Peace on Earth Good Will Towards Al
Peace on Earth, Good Will Towards All
Junious
Ricardo Stanton
“The
Creator has a master plan, peace and happiness for every man.” -
Pharaoh Sanders, Leon Thomas
As we
enter this season we need to become mindful there are alternatives to
the ways we are living, behaving and doing things. When we look
around we see violence, disrespect, abuse, war, hostility, division
and rancor. It seems people are going insane, that we have lost the
capacity to be civil and loving towards one another.
In the
Bible story in Luke Chapter two the writer tells of the announcement
of the birth of Yeshua to a group of shepherds tending their sheep.
The story says an angel of the Lord came upon them and assured them
there was no need to fear for he had great news. Upon the angel
telling them of the birth of Yeshua the writer says, “And suddenly
there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God
and saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace good will
toward men.”
From a
metaphysical perspective the story is about us, we are all shepherds,
our conscious mind is the shepherd protecting our deeper
consciousness from harm in the form of negative thoughts and emotions
and providing good nourishment (leading us to green pastures and
still waters) so we grow and thrive. Shepherds protect the animals
from predatory threats. They keep the sheep quiet and calm. which
Metaphysically is our natural state, inner peace.
Angels
represent messengers from THE MOST HIGH who come to us to give us
inspiration, information, encouragement and guidance. Sheep represent
innocence, non-violence and our natural state of inner being. Our
conscious mind is the shepherd tasked with protecting and nurturing
the sheep (the deeper unconscious parts of our being). So angels
(messages) are always coming to our conscious mind to provide
guidance and encouragement. Often the messages come when we are
asleep, during meditation or when we are in a relaxed quiet state of
mind when there is less agitation, distraction or anxiety.
In a
deeper sense the story is about each one us because we are both the
shepherd and the sheep; we need to look for the profound meaning
within the story which is: the announcement THE CREATOR has a master
plan, peace and happiness for every man (every one). All of us are
provided many annunciations (like when the angle Gabriel told Mary
she was with child) of the great plans and potential for and in our
lives. What greater plan could there be than for peace and happiness
for all of us?!
This
brings me to the present; currently there is war, genocide, mistrust,
acrimony and violence all around us, on the local and international
levels. This is not our natural state. During the course of human
interaction disputes do occur, disagreements happen but we must
realize we are being deliberately programmed and conditioned to
accept war as a normal way of life; as a means of profit and making a
small cabal rich and empowering evil.
What
if we did our duty as shepherds and protected our peace of mind from
the ravages of predatory thoughts, emotions, the propaganda and the
mind control of warmongers? What if we listened to the age old
messages from THE CREATOR, from countless messengers and angels
proclaiming the message of great joy: the possibility and potential
of Peace on Earth, good will towards all?
The
story in the Bible is really about each of us. On a deeper level it
is an allegory about our mental state; messengers/messages coming
telling us not to be afraid, assuring us the heavens (the higher
realms of consciousness) desire peace on Earth, good will towards
all. What if we like the shepherds in the story believed the message,
got up and went to witness for ourselves peace can and does exists
and we can spread it far and wide?
Peace
is not an external condition, it is an internal one cultivated from
within so it radiates outward and can be seen and experienced first
by us then by others. Real PEACE is not legislated by governments, it
is cultivated within the hearts and minds of the people. If a
government truly desires peace it must promote and cultivate a
consciousness of peace, peaceful lifestyles, acknowledge and
generously reward those who embrace and adopt PEACE as a way of life.
Looking
at America and the world today we do not have those types of
government, in fact it is the exact opposite; we have governments who
brainwash us for war, promote violence and reward those who commit
crimes against humanity! We have media that promote violence,
incivility, disharmony and disunity.
The
good news is we don’t have to go out like that. We can choose
PEACE, we can choose Good Will towards all! We can be at peace within
ourselves and radiate it outward to the world. We can be influencers
and ambassadors for PEACE. We can be good shepherds protecting our
minds from internal and external predatory, mean spirited ideation,
propaganda and violent media.
There
is a song written by Vince Gill entitled Let There Be Peace;
here are the lyrics,
“Let
there be peace on earth And let it begin with me. Let There Be Peace
on Earth The peace that was meant to be. With God as our Father
Brothers all are we. Let me walk with my brother In perfect harmony.
Let peace begin with me Let this be the moment now. With ev'ry step I
take Let this be my solemn vow.
To
take each moment and live Each moment in peace eternally Let there be
peace on earth And let it begin with me.”
Peace.
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The Chickens Have Come Home to Roost Part 2
The
Chickens Have Come Home To Roost Part 2
Junious
Ricardo Stanton
On
November 16, 2023 the Middle States Commission on Higher Education
placed my Alma Mater, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania on
probation, again.
From my vantage point it was only a matter of time before something
like this occurred. The
fault lies not with Cheyney but with the Pennsylvania State System of
Higher Education (PASSHE) the parent organization created by
law to administer and oversee the fourteen state owned universities.
When Dr. Michelle Howard Vital retired in 2014, after serving seven
years as president, PASSHE chose not to conduct a regional or
national search to find the most qualified leader who could steer the
university off the rocks and into deep waters of viability and
promise. An interim president and two acting presidents steered the
ship until Aaron Walton was appointed permanent president.
PASSHE
requested and was granted a waiver from the Pennsylvania State Senate
to forgo the legislatively mandated search process, then they
summarily anointed Walton as the permanent president. That decision
while it may have been practical and expedient for PASSHE, it has
proven to be disastrous. It did not address the root causes of
neither Cheyney’s nor PASSHE’s problems: a lack of vision,
foresight and the political will to do the right thing!
In
previous years the Commonwealth commissioned several task forces and
studies to recommend ways to keep Cheyney viable; specifically in
1992-93, 2009 and 2017. However once the ink was dry on the reports,
the Commonwealth stopped short of doing what needed to be done to
save the school which was adequately funding the school, selecting
bold innovative leaders and fully supporting the university. In
short, they carried on business as usual.
This
may be news for some of you, but the fact of the matter is,
Pennsylvania ranks at or near the bottom in higher education of all
the fifty US states, despite former Governor Tom Wolf’s best
efforts.
https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/study-ranks-pa-worst-state-for-higher-education/
We
think because Pennsylvania is located in the North and because of its
Quaker founding tradition and influence Pennsylvania is a progressive
state; it’s not, especially when it comes to public education.
For
decades PASSHE, had its’ own problems which were kept quiet and
were often overshadowed by Cheyney’s more highly publicized
situation. In many ways Cheyney was used as a scapegoat by PASSHE to
obfuscate the problems within the whole system. Cheyney’s
predicament was/is not due to any inherent fault of the university
but the deleterious policies of a succession of governors, the
General Assembly and PASSHE which not only weakened Cheyney but the
whole state system as well! Things were so bad that in 2022 the
Commonwealth had to merge of six of the fourteen PASSHE schools into
two new regional entities just to keep the system viable and afloat.
Back
in 2014 Heeding Cheyney’s Call a group of alumni and higher
education activists proposed what we called a “Framework For
Remedies” to resolve the Commonwealth’s enduring legacy of
neglect and under-funding of Cheyney. One of our demands was to:
“Establish permanent reforms of the Pennsylvania State System of
Higher Education (PASSHE) policies and practices necessary to fully
implement an essential remedy...” We knew back then, the Cheyney’s
problems were caused by PASSHE and a malignant racial bias against
the institution by the Commonwealth.
Cheyney’s
difficulties, were exacerbated by the Commonwealth’s lack of
attention to demographic trends, their failure to adequately sustain
PASSHE’s mission by providing visionary leadership and support, in
addition to the decades of under-funding of Cheyney and selecting
inept presidents fueled by a racism and bias against the venerable
institution. Cheyney’s woes were a direct reflection of the
Commonwealth’s shortcomings in public higher education and racism.
Former
Governor Tom Wolf attempted to address these issues, he called
himself the “education Governor” and he was. Under Wolf, public
education became a top priority, but unfortunately there was no
political will on the part of the Republicans to do in Pennsylvania
what states like Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, recently
Maryland and now Tennessee and Kentucky are doing; righting wrongs,
being more equitable in funding their HBCUs. Wolf did what he could
but Pennsylvania has not balanced the scales respective to what it
owes Cheyney!
Albert
Einstein said, “You cannot solve problems using the same
consciousness and energy that created them.” To that I add, and
the same people who created them. The Middles States Commission on
Higher Education placed Cheyney on probation on November 16, 2023.
Middle States is fully transparent and outlined the totality of its
actions. You can read them here
https://www.msche.org/institution/0480/
We can read between the lines to infer why they did what they did
and why they are asking Walton to provide documentation and proof!
Resolving
this situation may be as simple as Aaron Walton providing the
documentation Middle States requested to address the non-compliance
issues. Worst case scenario it may be a precursor to major problems
for the university; problems PASSHE brought on by it’s recent and
long term actions.
Perhaps
Middle States’ actions will be the catalyst and opportunity to spur
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to do what must be done to get it
right, to upgrade the PASSHE system, find a dynamic leader for
Cheyney University and provide the support to help the institution
thrive. Failing that, we may see the demise of a once great
institution.
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The Chickens Are Coming Home To Roost Part 1
The Chickens Have Come Home To Roost Part 1
Junious Ricardo
Stanton
I
wasn’t surprised when a friend sent me the November 28, 2023
article from the Philadelphia Inquirer’s education section with the
headline After a seeming comeback Cheyney University lands back on
probation.
https://www.inquirer.com/education/cheyney-university-historically-black-accreditation-middle-states-20231128.html.
I have been a critic of current
President Aaron Walton who was anointed president of Cheyney
University by the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education
(PASSHE) in 2017 after
spending time on the PASSHE Board of Governors ascending to the
position of Vice Chairman. Aaron Walton was sent to Cheyney by PASSHE
and subsequently made
permanent president because they circumvented Pennsylvania Act 188
1982 P.S. &20-2001-A et seq which states a search must be
conducted involving students, alumni and the Council of Trustees to
find a replacement for a PASSHE university president. But PASSHE
requested and was granted a waiver by the Pennsylvania State Senate
exempting them from conducting a legitimate regional or national
search.
No
search was conducted in part because the Commonwealth was afraid
their search might fail to attract the highly qualified candidates
needed to turn the university around. I received a letter (and still
have it in my possession) from Mr. Peter H. Garland the Executive
Vice Chancellor of PASSHE dated March 9, 2016; in response to my
letter dated February 28, 2016 (which was part of a Heeding
Cheyney’ Call letter writing
campaign). I was requesting a thorough presidential search to find
the best qualified candidate willing to accept the challenge of
piloting the venerable institution through
the unprecedented times higher education was facing but especially
the major problems Cheyney was then
experiencing. The new
president would have to address a
myriad of challenges:
declining enrollment, escalating debt, fiscal-aid mismanagement,
abysmal public perceptions/branding,
federal government scrutiny
and ineffective governance.
In
his response
Mr. Garland alluded to the possibility a search might not produce
significant interest
in the Cheyney presidency. He said and I quote, “On behalf of the
Chancellor, I have served as the liaison to a number of presidential
searches in the System. While strong candidates do not shrink from
challenging leadership positions, questions regarding Cheyney’s
enrollment, financial stability, financial aid mismanagement and the
university’s probationary status with its regional accrediting body
will likely limit the pool of candidates severely, potentially
yielding no acceptable ones. Frankly, the prospect of a failed
national search of the presidency could irreparably derail the
institution’s path to recovery.”
He
also stated PASSHE, the Chancellor and Board of Governors were
awaiting “the best time to launch the search.” promising
students, faculty and alumni would be involved in the search process.
Evidently either highly
qualified prospects/candidates did not materialize or the “best
time to launch the search” never materialized
since
no search was ever conducted. Aaron Walton was summarily anointed
president.
My
problem with Walton’s appointment is he was part of the problem.
Therein
lies the reason
for
Cheyney’s current predicament: the powers that be decision not to
conduct a genuine search and their subsequent appointment of Aaron
Walton to the position. Walton was not an educator and other than
serving on the PASSHE Board of Governors which
in conjunction with a series
of governors and the
General
Assembly
had an abysmal
record of managing
the whole system, therefore
he was part of the problem.
Walton showed
his shortcomings as an administrator time and time again. He’s
not an expert on the
collective bargaining agreement or higher
education. He fired several
staff and was forced to
bring them back or pay them. As
PASSHE Board of Governors vice chair, Walton co-chaired
a task force designed to chart
a course out of the
existential crisis Cheyney was facing; but his
plan did not call for boosting enrollment, seeking more funding from
PASSHE which had a long and sordid history of discriminating against
Cheyney (which was the reason I was a plaintiff in the Heeding
Cheyney’s Call 2014 Federal
Lawsuit against the Commonwealth, Governor Tom Corbett, the
Chancellor, the PASSHE Board of Governors and Arne Duncan the
Secretary of the US Department of Education) proposing/promising
new academic programs, upgrading or maintaining facilities. He
did tear down several dilapidated or deteriorating buildings.
When
Tom Wolf who ran on an education platform was elected governor,
Pennsylvania was ranked by US and World Report #50 out of fifty
states in higher education.
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/education
.Pennsylvania is still one
of the least affordable
states for college putting
college beyond the reach of
many students which
has resulted
in a drop in enrollment in
PASSHE schools.
To
his credit Governor Wolf kept his promise that Cheyney would not
close on his watch. It was Governor Wolf who erased Cheyney’s forty
million debt to PASSHE not Aaron Walton. Wolf’s efforts are what
allowed the Middle States Commission on Higher Education to view
Cheyney in a more favorable light which helped to restore Cheyney’
accreditation; not any plans Walton devised or executed.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/11/26/state-financial-support-helps-cheyney-regain-regional-accreditors-backing
As
president, Walton made numerous errors that have
come
back to bite him. He cut staff to the bone and never assembled an
effective governance
infrastructure able to grow or promote the university enrollment
wise or via fundraising. He
failed to establish an
amicable and
cooperative relationship
with alumni; although he was chummy
with the immediate past national alumni association president who
gave Walton (in clear
violation of The
Solicitation of Funds for Charitable Purposes Act 10 P.S. & 162.1
et seq) $250,000 dollars of alumni scholarship money which Walton
“repurposed” for things other than scholarships! When that issue
was recently re-raised by alumni Walton allegedly promised to put the
money back but has not done so to date. Walton has also
failed to cultivate the
support of key influencers
and power brokers in Philadelphia, Delaware and Chester Counties, or
Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania.
Walton
has often misrepresented the university; for example, he says the
university has a STEM program when in fact it has no engineering or
technology degree programs whatsoever. The university’s Middle
States Self-Study report said they have a dual enrollment program but
I have seen no evidence of one. Some of the people he brought in to
fill important positions like Provost and Admissions were not up to
the task and there has been a constant shake up and revolving door of
lower level administrative personnel.
We
must understand, the Middle
States Commission on
Higher Education has no subpoena powers, no on staff auditors or
forensic accountants to check Cheyney’s or
any other university’s books
so they are reliant
on what the university tells them. Evidently Middles States is
skeptical of Cheyney’s ability to accomplish and sustain its stated
mission and asked Walton for
documentation and proof.
Middle States placed Cheyney back on Probation on
November 16, 2023,
https://www.msche.org/institution/0480/.
To
quote Albert Einstein, “you cannot solve problems using the same
consciousness and energy that created them.” The
chickens have come home to roost, it’s PASSHE’s and Walton’s
KARMA; they are reaping what they’ve sown! Hopefully
this will be the
impetus for real change
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