frustrated by budget cuts . . .

Over the course of the past couple years, as a student, I have wondered what could possibly be next to change during my academic experience. My tuition has increased every single year since I have returned as a student. This includes actual tuition increases along with fees and the creation of new student fees. My favorite fee--which I maintain is a crafty tuition increase--is the 3.75% fee given to students who "choose" to pay their tuition with a credit card. This means students are paying the universities bank fee (which is why students cannot use VISA to pay tuition since VISA will not allow merchants to charge for the use of their card--experience from my banking days). And then, last year, I realized that my parking privileges would cost anywhere from about $300 - $900 depending on where I "choose" to park--so I did not buy a parking pass. As a graduate student I am paying over $600 per credit hour in tuition and fees (and most classes are 3 hrs). Yes, this is getting painful. I know, boo-hoo, especially coming from someone who will always believe that regardless of how I attain my education, it will always be a privilege.

After reading today's press release I am feeling a bit sore (and sour) over the announcement of the many university wide cuts --mostly to any and all colleges that do not include hard science and engineering (and yes, engineering "consolidated" but remains fully in tact). My college was "consolidated" earlier this year and today my graduate program was completely cut. To clarify, ALL graduate programs at the west campus have been cut. And we are no longer ASU at the west campus but instead, "New College." What kind of name is that? What does this new college mean? WHAT?!

Today's announcement is the nightmare many of us who attend and, for those we depend upon (at the west campus), have feared for several years. My experience with some of the most brilliantly-talented-passionately-devoted faculty/staff/students makes the very deep gouges to the heart (my heart!) of education all the more unbelievable. I have watched as this university president and his devotees have steered this university on a very dangerous path in the name of growth. Nobody could have predicted that this would ever be our current position. However, ASU might have been in a better place to take this countries and state economic blows if the administration had not been so blindly focused on growing the university, and its debt, at such breakneck speed. What happened to expect and prepare for the unexpected?

Shame on Crow. Shame on ABOR (arizona board of regents) and shame on those who have told me, as recent as last week, that ASU's tuition is "still a really good deal compared to other universities." My response, as recent as last week, explained that every single increase has been difficult and, furthermore, we are NOT PRINCETON! We are still a state school and we have NOT been getting a good deal. Give me a break.