Student Protest Draws Dozens
December 6th, 2007Last week, the “leadership” of Nevada’s System of Higher Ed (NSHE) exhorted students to riot in opposition to state government not increasing spending as much as had been planned back before Nevada workers started being laid off, and tax growth slowed down.
Yesterday, students responded. Over sixty of them signed a petition. We’ll see what today’s protest draws.
No one receiving a large government subsidy wants the spigot stopped, of course. But our state has little choice in the matter. All government’s revenue is extracted from “the economy” and when “the economy” slows down, so does government revenue.
NSHE is the chubbiest of state spending efforts, ranging from its tradition of granting annual raises of a step increase plus double the COLA increase (after “merit pay” which almost everyone receives), to its traditional 32-hour work weeks. Don’t believe me? Take a look at UNLV’s schedule or UNR’s schedule and see how many classes are scheduled for Fridays.
And this doesn’t even get into the hundred-million plus in construction projects underway even though enrollment is flat.
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December 8th, 2007 at 8:08 am
My initial reaction to the student protests was anger. However, free speech is a right under the U.S. Constitution. On the other hand, there is nothing in the Constitution about any “right” to a government paid education. Most of the cost of schooling (oops, education)is paid by “we the taxpayers”. The protesting students might want to consider the future, when THEY will be providing the tax money.
December 8th, 2007 at 9:37 am
No one will argue against the need for an education and schools/institutions to support that need. However, educational leadership never seems satisfied pushing for more financing and always on the backs of the students. When these needs can be justified as real they then need to be funded but too often the need is not real. Often the need may be satisfied by shifting resources and by reducing funds for less important programs. We have all found it necessary to cut back in our personal and professional life. As a federal government manager I was required to cut my work force by 25%; I did and we survived. We chopped a lot of programs we thought were important, restructured to better use remaining resources, and we survived. In another reduction I set out to reduce program waste and duplication by 20%. With the help of my staff we in fact reduced it by 33% and we all got along better for doing so. It can be done with leadership, determination, coordination, and cooperation. The University is not cooperating at all. The Governor has asked for a hiring freeze but the university has job listings posted every day. They want to continue their growth, hire more people and continue spending. They will argue it affects the students; and it will if that is where university leadership makes the cut. There are surely other areas that can be cut minimizing the effect on the students but it may not have the same impact on the public. Maybe an outside audit should take a look at the universities programs and finances. A person with less background, less experience, and less personal involvement may be better able to do what the university leadership seems incapable of doing!
December 8th, 2007 at 11:38 am
I’m sure a few activist professors offered their students extra credit for showing up to the rally. I am a UNLV student and I would have went to the rally if I could’ve got some extra credit for it.
Recently a few acres of land valued at around $13Million was sold by the city for around $1.3Million to a developer promising “AFFORDABLE HOUSING”
If Government were forced to act more like a business, the land would have been sold at market value and the extra $11.7Million could have been used to offset lower than expected budget increases.
December 9th, 2007 at 10:23 am
Speaking of stupid scheduling that caters to instructors who want to take it easy. Check out the UNR schedule of “night classes”… About 95 percent of the “night classes” start at 4 p.m. and are over by 6:30. There are some great offerings, but God knows who is taking these “night classes” because those of us who work days are precluded from participation. Where I come from, “night classes” start at 7 and go until 10, and “night classes” are considered a profit center. UNR is leaving a lot of business on the table. Think of the money they could make if they actually scheduled the “night classes” at night.
December 11th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
Government schools produce underachievers. I guess if there are enough of them, they can take over. No government in history has survived long after the usurption of objective rulers in favor of “rights to entitlements”. Our NSHE has determined, like other modern politicians, how to control the minds of the weaklings they have created. Where is the parental involvement in these kids upbringing, or are we too many generation down the path to have hope. If we give in here they will only want more. Power is a mind-altering drug, absolute power is an addiction. We are ruled by addicts. It is sad to watch.