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Rhetoric of university budget deficits irresponsible

Tom Speaker

When I transferred here from Ohio University, several people asked about my reasons. "Was it the party school image?" they inquired. "The students? The atmosphere? The teachers? The distance?"

Every individual I encountered had never considered my actual motive: disgust at Ohio University's irresponsible, unaccountable administration.

When I decided that I would enroll at Miami University, I felt a certain pride in saying that my new school of choice wouldn't have a $16 million deficit amidst a $1.5 billion annual budget. My new school wouldn't have to fire members of a more than satisfactory and entirely blameless faculty to compensate for this deficit. My new school wouldn't have to completely neglect that the construction of a puzzlingly unnecessary new student center undoubtedly factored into their budget problems. My new school wouldn't have to make scapegoats of "decreased funds for higher education" and "rising utility costs" to shield the blame from themselves.

Unfortunately, Ohio University's evasive and deleterious procedures are very similar to what we are seeing from some Miami University officials regarding the projected $7 million deficit in the 2007-08 school year. While not every single aspect of the situation is the same, some likenesses are striking.

Richard Norman, senior vice president of finance and business services, was quoted in The Miami Student Nov. 3 as saying, "There was an increase in benefit costs, and two years ago we had a much smaller class than we projected." President David Hodge added, "State support has dropped precipitously" (Nov. 3).

While all of these statements are probably true, they lack one thing: accountability. Thus far, no Miami University official has stepped forward and accepted responsibility for the projected deficit. If state funding has been decreasing for the past several years, shouldn't this have been taken into account while assessing the budget? The same goes for the shortfall of enrollment and increase in benefit costs. When running any sort of account, unwanted expenses are always going to happen, and Miami University has not been wary enough of this.

Officials also seem to be shirking responsibility by saying, "Hey, at least we're not as bad as the other guy," which is exactly what Ohio University did when a security breach occurred there earlier this year. Hodge said, "I don't understand how, compared to our peers, we're overspending and underspending" (Nov. 3). Student body President Brian Alexander (who probably doesn't have much of a role in the projected deficit) remarked, "Even though Miami's situation is bad, it's a lot worse for (other universities) in Ohio" (Nov. 3). But what if it wasn't a lot worse for other universities in Ohio? How would Miami University defend their situation then? Other universities' predicaments do not change the fact that Miami University is still being fiscally irresponsible.

Miami University officials would appear much more respectable if they simply said, "We project a deficit. It is our responsibility. We will do all that we can to eliminate this deficit with the least possible cost to you," instead of minimizing the issue through comparison and attributing their problems to figures, which should have been foreseen.


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