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Including others in this email

Debra Adelaide

A short story

From: Julian Kass
Sent: Wednesday, 16 August 2019 2:40 PM
To: Robin Fernley
Subject: room booking

Hi Robin

Could I please check that the present room allocated for my subject ACTIVITY D: NOVEL WRITING will be free on Tuesday 3 October at 4 pm?

This is room 238 in the Franklin Building, and of course my session this week was cancelled. The replacement session will be in the study (non-active) week.

If this room’s not free, could you please book me another one for that afternoon? The session is for 20 students but it needs to fit 40 to facilitate small group discussions.

thanks Julian

From: Robin Fernley
Sent: Wednesday, 16 August 2019 3:18 PM
To: Mignon Adamson
Cc: Julian Kass
Subject: FW: room booking

Mignon

Could you please reply to Julian. Check with Nikki first.

Thanks Robin

From: Mignon Adamson
Sent: Thursday, 17 August 2019 9:10 AM
To: Nikki Gardener
Cc: Robin Fernley, Julian Kass
Subject: FW: room booking

Hi Nikki

Another one asking to rebook due to Franklin building blackout this week, however Julian has asked for his session to be rescheduled in the study week. See Julian’s email below. Also pasting in Bill’s emailed advice.

Please advise.

Regards
Mignon

Dear all

It’s been a challenging week to say the least! Just in case you haven’t seen the acting V-C’s message, I’ll reiterate that the Franklin Building will be closed again this week.

We have been instructed by the DVC not to reschedule any activities affected by the power outage. Participants are being asked to consider alternative options to cover the material that would have been covered. For example, online work during study week.

Cheers Bill

William Li
Team Leader
Timetable Manager Student Processing Centre

From: Nikki Gardener
Sent: Thursday, 17 August 2019 10:51 AM
To: Mignon Adamson
Cc: Robin Fernley, Julian Kass
Subject: Re: room booking
Importance: High

Hi Mignon

The deputy VC has agreed that sessions can be re-scheduled for study week, so I am happy to approve this.

Regards
Nikki

From: Mignon Adamson
Sent: Thursday, 17 August 2019 11:06 AM
To: timetabling@uniinc.edu.au
Cc: Dixie Halperin, Sally Nguyen, Julian Kass
Subject: FW: room booking – ACTIVITY D: NOVEL WRITING
Importance: High

Hi Cindy

As per the DVC’s directive could you please book Room 238 Clarke Building for ACTIVITY D: NOVEL WRITING on Tuesday 3 October 4-6 pm, Study Week? If this room’s not free, could you please book another room for that afternoon? The session is for 20 Level A novel students but it needs to accommodate 40 to facilitate small group discussions after the allocated lecture is delivered.

Thanks
Mignon

From: William Li
Sent: Thursday, 17 August 2019 11:32 AM
To: Mignon Adamson
Cc: Dixie Halperin, Sally Nguyen, timetabling@uniinc.edu.au
Subject: RE: room booking – ACTIVITY D: NOVEL WRITING

Do we have the DVC’s agreement in writing? I have been provided advice like this earlier this week which turned out not to be correct.

Bill

William Li
Team Leader
Timetable Manager
Student Processing Centre

Illustration by Rosie Handley — Illustration by Rosie Handley

From: Julian Kass
Sent: Thursday, 17 August 2019 12.02 PM
To: Robin Fernley
Subject: room booking request

Hi Robin
Any progress with my room booking request? I’ve seen a lot of emails from people (some I don’t even know) and it seems to be getting pretty complicated. Lucky that I’m teaching fiction and understand all this!

Only joking of course. I appreciate your efforts here.

best wishes
Julian

From: Robin Fernley
Sent: Thursday, 17 August 2019 2:18 PM
To: Mignon Adamson
Cc: Marshall Banner, Cindy Young, Nikki Gardener, Julian Kass
Subject: FW: room booking

Mignon or Marsh, could you please advise Julian? Julian, I am no longer in charge of casual room bookings.

From: Marshall Banner
Sent: Thursday, 17 August 2019 3:58 PM
To: Mignon Adamson
Cc: Cindy Young
Subject: RE: room booking – ACTIVITY D: NOVEL WRITING

Hi Mignon

We are not authorised to make replacement session bookings for study week unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Could you obtain a rationale from the lecturer to justify why it is not possible to offer this week’s content of learning and practice without a replacement session in the study week?

kind regards
Marsh

Marshall Banner
Coordinator
Timetable Manager

From: Mignon Adamson
Sent: Friday, 18 August 2019 08:47
To: Nikki Gardener
Cc: Robin Fernley, Julian Kass
Subject: FW: room booking – ACTIVITY D: NOVEL WRITING

Hi Nikki

Please see response from TimetableManager below. I have spoken with Bill re his email about rescheduling in the study week, however he has since had communication with Frank Deacon who has stated that lecturers should consider all other options before asking to replace a session in study week.

A rationale has to be obtained to justify why the topic or material cannot be offered in any other way, rather than in a replacement class. Once Bill receives the rationale he will advise whether it can be approved or not.

Please advise what to do?

Thanks Mignon

From: Julian Kass
Sent: Friday, 18 August 2019 9:27 AM
To: Nikki Gardener
Subject: FW: room booking – ACTIVITY D: NOVEL WRITING

Hey Nik

Checking emails on the run (I’m only meant to be working 2.5 days this year and always have the kids Fridays ...)

Just wondering why I need to provide a rationale? We had to cancel sessions (some people two weeks running, luckily not me) because of the outage in Franklin last week ... thats impt missed work, which will put us all behind in our schedules unless it can be made up.

tks Jules

Sent from my iPad

From: Nikki Gardener
Sent: Monday, 21 August 2019 11:27 PM
To: Julian Kass
Subject: FW: room booking – ACTIVITY D: NOVEL WRITING

Hi Jules

Sorry: I was at a conference Friday and have been in meetings all day today. Please see the string of correspondence below.

I did initially approve your request but am required to show exceptional circumstances before TimetableManager can book a room.

Can there be some online activities instead to compensate?

Regards
Nik

From: Julian Kass
Sent: Tuesday, 22 August 2019 9:27 AM
To: Nikki Gardener
Subject: FW: room booking – ACTIVITY D: NOVEL WRITING

Hi Nik

I have read the entire string of correspondence and have to say this sounds like a perfect short story! Perhaps one by Kafka.

Or maybe a scene from a Stoppard play (reminds me: saw you across the crowd at the STC the other week: we must catch up again soon).

But seriously, the answer to your question is that there can’t be online activities without seriously compromising the overall learning experience. And as you know we non-tenured Level As are under a lot of pressure to apply for promotion. Student satisfaction surveys are an important part of this. As you know.

If this option is taken then I’d expect strong representation from the students to you, and others higher up. We’re also committed to formal, face to face discussions: this is in the subject contract, issued before the program started, and if this week is lost forever the students scheduled to present work that week will not be happy.

Let me know what you think: I know that larger groups and blended learning are all inevitable but so far I have no bright ideas about how to put that into practice. Especially when the students have come here for workshop discussions. That is, face to face.

I wonder if it was like this back when writing was first taught. I believe this happened way back in 1916. At Amherst College, Massachusetts, USA, by Robert Frost. A poet, not a writer of absurdist fiction.

best wishes
Jules

Ps: please note my position is Lecturer Level A, not Online Activity Facilitator. Hence the lecturing. In the allocated sessions.

From: Nikki Gardener
Sent: Friday, 25 August 2019 7:44 AM
To: Frank Deacon
Cc: Julian Kass
Subject: Re: room booking – ACTIVITY D: NOVEL WRITING

Dear Frank

Please see attached email request regarding a replacement session in Study Week.

Missing a face-to-face session will affect learning for some students and the flow on effect will apparently compromise quality teaching and learning objectives.

Therefore I support Julian’s case that there are exceptional circumstances to warrant scheduling a session in study week. I appreciate that similar requests have been rejected, however I am sure he will be grateful for flexibility in this instance.

I also understand Julian is considering making some changes to his subject, for example incorporating work by Kafka, Stoppard and Frost. These changes may only be made following the company’s Subject Content Approval Committee, but he should be able to introduce them in time for the final semester next year.

Regards
Nikki

DRAFT: On 25/08/19 10:42 AM,
<Julian.Kass@uniinc.edu.au> wrote:

Fuck you Nik. I never said I was changing my subject to include Kafka etc. But a fucking good idea, thanks for the suggestion.

From: Julian Kass
Sent: Friday, 25 August 2019 10.50 AM
To: Nikki Gardener
Subject: FW: room booking – ACTIVITY D: NOVEL WRITING

Hey Nik

Thanks for that. Do I pass this onto Mignon or Marshall now so they can make the room booking? Or to Dixie? Or Cindy?

tks, Jules
Sent from my iPad

From: Nikki Gardener
Sent: Monday, 28 August 2019 7.14 AM
To: Julian Kass
Cc: William Li, Frank Deacon
Subject: FW: room booking – ACTIVITY D: NOVEL WRITING

Dear Julian

No, that would be premature. This request has to be approved by the deputy VC personally. As you would see from last Friday’s email I have asked the acting VC Frank Deacon to consider this request, and the correct procedure is that he will pass it on to the DVC.

Furthermore, Bill Li advises us that the students must agree that ‘attendance be voluntary and that the participants must not be disadvantaged in any shape or form if they can’t attend.’ This is in line with Section 8 (a) subclause (iii) of the current workplace agreement, which you signed when you commenced your contract with us.

Given all this, do you still want to go ahead with this request?

Regards
Nikki

DRAFT: On 28/08/19 7:42 AM,
<Julian.Kass@uniinc.edu.au> wrote:

Of course I want to go ahead with this fucking request. It’s not like I’m asking for a salary increase, a personal assistant or even an office with a fucking window. I’m just asking for a room and time to teach. So I can fucking teach my students. This is what we DO isn’t it? Teach? Like our contracts say? Fuck.

From: Julian Kass
Sent: Monday, 28 August 2019 7.47 AM
To: Nikki Gardener
Cc: William Li, Frank Deacon, Robin Fernley, Marshall Banner, Mignon Adamson
Subject: FW: room booking – ACTIVITY D: NOVEL WRITING

Hi Nikki

In an earlier email I mentioned that this situation sounded like something from Kafka.
I was of course joking.

However, I now wonder if TimetableManager, the Student Admin Centre, the Executive Unit, the Chancellory, indeed the entire university, is under this author’s control.

Emeritus Professor Franz Kafka, CEO of UniversityIncorporated. It’s got a great ring to it, don’t you think?

Kind regards
Julian

From: Julian Kass
Sent: Monday, 28 August 2019 4.15 PM
To: Nikki Gardener
Cc: William Li, Frank Deacon, Robin Fernley, Marshall Banner, Mignon Adamson
Subject: FW: room booking – ACTIVITY D: NOVEL WRITING

Hi Nikki

Any news at all regarding the room? Including others in this email who may be able to advise.

Julian

From: Julian Kass
Sent: Tuesday, 29 August 2019 1.38 PM
To: Nikki Gardener
Cc: William Li, Frank Deacon, Robin Fernley, Marshall Banner, Mignon Adamson, Cindy Young, Bill Li, Sally Nguyen, Dixie Halperin
Subject: FW: room booking – ACTIVITY D: NOVEL WRITING

Hi everyone

I’ve been teaching all morning,
so no chance to check emails until now.
Is there any progress on my room booking request?

From: Julian Kass
Sent: Tuesday, 29 August 2019 11.22 PM
To: Nikki Gardener
Cc: William Li, Frank Deacon, Robin Fernley, Marshall Banner, Mignon Adamson, Cindy Young, Sally Nguyen, Dixie Halperin
Subject: FW: room booking – ACTIVITY D: NOVEL WRITING

Hi everyone

I’m not sure I have the time or fortitude for this. I shall advise the class of my on-line availability during the scheduled time for this session to provide feedback on their work. Not that the work will have been produced, given that the allocated class session never proceeded.

Julian

From: Julian Kass
Sent: Wednesday, 30 August 2019 11.58 PM
To: Franz Kafka
Cc: Nikki Gardener, William Li, Frank Deacon, Robin Fernley, Marshall Banner, Mignon Adamson, Cindy Young, Sally Nguyen, Dixie Halperin
Subject: New appointment

Hi everyone, and welcome to the team Franz. I think you’ll fit right in here.

Julian

Debra Adelaide’s books include the novel The Women’s Pages, the short story collection Zebra and the memoir The Innocent Reader: Reflections on Reading and Writing.