Heres a letter from an alum : I am writing in support of keeping the French language program at USM. There are many reasons why it is a crucially important major to offer in Maine’s largest metropolitan area. 1. There is a wealth of Franco-American history in Maine and extended Metropolitan connections with French speaking Canada and the rest of the French speaking world. Thinking creatively, one can come up with ideas of how to tie the French major and minor in with the Business program, forging connections to business in Canada and with the Nursing program, doing relief work in Haiti, or in local hospitals for that matter. The number of French speaking patients at Maine Med will only be increasing. According to a recent article in the Portland Press Herald, people from French-speaking Africa are the citys fastest growing immigrant population. Having hospital interns and employees who are fluent in French is a necessity in Portland and a perfect opportunity to live up to the Metropolitan ideal. 2. Local opportunities to hire French-speaking employees abound. Yesterday I was in the Back Cove Hannaford and the cashier, who recognized my daughter as a classmate from Marada Adams elementary, mentioned that they get customers who speak only French in there quite often and that it is very hard to communicate with them if they have questions, etc. It would behoove Hannafords administration to keep at least one French speaking employee per shift to be called upon to translate when the need arose. What a shining example of the Metropolitan vision it would be for USM to partner with local businesses by having internships for students (supermarkets use social anthropologists, business majors, language majors, etc). Yes, immigrants are rightly encouraged to learn English, but who better to teach them English than someone who speaks both their mother-tongue and their new language! “A teacher education track is available to students majoring in either Classics, French or Spanish and is designed to provide prospective teachers a strong academic foundation along with a continuous focus on both the theory and practice of teaching through a sequence of pre- internship education courses and field experiences.” From USMs Modern and Classical Languages web page: usm.maine.edu/mcll The French program seems right in line with the Metropolitan plan. 3. Our current Governor, Paul Le Page, is a French speaker and a frequent vocal supporter of business interests in Maine. While I do not think that business is the be-all-end-all as far as importance goes, if you are going to say that business is important, then act accordingly: “Maine borders two Canadian provinces. One has French as the official language (Quebec), and the other has both French and English as official languages (New Brunswick-Canada’s only officially bilingual province). French is the language of culture and commerce over Maines borders in both Quebec and New Brunswick. The Maine International Trade Center has a Canada Desk, and the reason is that Canada is Maines #1 trade partner. Canadian companies invest in Maine, representing 55% of the foreign-owned companies in our state.” Betsy Amtzen, Canadian Studies Outreach, Canadian-American Center, University of Maine in an email from Oct. 7. 4. Currently there are over 200 French teachers in K-12 schools in Maine. Where do we expect their successors to come from if they cannot be trained here? The administration repeats again and again the Metropolitan University vision for training and retaining workers in Maine. We have heard many times that one of the main reason businesses dont move to Maine is that we have an under-educated work force. 5. The administrators speak of the UMaine system as one giant school with various campuses. The idea that if a program is offered at UMaine Orono then it doesnt need to be offered at USM is ridiculous. It is not possible for a large percentage of Southern Maines college students to move to Orono to complete a degree. USM has a large base of commuter and non-traditional students. These are people with a job, perhaps children, and other ties to the greater Portland area. They cannot just up and move to Orono for school. 6. You cut to the bone, you cripple the creature. Students are heartbroken by these cuts and are leaving in droves BECAUSE of the cuts. Ask any student what the word in the classroom and on the campuses is and you will hear the same refrain. “These fundamental changes listed above will move USM toward a more student-centered, interdisciplinary, fiscally sustainable, metropolitan university” said Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Joseph McDonnell in email from Oct. 6. To be “student-centered” would include listening to the students, one would imagine. The vast majority of students say that they want to attend a university with robust liberal arts programs. 7. It should be required that the administration show detailed accounts of exactly how much money they expect to save by eliminating the French major. At this time there is only one French teacher. To complete the major as it stands, every French class is taught by one person, Dr. Nancy Erickson. The languages share one administrative assistant. How much money is it actually costing to keep the program? President David Flanagan, in an email to the USM community sent Oct. 7 stated that “...this approach, of eliminating just two programs [the other program Flanagan refers to here is the Applied Medical Sciences Masters degree] which service 51 students of the 8125 total student body, and proposing the consolidation of others, should allow us to continue to offer 56 undergraduate majors with over 60 areas of specialization, and virtually the same number of credit hours, more efficiently, saving some $6 million towards our $16 million goal.” Cutting French in one of the two states in the US with the highest French speaking populations along with a MA in Applied Medical Sciences will help save $6 million. Can he show us this information? Can he show it to an independent auditor? Delay the cuts until an independent auditor can examine the numbers. Press for state and federal funding for education. Examine inequities in pay. Why should anyone in administration make more than a tenured professor? Ask the tougher questions that underlie this financial fiasco. Dont just accept business as usual. If this is what the system demands, then the system is wrong. Sincerely, Adinah Barnett (USM alum 2010), October 14, 2014
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 15:07:47 +0000
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