Welcome New Vera Fellows

And congratulations to our new Vera alumni! Please check out the Alumni section of the blog (on the right) to see what Vera alumni will be doing next. Many students won awards and some will be continuing work at their agencies. Way to go, everyone, and keep us updated about your plans as they evolve.

I'd like to welcome our new Vera Fellows:

Jamie Bridgewater, an English major and a Philosophy minor.

Joseph Dunnigan, a Criminal Justice major.

Christina Gonzalez, a Deviant Behavior and Social Control major.

Chad Infante, a CUNY BA student, majoring in Literature and Philosophy.

Nadiya Kostyuk, an International Criminal Justice major and Economics minor.

Lenecia Lewis, an International Criminal Justice major.

Alexander Nechayev, a Justice Studies major and a Philosophy minor.

Jessica Rivera, an International Criminal Justice major and a History minor.

Jose Rosario, a Government major and a Law and History minor.

Katie Spoerer, a BA/MA Criminal Justice major.

We are in the process of matching students with agencies, so make sure you respond promptly to Professor Stein's e-mails!

Congratulations, again, and have a great summer!

Euphemisms: Helpful AND Harmful?

Hey everyone,

This is Emile's post. She was having trouble posting on the blog.

In the article, "Euphemisms, Dysphemisms Blunt the Truth," Howard Richler writes, "euphemisms can soothe...and for certain subjects, such as sex, euphemisms seem essential." Based on the discussion in class, it's safe to say that we all have come across beneficial euphemisms throughout the semester, whether it was during the seminar or at our internships.

However, our discussion left off where I read the response to a question that I posed for Zach, a social worker at the Guardianship Project. The question was "Do you think euphemisms, ultimately help your clients?" Zach's response was both yes and no. Yes, because when discussing difficult issues, such as death to a client, euphemisms allow the conversation to be manageable. No, because some euphemisms can be counterproductive and allow clients to avoid or hide discussing certain issues, such as domestic violence. Zach has found that when talking to clients being blunt is the best way to go. Euphemisms can sometimes cause misunderstandings.

So my question is, do you think that euphemisms can be, helpful and harmful, or both? Do you think euphemisms should be used depending on the person you are talking to? Can you think of an example where one euphemism can be both helpful and harmful?

Justice on a budget

“Overhead…the word itself is disparaging.”
What’s the public opinion on “overhead”? People tend to judge overhead on how they see nonprofits in general: that 100% of donations should go directly to the problem it seeks to help, and that workers are essentially volunteers. As Manny said, the word “non-profit” makes you think there’s no monetary profit expected. So we’re taught to separate overhead (like having decent lighting, rental space, ability to hire talented individuals to run the programs) from the cause. While it’s bold to say we should trust that 100% of donations go to the best interests of the organization, the alternative is that we see someone like the receptionist as having NOTHING to do with bettering the social problem an organization seeks to eradicate. Very simply, a receptionist keeps the organization of an organization. If she does her job well, everyone else can do their jobs that much more efficiently: the program directors are kept on top of their meetings to advocate for the cause, potential clients and funders hear the pleasant voice of the receptionist on the other end of the phone line, instead of the caseworker running between clients and phone calls.
If you want to be a social entrepreneur, working in the nonprofit sector is a most viable objective. But we know we’re entering a field that gives us mutually exclusive choices. Individuals in the NP sector are paid 11% lower on average, for someone in similar position in the for-profit sector with similar qualifications and this discrepancy is larger at higher positions. All 10 of us have high GPAs and we’re connected to professionals (our “references”) who vouch for our talent and knowledge base – without either of these things we wouldn’t have gotten this Fellowship. Still, we have to concede to the notion that the need for our skills in the helping sector will provide us a paycheck 11% lower annually than we would get if we worked for Budweiser or Loreal. Others before us have realized it: three-fourths of non-profit executives say that they’ll be leaving their position in the next 5 years due to anxiety over shaky financial stability. Why do you think it’s so easy for for-profit businesses to validate administrative costs, and not non-profits? Repeating myself from class, what do you see at the connection between “overhead” and maintaining the status quo?
Here are my thoughts on that question: When the pressure to “make the numbers” for a funder’s requirements become priority number one, an organization finds it inconvenient to pay attention to its own needs. Furthermore, they have no real incentive to. When we are forced into using efficiency measures that reduce hard work to either a “success” or a “failure” – THAT is disparaging. Efficiency measures such as these prevent charities from investing adequately in infrastructure. As Dan Pallotta states, this act “institutionalizes what [we] seek to eradicate.”

Chatting About the Future

After a hard week's work for you Verons (the Tuesday event and Thursday's seminar), I want to use the blog this week to process any thoughts/concerns/fears/dilemmas you have had as a result of thinking about your futures. So please comment on anything that you have been thinking about, whether that be something that was said/asked during the event, something that was said/asked/not asked during the session on your resumes, or something that you have been mulling over in terms of your paper.

For some of you, the next few weeks represent the end of your college careers. For all of us, it represents the end of Vera Seminar.2. Feel free to reflect on any aspect of these experiences, or concerns about future experiences. It might be nice for you to write shorter comments, but to check in and comment more frequently this week since we all might be seeking feedback.