Today’s word of the day comes from www.wordsmith.org: Apollyon. Most of us would recognize Apollyon as a name, one that is found in the Book of the Revelation of John, but that name is derived from Greek roots that are just words. According to www.etymonline.com, Apollyon refers to the  “destroying angel of the bottomless pit in Rev. ix.11 (a name also sometimes given to the Devil), late 14c., from present participle of Greek apollyein ‘to destroy utterly’ (from apo ‘from, away from’ (see apo-) + olluein ‘to destroy’); a translation of Hebrew Abaddon.”  The etymonline entry for Abaddon says, “from Hebrew Abhaddon, literally ‘destruction,’ from abhadh ‘he perished.’ The Greek form was Apollyon.”

This is going to be a fairly personal entry.

A few of years ago, I was serving as the chair of the Faculty Senate. In my report to the Educational Policies Committee of the Board of Trustees, I talked about the concern of some on the faculty that our staff was growing, denying increases to the faculty, which were needed. I said that money that should be going to the classroom was instead going to increasing the size of administrative offices. My report was not received well.

Later that Spring, at an All-Campus Meeting, the president showed a PowerPoint slide showing that the total number of staff had actually declined during his tenure at our school. It was clearly a direct response to the concerns I had addressed just a month or so earlier to the Ed. Policy Committee. Then, having addressed that concern, the president said to my colleagues, when you hear negativity about what is going on, understand that you are hearing the voice of Satan. The context made the comment crystal clear.

I met with the president a couple of weeks later, after the semester was over. He denied the obvious, saying that he was not referring specifically to me when he made the comment about the voice of Satan. But then he gave me that non-apology apology; you know, if that is how you felt, I’m sorry.

The next Fall semester, at our beginning of the year meeting, the president announced a 4% across-the-board pay cut. The only two people not affected by the pay cut were two of my colleagues, 20-year veterans of the faculty who had been non-renewed the year before, the year when we were doing so well that any negativity was the voice of Satan. When asked why these two long-term faculty were being non-renewed, the administration’s official answer (in the letters they were given) was, “We don’t have to say why.” Both of these former faculty members have landed on their feet, sort of. But the experience was very damaging in a variety of ways, psychologically and economically not the least.

When the president announced the 4% pay cut, he literally cried. It was the hardest decision he’d ever had to make as president. Harder than firing two long-term faculty members who had never done anything but serve the university, while not giving them a reason, I guess.

The retrenchment strategy, which also included a 20% cut in discretionary departmental spending, apparently worked, because the budget for last year did much better than the one the previous year. Nevertheless, despite the improvement, only half of the 4% pay cut was restored.

Then this Fall a colleague of mine was arrested. The charge against him was dropped because it was a bogus arrest. But between the arrest and the dropping of the charge, the administration decided that they had an opportunity to force his resignation. The administration has stood fast in its decision despite the dropping of the charge and despite a petition signed by over a quarter of the student body asking that he be reinstated. The former faculty member is still trying to find a job and has considered filing bankruptcy because of the loss of income. His academic career is currently in tatters and could be completely destroyed.

Then, this week, another colleague of mine was told to clear out her office. The administration told her that she was being given a “severance package,” but the reality is that with no reason for terminating the contract, she is just being paid according to the terms of the contract. Calling it a severance package is stating an untruth. But this institution which could restore only half of that 4% pay cut is paying her even though she will not be teaching this Spring, and will have to pay someone else to teach those classes or drop them from the schedule. Despite the seeming brass parachute, giving her a chance to get paid while looking for another job, the experience is hurtful.

During this time, I have taught my classes, mentored students, served on committees, and, on occasion, spoken out against what I have perceived to be abuses. My voice has caused nobody to lose a job. I have hurt nobody’s finances. I have not caused anyone any psychological damage, at least not any that has been presented to me.

It makes me wonder—whose voice has been destructive of others?

The image is Christian’s battle with Apollyon from John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress (H. C. Selous and M. Paolo Priolo – The pilgrim’s progress from this world to that which is to come by John Bunyan with notes by Rev Robert Maguire and illustrations by H. C. Selous and M. Paolo Priolo London, Cassell, Petter and Galpin c. 1850 available online at http://www.galaxy.bedfordshire.gov.uk/webingres/bedfordshire/vlib/0.information_reference/art_gall_fant_bunyan_chrn_comb_apoll.htm).