a href=”https://www.dailyegyptian.com/contactus.html”bDE Staff Reporter/b/abrspan class=”realsmall”bDaily Egyptian/b/span

The Daily Egyptian says:Ditto. It’s been more than a year, and the last few months have been nothing but negotiation news. The news that the faculty and the administration have finally come to an agreement and that the campus remains a strike-free zone is like a blast of air conditioning on a hot day – nothing ever sounded so good.

And even better would be to not think about this for a while. So, the Egyptian is following George Carlin’s example and putting a moratorium on our own seven words and phrases. They are:IEA/NEA, crisis headquarters, shared governance, fair share, strike, contracts and binding arbitration. We promise you that you will not have to read about them on this page for at least one week.

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Looking back at the last year, it’s hard to figure out where the time went. Last time negotiations were taking place, it took the faculty and the administration about 18 months to settle. We’re glad that’s not the case this time – who could handle another six months of this? However, this time things escalated much more rapidly to an awkward place from which we’re not sure we can return.

There are people on this campus holding grudges that date back to the ’70s, which is a lot of weight to be carrying around when you’re trying to educate the next generation. Letters printed on these pages contained many names of those involved in the situation. Letters also contained hatred and betrayal. They drew lines of confusion and lines of separation.

While we wish we could just grab one of those huge pink erasers from elementary school and rub out the ugliness that has surrounded this issue, that’s about as likely as Gus Bode graduating college.

The key is to focus on the positive that can come of this situation. Those who work together on this campus do so for a common good – education. When we look back at the things said in done in the last year, it’s hard to see that. The lens got cracked somewhere along the way, and vision was clouded with things such as our seven phrases. It’s time to wipe off those glasses and refocus.

In two or two and a half years, the faculty and the administration will again return to the table to figure out their contracts. Some students on campus now will still be here for it. Many of the same faculty and administrators will be involved. Where will our minds and hearts be? Will they be back here, in a festering pile of what we should’ve could’ve would’ve done and all that went wrong? Will they be here, where chants, insults and drawn union/non-union lines keep us from making progress?

Will they be stuck here, filed with the other old news?

We hope not. This campus needs to move forward.

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Those seven words and phrases won’t be mentioned on this page for at least a week. That will give us some time to think about other things going on, the good things that this campus and community are doing and the bad things we all need to fix. Either way, the future is upon us. It is a place where great things can happen for SIUC. But it takes work from everyone, as a team. The dust has settled and grudges must now be cast aside.

Because the end is only the beginning.