Students wear togas to protest layoff of Fresno university’s last philosophy professor
A handful of protesters at Fresno Pacific University donned togas and set up tents — a seemingly odd combination on a gloomy Wednesday morning following record levels of rain in Fresno — in front of McDonald Hall, which houses the university president’s office.
Students explained the tents and togas are both symbolic of Fresno Pacific University professor Nathan Carson, whose recent lay-off they gathered to protest.
Carson was the philosophy department’s last full-time faculty member standing (hence the togas) before he was cut as part of the university’s expected 4% reduction in full-time staff following a multi-million dollar deficit, according to a statement from philosophy students who organized the small protest.
He was also the director of the Sierra Summer program, an immersive outdoor course that included a backpacking trip through the Sierra Nevada. (Hence the tents.)
Without Carson, students fear both programs will be eliminated.
“We believe in the philosophy program. We believe in the humanities, and we believe in the Sierra program. We think that these things are necessary for this university,” philosophy student Nic Portwood told The Bee at Wednesday’s protest.
“Everyone agrees that we need to save money and cut costs. This is not the best way to do it.”
A Fresno Pacific University spokesperson declined via email to answer any questions or fact-check information related to the protest or Carson’s departure, citing a policy that it cannot comment on personnel matters.
Portwood said Fresno Pacific University’s president, André Stephens, did, however, come speak with the protesters.
“President Stephens is not our enemy here,” Harwood said. “He came down here. He talked with us. He listened to us. ... We’re very hopeful that that means he’s sympathetic to our cause and hopefully that means that he will reverse the decision to eliminate these programs.”
Fresno Pacific is a private Christian university with about 3,000 students. There are currently 12 students majoring in philosophy at the university, according to university spokesperson Wayne Steffen.
The Bee’s Education Lab reported in October that a leading cause of the university’s $7.4 million deficit was declining student enrollment.
Protest organizers said an update from the university on the fate of the two programs and Carson’s employment is expected Friday.
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