June 11, 2013 To the Board of Governors of Wayne State University: As an alum of Wayne State University (Monteith, Chicano Boricua Studies, 1980) College of Labor and Metropolitan Affairs (1992), recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award (2011) and Distinguished Alumni of Criminal Justice (2011), and an elected member of the Detroit School Board under emergency manager, I am writing to express my disappointment with Wayne State’s decision to host Kevyn Orr, the emergency manager, particularly in the law school. Wayne State has a proud history of progressive education, providing access to many generations of Detroiters who, like me, would never have had a chance at higher education. Now comes Kevyn Orr, whose place in Detroit is made possible only by the subversion of the will of the people of Michigan. Public Act 4 was repealed after the mockery of the ballot process by the Board of Canvassers who kept 260,000 signatures off the ballot due to “font size.” When the court ruled that the ballot measure must be place on the ballot, the spirit and letter of the law was ignored and the new repeal proof Public Act 436 came to Michigan. The methods used to subvert the voters were shameful enough to embarrass any critical thinker and any citizen who professes to respect the law. The city of Detroit did not need an emergency manager. The Jones Day Law Firm is both our debtor and lender. Who, of good conscience could go along with this scheme? We did nothing to deserve to lose our rights, our resources and our home rule. Within the sham of this law comes the requirement to hold a “public meeting.” Wayne State police were used to keep the public from entering the law school to hear this “report” from Jones Day representative Kevyn Orr. While I understand the political reality of power relations, the State’s hold over education funding, the decision was an expedient one for such considerations. Education in Detroit has been dismantled by the State with the creation of the separate and unequal Educational Achievement Authority, which has no intention of educating Detroit ‘s poorest and most vulnerable students. None of the institutions of higher education in the state of Michigan have stood up against this return to Jim Crow era education. Not one. Several have gotten in on it; Teach for America, EAA, “Self Governing Schools,” and countless fly by night charter operators are able to profit from poor children’s educational experience, thanks to the universities who charter them. The reality of funding is not lost on anyone. But at what point does anyone stand up to the selling off of all that is precious? Education? Children? The hope for equity? Soon only rich white students will be able to pass any entrance exams. Is this truly the direction we want to go? Wayne State has shamed many of its alumni and spat in the faces of Detroit residents by hosting Mr. Orr. While Detroiters know things can always get worse, we have now only our principles to hold onto. We have only our integrity; we have lost our right to vote for our elected officials, we have lost our public school system and we have lost respect for one of our most beloved institutions in Detroit. It is a sad day for Detroit and a sad day for Wayne State University. I do not believe I am alone in this sentiment. Sincerely, Elena M. Herrada
Posted on: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 23:32:36 +0000
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