting. I've included links to all information we currently have, as well as the official Kenyon College responses thus far. I'm also available by phone or email to explain the situation further, if anyone would prefer that to following links. Feel free to share this letter widely.

Thank you so much for your time in reading this,

Sarah Young
Kenyon College '95
sarah.whitman.young@gmail.com
216-798-7052
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Our primary web presence; visit here to see personal statements from the Kenyon workers affected, as well as other news updates about the situation:
http://www.facebook.com/PreserveOurKenyonCommunity

"Tell Kenyon to Stop Outsourcing Good Jobs" -- this is our open discussion and planning group, already 1700 members strong:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/185579338236293/

This is an excellent write-up of our information so far by a Kenyon Alumna from 1999:
http://hilarylowbridge.blogspot.com/2012/06/kenyon-and-sodexo-overwhelming-amount.html

Most recent news article on the situation:
http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2012/jun/18/4/kenyon-college-workers-fear-their-jobs-jeopardy-ar-1074924/

"Kenyon College: Stop Kenyon from partnering with Sodexo"
A Change.Org petition with 2,400 signatures already, mostly from Kenyon community members.
http://www.change.org/petitions/kenyon-college-stop-kenyon-from-partnering-with-sodexo

My open letter to President Nugent, the Board of Trustees, and the Kenyon Community:
http://moominmuppet.livejournal.com/1669224.html

Official communications from the Kenyon Administration on this issue:
https://today.kenyon.edu/news/sodexo
Further questions? The college can be reached at 740.427.5000

I am also including below the powerful statement of support just released by a large number of our excellent Faculty:

June 17, 2012

To President Nugent, Chairman Schwartz and the Board of Trustees:

We the undersigned members of the Kenyon Faculty are writing to affirm our commitment to the
Kenyon community. By “community” we mean all of those people on the staff, faculty, and
Administration who work to promote the success and distinctive quality of this institution as
Employees of the college. By “commitment” we mean the willingness to sacrifice collectively
for the common good and to work to the best of our abilities to ensure that all members of that
community are treated fairly and respectfully.

We do not believe that the recent decisions of the administration and members of the Board of
Trustees reflect this understanding of community or a commitment to what it stands for. We do
not come to this decision easily. We regretfully arrive at this conclusion based on the decision to
discharge members of Kenyon’s maintenance staff and outsource their employment. These
actions reveal, to us, a willingness to peel away important members of the Kenyon community,
to redefine what that community is and who belongs to it.

That this decision was made without consulting broadly across the college is deeply disturbing to
us not the least because it implies a far narrower understanding of Kenyon and its community
than we think is appropriate. We fear, in fact, that key members of the administration and Board
of Trustees may be operating with a very different model of the college than that entertained by
many of the faculty. We fully realize that Kenyon must adjust to thrive under changing
conditions and that some of these transformations may not be easy. Kenyon has made many
such adjustments in the past and will continue to evolve for many years to come. We believe
however, that such profound redefinitions of the college as are implied in the decision to
outsource employment of some of our maintenance colleagues require deliberations across the
college and that they not be presented as a fait accompli.

Since our financial situation is difficult but not desperate, as Board Chairman Barry Schwartz
assured us on Friday, June 15 at the campus forum, we call on the Kenyon administration and the
Board of Trustees to organize such conversations in a measured and timely manner. We strongly
petition the administration and board to postpone any moves to outsource the employment of
Kenyon community members until those deliberations are completed.

Sincerely,

Jianhua Bai, Professor of Chinese
K. Read Baldwin, Associate Professor of Art
Michael Barich, Assistant Professor of Classics
Fred Baumann, Professor of Political Science
Sarah Blick, Professor of Art History
Julie Brodie, Associate Professor of Dance
Jim Carson, Associate Professor of English
Jennifer Clarvoe, Professor of English
Melissa Dabakis, Professor of Art History
Adele Davidson, McIlvaine Professor of English
Miriam Dean-Otting, Professor of Religious Studies
Juan DePascuale, Associate Professor of Philosophy
Ruth Dunnell, James P. Storer Professor of Asian History
Eugene Dwyer, Professor of Art History
Ennis B. Edmonds, Associate Professor of Religious Studies
Kathryn Edwards, Professor of Biology
Claudia Esslinger, Professor of Art
M. Siobhan Fennessy, Professor of Biology
Paul Gebhardt, Associate Professor of German
Yutan D.Y.L.Getzler, Associate Professor of Chemistry
Mort Guiney, Professor of French
Barry Gunderson, Professor of Art
Marcella Hackbardt, Associate Professor of Art
Bruce Hardy, Associate Professor of Anthropology
Kate Hedeen, Associate Professor of Spanish
Sarah Heidt, Associate Professor of English
Sheryl Hemkin, Associate Professor of Chemistry
Dane Heuchemer, Professor of Music
Karen Hicks, Associate Professor of Biology
Judy Holdener, Professor of Mathematics
Haruhiko Itagaki, Professor of Biology
Jennifer Johnson, Associate Professor of Sociology
Nurten Kilic-Schubel, Assistant Professor of History
William Klein, Professor of English
P.F. Kluge, Writer in Residence
Deborah Laycock, Associate Professor of English
Michael P. Levine, Professor Emeritus of PsychologySergei Lobanov-Rostovsky, Professor of English
David Lynn, Professor of English
Wendy MacLeod, James Michael Playwright-in-Residence/Professor of Drama
Ellen Mankoff, Instructor of English
Theodore Mason, Professor of English
Robert Mauck, Associate Professor of Biology
Janet McAdams, Robert P. Hubbard Professor of Poetry, Associate Professor of English
George McCarthy, Professor of Sociology
Patricia McCulloh, Assistant Professor of Art, retired
William E. McCulloh, Professor Emeritus of Classics
Kim McMullen, John Crowe Ransom Professor of English
Maria Mendonca, Associate Prof. Asian Music and Culture, Anthropology, Music Departments
Linda D. Metzler, Professor of Spanish
Robert Milnikel, Associate Professor of Mathematics
Sarah Murnen, Professor of Psychology
Kimmarie Murphy, Associate Professor of Anthropology
Andrew Niemiec, Associate Professor of Neuroscience
Natalia Olshanskaya, Professor of Russian
Wade Powell, Associate Professor of Biology
Royal Rhodes, Donald L. Rogan Professor of Religious Studies
Joel Richeimer, Professor of Philosophy
Victor Rodríguez-Núñez, Associate Professor of Spanish
Donald Rogan, Emeritus Professor of Religion
Clara Román-Odio, Professor of Spanish and Latin American Literature
Peter Rutkoff, Professor of American Studies, Co-Director of the KAP Program
Edward Schortman, J. K. Smail Professor of Anthropology
Vernon James Schubel, NEH Distinguished Teaching Professor of Religious Studies
Marta Sierra, Associate Professor of Spanish
Wendy Singer, Roy T. Wortman Distinguished Professor of History
Joan Slonczewski, Professor of Biology
Elly Smith, Assistant Professor of Mathematics
Judy Smith, Professor Emerita of English
Linda Smolak, Professor Emerita of Psychology
Tim Spiekerman, Associate Professor of Political Science & Humanities
Mary Suydam, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies
Hideo Tomita, Professor of JapanesePatricia Urban, J. K. Smail Professor of Anthropology
Kristen Van Ausdall, Associate Professor of Art History
Steve Van Holde, Associate Professor of Political Science
Joseph Venosa, Visiting Assistant Professor of History
Stephen Volz, Associate Professor of History
Katharine Weber, Richard B. Thomas Visiting Professor of Creative Writing
Rebecca Wolf, Assistant Professor of Drama
Roy T. Wortman, Emeritus Professor of History
Yang Xiao, Associate Professor of Philosophy
Addition after physical delivery
Bruce Kinzer, Professor of History