Who Silenced Us?

A cult-like abhorrence to question anything uttered by Old Main pervades Penn State's culture. Silence and apathy are the glues that bind the Penn State way.

If you work at Penn State, decisions are made by the administration and those edicts are expected to be treated as though they're etched on stone tablets and brought down from Old Main by Moses.

Your opinion on tuition hikes, salary cuts, job titles, working conditions, spending decisions and building projects aren't needed. After all, you're fortunate just to have a job. Managers have little say if those decisions are off target, either; they're just responsible for pulling the trigger.

Penn State employees are disconnected from the Penn State legacy, a legacy that is reserved for deans and presidents, trustees and chancellors, whose pictures, they believe, will one day adorn the hallowed halls and ivory towers that they spend so much money on.

And, exactly, what type of legacy will it be? High tuition. Crippling debt. Reckless spending. Declining wages. Hostile working conditions.

It's time that Penn State staff members realize that they are critical in re-righting one of Pennsylvania's proudest educational institutions. If we are expected to sacrifice, we should at least be able to add a voice to the decisions that affect our students and our future.

Thankful Is A Two-Way Street

By now you've heard the corporate mantra--you should just be thankful you have a job.
And we should.
By now, we've heard a couple of comments like this one, which appeared as a comment to the CDT story:

The point is, you're a bunch of whiners, but you know you have the best gig and can't leave. Appreciate it!

Your job security should be worth an extra few grand to you -- because there's not many other places looking to hire whiners right now!

Penn State staff is often portrayed as a bunch of pampered slackers. But, it hasn't been my experience, the slacking is no more rampant than in other jobs, I suspect. Probably less so, because most of these critics probably don't understand the depth of the bureaucracy at Penn State and the lack of leadership.
Each year students come to the Penn State system in record numbers, each year Penn State staff is pushed to the brink of capacity.
Don't sell yourselves short. The University could not run without you.
The leadership at Penn State should be thankful, too.