As an active member in the ASUN student government, I have the privilege to receive many emails whenever critical issues afflict our campus. Unfortunately the distortion of facts originating from those who either know the facts and are over-exaggerating them to generate a response, or those that do not know them and pretending to know, are confusing many students.
Below are a couple of bolded email excerpts illustrating the problems of public hysteria:
"Campus Leaders,
As many of you are aware, our university is currently facing a detrimental budget cut proposed by Governor Gibbons. This 49% cut would effectively dismantle our university as we know it, leading to the possible elimination of university programs, athletics, even the dissolution of entire colleges."
- Casey Stiteler (Director of Programming ASUN); email "Rally in Carson City" - 1/22/09
"Clubs,
Don't worry if you were not able to make the letter writing campaign last night, we are still collecting letters against the 47% budget cut to the University of Nevada. "
- Gracie Geremia (Finance Chair of ASUN Senate); email "Voice your concerns!" - 1/23/09
"My Fellow Students,
I’m sure some of you by now have heard about Governor Gibbons’ proposal to cut the University budget 36 percent in total. He has also proposed to cut our academic budget (the money that pays professors, support staff, etc.) in half."
- Eli Reiley (President of ASUN); email "State Budget Situation" - 1/22/09
**EDIT**
1/26/09
1/26/09
My Fellow Students,
As I'm sure many of you now have heard, the University of Nevada, Reno is facing a 49 percent academic budget cut translating to 71 million dollars. As you may have also guessed, a cut of this magnitude could drastically change the university that we know and love today.
- Eli REiley (President of ASUN); email "FW: Student Listserve" - 1/26/09
Granted, Eli's 36% figure is calculating the entire university budget, while Gracie's 47% is the proposed percentage cut from which the state gives Nevada. But if the ASUN leadership can't even properly communicate and unify the facts, how in the world can students intelligently address the situation?
Oh that's right: by spending money on charter buses and lunches to go fight for cuts in money... while simultaneously "ending diplomacy" and "writing letters". Topple this strategy by ignoring the fact that Nevada is extremely generous - with its public per-pupil expenditures of $8,589 in 2007 (versus a national average of $6,773) and per-pupil revenue through tuition of only $1,798 (versus a national average of $3,845), and I'm confident we have the plan to win over the hearts of Nevada tax payers.
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