Thursday, February 12, 2009

The College, Cost and Crisis Conversation

With the current stimulus agreement in Congress making headlines across the country and in other areas of importance like the Midwest, it's not entirely shocking that it's one of the top subjects on people's minds and in their conversations.

Of particular note is the awareness many Louisianians have of the dire need the state has for additional funding for higher education, coupled with the knowledge they have of the cuts for educational funding recently made by Congress to this high-profile stimulus.

The conversation is popping up everywhere on LSU's campus: faculty offices, dining halls, the Student Union, organizational meetings and the LSU Student Senate, which last night expressed its strong disagreement with the exclusion of education from the stimulus and urged Louisiana's congressmen and women to vote against it.

I myself just left the UREC Student Recreation Complex and was delighted to hear multiple groups of people - across all ages - discussing the education-specific details of this stimulus and this crisis.

I strongly urge all of you to do the same: to foster awareness of this situation, to generate the buzz and conversation and to seek to enhance your own understanding.
Posted by Parker Wishik at 11:21 AM

2 comments:

  1. Ellen CarmichaelFebruary 12, 2009 at 12:59 PM

    Parker, I must admit that I am a bit confused. According to The Daily Reveille's editorial:


    The stimulus package will contain money the state needs to back higher education, something that affects all college students — and even high school upperclassmen — right now. The package could reportedly bring $2.5 billion to Louisiana during the next two years to help offset proposed budget cuts.

    Isn't $2.5 billion WAY more than is needed to remain at status quo?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Parker WishikFebruary 12, 2009 at 9:53 PM

    Ellen,

    It may serve you well to pay attention to the news:

    The stimulus package was slashed from well over $800 billion down to $789 billion in the middle of the week, AFTER the publication of the Daily Reveille's editorial which you chose to quote, and guess what was sacrificed? That's right - education and healthcare.

    Here's a good link to catch you up to speed:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/us/politics/12stimulus.html?scp=1&sq=congress%20reaches%20deal%20on%20%24789&st=cse

    I don't disagree that the University's spending habits should be met with greater scrutiny moving forward, but you seem hesitant to address the greater issue here: regardless of fiscal responsibility or irresponsibility, these budget cuts will be devastating.

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