Jorge Nieves, an admissions recruiter for NIU’s CHANCE Program, resigned from his position last week apparently in protest of the firing of a colleague.

Martha Palmer, a counselor in the CHANCE program, said that Nieves resigned in protest of the unfair treatment that she has received. Palmer said Nieves wrote a letter of support stating his objection to her dismissal.

She added that Nieves might have been under pressure to resign. CHANCE Program Director Leroy Mitchell refused to comment.

Nieves, who has been with the program for two years, was not available for comment.

“There’s a lot of bias and favoritism that goes on (within CHANCE),” Palmer said, “and also a lot of political games.

Jorge is the dominant recruiter of Hispanic students, and does an excellent job,” she said. “Is this the commitment they (NIU administrators) have to minority students, faculty, and staff? I thought the focus of this program was to recruit and retain minorities.”

Last spring, a Hispanic counselor employed at the CHANCE program for approximately a year was dismissed, she said.

Palmer, who has been with the CHANCE program for four years, was informed at the end of June that her contract would not be renewed, but as of yet has not been given a valid explanation for her dismissal.

“Whatever they come up with is pretextual and planned,” Palmer said. “They haven’t come up with any valid reasons.

“It appears to be because of my outspokenness,” she added. “In the office, they tend to isolate you if you don’t do things the way people in the office want you to.

“Those people who go above and beyond the call of duty seem to be punished the most,” Palmer said.

Palmer was the only faculty member to speak at the Day of Action rally April 13, in which she criticized NIU’s minority policies, lack of funds to support higher education, and questioned whether the ACT and SAT were valid tools in determining a student’s admission. She also said more minority students should be admitted through regular procedures instead of through CHANCE.

She said that 80 to 90 percent of all minority students at NIU were admitted through CHANCE.