This semester, my friend Katie jetted off to Belize for a study abroad program through the University of Vermont. Sounds good, right? I would gladly trade my glum winter quarter to soak up the rays in Central America.
But recently, some shady activity back at home has clouded Katie's experience. I like to think of it as Ohio University's budget woes on steroids.
Back in 2002, UVM president Dan Fogel arrived at the job with a $100 million budget surplus. Now, the school is facing a potential $28 million deficit. Why? An administrative spending spree including, but not limited to, abundant top-tier faculty bonuses, splurging on new buildings and actually purchasing a smaller, nearby college campus.
In a move that is outraging students and faculty, UVM is now trying to solve the budget problem by laying off faculty members and cutting student programs and athletic teams while raising tuition and increasing enrollment - a solution that wouldn't be too problematic if UVM, a school of about 9,000 students, didn't praise itself on its intimate sense of community and small class sizes. And administrators - 25 of whom make more money than Vermont's governor - won't take a pay cut.
What I found most significant about the situation is the incredible coalition formed by the UVM community. I watched videos of people from all ends of the university spectrum holding an all-out rally to protest the layoffs. There's a blog opposing the budget plan moderated by both students and faculty members, united. There are multiple Facebook groups so students - even those all the way in Belize - can discuss the problem openly. Through their opposition all over the Internet and all over their campus, UVM students and faculty are showing clear evidence of the tight-knit community that they are so desperately trying to protect.
UVM may be less than half of OU's size, but that doesn't mean we can't be more united. If anything, with our numbers, we could do great things. Last week, a few driven students and a simple cheek swab might have helped a few more leukemia patients find a bone marrow match. If the more than 2,200 students that got swabbed went and picketed the Board of Trustees, imagine what we could accomplish.
-Amanda Lucci is a sophomore studying journalism and a copy editor for The Post. E-mail her your ideas for campus bonding at al106606@ohiou.edu.
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Amanda Lucci
