Faculty members carried signs and marched peacefully in front of Old Main Wednesday to voice academic quality concerns.

The picket line was arranged by the University Professionals of Illinois, Eastern’s faculty union, to protest faculty overload and administrative “bloat.” The UPI is in the process of negotiating a three-year contract with the administration.

Picketers hoisted signs bearing statements and questions aimed at the administration such as “overloaded and grossly underpaid,” and “how many administrators does it take to screw in a light bulb?”

David Radavich, UPI president and professor of English, said the faculty is upset with larger class sizes and low compensation. This fall, Eastern had an enrollment jump and a tuition increase, but Radavich said the revenue from the extra students has not been used for academic purposes.

Carol Stevens, English professor and picketer, said students don’t realize tuition increases don’t necessarily go to faculty.

“The money goes to gates that cost a half of a million dollars, like the one we’re standing in front of right now,” Stevens said in reference to the new gate in front of Old Main.

The influx of students, Radavich said, has forced faculty to teach classes with as many as 274 students, which hinders the amount of individual attention needed to provide a quality education.

“Some classes are so over-enrolled, students are told they don’t have to come all the time,” Radavich said. “I have never seen faculty so exhausted. We can’t continue like this-there’s no way.”

Jose Deustua, history professor, said he joined the picket line to support the numerous faculty concerns, including the increase in administration. The UPI stated this year the ratio of administrators to faculty is one to three, respectively.

“Eastern has become an administration-centered university,” Deustua said.

Radavich said 30 percent of administrators nationwide have never taught, which adds to their detachment from faculty.

Throughout the picketing, cars on Lincoln Avenue honked horns in support, and students took notice of their marching professors.

“I see some of my teachers out there, and I appreciate them,” said Bridget Shanahan, a junior speech communications major. “I think they should get more money.”

Amanda Evans, junior family and consumer science major, said she thought the picketing faculty was great.

“I think they they should all be out here,” Evans said.

Charles Delman, UPI chief negotiator and professor of mathematics, said he was pleased with the turnout and told the crowd of faculty members to save their signs for the next picket.

“I hope the administration will respond in a positive fashion,” Delman said.

Shortly after the picket line disassembled, the university’s office of media relations released a statement which affirmed support for faculty and students under difficult fiscal conditions.

The statement said, despite the largest freshman class in history, current statistics show no discernable change in class size distribution compared to recent years. The university hired 21 new tenure-track faculty and 13 additional full-time annually contracted faculty to accommodate more students, the statement pointed out.

For the last 10 years, Eastern has spent a greater percentage of its appropriated staff funding on faculty salaries than has any other Illinois public university, the statement said.

“Average salaries for the ranks of professor, associate professor and assistant professor at EIU exceed the averages for those ranks at comparable institutions by 1 to 3 percent,” it stated.

The comparable institutions the statement referred to, such as Western Kentucky University and Western Illinois University, were used in the last negotiations agreement, Delman said, and were targeted mainly for research purposes, not comparison.

The UPI did not agree to the same “peer group” for the current negotiations, and, Delman said, when compared to public universities in Illinois, Eastern is still at the bottom as far as salaries are concerned.

“This is not just about money,” he said. “This is about the quality of our work lives and the quality of education we can give to students.”