Furlough Friday

You would think that I would be posting more given that my campus was on furlough last week. But as I am trying to finish up my sabbatical I violated the rules and worked on Friday, albeit on another campus.

I Know! Some of you are now angry at me for demonstrating to the state that they can just cut my pay and I will accept it. Sorry, but if I am going to spend future furlough days working on my vitae and looking for another position I need some more publications.

The entire furlough foolishness as taken on an absurd quality that makes my head spin. The faculty have been told that if they go to campus and are caught working in their offices or labs on a furlough day they will be charged with trespassing on state property and will be escorted from campus. We have also been told that we may not check e-mail or voicemail on furlough days. I wonder if the university will just shut down the e-mail server and cut off the phone service. This seems more effective then making the Chairperson monitor the faculty. Plus, if the Chairperson is monitoring our accounts to make sure we are not checking e-mail are they not working on a furlough day?

The university has instructed us to not work on furlough days, but to assign work to the students to make up for the loss of class time. But don't I end up grading that work? I guess so long as I don't grade it on a furlough day it's OK with the university. I sure hope the lab students don't get busted in an unfortunate misunderstanding resulting from their performing organic synthesis in their kitchens on the furlough lab days.

Perhaps I should spend the next furlough day organizing a on-line job fair to bring together campuses outside California with California faculty who are ready to bring their expertise to other college and university systems. I am just saying, if I can't work at my job I have to find something useful to do.

TS Hall