Tamburitzans Return to Duquesne for a Performance and Meet and Greet
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January 30, 2020 Volume 102 Number 04 THE DUQUESNE DUKE www.duqsm.com PROUDLY SERVING OUR CAMPUS SINCE 1925 Court: No unionization Tamburitzans return to for Duquesne adjunct Duquesne for a performance faculty and meet and greet Ollie Gratzinger editor-in-chief The U.S. Court of Appeals for decision was lauded by the Asso- the District of Columbia ruled ciation of Catholic Colleges and Jan. 28 that the National Labor Universities and other religious in- Relations Board (NLRB) has no stitutions across the United States jurisdiction over the university’s in the same position as Duquesne. adjunct faculty. As someone who has studied and According to the ruling, the taught constitutional law for de- NLRB does not have the authority cades, it is clear to me that this is to approve an adjunct faculty union a correct interpretation of the U.S. — a right the professors have been Constitution.” campaigning for since 2012. But for some adjuncts, the ruling This decision, if upheld, could feels like a step in the wrong direction. permanently douse unionization Clinton Benjamin has been efforts at Duquesne. teaching English and composi- “The ruling by the Court of Ap- tion as an adjunct at Duquesne for peals reaffirms what the U.S. Su- about 10 years. He isn’t on campus preme Court has made clear for this semester because of low enroll- decades: That religious organiza- ment — his classes were removed tions like ours are exempt from from the roster. regulation and intrusion by the “It certainly seems to slam the federal government as it pertains door on adjunct unionization at to employment relationships with Duquesne,” Benjamin said. “Ad- our faculty (here, adjunct faculty min kept moving the goalposts un- members in the college of liberal til they got a decision they liked. I arts),” said Duquesne University think it reflects a willful hypocrisy President Ken Gormley. “This deci- from them that's about on par with sion by the United States Court of what we've seen before during this Appeals was an important one, in kerfuffle.” terms of ensuring that we maintain According to Benjamin, adjuncts the 142-year-old Catholic and Spir- make about $4,050 per class. He’s itan identity of our university. Our limited to two classes a semester, name is Duquesne University of the which gives him an income of just Holy Spirit for a reason.” over $16,000 per year. The ruling was based on the “I can hardly live on it, but I'm good “long-standing precedent” by the at teaching and I like it,” he said. U.S. Supreme Court and earlier According to Inside Higher Ed, decisions of the D.C. Circuit, ac- adjuncts teach 44% of all credit cording to a university statement hours in Duquesne’s core cur- emailed to students. riculum, including math, writ- Gormley elaborated, explaining ing, science, philosophy, theol- that the religion clauses in the First ogy and ethics. Amendment of the Constitution United Steelworkers, the union prevent the government from in- seeking to organize the university's terfering in religious affairs. Since adjuncts, issued a statement in re- Duquesne is a religious institution, sponse to the ruling. organized as non-profit, the court “We are disappointed with the ruled that it is exempt from the ju- court’s decision and even more risdiction of the NLRB — a federal concerned that Duquesne’s admin- Griffin Sendek / Photo Editor agency. istration would fight this hard to “The U.S. Court of Appeals for keep their workers from having a The Tamburitzans, an Eastern European song and dance group, have a long-standing history with Duquesne. They the D.C. Circuit that issued the rul- voice on the job. Unlike other Cath- were coined as the “Duquesne University Tamburitzans” in the late 1940s. In 2014, the university announced that ing in our case is one of the high- olic universities that recognized the Tamburitzans were going to become “an independent, non-profit organization” as a way to increase the applicant est courts in the nation aside from pool, according to their website. Auditions will be held on Feb. 19 and they now accept students from any Pittsburgh- the Supreme Court,” he said. “Its see UNION — page 2 based colleges. The group performed a special show for Duquesne students, staff and family on Jan. 29. ... opinions features sports a & e Follow us on... Facing the music Penguins on Dayton tops The C-Word Parade MBB astounds The harsh reality of female Low temps bring Dukes' The Red Masquers representation in happy penguins at comeback efforts handle sensitive the music industry the Pittsburgh Zoo denied subjects @theduquesneduke PAGE 5 PAGE 6 PAGE 7 PAGE 10 2 THEDUQUESNEDUKE POLICE briefs DU first in PA to receive endowment award for arts Hannah Boucher the program to be more accessible staff writer to those outside of the Duquesne On Jan. 21, a Duquesne student community. was found to be in possession of Duquesne has recently achieved So far, Buchanan’s secured part- marijuana paraphernalia. They the honor of being the only school nerships include the Carnegie Sci- were referred to the Office of in Pennsylvania to receive the Na- ence Center, the Carnegie Library Student Conduct. tional Endowment for the Arts of Pittsburgh, the Swissvale Li- (NEA) Big Read Grant for the 2019 brary, the Health Sciences Library On Jan. 24, a student was cited year. A major project that has been at the University of Pittsburgh and by the Pittsburgh Police for in the works for over a year, the li- the Women’s Advisory Board. All public urination and underage brarians at Gumberg put together of these groups have been provided drinking. They were also re- an application that has provided with copies of the memoir to dis- ferred to the Office of Student students with the opportunity to tribute the book to anyone interest- Conduct. attend lectures, discussion pan- ed in joining the book discussion. els and a plethora of other events There will be a book discus- And that’s it for this week. It that the NEA grant helps fund. sion hosted by Carnegie Science has been rather quiet on the Duquesne’s book of choice this Center for the members of their Bluff this semester. Here’s year is Lab Girl, a memoir written STEM girls group in later Febru- Griffin Sendek / Photo Editor some jokes to keep you busy so by Hope Jahren. Jahren, a geo- ary. Also in late February, at the Events surrounding the endowment award include Lab Girl book discussions as you don’t go committing crimes chemist and geobiologist, writes Carnegie Library, the annual seed well as panel talks from various scholars. as the boredom of winter really on her personal experiences as a exchange will be hosting a discus- College of Liberal Arts, believes it is will take place in the Student Union sets in. woman in the world of science. sion on Lab Girl. important to be emphasizing wom- Africa Room from 3 to 5 p.m. "With over 500 female students Stuart Kurland, one of en in STEM. From February to March, there studying in 27 STEM-related pro- Duquesne’s English professors, as- “To understand and [to] really JOKE CORNER! grams at Duquesne, we thought signed the memoir to his sections will be different free events for stu- have those first-person narratives Lab Girl would be the perfect of Imaginative Literature to read dents revolving around the discus- And the Lord said unto are really critical because they book to feature during the Big and has encouraged his students sion of Lab Girl. There will also be John, “Come forth and serve as realistic depictions of what Read," said University Librarian to attend as many of the Big Read free copies of the memoir avail- you will receive eternal Sara Baron. events as possible. As soon as he it’s like for women engaging in sci- able for anyone who wants to par- life.” But John came fifth entific inquiry, and in other cases, Scott Buchanan, Duquesne’s saw that Duquesne would be par- ticipate in the Big Read program and won a toaster. women speaking realistically about Outreach & Communications Li- ticipating in this event, he decid- in Gumberg. brarian, joined the project not ed to take part. the experiences they face working Helvetica and Times New Students from all schools are too long after the application had in particular fields that have been Roman walk into a bar. Kurland believes it is important highly encouraged to attend as begun to be drafted. His job was to engage his class in this pro- traditionally seen as male domi- “Get out of here!” shouts many of the events as possible. The to connect with groups and or- gram, seeing as the book has the nated,” Blair said. the bartender, “We don’t intention of the Big Read is to in- ganizations in the community to potential to reach so many differ- On Feb. 11, the kickoff event is serve your type.” volve the entire campus. partner with Duquesne for the Big ent students. a discussion panel that will feature Duquesne faculty and alumni from “I think because there are so Knock Knock Read project. “It’s timely, it’s relevant ... this a wide range of backgrounds. This many themes at play in Lab Girl Who’s there? This is actually a requirement is a time to encourage people to ... there’s something that has po- Control Freak. for the NEA grant application, get into STEM fields, particularly includes professors from the Bayer Con - however this stipulation proves women,” Kurland said.