By Paula Thonney 

I teach math at Lane Community College. I’ve taught full-time at LCC since 2016.   

LCC’s instructors are now bargaining with the college for an updated contract. The contract negotiations are not only about compensation. Faculty are also asking for services for students and for a safe campus. I’m writing to share with you a glimpse of a day in my work life.  

This term I am teaching four classes, two online and two in-person. In one of my online classes, students have midterm exams next week. They will be taking their tests in the testing center. I wrote two forms of the test, photocopied them, then walked over to the Center building with a stack of 30 tests.  

Staff there expressed concerns to me about their (very lean) budget being cut further. They deal with a huge volume of tests for faculty across campus. This gives students flexibility to schedule tests around work and family commitments. The testing center offers some evening hours and occasional Saturdays. 

Artificial intelligence can complete many tests almost perfectly, so many faculty require our students to complete in-person testing (instead of testing at home).  

Adequately staffing the testing center for students and faculty is a faculty bargaining goal. Testing center staff are paid modestly. Funding the testing center is a small investment with a big return for our institution.  

On my way back to my office, an individual approached me: He’d just seen a student wearing a tactical vest, a welding mask and carrying a sledge hammer. He asked if I could contact campus security.

I wondered if it was a Halloween costume, but called Public Safety. I kept an eye on the student (who sat down at a table among other students, cracked open a canned beverage, and started working on a laptop).  When the officer arrived, I asked him to talk to the student, and check that there weren’t weapons in his vest or his (military style) backpack. He did, and determined that there was no threat. He asked the student to put the sledge hammer away, and told the student that the vest might alarm other students.  

LCC faculty work to create a safe and welcoming environment for our students, but all teachers in this country deal with the constant background fear of being attacked by an active shooter. Folks in other professions may not understand the vulnerability that teachers feel knowing that they or their students could be assaulted by a gunman.  

A safe campus —  and provisions to that end — is another of our campus bargaining goals. Faculty and staff are asking for reasonable measures to create a secure campus for all of us.

After I returned to my office, a student stopped by to interview me for an assignment in their writing class.  They shared some of their challenges with me. For their assignment they were creating a pamphlet to share with their classmates about campus resources. They listed the Health Clinic, Mental Health and Wellness center, the Zen Den and tutoring services, as well as instructor office hours. The pamphlet they created was really wonderful — it highlighted the many supports LCC provides for our students.  

Adequately funding student support services is another of our faculty bargaining goals. We know how critical these supports are for vulnerable students such as this one.  

Later, I went to my math literacy class. We used geometry formulas and applied them in real life scenarios.  I asked students how we could alter a recipe for a round 8-inch cake pan to a rectangular 8×10 inch pan. I have two culinary students in the class.

While my job is within the Math Department, I’ve been reaching out to career technical programs, getting to their instructors and math needs. I work to improve alignment between math courses and programs such as culinary, automotive, construction and aviation maintenance.  

I’m honored to serve our community by teaching at LCC. Faculty would like to be treated with respect, and to be fairly compensated for the time and effort we invest in our students and this institution.  

In the bargaining process, the LCC administration’s proposals have failed to address campus safety and do not include continuing student access to the Health Clinic and other student supports. The faculty have asked for both of these things, as well as for a fair cost of living adjustment. There haven’t even been many bargaining meetings due to administration lack of availability — and thus we have made very little progress towards a contract. LCC faculty are working hard every day to keep our campus caring, vibrant, safe and a place for students to grow. We value our community’s support as we bargain for a new contract.

LCC is governed by a publicly elected board. The board can protect our college by telling the LCC administration to make time to meet and bargain, and to offer fair and respectful proposals to the faculty.  Our community can support us by contacting LCC board members from their zone, and asking them to support a fair contract.  

Thank you for listening.

Paula Thonney is a math teacher at Lane Community College.