DMI Blog
All comments, ideas and thoughts on DMI Blog are property of their authors. Reasonable excerpts are permitted on other sites and blogs; otherwise reproduction without the author's permission is strictly prohibited.

• Pace Adjuncts Go Caroling for a Contract
  

  Santa and some jolly carolers showed up at Grand Central Station in New York City last night to serenade alumni of Pace University who were gathered on a balcony in the grand old hall for dinner. While the songs in the carol songbook (PDF) followed familiar tunes, the lyrics might have drawn a little attention. I am pretty sure it was the first time anyone heard the "Adjunct Paycheck Song" sung to the tune of "The Dreidel Song" or "Friedman, the Interim President" sung to the tune of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." But when you have been bargaining a contract for over three years (while the administration has been stalling), you have to get creative.

  The carolers did draw some attention. In fact, the carolers drew the attention of New York's finest who came over to see what was what and eventually to tell the carolers they would need to move on or they would really be singing for their supper.

  While the carolers were sharing their message from down below, the president of the Union of Adjunct Faculty at Pace (UAFP), John Pawlowski (who just happens to also be a Pace alumni) was circulating a letter (PDF) to the alumni at the dinner.

  As part of celebrating its 100th birthday of existence, Pace has been running a capital campaign called the Centennial Campaign, and of course alumni are one focus of that effort. Responding to this campaign, Pawlowski states in the letter:

  I couldn't agree more with the Centennial Campaign overview which reads in part, "Centennial Campaign is aimed at directing this remarkable university toward new heights of excellence in terms of student financial aid, faculty support, student learning opportunities, and facilities and grounds. This monumental endeavor will require a renewed commitment from all who hold Pace dear. It will allow the University to reaffirm and further its position as a renowned and distinctive private institution of higher education." But as a proud alumnus (and Pace parent) I am appalled that, particularly at this time in history, Pace Administration has spent over a million dollars fighting over the last few years, fighting its own employees.

  The caroling was part of several events being held this week to call attention to the university's ongoing foot-dragging and legal maneuvering to avoid coming to a fair settlement with the union. And in keeping with the spirit of the holiday season, UAFP is also providing members and supporters with a list of Twelve Things You Can Do by Christmas (PDF) to support the adjunct faculty at Pace including signing on to the petition of support.

  Perhaps someone should drop a copy of The Christmas Carol off to the Pace administration to remind them that treating people fairly is more important than profits--particularly at this time of year.

  Cross-posted from AFT's FACE Talk. Photos by Bruce Gilbert.
  

• Subprime Lenders Could Have Learned a Thing or Two From New York
  

  Last week, millions of Americans were disappointed when President Bush
  announced he was freezing interest rates for a small number of certain subprime loans. The subprime lenders' practice of targeting "at-risk" borrowers and charging them higher than average interest rates that ballooned over time, left a wave of foreclosure and bankruptcy in their wake. Instead of boosting our economy, lending companies left both their borrowers and themselves in greater financial crisis, and even with President Bush's interest rate
  agreement, millions of people across America are being forced into foreclosure. Here in New York, tens of thousands of people are facing the loss of their homes.

  Some have been quick to write off the failing loans as what you get for lending money to risky borrowers. But it's the predatory practices of these lenders that are at fault, not the borrowers themselves.

  The funny thing is, my organization has been lending money to the same
  "risky borrowers" for ten years - New Yorkers with low incomes, bad
  credit history, or no collateral. Granted, we give small business loans and not mortgages, but our borrowers are in the same neighborhoods that are now seeing an almost 50% rise in foreclosures. Yet, our loan recipients are not going bankrupt - in fact they, and we, have done quite well, with an impressive 92% repayment rate or our loans over a
  period of 1-2 years.

  So why have we succeeded where others failed? Well, for one reason, because we based our business model on opportunity, not failure.

  As we all know by now, sub-prime lenders target "less than desirable" borrowers who would otherwise have a difficult time getting a loan, and slap them with a high interest rate. Then they bundle that loan together with a number of others, including less-risky loans, and sell shares of that package to investors - banking on their chances that while many borrowers will default, the 'safer' loans combined with the high interest rates risky clients pay will make up for any other lost money.

  
  Our loans have low, reasonable interest rates so that our borrowers can actually repay them. We give our loan recipients the tools to come out ahead, by teaching them business skills and helping them develop a business model and loan repayment plan. We give our borrowers a support network in addition to their loan -- doing all that we can to not only help our recipients repay their loans, but to turn their loans into a bright future.

  Subprime lending institutions targeted low income and middle class by selling them the promise of the American Dream, complete with
  a two bedroom house and white picket fence. Yet it pulled the rug out from under them - leaving their customers bankrupt, homeless, and even further away from where they'd started. Now, with millions of dollars of losses and whole lending arms folding, the lenders are paying the price too. Maybe next time they should work with the borrowers, not against them.
  

• City Council Hearings on School Grades: We Need Conversation, Not Just Theater
  

  Monday's City Council hearing on the school grading system was filled with theatrics -- everything from "boos and hisses" to "fliers with the letter F printed in thick black ink" to education officials running around outside in circles to avoid having to actually talk to critics.

  There's certainly a good side to these kinds of theatrics, which keep an issue in the news and help to keep policy alive in the public consciousness. However, in order to have real policy discussion we need to get beyond the political theater and find a way to have an active discussion and real conversation with policy makers.

  In the past I've writtenabout the new grading system in New York City. Monday's raucous City Council hearing centered on this new system.
  
  A Times story on the hearing highlighted that, in addition to schools showing improvement in their student’s state test scores, it was clear City Council members and some parents have concerns about the use of school grading. Some Council members, parents and other stakeholders thought there needs to be more discussion about school class sizes, security, graduation and retention.

  The Times reports that during the heari