photo by: Bremen Keasey

Although Haskell Indian Nations University students are celebrating a ruling that would reinstate dozens of employees who were abruptly fired last month, many of them say they’re still feeling the fallout of the layoffs — and wary of what might happen next.

On Thursday morning, U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco ordered the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, the Interior and the Treasury to immediately offer reinstatement to employees terminated on or about Feb. 13 and 14 using guidance from the Office of Personnel Management and its acting director, Charles Ezell.

That would mean that the nearly 40 Haskell workers, including several instructors, fired about a month ago could return immediately. The university is governed by the Bureau of Indian Education, a division of the Department of Interior.

Some of the previously fired employees were already returning to the university. Last week as the Journal-World reported, the university was set to rehire 14 employees, including some teachers, the office of U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran confirmed, although there were no further details on why the workers would be rehired.

The Journal-World asked the BIE to confirm that all workers would be able to return. A BIE spokesperson said in a statement to the Journal-World that its department policy is to not comment on litigation, but that the Department of Interior “reaffirms its unwavering commitment to providing BIE students with a quality and culturally appropriate education in a safe, healthy and supportive environment.”

Haskell students confirmed to the Journal-World that some instructors were back, but the sudden disruption impacted their education and the campus itself.

Neena Lasley, a junior at Haskell, said the sudden firing of her teacher for her basic nutrition class left her feeling confused and worried about the future. She and her classmates still had class with a new instructor, but the instability made her wonder what was going to happen with her education.

“I kept thinking ‘What does this mean (for my classes) for the rest of the semester? For next year?” Lasley said.

Freshman Seth Ebeling Jr. had a similar experience. When a new instructor came to teach one of his classes, Ebeling said at first the teacher “tried to stay with the syllabus” of the course, but the class eventually was changed.

The disruptions in the classroom weren’t the only thing that Ebeling said he felt. He also was surprised that other staff like career counselors and academic advisers were let go, because they really helped the around 900 students on campus plan their future.

Along with the academic staff, Ebeling felt the campus in general was not operating “as smoothly” due to reductions from other support staff like janitors. Across campus, some buildings also had signs indicating their hours were limited. The Haskell Cultural Center and Museum had a sign that said its hours were limited to just Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Its normal hours were Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The firings also just brought a “quiet and eerie” feeling to campus, one student who spoke with the Journal-World said. She said the sudden firings were “heartbreaking” and negatively affected her mental health.

“They were here to help us, and they didn’t even know they were going to be fired,” she said.

Although the news of the reinstatement of employees is uplifting, she said she feels lingering frustrations because of the fact the Haskell community had to “go through all the firings in the first place.”

Throughout the month of disruption, many across Lawrence had been attempting to organize to support the Haskell community. The community held a pair of advocacy meetings which had hundreds of people attend, as the Journal-World reported. Additionally, the Haskell Foundation has stepped in to raise money for some of the immediate needs of the university, raising thousands of dollars to support some of the fired workers, as the Journal-World reported.

While students are happy to have their instructors back, many said they are wary of what is to come. The federal judge’s ruling could be challenged, and it’s possible that the federal government will face other cuts — which could include Haskell — down the line. Lasley said there is a sense of security now, but she is worried that feeling can go away even before summer classes.

“They did the firings once; can they do it again?” Lasley said.