How to efficiently organize an open letter to challenge your university administration
by a group of signatories of the UMB open letter
This post is written by a group of signatories of the "Open Letter on the public draft of the UMB Mission and Vision Statements." 62 faculty members at the University of Massachusetts Boston have signed the letter, which opposes proposed Mission and Vision statements that would redefine the purpose of the university as engaging in political and ideological activism, rather than pursuing the truth. A Boston Globe article is available here. Efforts like this are extremely important for preserving the integrity of our institutions. Here they give tips about organizing such a campaign.
Congratulations! Your institution finally took it one step too far, you finally had enough, and you are ready to push back publicly. Here are the steps:
Find a like-minded group of at least 2-3 more people (The Group). Work together and present yourself to the outside as a group, as anonymously as possible (so they won't pin it on one of you). Work as a group. Don't let non-essential disagreements break you up.
Do not use the university’s email server. Communicate through gmail or other accounts.
If you decide to write an open letter - hash out the letter, go through several rounds of editing. Don't act out of initial anger.
In the meantime, talk to trusted colleagues and department chairs, send the evidence (e.g. the Mission and Vision statement draft) and ask if they would be willing to sign an open letter, should such a letter emerge, and send it to their colleagues. We recommend that you don't ask department chairs to send the letter to their departments, so it won't look like they've pressured their department to sign.
Once you hit a small critical mass of potential signatories (say > 10 promises) send them a link to the letter (after The Group signed it).
Once they have signed, work the outer circle: More people are likely to sign after an initial critical mass has signed. Send the link to your department's mailing list with a short explanation.
After a larger critical mass has signed, try to have the Dean's office send a blast e-mail to the college. The Dean may not be willing to take a position but try to have him/her send it on behalf of a large number of his/her faculty.
If the Dean is unwilling to send a College-wide email, send a series of department-wide e-mails, department by department. Make sure that at least a few members of the targeted department know the sender personally. In short, try to avoid spamming.
Find friends in other colleges and have them work with their colleges/departments. You will often be pleasantly surprised - there are people with common sense everywhere, and even if they don't agree on all the points, they may be willing to help.
Once a large enough number of people have signed - go public. Send to discussion groups and bloggers (optional, depending on how juicy it is).
Be on the lookout - the administration usually doesn't like to be challenged. Don't be smug - gather more evidence and find ways to protect yourself.
Once the letter is out, it is out. Remember you have little control over who picks it up and blogs/retweets it. It may be mentioned in outlets that do not exactly line up with your ideology. Relax, there is nothing you can do about it, and whoever wants to smear you will do it anyway.
If you consider talking to the press, form a strategy beforehand: Try to guarantee anonymity, have only one of you be the connection – preferably the one with the most job security. Coordinate an answer among The Group if you are asked who talked to the press.
Farewell and thanks for all the fish.
Remember to take breaks when you need them and be proud of yourself! You are doing the right thing.