For TMN, I am Tim Abrams.
Students and faculty gathered outside the Fort Hays State President’s house today, to stand in solidarity with FHSU president Mirta M. Martin after last week’s Board of Regents meeting with the Faculty Senate.
Student organizers sent out a Facebook post over the weekend to help inform the student body that there was a need to gather, but due to a scarcity of information, many students that showed up were somewhat confused. The organizers handed out flyers with information about President Martin’s accomplishments here at Fort Hays, as well as what happened during the Kansas Board of Regents visit.
The Flyer read: “In the present times of financial austerity in Kansas, President Martin Advocates curbing the abuse of overload courses by tenured faculty in the spirit of being a good steward of the public dollar.” The flyer also says that “Dr. Martin is under attack from a selfish tenured elite.”
This story took the Hays community by storm last week when the Hays Daily posted the transcript of last week;s meeting between the Kansas Board of Regents and the FHSU Faculty senate. The senate was very concerned with President Martin’s actions since her presidency began. Their main worries were about her proposed extended class cap of 50 students per class and creating several adjunct taught overloaded classes.
Although many showed up to support President Martin Today, this debate is sure to create more tension on the FHSU campus for weeks to come.