The Elephant in the Room 3s Education begins with a critique = “ n“ of the education business owe Welcome to campus, did you drive here aD on State College Boulevard? Did you see the new seven million dollar university police station? Did you see the multi-million im dollar construction projects? Did you see the university's new logo, intended yv to “improve CSU Fullerton’s visual identity in the academic market place” according to the president's office? Did you notice that tuition went up by 30%? Did you notice that the top administrators in the California State University system gave themselves 20% pay raises in the past few years? The corporate managers of CSU Fullerton know that you see all of this - but they don't want you to see what it means. Itmeansthat ~———S_ the university and the state “have money”, and these are its most obvious signs. But don’t look, just listen — listen only to the voice of corporate management as it talks about “the budget crisis”. “These are hard times”, it says - but why? Ifthe university and the state are “broke” then where did they find the money for the new building projects, the new logo and the new raises for the top administrators? These large expenditures are like elephants in the room: corporate management sounds ridiculous when it talks about “the budget crisis” while it’s surrounded by the monuments of its own mismanagement and greed. Imagine the same scenario on the national level: repetitive talk about “the budget crisis’, millions of people unemployed and facing uncertainty — but trillions of dollars given to the war machine and the banks by the federal government. If there’s no money it’s because they stole it all.This year dozens of teachers at CSU Fullerton are being laid off, supposedly because of “the budget crisis”. But these teachers only make around $2000 a month for teaching four classes at atime. This is how the university saves money? By cutting the salaries that barely meet the cost of living? Who do they expect to believe this? Job losses for teachers means less classes for students, which means it will take more time to graduate because students can’t get the classes they need, which means they will be here longer and end up paying more money in tuition. Brilliant! Ob, and all teachers and staff also got their pay cut by 10% this year, but the university still managed to afford the ‘Concert Under the Stars’ extravaganza in September - did you hear them sing God Bless America? What did it mean to them? And the funniest thing is, they want to put the blame on you Can't enroll because classes are full? It’s because of those ‘super seniors’ who never graduate because they can’t get their act together. About to lose your teaching job? It’s because your student evaluations are low - like the university seriously cares about defending “a quality education”. A message to students: the ‘Instructor Evaluation Forms’ you fill out at the end of the semester are not about “listening to your opinion”, they are used as blackmail by the administration when it wants an excuse to lay off teachers. Don't bother to fill them out. The university's corporate management does nothing but lie. The “crisis” is their fault, not yours. They should pay for it, not you. Disneyland or Science Fiction? Have you ever seen a more alienated campus? Students walk around like automatons in a maze of corporate landscaping and surveillance. Have you ever seen a more poisoned work environment? Teachers live with the impending catastrophe of losing their jobs. How funny, in the happiest place on Earth no one wants to be here. Choose the correct response to the budget crisis: (A) Sorry (B) Thank you (C) Haveanice day (D) Cal State Fullofshit MEETING: FRIDAY, SEPT. 25 AT 1:00 PM AT THE ALOHA JAVA COFFEE CART NEXT TO THE HUMANITIES BUILDING