Special Edition Fall 2021: Proactive vs Problematic

The less pretty side of history

In order to get a well rounded view of St. Kate’s past, we must acknowledge the good, the bad, and the ugly. Not everything in history is bright and shiny, and even though we hold our university to a high regard, mistakes and controversies occurred in our past.

Course and Department Cuts

In 1983, one major needed to be cut from the college’s curriculum. Cutting German was the most likely option.

Steven DeHart from the German department told Katherine Drake, a writer from the Wheel in 1983, “I am disappointed that the school found it necessary to cut in this area.” He went on to say that removing this major is a disservice to the students and could even though overall enrollment is decreasing, enrollment in German was trending an increase.

He presented seven different proposals at a meeting to faculty, Sister Catherine McNamee: the College president at the time, and the Educational Policies Committee (EPC). His proposals were in regards to the fate of the German department and German majors. The seven members only agreed to consider one.

The other two departments that were being looked at for cuts were humanities and political science.

In 1983, the humanities department was going through updates and changes so the French department chair, Dolores Schaefer thought that eliminating the humanities department so suddenly wouldn’t give the new changes a chance and goes against the college’s academic values.

The EPC recommended that St. Catherine’s eliminated the political science major on the grounds that there was a small number of faculty and there were better programs elsewhere. This motion caused uproar for the 20 students majoring in political science. They published a ‘Letter to the Editor’ in the next edition of The Wheel to protest.

The majority vote was to keep political science. “Political science is an area in which women have not been very active. The political science program is vital to the future of women,” Donald Weatherman, one of the political science faculty members told The Wheel.

This is not a fun topic to look back on, but it is not just something of the past. Humanities and arts are fields that are slowly disappearing in many universities. Enrollment and faculty is decreasing and many think that these areas of study are no longer necessary.

Now, German is still not offered at St. Kate’s but with the implementation of the ACTC (Associated Colleges of the Twin Cities) program, students are able to take their German classes at St. Thomas or Macalester.

Budget Cuts

In the late 1990’s, St. Kate’s faculty began to get more and more enraged with the nature of their wages. Wages were remaining practically stagnant with only a slight increase to break even with the increasing cost of living.

St. Kate’s had the lowest paying faculty wages of all the ACTC schools. They were pushing for the University to look at St. Benedict College and their budget delegation.

“The College of St. Benedict is similar to CSC [College of St. Catherine] in levels of endowments yet they are able to maintain a competitive pay level among their faculty,” Joan Timmerman, theology professor and co-chair of the Faculty Budget Advisory Committee (FBAC) told Wheel writers.

St. Kate’s reason for stagnant raises was the need to keep up with competitive financial aid plans. The plan from 1995 was to begin increasing faculty wages with increasing their enrollment, but was discontinued in 1996 due to low enrollment. However, when faculty looked back on wages, they felt that enrollment had no effect on their pay.

“The faculty’s raises are only keeping up with inflation. Tuition is increasing at 2 to 3 percent beyond inflation. Where is that money going?” Jim Ashley, associate professor of economics asked The Wheel.

Faculty was lobbying for the plan to be reinstated in the 1997-1998 school year. Timmerman told student journalists that it was suggested at a faculty meeting that professors boycott Global Studies courses because we needed to look for justice at home first.

Faculty had increasing concerns with how the stagnant wages were affecting students. They felt that many were trying to make themselves marketable on the job market in an attempt to leave St. Kate’s. There were also decreases in programs offered due to a decreasing staff. The issue of wages was causing many faculty members to leave, especially the younger professors.

“It is becoming difficult to stay… but I don’t want to leave,” Dale McGowan, associate professor of music told The Wheel.

On-Campus Alcohol Policies

Believe it or not, alcohol used to be served to students at events on campus. Between 1976 and 1986 in Minnesota the drinking age was 18. At this time, all state schools were considered “dry campuses” meaning alcohol was not served on campus. St. Catherine’s, however, did allow alcohol to be served but was then faced with a dilemma in 1986 when the drinking age was once again raised to 21.

Switching to a “dry campus” was a very controversial idea. There were many areas that would be affected including on-campus and off-campus events, Special Services catering (student caterers with the university), residence halls, and apartments.

Richelle Wesley, associate director of Special Services, told Wheel writers that an entirely dry campus could mean a loss between $100,000 and $200,000 in sales and a cut in student workers.

Director of Student Activities Ann Garvey told The Wheel that administration was planning on a transitory phase between changes in policy. At the time in 1986 the College of St. Catherine Student Handbook read: “...sound decisions can only be made in an atmosphere where both abstinence and responsible use are accepted and respected.”

Three and a half decades later, we know that St. Kate’s does not serve alcohol to students and consumption of alcohol by a student under the age of 21 is prohibited. It seems so normal today, but in 1986, it was a controversy that led to a lot of changes.

St. Kate’s ‘less pretty’ situations of the past greatly impacted our present. Many of the controversies are still apparent today. In order to make changes in the future, the past must be reflected on.