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        Ponderings of the President

                     

                        By Ira Lansing


Once upon a time there was a mighty wizard.  Now it seems that some of the townspeople had heard of this wizard and wanted to learn from him. So the wizard said to them, “Come to the House of
Wizards and I will share with you some of what I know.

You will sit with me for a cycle of five moons and
hear what there is to hear.  And I will give you
challenges that you may demonstrate your ability and
understanding of this knowledge.  And while undergoing these challenges you may use what you have put down in pen by your own hand.  But verily I say:  that which you have acquired, that which you have put down, you may not share with anyone during these challenges.  If you do not heed my words, it will be a black mark against you, you will be incomplete, and you will be delayed.  Your punishment will be that you must once again undergo the challenge if you so choose, but you will be required to wait until the next cycle of 5 moons commences before you may do so again.”
And it was heard and it was understood by all who sat with the wizard.

Now it came to pass that some of the townspeople did not abide by the words of the wizard and they were delayed and they chose to wait until the next cycle of five moons.  But the wizard was just and the
townspeople learned and all was good.

But as often might be the case, there was one
townsperson who, for some reason that will forever lie buried in the realm of mystery, did not hear nor
perhaps understand the words of the wizard.  And this townsperson shared that which he had put down in his own hand with another townsperson during a challenge.And the wizard imposed the punishment on all involved.

Yet in another of those mysteries that may never besolved, this particular townsperson did not choose to return during the next cycle of 5 moons to complete the challenge, and the results were accordingly.

Yet in another of those mysteries—it seems this tale has many of them—the townsperson returned to the wizard after more than 5 cycles of the moon and
requested the challenge.  Though mighty that he was,
it was not in the wizard’s power to do this, and he
told this to the townsperson.  And the townsperson was not happy, yet that is the way it was to be.

Now unbeknownst to this wizard, the townsperson went to the enforcers of the law and to the managers of the House of Wizards and said that this wizard had put a spell on him, and that this spell caused him great harm and suffering.  And still the wizard knew not of what was transpiring until one day the Lady High Investigator summoned the wizard to know of what he knew.

But recall this was a mighty wizard and he knew better than to step into the chamber of the Lady High Investigator without some powerful spells at his
disposal.  So he contacted the league of
wizards—Unitas Practicum Magicus, or UPM—that a protector of wizards might surround him on his
journey.  And UPM provided the wizard with a powerful protector.

But wait—another mystery presents itself.  It seems
that the townsperson and his family raised a hue and
cry throughout the land, threatening horrible
punishment on the wizard and anyone and everyone. But the managers of the House of Wizards were themselves under a spell, and they did not behave in the manner that was to be expected.  They did not provide the mighty wizard with the usual spells of protection, they did not provide the UPM with the usual information, but instead threw at one and all a very old and obscure spell from a Golden Book, one that said any and all wizards are responsible for the well being of all of the townspeople.  The powerful protector from UPM threw up a counter-spell and reminded the managers that all in the House of Wizards must follow the rules of magic and that the Golden Book does not apply, yet they resisted, as if their hearts had been hardened.

What followed does not bear repeating in the presence of those with weak hearts or unsure hands and is more appropriate for a cold night around a warm fire with many flagons of ale, but suffice it to say that many moons passed, there was much unnecessary damage done throughout the land, and perhaps many people suffered unnecessarily as well.  But the mighty wizard and UPM were persistent and finally good prevailed for all,
the townsperson included.

And now faithful reader, as is the case with most
tales of fantasy, there is still a moral to be had.
When so much pain and suffering has occurred, when so many spells are cast, most unnecessarily, one can only and ask, what might have been done to avoid all of this?  It is the right of the teller of tales to
offer his own opinion.  It is required of you, dear
reader, to draw your own conclusions.  In this humble opinion all of this could have been avoided if the townsperson had acted as required, as informed in a timely fashion.  Again, it is a mystery as to why this did not occur.  Even so, it behooves every
townsperson, not just the one of this tale, to be
responsible for his or her actions.  The House of
Wizards is not the town.  Indeed there are
similarities, but the differences are powerful.
Townspeople cannot come unto the House and act
differently from the rules and expect nothing of
consequence to occur.  As wizards we are obligated to remind townspeople of the rules, to support them and assist them when needed, but ultimately each soul is responsible for his or her own actions and the
unrelated deeds of others cannot be called to blame,
as was done in this tale.  If a townsperson strives to
the level of wizardry, then one must act responsibly,
for that is required of all, not just wizards.  And as
wizards we must never forget our obligations, nor
should we ever become so besotted with our own magic that we think we are invincible.  Nor should we ever think that our own powers are enough, for in the hands of many even the mightiest timber may bend and break. And that is the enchantment of Unitas Practicum Magicus.

And so dear reader, this tale comes to an end.  But do not think there will not be more magic and spells
skulking in the world, for this is a wide and mysterious place that we find ourselves.  Be aware!

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UPM has negotiated a settlement in the recent grievance case involving a College of Marin student and UPM unit member.  

The former student had been caught cheating on a test by the instructor and as a result (and per the College of Marin Student Conduct Policy),  she received a grade of F on the test.  The zero was then tabulated with the students’ other grades which resulted in a failing final grade. 

 On the first day of classes the following semester, the student came to the instructor’s class to ask about the grade.  The instructor presented her with the test scores and the class grading standard and explained that he could not change her grade.  The student became contentious and left the meeting.

 After this incident, the student filed a report both with the Dean of Student Affairs, claiming the grade was unfair, and with the police, stating that the instructor had “pushed” her.  The instructor received a letter from the District requiring him to appear before the district investigator.  The instructor’s request to see a copy of the student’s complaint was denied by the administration.

 UPM filed a grievance against the District on behalf of the instructor.  During this process, several sections of the contact were violated.  The District violated articles 24.14 (Disciplinary Procedures), 13.5 (Information Requests to District), 7.8.4, 7.8.6 and 7.8.8 (Information of a derogatory nature shall not be entered of filed unless and until the unit member is given notice of such information and an opportunity to review the document, the unit member may attach written comments to the statement and information may be released to the parties the unit member designates). 

 These actions were justified, according to the District by the invocation of Board Policy 5.0021, a never before used policy written in 1984 which states that instructors are liable for making sure that students are protected.  The instructor is held financially liable under this Board policy for any lawsuits brought about by students. 

UPM countered that the policy is very vague and open to many interpretations and that the invoking of the policy set a dangerous precedent and threatened academic freedom.  

 With that in mind, UPM hired an attorney and filed an Unfair Labor Practice suit against the district.  The union also hired a private investigator, who discovered that the student in question has been involved in a similar incident at a previous school.   Furthermore, student witnesses to the incident saw no pushing of any kind take place.  In the meantime, the student’s mother alleged that the student was suffering emotional damages as a result of what had transpired.  She also threatened to go to the press and file a suit unless her daughter received an immediate “A” in the class. The threat of these false allegations going public and tarnishing the reputation of both the instructor and College of Marin, coupled with the threat of a lengthy and expensive legal battle led UPM to settle out of court with the student’s mother.

“Cases like this are always challenging for our Grievance Committee,” says Arthur Lutz, Grievance Officer for UPM. “On the one hand, we cannot permit students to use blackmail against our faculty in order to achieve grades to which they are not entitled.  But we also work to protect our individual unit members from being dragged through years of litigation by students or their parents who have learned to use the legal system to achieve their ends and we must resist attemps by our District to nullify the due process protections in our contract that we fought so hard to achieve.”

 Lutz believes that in settling this case, UPM was successful on all counts.  The instructor allowed the student to retake the test (a policy he employs with all of his students) and to use the new score to apply to her final grade.  The mother of the student and the student herself agreed to go no further with any legal action.  The District gave up any claim on Board Policy 5.0021 in this case and agreed that before they can again invoke it against another instructor, it will go first either to arbitration or to an administrative law judge.

 The UPM considers this case an important victory.  Instructors are dedicated to serving students, however we all recognize that allowing them to use blackmail through the legal system in lieu of studying and personal accountability

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