WAMP's Up Now?

I am certain you have heard me mention WAMP in the past. It is one of my secret pleasures to investigate their new offerings once or twice a month.

WAMP is an umbrella organization created by young Hungarian designers to play an active role in international design showcases, thus exposing the talents of many Hungarian designers to the world. It used to be that you needed to wait for the event to be held if you missed one of the twice monthly events. Since February and until May at least, this is no longer the case. WAMP is holding weekly events at Váci utca 1, right near the Hard Rock Café.

Ron and I were out for our walk yesterday, though it was beyond chilly. When we discovered that WAMP was open, it was a well-received opportunity to exercise with a purpose, while regaining the feeling in our feet and hands. The building is fabulous. There is so much more room for artists to display their goods, people to mill around, and lots of room for the less enthused shopper to relax while the militant shopper storms through. 

On another note, if you are here on Sundays starting April 7, the Gozsdu Udvar Market will start operating for the summer. Generally, there are more booths at the beginning of the season with a number of vendors falling off the grid as summer progresses.

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With All Good Intentions

Just about every day I have good intentions of sharing some piece of my ex-pat life, yet most times I get blindsided by something unexpected or planned, but repressed. At this time of year, there are over a dozen reasons keeping me from fulfilling my personal desires, holding them at arm’s length. This is encapsulated in two words – thesis advisees. Not only is April 15th, the day every American dreads, but it is also this year’s date that all ELTE University thesis composers dread also. It is their deadline.

Quite often, I get a rampage of students who plead “Be my adviser! Pleaseeeeeee”. Suddenly, the word ‘please’ is turned into a multi-syllable word with multi-dimensions too. Thanks to a ruling by my department head, we can no longer cross train. Another words, our department will not take on any of the English Department students and the English Department instructors will flick off our students like a pesky mosquito. Generally, their charms sway me into saying “Sure, I will advise you” to about a dozen students a semester. Because history has taught me that less than half of these who are eager beavers in October or March when the thesis forms need signing, turn into three-toed sloths come writing time. There are a few on my rolls that signed up in 2004, but I have not seen or heard from them since. It is like the Bermuda Triangle of university students. If we ever find it, I will bet there is one hell of a party going on.

This semester like many in the past I have offered a thesis writing course. Generally, I want my own students to attend, but as my luck runs, there are more strangers than familiar faces. In the past, students start the semester charged with writing energy, wanting guidance, and have sugar coated dreams of completing this lingering burden that hangs over their heads. About three classes into any given semester most students have fallen by the wayside while others send me ‘reasons’ why they cannot attend that week’s class. Suddenly, I am provided with a 1 ½ hour free period to either grade papers or do a coffee run.

Are The Gods Are Not To Blame that this semester, the wheel of fortune shifted one click too many? I have 11 students in my thesis writing class, all champions who have serious intentions to complete their hurdles this semester. Nine of these young scholars are not part of my herd; therefore, my workload has increased significantly. Generally, I have to teach 9, yes NINE classes a semester. Each semester has some class that is heavy on the writing component. This semester it happens to be this thesis writing class in addition to creative writing. In addition, I have four classes where I require the students to blog on a weekly basis. This is one heck of a lot of reading/editing/offering suggestions for improvement. My one lucky break is that we have a Fulbrighter teaching one of my classes. Woo-Hoo! I only have 8 classes this semester. Aren’t I the lucky one!

When there is some light piercing through my tunnel of things to do, I take advantage of it to check something off of my Wish List. Currently that happens to be working on a writer’s website that I first started in 2010. I won’t even mention the URL; it is embarrassing how far it has not progressed. Initially, I started it with WordPress, but then found it too cumbersome to learn or to get it to do what I wanted it to do, not what it wanted, like an untrainable puppy. There it sat for years, because I had other things to accomplish that found their way higher on the chain of demands.

Having now co-created a website in Joomla with my never-have-met-friend Nigel, I decided it was time to branch out on my own and create a site from scratch. Throw the bird out of the nest and see if he flies. Obstacle one, WordPress refused to leave the administration area of the site. It basically was rusted into place. I had to reach out to Tom at TRK Hosting for assistance. He not only vacuumed out all remnants of WordPress, but installed Joomla 2.5 for me. My other site is still Joomla 1.5, so this was still going to be a new learning curve to master.

With YouTube at the ready, I had a tutorial all set. Play, pause, and apply the knowledge. Play, pause, and apply the knowledge. This is my SOP (standard operating procedure). I was 32 minutes and 27 seconds into the video when it instructed to install the new template. Here is where the hurdles started. It turned out that the template that really softly and elegantly, although authoritatively sends the whispering tune of ‘professional writer’s website’- is only available in WordPress format. UGH!! After spending hours searching and posting on forums, I raised the white flag of defeat. The only solutions were to install a template temporarily and then try to change the components or switch back to WordPress. Solution one will take numerous hours in setting it up, but once it is, I already am familiar with the basics of Joomla and only need to negotiate the changes from 1.5 to 2.5. Solution two will take numerous hours not only in setting it up, but then numerous hours trying to figure out WordPress thereafter.

After finding three templates for Joomla 2.5 that I could live with, if by chance I would not be able to modify it to my heart’s desire, I tried installing them. Not one would install. Two just gave up before even starting. I take that FAILURE message very personally. The third showed that it had installed 100%, but then there was nothing there. At first I thought it may have been Firefox playing games, so I tried Chrome and Internet Explorer. No dice! I changed computers, but still no prize. Finally, I sent a note off to Tom for help, but have not heard back yet. We will see what happens with this, but I am stubbornly clinging to the template I love. If it cannot be salvaged, it just may be time to learn WordPress.

One thing is for sure, with all of this mental engagement, I am warding off dementia.

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ELTE in the Spotlight Again

Just to do a brief follow-up to the last post, here it goes. After hundreds of additional e-mails from various faculty members, it was finally decided that a social justice type event will be held this coming Tuesday. However, the Department of Philosophy has pulled out of the planning for some unknown reason. If it was explained, it may have been in one of those pesky Hungarian messages that cram their umlauts and diacritical marks into my Inbox creating more housekeeping duties to my already full list of things to do. The speaker everyone wanted is out of the country, he is most likely avoiding this entire hullabaloo. This of course made speaker choices number 2 and 3 feel like yesterday’s leftovers, thus giving them excuses to bow out too. Additionally, they cannot get the demonstrators to cooperate by leaving room 047 where this newly formed Anti-Semitic committee of one or two persons wants to hold the presentation.

Once this is over, I must go check out room 047. Apparently, those doing the sit-in have become so attached, they are never leaving, even if by small chance their demands will be met. Their demand is a further change to the new constitution that now requires them to stay in Hungary to work for two years for every year of university education they receive. Fat chances there! This room 047 must have the appeal of Versailles when an entire university clamors to use it while ignoring the fact that thousands of rooms on multiple campuses are at their disposal. Keeping all of your eggs in one basket is insanity, even if Easter is so close.

Of the e-mails above, now about half of those who were once cheerleaders for action are now having a change of attitude, wondering aloud in their electronic transmissions if the time has passed to take action of all should let bygones be bygones. If we didn’t have a dance performance to attend on Tuesday evening, I would go just to see the turnout in spite of the Hungarian speeches. There is a certainty that the outcome will too evoke an e-mail discussion at length either with praise over the events or hate mail at the lack of something perceived as necessary. Joy to the world. You cannot please all the people all the time.

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Anti-Semitic Problems at ELTE

For the uninitiated, ELTE (Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem) is the university where I have been teaching for the last 11 years. It is 350 years old and is the largest university is Central Europe. However, we now have a serious problem that has not happened before in anyone’s memory of the current staff.

Backtracking: Suddenly at the end of this last week, my home e-mail box was flooded with e-mails from the Department of English and American Studies faculty list-serve. Generally, it is my habit to delete, delete, and delete some more as I am frustrated with a faculty of English instructors who write in Hungarian. There seems to be a total disregard for the dozen or so non-Hungarian speaking faculty as unnecessary appendages. I often feel like Oliver Twist, “please sir, can I have some more?” English that is.

Finally, due to the excessive number of e-mails, I was curious enough to use Google translator to weather the storm of dialogue. It was a futile attempt as even Google has yet to master Hungarian beyond the 1st grade level. Frustration prompted me to write a department colleague after she joined the Hungarian discussion. She sent me this picture stating this was the reason for the original outcry and flurry of e-mails. The translation is "Jews! The university is ours, not yours! Best regards, Hungarian students..."

After a couple dozen or more emails, one of the instructors from the English department requested that the conversation be switched to English for all concerned. I for one was pleased as I think the rest of us who are not Hungarian speakers were also; this is based on our involvement with the comments that followed thereafter.

In synopsis, the general feeling which may not be fully conveyed here since this is a general overview is that this issue should be broadcast far and wide. It was believed by all faculty and staff that everyone should be aware of what we are facing in 'higher education’. This is also a generalized reflection of the atmosphere outside of the ivory towers as well.

Those that rose to the charge decided that it would take too long to get the university’s rektor to do something university-wide, so this department put an anti-discrimination statement on the department's website. It can be read in English and Hungarian here.

Two hundred and seventy-nine e-mails later (no joke, they were counted) the staff wanted to have a formal stand on this issue. The suggested ways to show solidarity ranged from having menorahs in the rooms to wearing Stars of David, to having signs on our doors that are advocated by the Council of Europe, which can be seen if you click here. They state "All different, All equal".

Not everyone could agree on what to do, so the resolution was for everyone to do what they are most comfortable with. Personally, I would do it all. I stand strong on this issue. Over the years, I have had a number of students confide in me that they were Jewish, but would never share it with their classmates. I went to school with so many Jews from Kindergarten through college that I am Jewish by proxy. What hurts one group of people hurts all people. 

Then there was the discussion about how to raise the issue in our classes. Though everyone felt strongly that all students should be made aware of this and discuss it, some were concerned about overkill if students faced the issue repeatedly in one week via 9-10 classes.

Other faculty members have overheard students claiming to belong to the far right political group and as such were making derogatory remarks about different groups of people. The question that has not been answered yet, in English anyway, is what is an instructor’s recourse if the rules are broken in a classroom? Or on campus?

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Missing You Too!

Ron and I were walking to the tram yesterday and passed by this car. There was enough snow on it for someone to leave a note. It was impressive that it was in English.

Had there not been any snow, it would probably have said "Wash me".

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If There Were Still Debtors' Prisons

I have a former student who married an American and moved to the US. Although she has graduated from Eötvös Loránd University with an M.A. degree in both American Studies and English, she had found job hunting as unsatisfying there as she did here. She wrote to me complaining about the low-level jobs she was qualified for and her increasing disillusionment with the American Dream. In her mind, her only alternative was to return to school for another M.A. from an American university, but in a different field. When in doubt stockpile degrees, it does not make it better, but it does delay the agony.

When she sent me the list of her university choices the only thing I could see were $$$. Europeans in general, but Hungarians in particular continually seem to believe I am lying about the cost of education in America. They also believe that all they need to do is apply for scholarships and they will then have a free ride to the end of the chosen degree program. More than a few have had their hopes dashed, tromped on, or pummeled after going to the counseling center at the Fulbright office seeking advice on admission procedures with financial aid thrown in. I feared for this former student. She was one of the brightest in her group and did write an exceptional thesis. Still, reality is a hard pill to swallow when it is not placed on your native tongue.

It was during this time that many CAUSE campaign petitions started circulating focused on reducing student debt by preventing lenders from overcharging fees, penalties, and interest. It was also about this time when a friend wrote asking for everyone to sign her personal petition. She found herself owing over $100,000 in student loan debt, not of her own, but her ex-husband. Back when the marriage was solid, they had combined their student loans to save on interest with the added benefit of income taxes. They were both gainfully employed at the time. When things went sour, eventually ending in divorce, she did not realize that she was still responsible for his debt because it was not stipulated in the divorce papers. She has always worked, he has not and isn’t now. Her salary is being garnished; she is raising their two daughters without child support.

Meanwhile, I have fought off debt collectors for my student debt for years now. It seems that I am one of the few in my doctoral program who did not qualify for special scholarships, grants, alimony, entitlement programs, or any other source for funding my education. At the time I took out the loans I fully anticipated being solidly employed with a satisfactory income if not extravagant, as a university instructor in Somewhere, USA. It did not turn out that way, so after pushing back the due date for the loans as much as was possible with deferments, it came time to start paying the piper.

The piper is really a nasty SOB, nothing like you see in children’s tales where he is represented as sweet and kind. This piper wanted monthly payments of $525 even when I pointed out that my monthly salary was equal to $641.27. Even that was only when the exchange rate was doing well, like it is at the time of this writing. At other times, it really takes a nosedive like stock in Apple. They wanted me to prove that I was basically indigent by US standards, but to do this I had to send in my last 3 years of tax returns. I had not filed US tax returns falling under the income level for needing to. Plus due to an agreement with the US, Hungary does not take out taxes for the first two years of employment in government funded schools, but they insisted on having them regardless. Letter after letter went unnoticed by their computers, which in turn spewed out more vile letters demanding my soul and cash.

Finally, they acquiesced to receiving 3 years’ worth of my monthly Hungarian salary reports. They wrote back complaining that these were not sufficient since they could not read them. No one thought of this when they asked? Is it my fault they don’t have a Hungarian on staff? We have gone round and round, but I send them a regular check each month via online banking. If I had to write a check and mail it, the temptation to write nasty notes in the memo section would be too appealing. If the federal government is not going to recognize my relationship with Ron, they don’t deserve any money pulled from his income. They get what I send them and to hell with them.

A couple of days ago, I received a letter from the agency; it showed they had added over $20,000 in penalties and over $3,000 in interest to the base feel of somewhere around $60,000 for a grand total of $87,000 plus. Will I ever move back to the US? No way, José. If I should happen to work there, they would garnish my wages taking the full monthly amount that they are now demanding: $750 a month.

Yet, I am not alone. According to Causes.com there are now 37 million Americans in student loan debt, more than the population of Canada. If they can bail out corrupt banks, they can forgive substantial amounts of student debt.

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Catcher in the Rye - Catch Me if You Can

In a previous post, I had written about using Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery” with my creative writing class and their reactions to it. A friend of ours, Jennifer, is a long time high school English teacher in Connecticut. She had written a long response to my post stating how she loves the story and uses it with her classes.

Her e-mail ended with “I will say that I had a great experience with them with "The Catcher in the Rye" this year, but in recent years, appreciation for that story has waned - kids aren't so patient with Holden and his issues.  They're used to lots of mental health services available at school, of course!”

This caused me to erupt in simultaneous, yet diametrically opposed sensations of horror and humor. Jennifer uses "The Catcher in the Rye" with her AP class. In the US, many high schools offer Advanced Placement classes. These are particular classes for those who are a cut above the rest of the herd. These are college-level courses that a student can take while still in high school.

The emotional upheaval that this statement caused was an immediate regression to 7th grade English class. Back in the day at our schools, we have tracks. Throughout New Jersey 6th graders take standardized tests. Administration uses the scores to divide students into four tracks. I was in the S group, the brightest. I think I was the only one in this group who had never had a Bar Mitzvah, a Bat Mitzvah or knew what the inside of a synagogue looked like. The bright side was that during certain holidays, I was the only one in class. I swear I didn’t cheat when taking the exams the year before, but how I ended up with this crowd was beyond me.

With this in mind, our 7th grade English teacher, Mrs. Shatner had suggested there may be some books that we want to read, but she couldn’t assign them. One of the titles was "The Catcher in the Rye". She never divulged her restrictions and let it drop. Being an avid reader, I made notes of all the titles she suggested.

As luck would have it, I came down with bronchitis shortly after that class. Being bedbound, my mother announced she was going to the library and wanted to know if I wanted anything. Of course, I suggested "The Catcher in the Rye". I had completely exhausted the children’s library by the time I had reached 5th grade, so the librarians awarded me with an adult library card prematurely. Due to this, my mother never thought twice about my request.

When she returned, she handed the book over along with four others. Once I started "The Catcher in the Rye", I devoured it. It was the first time I had encountered four letter nasty words that start with ‘f’ and I don’t mean fink, fags or fart. I knew, I knew, I knew that my mother had not cracked open the binding of the book, because if she did, it would never have made its way to my bedroom. Each time I heard her coming near my room, I hid the book, grabbing another to throw her off.

When I finished the book, I left it on the bottom of the pile of the other books I had finished that needed to go back to the library. All was well! Those moments of false hope are really the ones that come bite you in the butt. 

My mother returned home with steam coming from her nose. If I had not been sick in bed, I would have been sick in traction after she finished with me. She had thumbed through the book before handing it over. She could not help but see the same words that I found so titillating, but she found horrifying. She demanded to know where I had heard of that book title. When I told her she immediately headed for the phone to call the principal to report the teacher. I begged her not to as I was already a minority member and pariah. She promised she would not call. 

My first English class after recovering, Mrs. Shatner made a point of informing the class that “someone’s mother called the principal to complain about extracurricular reading” as she glared at me with flames igniting from her eyes. If I had been old enough, I would have quit school then and there.

From that day on and through junior high school, I loved Mrs. Shatner for not abusing my report card in retaliation for my mother’s sins. 

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Recycling Good Business Practice

Since there have been so many changes with Frommer's and Frommers.com, I have not posted on their forum for quite some time now.

However, to keep a web presence, I have been writing reviews for TripAdvisor when we travel and for anything worthy of reviewing in Budapest. Although we seldom eat out when we are home, once in a great while there is something note-worthy that is suitable for jotting a review.

I have reached the Top Contributor status on TA, but this came in today’s mail. You will notice that I write under BudaBaB. It is an additional marketing tool. If I wrote under my own name, chances are few would make the connection to our B and B. TA is very restrictive of what they allow for personal content. I receive regular messages congratulating me on the number of readers who have read my reviews. Today, this came in.

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The New Pope?

Is this a Hungarian commentary on the election of a new pope?

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ELTE Student Blogs

Being the Coordinator of the Journalism and Writing program at the university where I have been teaching for the last 11 years, one of the course I implemented was Blogging and Websites. 

One of the standards for the course is that each student has to create and design a blog for starters, but then post minimally on a weekly basis, but more is encouraged.

The most difficult part about teaching this course is getting students to come up with somewhat original ideas that have not been trampled into the ground. Each blog has to be in English and must be directed to an international audience, specifically the ex-pats in Budapest or Hungary. Though this is not to say the information may not be of interest to others particularly those who are planning to travel here.

Here are the blogs. If you click on the name of each blog, you will be redirected to that actual blog. Let me encourage you to comment on the blogs you visit. Students need this type of feedback to encourage their writing.

Project culTour - Reviews of the lesser frequented museums in Budapest

Dobrú Chut - Slovakian cooking with photos
 
Soccerified - The World of soccer from a European point of view
 
Pet Rescue in Budapest - Helping pets find new homes
 
Clothing Remix: Find your best second hand in Budapest - Creating fashion from used clothing stores
 
Women’s Soccer Around the World - Need I describe this one?
 
Around the Streets on Six Feet - Dog care from a dog trial judge and dog expert
 
Budapest: Then & Now - Photos of Budapest streets from their glorious past and present
 
Hiking Opportunities in Hungary - An outdoorsy blog

Ez-Tec - For those who like technology
 
Just Cheer for It - Cheer-leading in Hungary? You bet.

Crème de la Crème The Best Traditional Hungarian Sweets - Creating Hungarian sweets at home
 
Shop Local, Cook Global - The international food markets around the city
 
Care for a Cup? - For tea lovers and those who love them - tea houses, tea reviews and more
 
Can I Have This Dance? - Different types of dance and some dance venues in the city

Café Budapest - Reviews of the lesser known, but artsy coffee houses in the city with a twist

Read for the Kids - Kind of explains itself

Sit and Save - an ordinary new Life - Brought to you by our German Erasmus student

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The Lottery or The Hungary Games

If you have never read Shirley Jackson’s short story The Lottery, it really is a must. I first read it in junior high school and then again in college. It is still one of my favorite stories and has influenced some of my own fiction writing.

Due to my admiration of Ms. Jackson’s work, I include this story in my creative writing class at the university. This last week, I wanted students to analyze the story, but knowing that no one read it, I had them take turns reading out loud 2 paragraphs at a time. After each reading, we had a discussion of the setting, the characters, the time period, and all of the elements we had studied thus far in the textbook. I involved them in sharing what brought them to the conclusions they voiced. Initially, I was pleased with the responses, their take on the story.

By about the 10th paragraph or soon thereafter, when I opened it up for questions about the section just read, the responses ranged from “I’m bored”, or “There are too many characters, so I don’t care about them” or “Can’t we get to the point and stop rambling?” This was like putting a knife in my heart, since I felt like this was a personal treasure being shared with people I cared enough about to so. However, they not only snubbed my gift, but they denigrated it also. I was devastated and flummoxed as I had used this story in years past with much different results.

Around the middle of the story, when questioned, the student response was that this must have been taken from The Hunger Games. There were so many similarities between the two storylines. Well, this is true, but I bit my tongue. OUCH! That really hurt.

When we reached the end of the story, there was no doubt in some minds that this was a rip-off of The Hunger Games. This was my AH-HA! moment. I announced this story was first published in the June 26, 1948 issue of The New Yorker. It gave me some satisfaction to say that The Hunger Games may have been inspired by Shirley Jackson, not the other way around.

Still, this got me to thinking as I reiterated this story to a couple of friends. What occurred to me was that when I started teaching here 11 years ago, less than 2% of the students owned a computer of any type. Now, 100% of them not only have computers, but smartphones as well. There is no longer awe for the classics, as The Lottery falls into this category. Actually, one student had the audacity to say “Maybe it’s a generational thing that you like it.” To this I wanted to respond that perhaps it was a matter of taste and class. Damn, my tongue hurts from repeated biting.

It seems that even Hungarian students are no longer satiated without the bells, whistles, video, and all of the other accoutrements of the Internet or entertainment sources. If it was not created in the last five years, it cannot possibly be of any value for their education.

It is just about time for me to hang up my piece of chalk and call it a career.

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Television Debut - HHI

Last night was THE event spiraling around some excitement in an otherwise not so adventurous segment of my life. The House Hunters International episode featuring our apartment was aired in the US.

Only three people of the 782 that I personally informed about the show have reported back to me.

This was from my friend Mike in FL. (Mike was a significant help in our buying a property in Pompano, FL, yet we have never met).
     No, the apartment came off very well. It was the lowest priced of the three they spotlighted.
One was in a modern building, @ 600USD, and the Hoversens wanted something with more charm.
     The other was in a grand building right on the Danube, but the rent there was 750USD, plus maintenance fees.  The place was beautiful, but out of their price range if the wanted to do any traveling.
     Your unit came off very well. At the end they showed how they moved the couch and chairs to the area near the heater, and put the dining table further towards the window.
     It was weird watching the episode.  Even though you and I have never personally met, I kept saying to myself, 'Hey, I know the guys that own that place', and it's on TV.
     The city also came off very well.  I don't know the names of the various buildings, but they were really magnificent.

My good friend Kim gave a brief report from OR.
     Hi there, I watched House Hunters last night and saw your apartment.  Only $475 US!!!  Maybe I should be retiring there!!  And I thought it looked great on TV.  Did you watch the episode?? 
     
And last of all, our friend Jennifer from CT - she was a Fulbright teacher here in 2001-2002 and this is how we met her. She has been back here multiple times since then.
     So, that was interesting...
First off, the city looks so beautiful!  Of course they hit all the high points to make it look amazing (which of course it is, but there are places that wouldn't look so great on TV!).
     When they went into the first apartment, I was thinking it was yours based on the pictures I've seen, but they weren't especially complimentary about it.  They weren't crazy about the furniture, the heater, and the view of the wall outside.  They seem like nice enough people, but... I took the comments about the furniture quite personally as I consider you to have good taste! - and I thought the furniture was more than adequate and practical! 
     But, they liked the price, of course.  The second apartment was extremely modern, and I couldn't quite figure out where the building was.  They didn't like how modern it was.  The third was in a great location on the river, but of course more expensive. 
     Naturally, they went with the more traditional place that was more of a bargain.  Of course, when they flash-forwarded three months, they were talking about how much they loved the apartment and how it felt like home.  It showed them cooking - they emphasized how much they liked the big kitchen.  They talked about how the good price had allowed them to save enough to travel, etc.  They showed them running over Margaret Bridge by the Danube, walking on Margaret Island, etc. 
     So, as I said, very interesting!  It did make me quite homesick for the city :(

As hard as I have tried hunting it down, it seems they have not put this episode online yet. With any luck, one of our peeps will have the techie know-how to upload it into the cloud so I can download it and watch. Anyone?

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Good Bye Mr. Chips

I have been getting e-mails from friends in North America as well as Europe regarding the university where I teach. Articles have appeared in the New York Times and International Herald Tribune showcasing the student protests primarily, but ignoring the funding cuts. 

What has been hot news here and apparently abroad are the group of students who performed a sit-in in the offices of the rector and other administration. None of my students have been involved; had a number of them joined in, we could have canceled classes while they were otherwise busy. The reason for the protests is due to a relatively new (a little over a year) government law. Students must live and work in Hungary for 2 years for every year of education they have received. A BA degree is 3 years, so assuming one graduates, they are committed to a six year length of stay working here. If they don’t fulfill this obligation, they have to repay the tuition for their education. 

Until this law came into effect, students were free to earn their degree and then move on to greener financial pastures to ply their trade. Basically, the powers that be are trying cut back on brain drain, which is understandable. I think of all the US students who would love this opportunity for an education. 

While the students were protesting, the faculty was having its own battle. Just before this semester was to begin, a faculty only e-mail circulated announcing the closing of the campus copy center. The notice stated that anyone having exams to administer would be personally financially responsible for getting them reproduced at their copy center of choice within the city. 

This caused a flood of 100s of e-mails through the faculty mail list of instructors protesting and threatening to quit giving exams before having to provide compensation. Since these exams were basically for lecture courses, I was only a bystander watching the action. 

As if this were not enough, this last week a staff list e-mail was circulated stating that six high profile faculty members were fired. From what I was told by other staff, many of them were about 65 years old, which is the mandatory retirement age for university teaching. However, some were not there yet. The reasoning that was later shared was that it was due to a severe cut to the university’s budget slicing 7 billion Huf. We were told to expect to say good-bye to others as the semester progresses. Aside from staff sharing the gossip they hear, they have also forwarded the reports as they appear in the Hungarian press. Of course, I have to use Google translator to read them. 

Goodbye, Mr. Chips

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