OUR VIEW: The Budget cuts deep

Budget cuts. Yeah, we’re all sick of hearing those two words because it means more expensive tuition and less cash in our wallets. Higher tuition costs are not the worst thing that can happen, though.
    The true tragedy of the budget cuts is what they are doing to the university itself. Administration refers to the university as operating at a “skeletal structure,” meaning all that’s left is bare bones. With how many staff and faculty that administration has needed to lay off, the university is feeling the pinch. Administration said 16 more positions will be cut by July 1, but they don’t expect to have to cut any more after July.
    It still makes you wonder though, how many positions can USU lose and still function properly? How much does the quality of a Utah State education diminish when you have to cut out so many people?
    History students have complained of limited course options when registering last year. The College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences was hit hard by budget cuts, and the history department felt the loss. Norm Jones, history department head, has said that with these faculty and staff cuts, the department’s ability to offer courses this past school year was cut in half. Next year, several temporary, one-year professors will provide a greater variety of classes for history majors, but those who lived through it this year know first-hand what a downsize in faculty can mean to students.
    There is also the issue of campus activities being cut. If there’s no money for professors, there’s no money for the kinds of activities students love. Surely, what money the school has needs to be focused on academics – that’s what the students are really here for – but the absence of these activities means Aggies are missing out on part of the college experience. Take out activities, concerts, speakers, Jell-O slides and other fun events, and you just have classes. Classes are only part of the university learning experience.
    And then there are projects and publications, such as the Isotope magazine, that are being closed. For the students who utilize these USU phalanges, these projects can greatly augment their university experience. Students have one less outlet for publishing their writing. The Isotope also received many submissions from professors and scientists nationally and internationally, helping to spread the name of USU beyond Logan. These on-campus projects add to the education USU students receive.
    Budget cuts: painful for the students’ wallets, panic-inducing for those without tenure and an overall hard thing for an already relatively small university. Administration is doing all they can to make sure students feel as little impact from budget cuts as possible, but it’s impossible to feel nothing at all. All the students can do is send USU’s budget a “get well soon” card.