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STUDENTS
LOCAL
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Editorial/Our View
Cuts Hurt
The administration should help cover costs for cut programs
Increases are often a bad sign for students, but reductions can be,
too. Budget cuts decided by the Student Service Fee Advisory Committee
may be warranted in some cases but should be re-evaluated in others.
The SSFAC decides on student fee allocation, and according to committee
chair Zach Walker, more than $1.5 million in new funds have been requested
for the 2006-07 fiscal year. There just aren’t enough incoming
students and fees to fund everything. As a result, the committee had
to minimize or cut funding for programs that weren’t pulling their
weight financially or were draining student funds.
Mav Mover, the university’s Saturday shuttle bus program is one
program being cut. Mav Mover is a valuable asset to students living
on campus who need transportation to Wal-Mart and The Parks mall. Its
funding was cut 50 percent beginning Sept. 1, but this is one area the
committee should be supportive with funding.
The Monday-Friday shuttles won’t be affected, but students who
need transportation on Saturdays rely on this service. It shouldn’t
matter if five or 15 students take the Saturday shuttle. To take the
service away is a disservice to those who need it.
But some of SSFAC’s budget cut reasons are valid, and students
should be understanding. For example, the student-run Renegade Magazine
wasn’t selling enough copies to justify its $92,931 budget, Walker
said. This is a significant amount that could be redistributed to such
things as scholarship money. The Theatre Arts and Music departments
are also taking a hit with a one-sixth budget reduction.
It’s unfortunate that while these programs are important to students’
educations, the cost to keep the programs alive may be hurting the student
community as a whole. Every student pays fees of $10.08 per credit hour,
and those fees should be allocated effectively to benefit everyone.
But these programs do foster learning, real-world experience and make
huge differences in students’ lives. The administration and the
committee should figure out a way to pay for these programs, either
through tuition or other sources as suggested by the SSFAC.
If student fees can’t cover costs, the administration should step
in and provide support, rather than see these programs demolished.
CORRECTION
The article should have stated that the
President and Provost’s offices made up for the Student Service Fee Advisory
Committee cuts to the Music and Theatre Arts departments prior to issuing final
SSFAC funding results. These programs were not in jeopardy of losing funds. Mav
Mover, the Saturday shuttle bus program, may still run next year, and funding
proposals for Renegade Magazine may be reviewed by SSFAC next year.
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EDITORIAL ROUNDUP
The issue:
The Student Service Fee Advisory Committee has decided on several funding cuts.
We suggest:
Students should be understanding of some cuts, but the administration should devise a plan to keep the programs active without help from student fees.
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