During my time at this University I have been amazed by many things. Recently it has been at the faculty and administration disagreements. How can the faculty expect to receive any respect when they act like children? When has complaining ever solved anything? You (the faculty) seem to act as though you deserve a better contract. It may be true that SIU’s professors are the lowest paid, but so what? Who is forcing you to stay here?

You knew how much you were to be paid when you started teaching here. If you do not like it, leave. If you think you deserve a raise, ask the students in your classes. Ask them if you, as an individual teacher, deserve a raise.

If you do not get at least 75 percent of your students to say yes, then in my opinion, you do not deserve one. If you want to strike then so be it. I do not want people who care more about money than my education trying to teach me. You say that the administration does not care about teaching and research, yet I bet that most of you have students that would say the same about you.

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The administration does have its problems as well. There is a general attitude of not caring. This, I think, is the major cause for the decline in enrollment. The professors are the second major cause.

A few years ago people were complaining about the image of SIU. How does it look when professors only seem to be interested in more money and publicly make that fact clear? My wife is going to be a teacher and we have known from the start that teaching is not a high-paying field. You teach because you care. I wish the faculty felt the same.