Group of YSU employees declares lack of confidence in university president

Group of YSU employees declares lack of confidence in university president
EDITOR:
We, the undersigned members of the faculty and staff at Youngstown State University, have lost all confidence in the ability of Dr. David Sweet, president, to guide the university out of the many major problems it now faces. These problems undermine the quality of education for the very students who are the heart and soul of YSU. Therefore, we request his resignation.
Recent actions by President Sweet have exacerbated already strained relationships between the administration and faculty and staff; specific problems for which the president is ultimately responsible include:
The strikes of the classified and faculty units in August of 2005;
Dramatic deterioration of labor-management relationships;
Excessive moneys spent on outside legal counsel and to pay off upper administrators;
Wrongful termination of excellent faculty and staff;
Ignoring arbitrators' and court decisions;
Very serious and worsening morale problems.
The faculty and staff of YSU are deeply committed to our university, our students, and the Youngstown community. We work hard to provide all of our students with an excellent, affordable education. We hope, therefore, that with Dr. Sweet's resignation and the change in leadership it would represent, we may share with students and the broader YSU community a renewed sense of optimism - that future labor negotiations will be genuinely productive, that morale on campus will improve, and that students will truly receive an excellent and affordable education.
NANCY WHITE, PhDPsychology Department
GABRIEL PALMER-FERNANDEZ, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies
and more than 40 others
Boardman residents need help to keep water flowing
EDITOR:
The Boardman residents currently petitioning their trustees to do something about restoring the flow to their section of Indian Run Creek are to be commended and wished success. They should look into the existing "riparian rights" currently in place; they may strengthen their case.
Anyway, this is only one positive step towards correcting flooding up stream from the start of your project. Hopefully money remains from the estate tax windfall that allowed for the construction of the impressive administration building on Market Street. Now what needs to happen is for the waterway North to 224 to also be restored, including the Metro Parks swamp area that used to pass water until fallen trees compounded the silting in and blocking the proper water flow (presumably it is an owner's responsibility to maintain free flow of storm water).
Finally, in conjunction with restoring the water course, how about harvesting the pine tree farm that within the past year has fallen across utility lines, disrupting service. These trees are falling at an increasing rate, fortunately away from the road, instead of falling onto the road, where they could produce a fatality as recently occurred on Shields Road.
DANIEL VICTOR BIENKO
Canfield
Knights to the rescue
EDITOR:
On the morning of May 2, while traveling northbound on I-680, I was cut off by a driver and forced into the median strip. Three gentlemen in a red pickup truck stopped to make sure I was all right and helped me get my car out of the muddy median strip.
It's wonderful to know there are kind and thoughtful people who will take the time to help a stranger. Everyone is in a hurry in the morning, so their time and helpfulness was much appreciated. They are knights in shining armor.
PATTY SEACHMAN
Columbiana