The Temple University VOL. LI, FALL ISSUE 1 FACULTY HERALD 2020

BLACK LIVES MATTER AT TEMPLE THE OPTIMISTS By Timothy Welbeck, Esq. By Sam Allingham Adjunct Assistant Professor, Africology & African American Studies Adjunct Asst. Prof., English

Trayvon Martin wanted nothing When I was asked to teach an more than to spend his Sunday eve- in-person class in the fall of 2020, I ning watching Dwayne Wade and chose a certain brand of optimism. LeBron James play in the NBA All Maybe it was cruel optimism, as Star Game. Considering the game Lauren Berlant coined the phrase: took place at the Amway Center in a desire that is either impossible— neighboring Orlando, the annual what she calls “sheer fantasy”— or NBA exhibition, and the stars it rou- too possible, “toxic,” dangerous in tinely gathers, seemed much closer the way it renders the subject com- than usual. He did not have a ticket plicit in their own degradation. But to attend the game itself, so turning if my optimism was cruel, I shared to channel 11 to watch it on TNT Art by Timothy Welbeck. Used with permission. it with many of the more than six seemed the next best option. Slight- of his home to a nearby 7-Eleven hundred Temple professors who ly before tip-off, he strolled outside [continued on page 6] [continued on page 5]

Reflections from the Pandemic: Where Are We Now? By Dr. Andrew Mossin Associate Professor of Instruction, Intellectual Heritage Program

Eight months into the global pan- lived realities of students coming We can know some things. Across demic (I’m writing this at the begin- here for an education. tracks and ranks, the pandemic has ning of October 2020) and roughly It’s a truism in higher education only heightened and brought to the two months into Temple’s latest shift labor talk that “faculty working con- fore divisions and hierarchies that to fully online teaching, what’s be- ditions are student learning condi- were in place well before the virus come apparent to all is that we’re in tions.” For some that can be read arrived. Here, I will cite just a few this for many more months to come, as a statement of faculty priority instances from recent scholarship. if not years. We may need in the over students in the process of man- For tenure-track faculty of color, coming months to rely on that “un- aging the multiple demands of the Covid-19 has only accentuated the dercommons” specified by Stefano university experience. That would “marginalization, racism and sex- Harney and Fred Moten, a fugitive be, in my view, a misreading of this ism manifested as unintended barri- space where all of us might meet in statement’s primary emphasis: fac- ers…faculty of color face in success- mutual need and common uncer- ulty experience in the workplace fully navigating the tenure process” tainty to graft a better future from dictates if and how we are able to (Gregory A. Diggs, Dorothy Harri- the one we’re otherwise currently foster learning in our students, who son, et al. 312). As childcare and re- facing. In the meantime, it’s worth in turn can only be as successful as mote schooling responsibilities have reflecting on where we are and how this dialectical relation allows. How disproportionately affected women the current shifts in faculty experi- has the pandemic shaped this rela- faculty across tracks, “long-standing ence have come to define both the tion? What are the impacts on fac- inequalities in both paid and dom- university as an institution and the ulty working conditions so far? [continued on page 10]

IN THIS ISSUE: Cherry Pantry, page 7. Grad Students & COVID, page 8. Pandemic and Precedent, page 2. Surveillance, page 3. Textbook Affordability, page 2. 1 Editorial: Pandemic & Precedent; Surveys & Surveillance By Dr. Anna Peak Associate Professor of Instruction, Intellectual Heritage Program

What Views Does the Herald of various ideologies, backgrounds, The current pandemic has led to Promote? genders, sexualities, ethnicities, and various ad-hoc adaptations, driven, religions. It also means the Faculty doubtless with the best of inten- “One ought not reject the words of an op- Herald is by and for faculty, not ad- tions, by people in administrative ponent. It is preferable to seek them out and ministrators. Administrative views roles. Budgets have been cut; sched- study them.... Such words should not be sup- are certainly of interest to faculty, ules changed; new classrooms creat- pressed. For every man of valor who wants to at times, and will be printed when ed; new systems of surveillance have wrestle with another and to show his strength relevant, but the Herald is primarily been, and are being, put in place. is eager that his opponent shall have every op- a space for faculty discussion. A pandemic is shocking, and prec- portunity to demonstrate his real powers. But what strength does he show when he forbids his edents are powerful. When people opponent to defend himself and to fight against Pandemic and Precedent are shocked, distracted, and fear for him?” their jobs, they ask fewer questions. ~ Rabbi Loew, Be’er HaGolah, 1598, A mode of behavior that has been adopted When people in adminstrative roles chapter 7 without protest creates a precedent, and no one are more highly stressed than usual, will object to actions that conform to prece- they are liable to be less friendly, or My aim for the Faculty Herald is dents. The principle of inertia transforms every more threatening, in their respons- habitual way of doing things into a norm.... A that it provide a voice for all facul- es — which tends to depress further customary form of behavior ... needs no justi- questioning. Thus, precedent-set- ty. This means contingent as well fication.... It is only when someone maintains as tenure-stream (not as a supple- that what ought to be is different than what is ting ad-hoc adaptations are being ment, but as the so-called new fac- that proof has to be supplied. made with less faculty input than is ulty majority); faculty from a range ~ Chaim Perelman, Justice, Law, and healthy for a university. In the mean- of schools and colleges; and faculty Argument, pp. 27-28 [continued on page 3]

Textbook Affordability: Helping Our Students to Have a More Affordable Education By Dr. Steven Bell Associate University Librarian for Research and Instructional Services, Charles Library

Options for selecting, acquiring learning. According to the 2018 projects and activities that you and and delivering course learning con- Florida Student Textbook and your colleagues can support if text- tent are greater than at any time in Course Materials Survey, 64% of book costs are your concern as well. the past. From requesting the cam- students reported not purchasing a Textbook Affordability Project pus store to order a traditional print textbook owing to its cost, 41% re- (TAP): In operation since 2011, with textbook to choosing from a diz- ported not registering for a course to 90 faculty participants to date, the zying array of digital options and avoid textbook costs, 36% reported TAP has saved Temple University providers, faculty have more choice earning a poor grade because they students over $1 million in textbook but also confront more confusion in could not afford to buy the - text costs. Grants of $500-$1500 are deciding what is the best option for book and 23% reporting dropping a provided to faculty who replace their their students. Where most faculty course owing to textbook costs. See traditional commercial textbook can agree with their students is that this Open Textbooks Guide for more with an open textbook, convert their traditional, commercial textbook on the impact of textbook costs on course to zero-cost learning materi- costs remain prohibitively expensive students and hear Temple students als or conduct an open education and add thousands of dollars to the talking candidly about their own project. Hear from past faculty TAP cost of a college education. challenges with high textbook costs. awardees on why it was important Even when textbooks may seem The good news is that Temple Uni- for them to eliminate textbook costs affordable to faculty, their cost can versity is now confronting the prob- for their students. have negative effects on student lem on multiple fronts. Here are the [continued on page 4] 2 Editorial: Surveys & Surveillance, continued time, precedents are being set that ing faculty to questions that “align Surveillance: A Case Study may affect faculty for years, or de- with the university’s ... values” cades, to come. might even make sense as well — How bad can it be? Readers of the Faculty can only question or re- so long as faculty have a significant Herald may be interested to read of spond, however, to what they know number of seats at the table where the changes wrought by surveillance about. those decisions are made. And “fac- of online teaching at Southern New ulty” here again refers to all faculty. Hampshire State University, in part Surveys under the leadership of Daniel L. Surveillance White, who is now Associate Vice Last year, the Research Programs Provost and Director of Digital Ed- and Policies Committee (RPPC), The move to online teaching — ucation at Temple. with the support of the Faculty Sen- while necessary for the health and From a study published in the In- ate Steering Committee, decided lives of people at Temple, in Phila- formation Systems Education Journal: to conduct annual faculty surveys. delphia, and wherever people travel • “Each morning a list would This year, the RPPC was informed — has made new levels of surveil- be produced that supplied the by the University Survey Commit- lance and performance evaluation names of the faculty members tee (USC) that they may only con- possible. Already, administrators who were not meeting the duct their survey every two years, and faculty of all levels in newly-de- requirements for teaching— rather than every year. vised administrative roles have ac- they may not have been in the Regardless of the merits of this cess to faculty courses, and make online course for two days or particular survey — of which the use of that access. While it is clearly may not be participating to Herald will have more to say in a fu- important for online courses to be the required level in the on- ture issue — the criteria used by the good ones, and for the faculty teach- line course. This list was sub- USC raise questions. ing them to actually teach them, mitted to an academic depart- The reason given by the USC for these multiple layers of surveillance ment head within the online rejecting the RPPC survey was sim- raise serious issues. One is trans- business unit who would then ple enough: Faculty receive enough parency. Not all faculty are aware be required to contact the fac- emails already. This wholly laudable of the degree to which their cours- ulty members to advise them concern with faculty workload has es are being observed (especially as of the corrective actions that not, however, prevented university some have been given contradicto- were immediately needed.” administration from sending out sev- ry information). It is also not clear (Tannehill, et al., p. 28) eral surveys of its own. The concern if all faculty are being observed in • All faculty members were re- thus is not so much with respecting some equitable fashion or if some quired to complete the online faculty’s time as it is with prioritiz- faculty are exempted, and, if so, on teaching certification prior to ing administrative concerns. what grounds. Another is academic being assigned courses. Facul- Perhaps even more troublingly, freedom, and still another is student ty members were approved to the current, somewhat nebulous, privacy. teach courses through a facul- guidelines for surveys state that sur- Surveillance is such a serious issue ty credentialing office housed veys can be approved only after the that the Herald plans to run a series within the business operation. USC has determined that the “sur- of articles on the subject. During the delivery of the vey objectives and items align with course, if the faculty member the university’s or administering If you are interested in con- was found to be involved less unit’s mission, goals and values.” In tributing to the further dis- than was desired or was not other words, only certain kinds of cussion of online teaching and meeting any number of teach- questions can be asked. surveillance, please contact the ing criteria, that faculty mem- Some of the USC’s goals make editor at [email protected]. All ber was immediately counsel- sense, for instance, to “reduce re- requests for confidentiality will dundancy across surveys.” Restrict- be honored. [continued on page 9] 3 Textbook Affordability, continued All Temple University instructors University Librarian. Its members and food insecurities. Where possi- are eligible for TAP awards. TAP include four faculty members (Jac- ble,department chairs and faculty, is funded by Temple University Li- quie Phillips, CPH; Dustin Kidd, particularly for introductory level braries. CLA; Natalie Flynn, CST; Daniel courses, should explore where op- North Broad Press: To confront Goldberg, Fox) and representatives portunities exist to replace commer- the challenge of too few quality from the student government, Cen- cial textbooks with open textbooks, open textbooks being available to ter for the Advancement of Teach- such as those available from Open- faculty across the disciplines, many ing, Registrar, campus store, Temple Stax. They are peer-reviewed and academic libraries are establish- libraries and press and Information feature many of the same amenities ing programs to support faculty to Technology Services. The TTF as their commercial counterparts, author and publish more of them. is developing strategies for creat- such as integration into Canvas or North Broad Press is a joint publish- ing more awareness among faculty supplemental learning materials. ing project between Temple Uni- about textbook challenges our stu- Adopting OpenStax textbooks in in- versity Press and Temple Universi- dents face and how faculty can seek troductory courses such as statistics, ty Libraries. It publishes works of out and adopt open and affordable math, business, anatomy and phys- scholarship, both new and reissued, learning materials. iology, chemistry and others could from the Temple University com- Textbook to E-Book Database: easily save our students hundreds of munity. All North Broad Press titles As Temple University transitioned thousands of dollars a year in text- are peer reviewed and freely avail- to remote instruction, many faculty book costs. able online. North Broad Press pro- were challenged to provide student To learn more about the positive vides some stipends to faculty to au- access to traditional print textbooks learning outcomes associated with thor open textbooks. . North Broad and sought out e-book versions to faculty who are aware of OER and Press has published one textbook so which they could point their stu- adopt open textbooks, refer to the far, and there are over a dozen more dents. This was even more challeng- 2020 study, The Impact of OER open textbooks in various stages of ing for faculty who place print text- Initiatives on Faculty Selection of development. NBP is funded jointly books on reserve in the Library. With Classroom Materials. A 2017 UMa- by Temple University Libraries and digital access to millions of e-books ss Libraries student survey report- the Temple Press. in their collection and acquiring ed that 88% of students found the Textbook Task Force (TTF): Or- new e-books, when available, on de- quality of OER as good or better ganized by Provost Epps in Febru- mand for faculty, Temple Libraries than a traditional textbook. If you ary 2019, the TTF is charged to provides an easy way for faculty and have more questions about open make recommendations to the Pro- their students to discover an existing textbooks or other ways to provide vost that support faculty adoption of e-book version of a required text- your students with zero-cost learn- and student access to affordable in- book with the Textbook to E-Book ing materials, please contact the structional material. Most recently Database. Students can use these Temple University librarian who the TTF conducted a survey of fac- digital versions at no cost and they serves as the liaison to your college ulty adoption of OER and other af- are always licensed for simultaneous or department. They have expertise fordability options. Over 350 facul- use by multiple students. E-books in advising faculty on how to identi- ty members participated and overy are discoverable by course number. fy, find and evaluate open textbooks, 150 requested more information Traditional commercial text- library content and other zero-cost on OER. The TTF is co-chaired books, in print or digital format, content. If you want to start by ex- by Michele O’Connor, Associate drive up the cost of our students’ ploring resources on your own, take Vice Provost for Undergraduate education and for some it forces advantage of the Discovering Open Studies, and Steven Bell, Associate difficult decisions around housing Educational Resources Guide.

HERALD EDITOR: Anna Peak ADVISORY BOARD: Teresa Gill Cirillo (chair), Cheri Cutler, John Dern, Jeffrey Doshna, Lisa Ferretti, David Mislin, Turner, Rebecca Vernon 4 THE OPTIMISTS, CONTINUED chose to teach some kind of hybrid spring of 2020 only made things tween full and part-timer. or in-person class this semester. worse. Without the gossip that flows The question remained: how Some were optimistic, at the end from office to office, adjuncts were to get the administration to under- of spring, that COVID would be a forced to rely on official communi- stand? Some faculty organized with one-season problem. (Sheer fantasy.) cation from Temple administration, student groups, assembling demon- Others worried about the students discordantly sunny. Our fall reopen- strations and car caravans that got who were poorly served by online ing plan was incredible, comprehen- on the news. Some of us (some of learning: dropping out, or simply sive, a model for other universities them adjuncts!) wrote op-eds in the in and out, drifting through Zoom to follow. We would greet each other Inquirer about the stress of worry- classes with their cameras turned in September with “smiling eyes.” ing over the student body—not to off. We thought if we could only see When I look back on the summer, mention our elderly relatives. Some such students face to face we might I think how lucky I am to be a mem- of us wrote letters to their Deans, make a difference, our own health ber of TAUP. In the absence of real asking them to use whatever pow- risks be damned. (Too possible? information from the administra- er they could to move classes on- Toxic? I will leave deeper consid- tion, it was the union that helped to line. I was part of this letter-writing erations of the pathology behind assemble us in our little squares in campaign within CLA, and it was becoming a university professor for Zoom rooms to discuss the reality of my privilege, as my son toddled some other, less optimistic article.) fall. It was my fellow union members around his nursery and harrassed I’m not entirely sure where the who emailed every faculty member my dog, to add the names of more origins of my optimistic choice lay. at Temple, trying to get a handle than three hundred of my CLA col- Maybe it’s as simple as the fact that I on the situation. Who was teach- leagues to a document that was the have a young child, and it feels nice ing in-person? What did they know fruit of so many impassioned con- to get out of the house. But it’s im- about their working conditions? Did versations between faculty members portant to remember that I am an they feel safe with their decision to who might not otherwise have ever adjunct, and so a word like “choose” teach in-person? Did they feel confi- spoken to each other. doesn’t address certain facts about dent about Temple’s plan? Even in the face of this response, my position within the university. This summer, despite rarely leav- Temple refused to budge. For one For an adjunct to say no—to be dif- ing my house, I had more conver- strange week, I taught in person. My ficult, to insist on my personal pref- sations with fellow faculty members classroom in Paley was enormous, erences, even in the case of my own than I’ve had over the course of the twenty-odd students cordoned safety—carries significant risk. Ad- my teaching career. In between my six feet apart, unable to work in juncts make careers out of an opti- son’s erratic nap schedule, I talked groups, fully masked. I spoke into a mistic willingness to prove ourselves on the phone with professors from microphone through my own mask, capable, semester after semester, of History about the concern that their and when the students responded it filling the final slot in the schedule: graduate students would be given no was nearly impossible to understand a slot we know many others would choice but to meet with students in them. The pssibility of contracting be ready and willing to fill, should small groups, in order to fulfill their COVID from teaching in such an we refuse. We must make ourselves TA assignments; with professors environment might have been less too possible, in Berlant’s words, if who taught music and dance who than I’d imagined, but so was the we want to stay. were learning frightening things possibility of completing any kind It was hard, this summer, to get a about aeorsols; with professors from of lesson plan. sense of what was actually happen- Public Health who were worried Why would anyone have thought this ing at Temple. An adjunct is always about Temple’s responsibility to the was a good idea? Of all of the ques- to some extent isolated from their community of North Philadelphia, tions of this strange semester, this is working community. We don’t go Zoomed into each other’s studies the one I keep running over in my to department meetings, and we re- and living rooms, I felt a sense of head—even after union action, as ceive information late, if at all. But solidarity and connection between well as the protests of students, pro- Temple’s sudden shutdown in the us that overcame the division be- [continued on page 8] 5 AT TEMPLE, continued

to grab some snacks for himself and Ahmaud Arbery’s murder has eerie tural imbalances it often creates. his brother Jahavris—Arizona wa- parallels to the murder of Trayvon The phrase “” thus termelon-flavored fruit juice cock- Martin. Breonna Taylor’s murder arose as a means to silence and dis- tail and Skittles. resembles the murders of Atitiana credit “Black Lives Matter,” when Trayvon never got to watch Jefferson and Botham Jean. George the latter was merely an affirmation Dwayne Wade record a triple double Floyd’s death is reminiscent of Eric of the lives disproportionately torn that evening; he never even made it Garner. The insidious nature of asunder by state-sanctioned vio- home that dreary night on Sunday racism in America seeps into every lence. The notion that Black lives February 26, 2012. With a deci- conceivable facet of society from matter, or that Black people feel sive bullet rifling from his Kel-Tec deadly encounters like Travis and the brunt of police overreach and 9 mm PF-9, George Zimmerman Gregory McMichael and William abuse should not be controversial. shot in the chest at Bryan’s It becomes controversial when peo- close range after a brief, but deadly to Amy Cooper calling the police on ple afforded untold benefits by the struggle. When the smoke cleared, Christian Cooper in Central Park current system feel threatened by the unarmed teenager lay dead, after he asked her to place a leash the potential unraveling of said sys- his lanky frame sprawled across a on her dog to or Patricia Ripley tem. Therefore, the critique of the sidewalk in The Retreat at Twin drowning her son and alleging two unjust system then receives the cat- Lakes. George Zimmerman would Black men abducted him. We reck- egorization as unseemly and a de- ultimately face no legal penalty for on with these tragedies while daily viation from social progress, which his admitted role in the young man’s witnessing militarized police forces is why these conversations typical- demise. across the nation partnering with ly devolve into clumsy arguments Trayvon Martin’s murder gal- armed forces to brutalize those who like “why does everything have to vanized the nation’s attention and dared opposed these horrors. All be about race,” “I don’t see color,” sparked a movement. That move- of this occurred in the shadow of etc. In short, efforts to derail the ment—Black Lives Matter—be- a pandemic that disproportionately impact of the Black Lives Matter came one of the largest protest impacted black people nationwide. movement originate from those who movements in history, ushered a Black Lives Matter, as a move- believe in the fundamental good of new phrase into the American lex- ment and as a phrase, echoes the our nation and its corresponding so- icon, and introduced a new genera- same sentiments of rallying cries cietal order (because their identity is tion to the Black radical tradition. It from yore. It is the same refrain at based in part on it). Those people has also awakened tremendous op- the core of “Ain’t I a woman?” “I desperately want to believe racism is position that still bristles at the fun- am a man;” “I am somebody,” etc. a relic of bygone eras. As Dr. Marc damental tenets of the movement. This refrain is a to call to acknowl- Lamont Hill wrote in his newly re- Aside from a historic pandemic, edge the inherent personhood, leased book, We Still Here: Pandemic, 2020 has offered painful reminders worth, and dignity of Black people. Policing, Protest, and Possibility, “For of the perilous plight of Black peo- This fight to acknowledge the basic many White Americans, it is - ple in America more clearly than humanity of Black people continues ter to accept a comforting lie than most in recent memory. The brutal because of their subhuman treat- an unsettling truth. To accept that killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breon- ment in America past and present. Black people are routinely terror- na Taylor, , et al, along In the same way, prior movements ized by the state would force them to with the heinous shooting of Jacob have faced opposition, both literal confront their most coveted beliefs Blake, have come to illustrate con- and rhetorical, Black Lives Matter about the country.” Our days have temporary manifestations of “the faces opposition despite its basic forced us to face these unsettling history of violence inflicted upon premise. truths, which should require us to Black people.” This tragic pattern By way of example, the phrase foster a commitment to confronting of violence bears striking similari- “All Lives Matter” arose as a rhetor- them. ties to other incidents seared in our ical device to delegitimize critiques collective conscious. For example, of racial oppression and the struc- [continued on page 7] 6 BLACK LIVES MATTER AT TEMPLE, continued

These systemic injustices and tives, and protect their fundamen- was unavailable during summer re- structural imbalances seem daunt- tal rights and liberties. Black Lives cess during and immediately follow- ing to tackle if we believe ourselves Matter thereby becomes more than ing the in to endeavor alone. Yet, we are not a phrase, but a mantra to guide my Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25, alone. I take great solace in the fact work to bend the “arc of the moral 2020, the national protests to that that when I embark upon the fight universe toward justice.” Scores of murder in cities across the coun- against these great societal ills, I others join me in this noble work. In try, and subsequently, the senseless join a band of people across this so doing, we work towards creating murder of protestors. The Faculty nation, across this world, who have a more just and equitable world for Senate Steering Committee (FSSC) undertaken the same fight. Further- the days to come. Prayerfully, it will had to wait until the beginning of more, we stand on the shoulders of allow other young people to make this new academic year to begin those who came before us who did it home after getting snacks to eat these difficult conversations, but the same. When I represent clients while watching the All-Star game. in light of the recent executive or- who have experienced discrimina- der from President tion based on their race, gender, Owls for Justice banning the teaching, training and national origin, etc., I continue in discussion of race and anti-racism the tradition of the likes of Cecil Undergraduate student-athletes in America, we would be remiss B. Moore, Sadie Alexander, Pauli at Temple recently formed this not to take this opportunity to say Murray, Charles Hamilton Hous- group in response to Black Lives unequivocally that institutions of ton, et al. When I lead my students Matter. Prior to the November 3rd higher learning have to be bold and into a thoughtful analysis and inter- election, the group prioritized regis- brave; that as faculty, we believe that rogation of interconnected themes tering students to vote and plans to knowledge and education supersede within the African American expe- collaborate with departments across ignorance; and that the academy, rience, law, and politics, I continue Temple as well as work with the lo- like our world, is stronger when it in the tradition of titans like Molefi cal community. – Ed. is diverse, equitable and inclusive. Kete Asante, Eddie Glaude, Mi- The Faculty Senate Steering Com- chelle Alexander, A. Leon Higgin- Faculty Senate Statement mittee will continue to advocate for botham, etc. When I write, I advo- and support teaching, training and cate for the rights of Black people So many important events hap- advancement in diversity educa- in America and share the innate pened at the end of spring semes- tion towards continued progress at beauty of their humanity like those ter, 2020, following Temple Univer- Temple University. Let it be known who came before me. These efforts, sity’s pivot to online teaching and that we, the elected members of the among others, are a means to ac- remote learning, and in response Faculty Senate Steering Committee, knowledge the innate value of Black to the world-wide pandemic and strongly believe that BLACK people, center them in their narra- COVID-19. The Faculty Senate LIVES MATTER! CHERRY PANTRY FEEDBACK? Crashell Allen, of the Cherry for food relative to toiletries, or the The Herald welcomes letters, com- Pantry, tells the Herald that the pan- reverse. ments, suggestions, pitches, and try, which had been serving about Allen also made clear that “[a]ny- feedback generally. 200 students a week at the begin- one with a current Temple ID has Write [email protected] or fill ning of Spring, saw 60 or 70 stu- access to the Cherry Pantry. So all out the feedback form at this link: dents per week after campus closed, students (undergrad, grad, profes- https://clatemple.az1.qualtrics. and about 20 or 30 a week over the sional, etc.), staff, faculty, etc. has ac- com/jfe/form/SV_6G61u0o4N5v- summer (a sharp increase from the cess to the pantry. No one is turned jGCx. usual 5) and during the fall semester. away.” Using the form allows you to The pantry is trying to determine You can follow @CherryPantry on make your responses , if students now have a greater need for more information. – Ed. if you wish. 7 THE OPTIMISTS, cont. fessors, parents, and (finally) the re-opening crisis of Fall 2020 taught ministration when it came to the City Health Department, put a stop me something about shared injus- area of our greatest professional ex- to Temple’s grand experiment after tice—not just among faculty, but pertise: our classrooms. a week’s worth of instruction. among students, as well, who were But if the crisis showed how thor- The answer is money, I suppose: promised in-person instruction and oughly we can be ignored, it also a short-sighted desire to get as many ended, once again, as one of a mo- showed the way to a different state bodies in the dorms as possible. But saic of digital faces. In better times, of affairs. Even in the midst ofa I think the larger answer is that the I sometimes found myself resent- pandemic, faculty were more than people making the decisions had ing my position as an adjunct. It capable of organizing to determine their own kind of optimism, only seemed to me that my isolation and what we wanted from our teaching in their case the cruelty was turned my inability to have control over my conditions. In the strangeness of a outward: towards the professors and working conditions was a result of thousand Zoom rooms, curiously students who would bear the burden my track. It took this crisis, and the egalitarian in their shabby, pixelated of accomplishing the impossible optimistic cruelty of the Temple ad- displays, we discussed the situation task, while those who made the de- ministration that accompanied it, with shared stakes. And if we did it cisions did so from a place of guar- to show me that every professor at once, then I do not think it is too op- anteed safety. Temple, in every track, deals with timistic to suggest that we could do In a sense, the great COVID-19 complete indifference from the ad- it again. Communities, Collectives, and COVID: A Graduate Student Perspective By Scott C. Thompson Ph.D. candidate, English; Advanced Graduate Fellow, Center for the Humanities at Temple

The last weekend before the quar- Fast forward three months. I’m on creating new opportunities for me antine lockdown, my partner and I a Zoom call with a regional group to form new, broader collectives. met for dinner and drinks with an- of academics in my field. Since I Like the majority of folks, my other graduate student from my de- moved to Philadelphia and began in-person communities of friends partment and his partner in down- my graduate career, I’ve been on this and colleagues have been shut town Philadelphia. Our double date group’s email chain, and not once down. Especially at a large school night had been a regular fixture for have I been able to attend one of like Temple, I’ve had to work hard the past several years, and I looked their meetings. Beside the fact that I to develop and nurture relationships forward to the chance to reflect with would most likely be the only grad- outside of the classroom with my a colleague and friend on the grad- uate student in attendance, (and I graduate student peers. When you uate student experience away from was the only one on the Zoom call), have to train in to the campus or the university. These social encoun- the meetings are often at professors’ navigate city traffic, a coffee or hap- ters left me mentally and emotional- homes all across the mid-Atlantic. py hour drink after class requires ly refreshed and reminded me that Despite my interest in the group, I more coordination than sponta- the academy was only one part of did not have the means (time, mon- neity. The difficult task of building my life. Over Thai food and craft ey) to, say, train to New York city connections with professors who beers, we shared stories about mutu- for a Friday night living-room lec- might serve on one’s committee or al friends, discussed the state of the ture over wine and cheese. But here write a letter of recommendation job market, commiserated about our I was, in my living room on a June has become even more challenging, dissertation progress, and expressed afternoon, participating with the without the ability to drop in for ca- our concern about the uncertain fu- group for the very first time. sual office hours, or bump into them ture. Then the lockdown went into These two experiences demon- at the food trucks, or wait with them full effect, and I haven’t seen anoth- strate how the pandemic has af- in the elevator line in Anderson or er person from my department in fected me: limiting access to my es- Gladfelter. And my usual methods person since. tablished support communities but [continued on page 9] 8 Communities, Collectives, and COVID, continued of building community with my stu- graduate student’s CV, and the in- eryone in some way, but it’s worth dents—such as small talk before and creased access provided by the vir- remembering our graduate stu- after class, my animated classroom tual platforms and reduced registra- dent population. We’re a precari- presence, and individualized in- tions have made more conferences ous bunch. Most of us rely heavily class interactions—have had to be financially viable options for those on our support networks to get us reimagined on the fly. Even in “nor- of us whose departments fund only through the physically, mentally, and mal” times, graduate school can feel a small portion of travel expenses, emotionally grueling experience of overwhelming and isolating, and if any. Sitting at my desk at home, graduate school, so losing them this that’s without the added crisis of a I’ve had the opportunity to partici- past year has been taking its toll. global pandemic. pate in more free online workshops, But I’ve tried to highlight some of The increase in technology use Zoom in to more open lectures, and the positives—I hesitate to call them and forced isolation, however, have meet (virtually) more colleagues “silver linings”—in the hopes of not provided me with some unexpected than I ever have before. Plus, as losing sight of the new opportunities opportunities. Many conferences many graduate students might tell for building collectives that are avail- have switched to virtual platforms you, quarantine helps minimize the able. After all, graduate students are and lowered their registration pric- distractions that often interfere with in the business of learning new skills es. For better or worse, conferences dissertation writing. and adapting to new situations. are necessary notches on every The pandemic has affected ev- Surveillance, cont.

• ed. But, if corrective action oversight and review to the to students. This included a was not taken, the faculty content created by the design 24 hour response time for all member would be replaced team. Once the course was emails and course messages, a during the actual term of completed, it was reviewed 48 hour turnaround time for teaching. The teaching pro- by the academic department. grading all assignments, and cess was structured, mandat- This process may have taken a requirement to be actively ed, and with little flexibility, as long as six months though present five out of seven days even at the doctoral level.” (p. there was a huge effort for it each week with no two con- 28) to be completed in less than secutive days absent from the • There was “complete stan- four months. A SME would online course.” (p. 29) dardization of all online receive approximately $2500 • And finally: “There was ten- courses — an instructional for their services.” (p. 28) sion between the academic design team worked with a • “The concept of master course units and the business unit person approved by the de- design and the standardized with the academic units be- partment head to be a subject teaching requirements were lieving that the business unit matter expert (SME). This viewed as ensuring a high was most interested in profit- may have been one of the fac- quality student experience ability and the business unit ulty members who taught the and avoiding a situation in believing that the academic course once it had been cre- which one student may have a units operated too slowly and ated or the SME may never robust online experience while without enough of a thought have taught or would teach another received little faculty toward return on investment the course. The SME worked interaction or inferior course (ROI).” (p. 28) with a team of instructional learning materials. There was designers and media creation no faculty freedom regarding Temple has already implemented experts to create the complete the teaching of content and some of these practices in some pro- online course. The SME cre- there were tightly construct- grams. Will such practices be adopt- ated the content map with ed requirements regarding ed further, and without protest? We the design team and provided teaching and responsiveness shall see. 9 Reflections from the Pandemic, continued

estic work appear to be exaggerated tions. More to the point, they didn’t against the false hierarchy of aca- during the present pandemic cir- know if they had the right to refuse demic class? cumstances in ways that dispropor- to show up in person. How did Our ability to do this work and tionately hinder the productivity of our experience in this one program address these questions depends as academic women” (Oleschuk 502). match that of our TT colleagues in much on our willingness to let go of Additionally, for contingent faculty, other schools and programs across preconceptions about who any of both NTT’s and Adjuncts, the pan- the university? What choices were us might be and to start the process demic has reemphasized the labor they asked to make by their depart- together of finding out where we conditions of contingency: lack of ment chairs? What choices did they stand together, where we’re apart, access, lack of support, lack of secu- really have? Again, viewing matters and how we can create collective rity (al-Gharbi, Zahneis). only from only one positionality, we solidarity. Glossing these realities is import- can’t know how our lived experienc- ant, but it’s also worth noting that es differ from one another or what Works Cited any of us is only able to see what binds us together unless we probe we see when asked to consider our beneath the layers of suspicion and al-Gharbi, Musa. “Universities Run experiences across our otherwise misperception that too often inform on Disposable Scholars.” The Chron- boundaried institutional identities. our understanding of the university icle of Higher Education. May 1, 2020. From the perspective of an NTT and our varied places in it. in a program staffed entirely by Diggs, Gregory A., Dorothy Harri- contingent faculty, I know that my The assertion that we’re son, et al. “Smiling Faces and Col- own experience provides me access all in this together loses ored Spaces: The Experiences of to only one set of understandings Faculty of Color Pursuing Tenure credibility when defining about faculty life at Temple. Be- in the Academy.” The Urban Review. cause I’m part of the roughly 75% that “we” becomes en- Vol. 41 (4): 312-333. of faculty that is contingent in the meshed in conversations university, I could assume certain about who’s privileged, Harney, Stefano and Fred Moten. things about the lives of both my who’s not, and what soli- The Undercommons: Fugitive Planning TT and Adjunct colleagues, but darity looks like across the and Black Study. Minor Compositions, I’d likely be wrong as often as I’m 2013. multiple tracks and ranks right about what their lives looked like on a daily basis. The assertion of faculty that compose the Oleschuk, Merin. “Gender Equity that we’re all in this together loses academic labor force of this Considerations for Tenure and Pro- credibility when defining that “we” university. motion during COVID-19.” The becomes enmeshed in conversations Canadian Review of Sociology. Vol. 57 about who’s privileged, who’s not, “You don’t need a weatherman to (3): 502-515. and what solidarity looks like across know which way the wind blows,” the multiple tracks and ranks of fac- goes the old Dylan song. And the Temple University Fact Book, 2019- ulty that compose the academic la- winds of the world, to say nothing 2020. https://www.temple.edu/ bor force of this university. of the university, are likely to be ira/documents/data-analysis/Fact- When Temple re-opened in Sep- harsh and unrelenting in the months Book/TU_Fact_Book_2019-2020. tember and some of my colleagues ahead. In the meantime, key ques- pdf in IH, Adjunct and NTT, found tions remain: How can we most themselves teaching fully face-to- effectively meet and help our stu- Zahneis, Megan. “Covid-19 Crisis face or hybrid while others were ful- dents and our colleagues through? Widens Divide Between Secure and ly online, there was a strong sense What collective networks of sup- Insecure Instructors.” The Chronicle that faculty who spoke up, who port, acknowledgement, awareness, of Higher Education. March 18, 2020. asked not to teach face-to-face, were and resistance do we need to seek potentially endangering their posi- in an undercommons that operates a 10