|
Chicago City Colleges By Kyle Preckwinkle | March 15, 2002 | Page 10 CHICAGO--About 500 students, faculty and staff protested the decision of the Chicago City Colleges Board of Trustees to gut counseling services. Ten years ago, the number of counselors was already low at 60, but today there are only 19. The ratio of counselors to students is 1 to 3,833--compared to a ratio of 1 to 300 at most private schools. So when the Board of Trustees produced a study that found counseling services "inadequate," the logical thing would have been to hire more counselors. Instead, the board proposed the elimination of counseling as we know it. This attack is part of Mayor Richard Daley's long-standing war of attrition on city unions. But students and faculty are not taking this sitting down. The trustees may have made their "decision," but this fight is far from over. There will be a walkout March 14 as well as a protest at City Hall. We have to stop the assault on working-class and minority students, and we'll keep fighting until we get the counselors their jobs back.
|