Who Is Selfish in the "Kingdom of Kitts?"

From our guest blogger of three days ago, Dick Tracy:

To paraphrase from Lincoln, is it altogether fitting and proper for the Board of Trustees to give Kitts a raise while giving nothing to the staff and faculty who worked hard to help the President meet his goals? Let’s look at some important leaders in history to see how they treated the people below them.

For years, Fidel Castro was the Communist leader in Cuba. He wanted everybody to believe that he was living sparsely in the same type of substandard quality as the rest of his people Yet, the leader actually earned millions each year. He even had his own private island where he could shelter his wife and five children from the reality of what he created. In comparison, Kitts is trying to create is only little island of power while putting on the mask of the caring, smiling president.

Timur was a leader in western Asia during the 1400s. Part of his regime included modern-day Iran and Syria. It is said that in present-day Afghanistan, Timur ordered the construction of a tower made out of living men, one stacked on top of another and cemented together. In comparison, Kitts was given a raise because he met the goals that the Board set for him. However, these goals were actually achieved, in large part, by the blood and sweat of the faculty and staff below him.

Joseph Stalin’s leadership in Russia during 1930s was of the iron fist variety. He brought about collectivism, mass starvation, the imprisonment of millions, and the “Great Purge” of the intelligentsia, the government, and the armed forces. Likewise, Kitts, has either fired or run away many of the good people that made UNA the great institution she is today.

Now, I can’t speak for all of the faculty and staff at UNA. But I can say that most of us didn’t request or expect a raise this year because we just recently got one. We also know that a huge cost for UNA are salaries of its workers and most of us remember this fact every day when we work with students. We are not a selfish or greedy group. We actually love working here and enjoy seeing our students succeed.

What bothers us is the fact that Kitts has the audacity to accept bonuses and raises when the institution is struggling financially and we are now starting to loose enrollment again. On top of all of this, UNA is building a new nursing building (very much needed) and, according to the TD, is talking about purchasing Gary Baker’s studio and block of buildings for over 2 million dollars. Is there an influx of money that I’m unaware of? What kind of message does this send to the staff and faculty, many of us who will be here far longer than Kitts?

Do we need to start lining up to become the sacrificial lambs to the Kingdom of Kitts? Do we need to lay down our lives so that Kitts can have a little extra spending money and his smile become a little wider (he doesn’t pay a mortgage, utilities, insurance, etc.)? It looks like a few on this campus have already felt the stinging blow of Kitts's sacrificial sword.

The time for talk is over. If Florence wants UNA to change, it is going to have to send a loud message to the Board through economic sanctions. That is the only thing the Board seems to care about. So, what can you do?

If you don’t like the high cost of UNA’s tuition and (especially fees), then go elsewhere.

If you don’t like what Kitts is doing to UNA, cut off your gifts to the institution.

If you don’t like where UNA is going, there are plenty of other places to buy insurance, buy your books and fireworks, buy your cars, and invest your money (listen up, Board!).

If you are fine with everything, then do nothing.

I just heard in the news today that Harvard University, one of the most liberal institutions in the US, had to yield to pressure from the alumni, donors, and the overall community over a recent appointment. It seems that they hired Chelsea Manning to a position there. Manning was the soldier who was convicted of espionage and had the sentence commuted by President Obama. The protests of the people who hold the purse strings over Harvard was so great, they had to rescind this person’s appointment.

We can cause the same change. We can demand accountability. But we have to act now. Let’s take a stand to stop this insanity.

*****

Two addenda: We wish to apologize for a lack of editing in Dick Tracy's previous editorial. We had intended to remove one descriptive comment that we felt was unjust, but failed to do so when we transferred the text.

Also, we noticed the TD editorializing on how UNA should proceed with its recruitment endeavors. We were reminded of the story of the Baptist preacher who tried to tell seasoned educators how to run their schools...