UNCA Blue Banner to college administration: We demand more transparency, and more input, in budget cutting decisions;

Here’s an excellent opinion piece by the UNCA Blue Banner student newspaper. Some excerpts:

Last week, Max Brooks, author of “The Zombie Survival Guide,” visited campus and left $10,000 richer at the same time John Pierce, vice chancellor for finance and operations, stressed how we needed those seven layoffs and the elimination of 22 positions to reduce next year’s expenses by $2.5 million.

It took prying to find out about the $10,000, even though it was raised by students.

Not the $2.5 million.

We want university officials to keep us informed without keeping us at arms length.

And this

Planned for this Friday, junior health and wellness promotions student Rabia Foreman and freshman Kristen Emery organized a dance marathon to bring attention to the danger the dance department could facing thanks to budget cuts and the cutting of adjunct faculty.

The marathon is scheduled to last from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. in the breezeway of Phillips Hall.

If a protest can get our reading days back, why can’t a dance marathon bring our liberal arts experience back?

Finally this:

We understand cuts have to be made. Bev Purdue mandated demanding cuts when we’re already suffering from the cuts from previous years.

Instead of receiving a remorseful e-mail once every couple of months announcing drastic cuts, it would be nice to be included in the decision-making process.

The cold shoulder from administration may be intended to prevent a riotous uprising. However, when drastic cuts are sprung on us suddenly and without any kind of warning beyond rumors we feel more riotous than if we were included all along.

These tough times call for even tougher decisions, but have a little faith.  

Have faith that we are all of a maturity level to understand without burning trees on the quad and tossing Molotov cocktails through the windows of the library.