The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."

Civil service staff an integral part of SIUC

What would you do if when you entered your 8 a.m. class on Monday morning you found there were no heat or lighting? Furthermore as you stumble through the darkened classroom stepping over old Daily Egyptians, soda cans, and general debris from the day before, you wonder, "What is missing?"

In your consternation you proceed to the dean's office to inquire as to the disarray, where you find phones ringing incessantly, and a line of students over one hundred strong with looks of dismay similar to your own.

After a morning of disillusionment you decide some food would be in order. As you enter Trueblood cafeteria you find that the usual welcoming aromas of SIUC cuisine are absent. No welcoming faces, no kind words, nothing prepared to eat. This bleak scenario illustrates in a small way how important the more than 1,700 civil service employees on our campus are to the academic mission of SIUC.

Over the past 26 years I have become increasingly convinced that civil service staff have an unparalleled dedication to the success of our University. Our civil service contemporaries participate in a multitude of student mentoring programs. They are there on "move in day" at University Housing. We have bought into the SIUC system, and as we perform our job responsibilities, many of us are simultaneously completing our undergraduate or graduate degrees. When our alma mater falls on hard times we weep. When she recovers, we rejoice.

We worked for years to make Veterans Day a holiday for SIUC. And in direct response to a campus survey produced by the Civil Service Council, the Chancellor has granted our wish and made it a day off for the University beginning in the 2005-2006 academic year. Our wonderful veterans, both living and deceased, will receive the honor of our great institution pausing its operation as an ultimate demonstration of respect. We join with our students and former Undergraduate Student Government President Neal Young in thanking the Chancellor for this much deserved recognition of our veterans' sacrifice.

Staff has always joined hand in hand with faculty and administration on our beloved campus when it comes to the success of our most important citizens...our students. And we are excited and energized at the success of our athletic program - we are Salukis, too. Although the Planning and Budget Committee's very fine hard wrought report recommended the possibility of outsourcing many services, the Chancellor has agreed to take the subject of contracting off the table at this campus in view of the inextricable link SIUC's role as an economic engine has with the success or failure of the Southern Illinois region.

We point with great pride at one of our ranks who illustrates the seamless nature of all members of the University Community and the Greater Southern Illinois Region. Dr. Glenn Poshard, a former civil service employee, is now the chairman of our Board of Trustees. Indeed there was never a more appropriate statement to describe the importance of all members of our treasured campus working together than the author G.K. Chesterton's words when he said, "We are all in the same boat on a stormy sea and we owe each other a terrible loyalty.

Brooks is president of the Civil Service Council. These views do not necessarily reflect those of the DAILY EGYPTIAN.

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