By: Jennifer Ward and Arlenis Marmolejos
The Student Services building overlooking the Great Lawn. (Photo by Arlenis Marmolejos)
Following the faculty vote of no-confidence on May 29 of President Milagros Peña, faculty, and staff consider how to respond to the upcoming convocation ceremony on Wednesday, Sept. 11.
The convocation ceremony is an annual observance for faculty and staff to be celebrated for their accomplishments and promotions. This is typically led by Peña.
In a statement to The Phoenix, Peña said, "Convocation is a special tradition where we gather to celebrate our colleagues' achievements and promotions, honor the service of those who have retired in the past year, and discuss the state of the college.”
However, following the events of May 2, faculty and staff remain unsure if they want to attend the convocation ceremony led by Peña.
Many conversations have circulated about whether to turn chairs around, hold up signs, wear buttons, or boycott the event altogether.
This puts faculty members, especially those up for promotions like tenure, in a difficult position—having to choose between accepting recognition or expressing disapproval towards the administration.
Athar Abdul-Quader, associate professor of mathematics and computer science, and Nathan Holmes, associate professor of cinema studies, are among the faculty members promoted. They also are not attending the ceremony after witnessing the events of May 2.
“I cannot in good conscience receive an award from President Peña or attend an event where she delivers an address,” said Holmes. “Unless that address includes an apology and a resignation. I prefer to recognize my incredible colleagues on my own time.”
“To see that horrific level of violence meted out to people and to have a president that is so unapologetic about it, I have no interest in attending,” said Abdul-Quader. “It feels very tainted to come from this administration.”
These opinions come after many discussions over the summer held with Peña and students, faculty, and staff, as stated by Professor of Media Studies Shaka McGlotten, Peña also allegedly stated that she did not regret calling the police on the peaceful student protestors. Peña also allegedly stated in these same discussions that if there were to be another protest, she would call the police again.
“The fact that [Peña] sees nothing wrong with the police response on May 2 reveals a callous disregard for the rights and security of students, faculty, and staff in our community,” said Holmes. “This is what led us to vote no confidence—President Peña is unfit to lead our college.”
Faculty members who are not receiving a promotion, are still on the fence about whether they want to attend the convocation. They debate between attending to support their colleagues, but also to show where they stand in response to the no-confidence vote.
When asked if they plan to attend the ceremony, McGlotten responded, “I think I'll just see how I feel on the day of and see how high my tolerance is for being gaslit.”
Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, Allyson Jackson, also faces a similar internal conflict.
“I want to make sure that she knows that I still have no confidence because I don't feel like she gave me anything over the summer that helped me feel like she was going to change how she leads Purchase,” said Jackson.
According to Jackson and McGlotten, there have been discussions of Peña’s ability to lead Purchase that predate the events of the spring semester. For example, discussions surrounding building berms on campus and past controversies regarding Peña were highlighted in Faculty Presiding Officer Andrew Salomon’s campus-wide email on June 3, which addressed the no-confidence vote.
“I don't really want to go to a convocation and sit there and listen to her talk about her leadership for the college when I do not believe you are the right leader for our college,” said Jackson.
McGlotten states that although Peña represents Purchase as the institution, she doesn’t represent Purchase as the community.
“I think President Peña has had every opportunity to engage in good faith and communication with faculty well before May 2 and its aftermath,” said McGlotten. “She's burned through lots of people who work really hard and who have worked with her in good faith and in goodwill.”
McGlotten continued, “The list of people who have supported her and who no longer support her is a very long list.”
Gaura Narayan, associate professor of literature, also grapples with this dilemma. She expressed a desire to show support and admiration for her colleagues while finding a way to distance herself from the administration via media.
“On the one hand some of us do not wish to be associated with any institutional activity and on the other hand we do not wish to miss the opportunity to recognize our colleagues and their landmark achievements,” said Narayan.
Salomon shared in a statement to The Phoenix that his focus will remain on faculty members and will be "squarely directed toward their recognition."
"Because so much of what is wrong with this college is related to a gross misunderstanding of the vitality of free speech, and how central it is to education, I respect my colleagues’ choices to voice their displeasure in whatever ways they see fit," said Salomon.
He continued, "I only ask that it be communicated in ways that do not derail the ceremony, or draw attention away from our colleagues’ successes, which are successes for the entire campus. All of us need to be reminded of what an outstanding college Purchase is."
“We're very united in how we felt about [Peña’s] leadership, but how we respond to convocation itself, I think we’re a little bit more divided,” said Jackson.
Abdul-Quader shared that Peña will be delivering this speech, with or without faculty members present, and stating that we’re in a very “divisive” place on campus due to the actions of the administration. “If we are going to heal on our campus, we are going to have to have conversations,” said Abdul-Quader.
Many faculty members want Peña to not only apologize for the events of May 2, but to also open up a discussion about how to move forward as a community.
McGlotten said, “How does she really believe that she can move forward at the college without rebuilding trust if she does not believe any trust has been broken, right?”
The convocation ceremony will be taking place in the music building recital hall at 12:15 p.m., regardless of faculty attendance.
“I don't believe that there is any kind of unity among the faculty about what is the right way to show our disapproval at convocation,” said Abdul Quader. “Some may attend and some may wish to show their disapproval while they are there—I personally cannot stomach it."
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