The state is in financial turmoil and hands down a series of catastrophic budget cuts to the SUNY system. Geneseo, in turn, must ask all offices and departments to find ways to reduce expenditures, whether that be condensing staff, freezing the hiring of new employees, or implementing a limit to the number of paper copies instructors can distribute to their students.
We are in a rare and binding predicament in which we have seemingly little wiggle room. Though it's easy to point an accusatory finger at the government, Albany or Geneseo's administration, it is a lot harder to come to terms with the fact that we are amidst an economic crisis. Yes, education is being battered, and what's worse, they are hitting us where it hurts the most. But at this juncture, placing blame is frugal and we need to face the facts: There is no such thing as free lunch, here or anywhere.
Students, faculty and administration, in recognizing that we must face the economic crisis head-on, must be willing to make adjustments. For example, the administration cuts department budgets, faculty require students to print materials from MyCourses themselves, and after students' printing budgets are depleted, they are forced to put more money on their accounts. Somewhere down the line, we need to effect change.
One way to solve the problem is for us to acknowledge that the Seuss tree isn't going to start spitting money at us any time soon; students can pay the difference up front instead of wondering down the road what happened printer balances, meal plans and cleaning staff.
Or, we can work together to find a solution that cuts cost without cutting corners on our education. When it comes to course materials, we have an opportunity in MyCourses: By using this resource, we can "go green" while saving cash.
We all would have to be willing to adjust to this alternative. The Web site is far from perfect and requires user feedback and administrative support and modification, faculty might have to accept that students will not bring paper copies to class, and students can remedy that problem by bringing their computers (and not surfing the Internet during lectures).
The fact of the matter is this: Our country's financial situation has left us for dead and we are going to have to endure. Or we could just cut all funding to GSTV.