Comments on: The economic downturn, budget cuts, and (more) student input http://sites.middlebury.edu/rononmiddlebury/2009/02/27/the-economic-downturn-budget-cuts-and-more-student-input/ Ron Liebowitz is the 16th president of Middlebury College Wed, 10 Apr 2013 03:40:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Ron http://sites.middlebury.edu/rononmiddlebury/2009/02/27/the-economic-downturn-budget-cuts-and-more-student-input/comment-page-1/#comment-283 Ron Sat, 07 Mar 2009 13:30:49 +0000 http://rononmiddlebury.wordpress.com/?p=112#comment-283 Thanks, Molley. I hear you and I know many students share your view. We will find a way to achieve what you suggest in your final paragraph: we need to engage students so they can provide creative ways to preserve things that othewise might be cut due to the budget situation. Working on that now.

Ron

]]> By: Molley Kaiyoorawongs http://sites.middlebury.edu/rononmiddlebury/2009/02/27/the-economic-downturn-budget-cuts-and-more-student-input/comment-page-1/#comment-282 Molley Kaiyoorawongs Fri, 06 Mar 2009 23:10:47 +0000 http://rononmiddlebury.wordpress.com/?p=112#comment-282 President Liebowitz,

What I’m about to say is going to be a little radical even from my perspective but I’d like to disagree with you on one point:
“I recognize that having two student representatives on BOC does not meet many students’ desire to voice their opinions on options before the committee as it makes its recommendations to me.”

I think, based on observations of how students are reacting as well as the reported attendance at both of the meetings you’ve taken the time to host, students ARE actually quite satisfied with the amount of say they have in the decision making process, Bobby Joe Smith notwithstanding.

My frustration, echoed by many of my peers, lies in the fact that there are creative solutions to the cuts that you’re approving. So Atwater is a moot point. But cutting gym hours from 9am-12noon? There isn’t actually any reason the gym could remain open if students volunteer to supervise it during those hours for free.
I’ve listened to Mr. Spears’ explanation of why Middview was cut twice now but I still can’t see, for the life of me, why Middview can’t just go back to MOO–an event that college didn’t pay for. Yes, sure, it’s unfair that a whole bunch of students get rejected from it but it’d be petty, I think, for any rejected MOOer to say, “Well since I can’t go, I don’t want anyone to go.” Frankly, rejection is something we all have to deal with; college is a good time to start. Was the decision to cut Middview completely rather than revert it to MOO simply because of angry parents? The pros of having MOO are so much greater than the cons that this decision just doesn’t make sense to me. Maybe one of the angry parents was a huge donor, I don’t know, but if that’s the case, maybe they would be happy to fund Middview. Meanwhile, can we please bring MOO back?

So students don’t need more volume in the decision making process about what funds need to be cut. On the other hand, keeping plans secret in order to prevent feelings from being hurt is not something I agree with. If students knew more about programming changes that affected them before final decisions were being etched in stone via campus-wide e-mails, I think what you’ll find is students coming together to work out creative solutions–as Weybridge did when they were confronted with their budget reductions.

Thank you,
Molley

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