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Testimony of Richard Vetere, Adjunct Assistant Professor Queens College Before the Board of Trustees at Queens Public Hearing

April 19, 2017

I have taught one class at Queens College since 1983. That was the year, Vigilante, a film I wrote, was released. Since then I have become successful enough that I was named a lifetime member of the Writers Guild of America East and was elected to Council for a two-year term in 2012.

I have worked with film producers who have either produced, starred in or directed my work, and that list includes Francis Ford Coppola, Ed Harris, , ,

Jason Alexander, Agnieszka Holland and , to name a few. I have written scripts for Paramount, Universal, ABC, CBS, and Disney, and yet what gives me the most satisfaction is helping students who come to Queens College from all over the world to learn how to write movies. And I’m treated like a seasonal worker by the Board of Trusties at CUNY. I’m hired semester-by-semester, and my pay, though I’ve been teaching nearly non-stop since 1983, is abysmal.

I do not believe I’m appreciated by this educational system. However, I haven’t complained because, as I stated, I love teaching at Queens. Yet now is the time to give me equal pay for all I have contributed to Queens College, and pay all those others who work as hard as me to educate the young minds who come to our classrooms hopeful that what they learn will give them the opportunity to change their lives.

I’m only asking for the respect I, and others like me, deserve. Thank you.