December - Wingspan

December 6, 2010wingspan.lccc.wy.eduA ChangeWestNorthEastf CourseWingspan7BSouthMedia Bias: Negative morale perpetuatedFourth to the lectern at the Nov. 11 moralediscussion came the Educational Services StaffCouncil’s president, Melissa Gallant, programassistant, facilities and events at LCCC.Gallant referenced the recent Noel-Levitz moralesurvey taken by employees in October that reiteratedthe point that the No. 1 goal to be worked uponat LCCC was the issue of morale. Gallant said thenumber of employees who stated morale was thebiggest issue was “overwhelming.”Gallant made a point to thank the LCCC Board ofTrustees for the opportunity to present her informationbefore them.Gallant brought forth information from nineresponders on the “issue” at hand. She describedthe first e-mail she sent out as a question about howco-workers felt about the “issue.” Although Gallantused the term “issue,” it was implied she was speakingabout morale at the college in her e-mails.After a week, Gallant received her first e-mailresponse, yet the responder chose to remain anonymous.The responder spoke about genuinely enjoyingthe job and the institution and being content atthe department level, but there was little discoursewithin the unit.This comfort disappeared when talking aboutthe administration and the president of LCCC.When it came to the hierarchy of the college, therewas a large amount of mistrust and fear of retaliation.The responder felt when there was disagreementwith the president, retaliation came back withthe fear of losing jobs.The responder wrote how the media have aneffect on the staff’s morale at LCCC because of thenegativity portrayed about the college.Following the receiving of the e-mail, Gallantpasted these words into another e-mail to send outonce more. This e-mail asked the staff memberswhether they agreed with the other staff member’scomments.Although happy with their own departments,the first responder to Gallant’s second e-mail saidhappiness isn’t a statement that can be used for alldepartments. Agreeing with the initial e-mail, withthe same fears of the higher administration, fearingdirect retaliation from the president, the secondresponder felt the campus was “very political”and there was a sense of needing to use a “hushedvoice” when speaking opinions.Speaking on the administration, the responderpointed to the administration finding new, unnecessarytitle changes and subsequently downgradesin pay.Also agreeing with the point of the negativemedia, the responder found the administration andpresident dealt with publicity improperly. Becauseof the negative media attention that LCCC had received,it was pointed out the public feels negativelyabout the college.Throughout the other seven e-mails receivedby Gallant on the issue of morale, every responderagreed to an extent on the initial responder’s opinions.The biggest issue felt by almost all responderswas the mistrust in the administration and president.Concerning media negativity, all responders feltthe good was overshadowed by the bad. Althoughthe faculty might be doing great and amazingthings, it was felt the bad decisions and mistakesshone brighter.Even though members of ESSC look forwardto a better week each Monday, they find the samenegative atmosphere as the week before, a continuationof the same office politics, negativity, and fearof speaking out, resulting in the loss of their job or areduction in pay.Gallant wrapped up her speech with her ownpersonal feelings about the morale on the campus.She said there is no morale problem on campus buta communication problem among departmentsand levels of administration, that it is just misinformation.Gallant as well felt the media have a largerole in the negativity about LCCC.