“Shelter-in-place” in response to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis remains, literally, the order of the day in Mississippi. As a result, the economy is in free fall, with unemployment skyrocketing and tax revenue plummeting.
In the past, far less severe economic conditions have prompted steep budget cuts to public agencies, including universities. Can we expect anything different this time around? I think not. For the moment, uncertainty prevails, so we (the university rank and file) hear nothing but eerie silence, but it won’t be long before administrators start rolling out ugly austerity scenarios. They’re just waiting (if they are waiting, and not spinning scenarios already) for word from Jackson.
If there was ever a time for “wall-to-wall” employee organizing on university campuses, that time is now.
The Southern Miss School of Social Work 