Dear Editor:

There are at least a couple of reasons for skepticism about the AAUP’s “no confidence” balloting:

• The AAUP leadership, hardly a neutral party to the ongoing fight, appears to have been solely responsible for counting the ballots, either electronically, by hand, or both.

• A snap (24-hour) poll like this one works to the advantage of those most agitated and/or aware of the process.  Add that it was held on a Monday — when faculty are most likely to be distracted with the week’s preparations — and one can expect significant bias to the outcome.  It is pretty clear that the intent was to advantage the “true believers.” Turnout was reportedly 48 percent.

In fairness, the AAUP’s “no confidence” initiative has had the salutary effect of bringing the president back to earth regarding communication. That its architects could not bring themselves to declare victory at that point makes this look more like a jihad.

The scorched-earth sextet at the heart of this darkness must retreat for now. They will bide their time and return sooner than the rest of us wish to resume hostilities. Meantime, the several external threats to the institution loom ever larger, even as OU moves forward.  Shared governance is actually a two-way street, requiring all of us to match “I want mine!” and “We’re watching you!” with “How can we help?”

Pat Piskulich

Political Science