Tuesday, September 8, 2020 I Vol. 117 Iss. 5 INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER • SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904 WWW.GWHATCHET.COM What’s inside Opinions Culture Sports The editorial board Check out staff Read about how GW’s lays out the botched picks for must-have peers in the A-10 federal response to Amazon purchases conference are handling COVID-19. this semester. fall sports. Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 ‘CANNOT CONTINUE WITH ANY SENSE OF CONFIDENCE’ LeBlanc’s support dwindles as hundreds faculty, staff, students call for resignation ISHA TRIVEDI ulty Senate. month stating they were ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR “We need a president “disturbed” by administra- who understands GW and tors’ lack of transparency ZACH SCHONFELD can inspire the whole com- during the layoffs. CONTRIBUTING NEWS EDITOR munity,” the petition states. “These actions lead us “We need a president with to conclude that we cannot University President compassion and a clear mor- continue with any sense of Thomas LeBlanc’s support al compass, a vision for the confidence in the decisions among faculty, staff and stu- future that builds up GW’s by you and your leadership dents is fading. reputation and the capacity team,” the letter states. Soon after LeBlanc ar- to communicate effectively Last week, nearly 50 fac- rived at GW in 2017, he an- and steer our community ulty in the School of Business nounced improving the through difficult times. demanded administrators student experience and the Thomas LeBlanc is not that pause all layoffs until further University’s institutional president.” consultation with faculty. culture as two of his top The petition also con- Tensions between faculty priorities. But hundreds of demns GW’s partnership and LeBlanc were elevated students, faculty, staff and with the Disney Institute as after the hiring of Heather alumni now cite decisions part of the administration’s Swain last month, who later he made as part of those ini- institutional culture initia- rescinded her job offer after tiatives as reason to choose tive. Officials have repeat- hundreds raised concerns new leadership. edly declined to provide about her efforts to shield LeBlanc began reducing the full cost of the partner- information from investiga- the University’s undergrad- ship, drawing criticism from tors during the Larry Nas- uate population by 20 per- many faculty. sar case at Michigan State cent while upping the share Marie Price, a member University. LeBlanc has since of STEM students – dubbed of the Culture Leadership apologized for the decision the 20/30 Plan. The plan was Team who helped oversee HATCHET FILE PHOTO to hire her. quickly met with criticism the initiative, signed the pe- University President Thomas LeBlanc has lost the confidence of several groups representing hundreds of faculty, staff The senate will vote on a from many faculty before it tition. Price did not return and students on campus. resolution Friday to censure was halted in April as a re- multiple requests for com- LeBlanc for the hiring. sult of the pandemic. ment. ees about these decisions, he and hirings. LeBlanc and Officials have declined to When the Faculty As- Now as GW faces a $220 “President LeBlanc said. most other administrators answer all of The Hatchet’s sociation – an independent million annual budget short- hired the Disney Institute “I want to emphasize that have previously declined to questions about layoffs in group open to all full-time fall, many faculty say recent to ‘increase morale’ at GW, I firmly believe that our Uni- specify how much of a sal- specific offices, but affected faculty – met last month decisions to lay off hundreds despite Disney having vir- versity benefits from the col- ary cut they took. employees said administra- with more than 300 profes- of employees and suspend tually no experience with laboration and constructive “We believe that instead tors have laid off hundreds sors to discuss the Swain benefits could have been higher education,” the peti- input of our faculty, staff and of making indiscriminate, of staff, including career hiring and layoffs, members avoided had the planned en- tion states. students,” LeBlanc said in an across-the-board reductions, coaches and IT workers. overwhelmingly supported rollment cut not been imple- When reached for com- email. “Differing viewpoints a principled, unit-by-unit LeBlanc declined to say a measure calling on the Fac- mented. ment, LeBlanc said protect- and robust discussions on approach best supports our if he has any plans to resign. ulty Senate to move forward More than 220 faculty ing the health, safety and complex issues are expected ability to continue to deliver He declined to say if he re- with a vote of no-confidence and 130 students have care of the GW community and encouraged in a strong our core mission of teaching grets the Disney Institute in LeBlanc. signed a petition in recent and the University’s “core” academic environment.” and research,” LeBlanc said. partnership, the 20/30 Plan Almost 400 faculty mem- days stating LeBlanc has academic mission has driven He added that officials “As we have done through- or the strategic plan. bers have signed an open “threatened” the “core val- every decision during the began layoffs only after out this process, we will con- Columbian College of letter to the Faculty Senate’s ues” of the University, citing pandemic. Administrators implementing other cost- tinue to discuss our options Arts and Sciences depart- executive committee calling the cut as part of their ratio- have consulted “extensive- saving measures, like lead- with our community and ment chairs, program heads for a no-confidence vote. nale. The signatories include ly” with faculty, the senate, ership pay cuts and suspen- communicate about them and directors sent an open at least 20 percent of the Fac- staff and the Board of Trust- sions of most capital projects regularly.” letter to LeBlanc late last See ASSOCIATION Page 3 Students say professor Budget cuts during pandemic common among who falsified Black universities across the country, experts say identity ‘betrayed’ them AMY LIU STAFF WRITER LIZZIE MINTZ ation and increase diversity SENIOR STAFF WRITER in academic departments. All of GW’s 12 peer in- Officials have not dis- stitutions are implement- MAKENA ROBERTS closed how administrators ing budget cuts ranging CONTRIBUTING NEWS EDITOR will determine if or when from furloughing employ- Krug can resume her role, ees to delaying the imple- TIFFANY GARCIA but the history department mentation of certain proj- ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR sent a note to students Friday ects and instituting hiring evening calling on Krug to freezes. Officials eliminated When junior Justin Mc- step down. roughly 60 positions of Culloch took “World History Daniel Schwartz, the event staff across various 1550 to Present” his fresh- chair of the history depart- University departments, man year, he said professor ment, did not return multiple at least dozens of staff Jessica Krug mainly focused requests for comment but across the University’s on African and Caribbean wrote to Krug’s students ear- technology offices and at history because professors ly Friday that the department least 70 employees in facil- focus “too much” on Europe. was seeking to remove her ities and the Career Center McCulloch said Krug from teaching this fall. Krug the past few weeks. Seven often criticized White pro- has been removed from GW’s course system but is still of GW’s peer schools have fessors who taught Black instituted layoffs in vari- history. So when McCulloch listed on the department’s ous departments, while learned through a Medium website. others are putting it off for post that the professor was The course system now now. in fact a White woman from lists Schwartz and Patricia The University of Kansas City, Missouri who Acerbi, a professorial lecturer FILE PHOTO BY SOPHIA YOUNG | CONTRIBUTING PHOTO EDITOR Rochester projects a $315 GW’s estimated $220 million budget shortfall from the ongoing pandemic is pretty typical to that of other institutions claimed a Black identity for of history, as the instructors million budget gap while of higher education, experts say. most of her life, he said he for Krug’s “History of Latin the University of Southern was in “complete shock.” America I” class. Schwartz California has predicted a sity have been very fluid,” ficials, including Univer- perts said budget cuts and “I had never, ever doubt- is listed as the instructor for potential $300 to $500 mil- Nosal said in an email. sity President Thomas layoffs are common ways ed who she claimed to be,” he her “African History to 1880” lion budget gap. North- “Due to the uncertainty of LeBlanc, also took a tem- to minimize the financial said. class but wrote students Sun- eastern University, on the the pandemic, we expect porary pay cut as part of impact of the pandemic McCulloch is one of more day evening that he believes other hand, has projected these variables and our fi- efforts to reduce GW’s ex- across universities. than a dozen students and he has found a replacement a budget surplus by reduc- nancial situation will con- penses. Barry Fishman, a pro- alumni who said Krug “be- for the course. ing operating expenses. tinue to evolve.” “While these are dif- fessor of information and trayed” their trust by black- Five students have University spokesper- Administrators had ficult decisions, we have education at the Univer- fishing – when a person dropped Krug’s Latin son Crystal Nosal said the previously announced a been and will continue to sity of Michigan, said it pretends to be Black – and al- American history course $220 million budget gap postponement on most be focused on the health is not uncommon for in- lowing her falsified life expe- and three have left her Af- accounts for the anticipat- hirings and capital proj- and safety of our commu- stitutions to make drastic riences to steer class material.