Are Universities Losing Their Humanity?

This was the press release from the Australian followed by my own viewpoint about the cuts to Humanities at La Trobe University.

ref: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/la-trobe-makes-case-for-crisis-cuts/story-e6frgcjx-1226450868539

La Trobe makes case for crisis cuts

• by: Stephen Matchett
• From: The Australian
• August 15, 2012 12:34PM

LA TROBE University has acknowledged its humanities and social science faculty is in crisis, in a frank statement justifying controversial cuts.

“Declining student demand, poor student retention and a very high number of subjects offered relative to the number of enrolled students have resulted in the need for this restructure.”

“The faculty is not in financial surplus. There is a $4.3 million gap in revenue to cost.”

According to the unsigned statement released by the university’s communication office via Twitter late this morning, 37 staff will go this year, with a further four to follow. The National Tertiary Education Union claims the cuts equal 25 per cent of academic strength. 

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

This is a short statement that makes the economic realities clear.  Moreover, it makes clear that government funding is not covering the gaps with Humanities subjects.  The problem I see here is that young people are coached to find jobs rather than encouraged to follow their passion.  It is all couched in business language as they are potential employers. Is this what life is about? Or can we study to expand our knowledge of the world we live in and ourselves? It depends on what you perceive as the real world.

From a marketing perspective why not market these subjects and encourage young people to follow what they feel is their purpose or interest rather than encouraging them to go for the money and security. I have seen so many times parents subtly encouraging this rather than really helping them to find their path through life. Fear of not enough and insecurity is often beneath this rather than curiosity and adventure to live life fully.

In the interests of democracy I felt to publish the letter I wrote to Professor Dewar.  I have received no response.    I thought in the public interest I would write to the CEO of Universities Australia Belinda Robinson. Again, I received no response.  I asked for a reply so I could be sure my email was received.

I decided to send this letter to a few academic colleagues and one prominant lawyer agreed with my sentiments. I sense there are many who feel the same way.

I ask – what is democracy? If it can’t be found at universities or workplaces where can it be found? This is the time for these questions to be asked for we are indeed heading down a path right now. Young people are not aware of the real choices here.

The next blog will feature the poem I attached which drives to the heart of the issue. I also discovered there is a unileaks website, it is clear to me why these leaks are being encouraged.

We will all learn that the truth sets us free. It is never about ‘them and us’ it is about ‘us’, who we are as a civilisation and what truly represents what we stand for. My hope is that universities use this conflict as an opportunity to embrace dialogue in an open space to really discuss and air these issues in the name of democracy and freedom of speech.

This is the letter I wrote.

Dear Professor Dewar,

I have to say I was saddened by the cuts to Humanities and in particular the Arts Degree. There is so much I’d like to say to you from my own experience in respect of the true value of humanities. I was orginally trained as an Economist and worked as a market analyst for 10 years. I dreamed I was teaching peace and my whole life shifted to a vocation where I had little money but plenty of passion. Yet interestingly I have made a significant difference to thousands of lives. I have now moved full time into humanitarian pursuits where I am mostly volunteering and working for true peace in our world. I survive creatively and know I have chosen a pathway through life which is my true expression and life purpose.

I genuinely thank Latrobe University and in particular the Peace Studies Program for giving myself a deeper awareness of the importance of peace in our World. The La Trobe qualification and credibility springboarded me into travelling to Russia with Dr. Patch Adams and winning a scholarship on the Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies Program. This qualification opened up training with the World’s experts in conflict resolution, undertaking field trips to places of live conflict and past conflict. We visted the killing fields and were told about the violence to men, women and children and to never forget our humanity. I had the opportunity to sit and talk with former Khmer Rouge.

Over the years I have seen my life unfolding in a direction which I could never have planned or had a job description written for. It has been a prviledge to work for humanity and to develop my own humanity towards others and to recognise that as I change my world changes. Or in the words of Gandhi ‘be the change you wish to see in the World’. I did the career path and found it empty. I also worked in 400 companies and found most of the people were unhappy as they felt they had no choice.

I wish to share a poem with yourself and colleagues. I have also added recent feedback for Humanitarian clowns who visited India as volunteers. My life as an academic and business person fades as a shadow next to the sheer humility and wonder of working with vulnerable people with HIV, leprosy, bonded labourers, disabled and the list goes on. I have stared lovingly into so many faces I’ve lost count. What I have found is that my true purpose in life is to connect with other humans in authentic ways to help them see their own personal value and infinite potential. If it is all equated to balance sheets and market share I would never have taken this path as it seems a road to nowhere yet I discovered it is a pathway that is Now Here. It unveiled to me the true human needs in our civilisation.

The subjects cut such as gender studies, diversity, spirituality and components of Arts is like removing the heart out of who we are and why we are all here. They are critical in creating equality and expanding our understanding of the World. I am proving in my own life experience that you can follow your vocation without money. That there are aspects to life more important than money and prestige. That giving to live is the real life philosophy. I can only trail words on this page, you have to live it to really know what I am talking about. It is an incredible life. You may step aside and say this is irrelevant to a business such as a university, I can assure you when you think creatively you will find pathways open up for differentiating La Trobe as an Enlightened university. The challenges in our World will soon demand enlightened, versatile and creative thinkers to assist with paving new ways in order to survive a pending collapse, the economic paradigm is not working. I am not overstating the reality here. Something to contemplate.

So enjoy my poem it comes from my heart to you and the attached report from India is the words of those vulnerable people who are forgotten. Yet ironically they are the ones who remind me of my humanity and reason for being. The love I felt from them was extraordinary yet their lives are so hard and lonely because of the exploitation from those who seek profit over people. I so wish for a world that values all human beings and awakens to the true meaning of civilisation.

I send this with great respect and yes love.

Susan Carew
Worldpeacefull.com