Kumru Toktamis, PT faculty

Kumru Toktamis, Adjunct Instructor, Social Science & Cultural Studies

I have been teaching at Pratt since 1998. One of my prime prides in life is the fact that many of our former students stay in touch with me and we continue working on several personal or public projects. During my 13 years of adjunct teaching throughout the tri-state area, I have noticed with dismay the unfortunate process of college education turning into upgrading ticket in the job market, and college administration turning into a business to be managed. It is disappointing that hard-earned fragile principles such as having universal access to knowledge are ignored by administrations who are now managers, and consequently by students. I see my role in the senate, as an extension of my role in the classroom; i.e. to make sure that it is not forgotten that college is where we practice our right to have universal access to knowledge, and freedom to discuss, negotiate, revise, reconstruct and re-conquer it.