Administrative Games: Who Pays?
The plans to close the translation department reflect an academic
culture that is unique in Finland to the University of Helsinki:
mainly a retreat into the world of the purely theoretical liberal arts
programs. A small group of professors at the top of the administrative
pyramid have determined that practical programs should be eliminated
from the university. This is the opposite direction of other Finnish
universities as well as most institutions in the United States.
The stress the students feel at observing university politics at their
worst is evident from the writing they produced for this edition. I
hope that we all: students, faculty and administrators read through
the following essay, and then think seriously about how our actions in
the education process are perceived by others and then strive to be
better examples in the future.
Dr. Mike Garant, University of Helsinki
Dean Dictator in the University of Helsinki
Recently, the Department of Translation Studies of Helsinki University
has been under serious administrative pressure. There have been plans
to shut down the department without any logical explanation from
the Dean of the Humanities Faculty, the main architect of this mysterious
scheme. The statements the Dean has given to the media have been somewhat
inconsistent, each announcement contradicting with the previous. First,
he said the number of degrees was too low and after this statement was
proven wrong, he came up with another flimsy excuse, namely the inadequate
amount of scientific research conducted at the Department. The straw he
is now clutching at is the excessive salary budget. This statement also
has stirred confusion, for the teachers see their salary budget as
everything else but excessive.
The pressure put upon the Department by University administration has
naturally been met with a tidal wave of objections from both students and
staff members. Recently, students organized a demonstration in front of
the University's main building and distributed information about the
alarming situation. A number of interested by-passers gave their support
to the students, expressing their deep concern for the methods adopted by
the faculty.
The secretive nature of the administrative process has not only caused
confusion and anger amongst the people at the Department, but it has also
brought the question of university democracy to wider attention. The
Student Union of the University of Helsinki has taken a strong stand
against the faculty's policies to carry out such plans without consulting
any of the parties concerned, stating that such procedures can not be
tolerated. The issue has also aroused discussion on a higher level, thanks
to the local members of the Finnish Parliament who have introduced the
topic to their colleagues in their meetings. Unfortunately, the press of
the capitol city has not given the subject the coverage it deserves.
These days, the importance of interdisciplinary activity and openness is
stressed everywhere. Yet, making secret decisions on the administrative
level cannot be anything but a threat to democratic way of thinking.
The academic prestige of translation studies is now being questioned.
Although it is a fairly new branch of science, it serves an important
role in everyday, practical life. Where would we be without translators?
How would the European Union be run without translators and interpreters?
Translating is not something one can learn in a day. It takes a lifetime
of expanding one's knowledge of different cultures, not only languages.
Therefore, the translation education should be developed as its own entity,
not as a part of the philology education. With this in mind, it is quite
difficult to fathom the Dean's plans to close down a department that
produces these indispensable experts.
Hannu Haverinen
Jarkko Kurronen
Henri Purje
MA Students, University of Helsinki