NIC wrongly fired Bryan, says AAUP

In a landmark decision by the American Association of University Professors, NIC wrongly dismissed part-time English instructor Jessica Bryan after the 2007 fall semester. The non-reappointment of Bryan was found to violate AAUP policy.

Although she taught for 13 straight semesters, even being nominated for the 2007 Part-Time Faculty of the Year Award, Bryan was informed via e-mail that she would be teaching no classes in 2008. According to the AAUP report, courses she previously held were given to less experienced instructors and the college hired new faculty the following fall.

After a lengthy investigation, the AAUP found NIC in disregard of the provisions on part-time faculty appointments set forth in Regulation 13 of the Association's Recommended Institutional Regulations on Academic Freedom and Tenure.

Under Regulation 13, Bryan was entitled to notice of her non-reappointment at least a month before the end of the fall 2007 semester, a statement of reasons for her termination and an opportunity for faculty review of the decision.

"We have no job security," said Bryan on being a part-time instructor, "no benefits and, most importantly, no rights or safeguards of academic due process. However, most of us have the same degree and do the same amount of work."

She added, "Moreover, I felt vulnerable and, obviously, what I came to discover is this: No matter how long or how well I served my college, I was ultimately only a part-time instructor who served on a semester-by-semester basis."

According to the AAUP, NIC is the first college to be found in violation of Regulation 13, which was put in place during 2006. The regulation lays out policies and standard accepted practices involving renewal or nonrenewal of part-time instructors.

NIC, meanwhile, is sticking to its steadfast response: "Ms. Bryan was an adjunct instructor whose contract was to teach a specific course for a specific semester," said John Martin, vice president for Community Relations and Marketing. "Due to the need for flexibility to address changing student needs, the college cannot commit to any future employment opportunities for any individual non-tenured, adjunct instructors. In the case of Ms. Bryan, she was neither tenured nor full time."

This is true even though Bryan has taught part time as well as full time via special appointment twice for six years, she said.

Associate Secretary for the AAUP, Robert Kreisler, said earlier: "This is an abject lesson in how not to treat someone who has given long-standing service to an institution."

The decision to discontinue Bryan's employment came a semester after one of her students went public concerning some political dialogue in her English class. An anti-Republican remark upset the student enough to request a refund from the college.

What's more, the AAUP report also recognizes that her relationship with the school weakened after a dispute between administrators and her husband, Keith Hunter, a tenured English instructor and former director of The Writing Center.

"What began as my husband's troubles with North Idaho College," Bryan said, "ended with my non-reappointment. But the college and its attorney would have me believe that it was simply 'business as usual.'"

In June the AAUP will decide whether to add the college to a list of censured administrations, a list that has included nearly 50 schools since 1963.

How to start your very own blog (for free!)

I have never been known to keep what I ponder a secret. Since I believe that recycling paper is the most retarded, idiotic, detrimental action a human may inflict upon society, then I'm going to let you know how dimwitted, idealistic friggin' little hippies are doing more harm to this planet than good.

Much like I did on a page not dissimilar to this one last semester.

Few things bring me greater joy than sharing my opinion with others; although my greatest solace comes in knowing when those same individuals disagree with me. The excitement I boast when hearing the public actually agrees with me remains minimal -- as I am always right -- and simply expect the masses to understand this.

So I am blessed to have this newspaper as my personal forum -- my own little niche at NIC to force my opinion down unsuspecting readers' throats. Assuming they haphazardly finish reading the sometimes incoherent ramblings that make up my opinion, I am happy.

You, however, are not so lucky. You are left rebutting what you read aloud to only yourself.

It sucks, doesn't it?

But fret not, my opinionated young dumplings. Imagine a place where you could rant and rave, reflect on your life and all around it, share stories, photos, videos and experiences from all that you have to offer.

All in one place. In one website.

It's as simple as creating your own blog. And the undoubtedly best part is that you can start right now. For free. From any computer in the world.

There is no excuse not to begin your very own weblog, save for sheer laziness. I'm going to make this so simple for you that to not follow my advice is worse than recycling paper.

And you're not a hippy, are you?

WHERE TO START

There are many choices in hosting your blog, and the best all begin for free. Be sure to check out blogger.com and wordpress.com first.

Both offer pretty much the same tools. The only difference is whether you want .blogspot.com or .wordpress.com following the title of your website. (For a few bucks more, you can chop their tagline off the website altogether).

There are also blogging options through MySpace and Facebook, however, if you plan on being taken seriously in the blogosphere, I highly recommend avoiding these forums at all cost (and since I just gave you two free options, listen to me.)

WHAT TO WRITE

This is all on your shoulders. But I would definitely not oblige to you starting an anti-hippy site. But that's just my opinion. And remember, this blog is your opinion. If your heart so desires, you don't even have to write on your blog. Just share all your favorite photos. You can even upload videos.

The best part about using Blogger is you can have multiple blogs. I personally have four. You can have one for photos, one for a writing portfolio, the list is simply endless.

MAINTAIN IT

But don't forget why blogging started. (Aside from hippies trying to kill the newspaper industry with this little attraction called the "internet" to save paper).

Your blog is your own corner of the internet to say whatever your mind and heart desire. Whether it's bashing hippies or politicians, sharing family recipes and photos or even just making your diary available to the world, it's yours to have fun with. But never forget that once you get people reading it regularly, they expect you to update it accordingly.