Undergraduates, remain calm: Proposed cuts will preserve our University
by Avi Snyder
Columnist
Op-Ed | 3/2/10
Posted online at 2:07 AM EST on 3/2/10
/ Last updated at 2:30 PM EST on 3/2/10
On Feb. 22, the Brandeis 2020 Committee released its long-awaited report, which proposes significant restructuring of many academic departments in order to achieve long-term annual savings of approximately $3.8 million. The committee was created to combat our growing budget shortfall and the unlikelihood that donations to the University will pick up in the near future. The proposals are bold and certainly controversial. Yet a serious consideration of their particulars shows that they are rather wise proposals, and that compared to what could have happened, undergraduate students got off pretty well. The bulk of the proposals that will affect undergraduates involve the consolidation of various tracks of study, administrative changes within certain departments like science, and certain heavy budget cuts to theater programs.
As an undergrad, I believe these cuts need to be addressed on three separate levels. First, are the University's reasons for wanting this academic restructuring valid? Second, how will this restructuring affect the ability of undergraduates to pursue higher degrees and careers after graduation? Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, how will this restructuring affect the quality of our education?
The first question is certainly the simplest to answer. As I stated, the University is in real financial trouble. In the words of Chair of the Board of Trustees Budget and Finance Committee Meyer Koplow '72, "Budget issues at Brandeis have been a never-ending saga."
If the University is to ever pull itself out of financial trouble, it needs to look toward long-term budget cuts to achieve a balanced budget and financial stability, which is exactly what the 2020 Committee has done. If the University were simply to continue looking for short-term solutions at this juncture, then the University and the student body would most certainly suffer down the road. Should the University successfully act now and implement the committee's recommendations, future generations of students and faculty will most certainly look back on this time in the Brandeis history with pride, knowing that we didn't push our financial problems on the shoulders of the next generation as the University may have done in the past.
As an undergrad, I believe these cuts need to be addressed on three separate levels. First, are the University's reasons for wanting this academic restructuring valid? Second, how will this restructuring affect the ability of undergraduates to pursue higher degrees and careers after graduation? Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, how will this restructuring affect the quality of our education?
The first question is certainly the simplest to answer. As I stated, the University is in real financial trouble. In the words of Chair of the Board of Trustees Budget and Finance Committee Meyer Koplow '72, "Budget issues at Brandeis have been a never-ending saga."
If the University is to ever pull itself out of financial trouble, it needs to look toward long-term budget cuts to achieve a balanced budget and financial stability, which is exactly what the 2020 Committee has done. If the University were simply to continue looking for short-term solutions at this juncture, then the University and the student body would most certainly suffer down the road. Should the University successfully act now and implement the committee's recommendations, future generations of students and faculty will most certainly look back on this time in the Brandeis history with pride, knowing that we didn't push our financial problems on the shoulders of the next generation as the University may have done in the past.
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