Archive for the ‘It’s Been One of Those Semesters’ Category

One of the Best News Articles Published in Years About Workplace Bullying

Tuesday, January 5th, 2016

This is one of the best articles published in a long, long time. I’m talking years:
Workplace Bullying: Characteristics Bullies Look for and Why They Bully – by Valerie Robins, examiner.com
But I think the remedies about fighting back should be more realistic. Most companies and organizations, like Hunter College where I teach in NYC, don’t have policies about bullying and pretend that it doesn’t exist. Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost Vita C. Rabinowitz, responding to my moveon.org petition I dropped off at the office of CUNY Chancellor James Milliken, said there was no need for a healthy workplace policy at CUNY because the University’s Violence in the Workplace Policy was sufficient.

Without going into great detail here, healthy workplace bills specifically address the psychological harassment and trauma that targets/victims must deal with. CUNY’s workplace violence policy doesn’t come close to dealing with that trauma, which recent studies report can cause victims/target to consider suicide to end their pain and suffering.

Also, it is often very, very difficult to find witnesses or a supporters because they too can be targeted. And, third, the writer doesn’t mention what I think is important, that a healthy workplace bill can mitigate the first two problems I described and many more, such as what does one do when there are wolf packs of bullies. Or a culture complicit with bullying. 

NEVERTHELESS, I AM PASSING THIS ARTICLE I KNOW TO EVERYONE I KNOW, especially my Colleague Larry Shore who sends me emails (despite my caveats over the years) insisting that there is no bullying in the Department of Film and Media Studies, Hunter College, City University of New York, and that I am making it all up.

 

larryshore

Another link for the article!

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Some Hunter-L Nostalgia As We Head into the Perils of 2016 …

Monday, January 4th, 2016

Hunter-L is a primary listserv for inter-community information at Hunter College, City University of New York. The listserv use to be robust. Dynamic. Inclusive. Opened to students. But like a lot of things at Hunter, it has waned over the last five years, dumbed down by the Powers That Be who embrace the insipid.

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Petition Supporting NYS Healthy Workplace Bill to Make Workplace & Academic Bullying Illegal

Thursday, December 31st, 2015

Full Text of Bill

Season’s Greetings for These #D:F/M-ers (Present & Former)?

Friday, December 25th, 2015

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No Season’s Greetings for This #D:F/M Colleague

Friday, December 25th, 2015

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Attention Former Professional Staff Congress Chapter Chair @ Hunter College

Thursday, December 17th, 2015

Note: This was intended for you, Colleague Tami Gold, when you were the Hunter College PSC Chapter Chair. I admit it is late.

Department of Film and Media Studies Colleagues & Staff have been using and trying to use the University’s Violence in the Workplace Committee and Hunter College Security to stifle dissent, intimidate Colleagues & Staff who don’t share their values and opinions.

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Coming Soon: The 2015-2016 Lumpen Goombah Awards

Saturday, December 12th, 2015

lumpengoombahawards

The Lumpen Goombah Awards far more interesting than the Time Magazine Person of the Year Award for a number of reasons. Why?

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Response to a Colleague Larry Shore Email – Part 2

Monday, December 7th, 2015

Colleague Shore, tones of frantic desperation?

Dear Gregg
Please stop referring to me in your blog posts and putting up my picture with comments like “calls himself a professor.”

larryshore

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Interview with New York City Human Rights Commissioner – Part 2

Friday, December 4th, 2015

Word for Word

Interview was conducted after a panel discussion at the CUNY J-School several days ago.

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Interview with New York City Human Rights Commissioner – Part 1

Thursday, December 3rd, 2015

Originally Posted on:

To: HUNTER-L@HUNTER.LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
Cc: FM-L@HUNTER.LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU

NYC’s anti-discrimination employment laws regarding hostile workplaces are broader than state and federal laws and can provide redress for targets/victims of workplace-academic bullying even though there are no (at least for now) city, state and federal laws against this particular form of workplace bigotry, Commissioner Carmelyn Malalis said in an interview.

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