The Campus Chronicle March 14, 2003
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■ Daly named director of Physical Plant, page 5 Inside ■ Looking back at past higher ed reorganizations, pages 6-7 The Campus Chronicle Vol. XVIII, No. 25 March 14, 2003 for the Amherst campus of the University of Massachusetts News Briefs Bulger derides Romney Selection opens for student BHE member proposals for higher ed During the 2003-04 aca- demic year, the rotating stu- Daniel J. Fitzgibbons than job training.” dent seat on the Board of CHRONICLE STAFF Portraying the public colleges Higher Education will be filled President William M. Bulger and University as an avenue of by a representative of the this week ratcheted up the debate opportunity and hope for work- University of Massachusetts over Gov. Mitt Romney’s bid to ing-class families, Bulger said system. The board is cur- restructure UMass and state and Romney was practicing “a kind of rently accepting applications community colleges, telling legis- elitism” by targeting higher edu- from undergraduates inter- lative budget leaders that the re- cation. ested in filling the vacancy. organization proposal is an “at- “I urge you to set aside this ef- The student representa- tack on public higher education.” fort to dismantle the University of tive is selected by the gover- Testifying before a joint hear- Massachusetts and downgrade nor, based upon the recom- ing of the House and Senate the state and community colleges mendations of the Student Ways and Means committees at because it will result in fewer true Advisory Committee, a panel Bridgewater State College on higher educational opportunities comprised of student trust- Monday, Bulger accused the gov- for the people of Massachu- ees from the community and ernor of orchestrating a “corpo- setts,” he said. state colleges and UMass rate takeover” of the public col- The president’s testimony was system. lege system. his first public comment since Applicants for the student “Let me be clear, the proposed Romney two weeks ago offered a slot on the board must sub- Stan Sherer photo reorganizing, downsizing, and blueprint for restructuring the mit verification of full-time Voices of dissent privatizing of public higher edu- state’s higher education system, enrollment and satisfactory cation in Massachusetts is the including eliminating Bulger’s job Nearly 1,000 UMass and local high school students academic performance; a re- wrong course,” said Bulger. “As I and breaking up the five-campus sume with information on called for peace during the Student Strike for Books Not Bombs held in the Student Union Ballroom on March 5. look at the proposed plan, I see University system. The field of study, expected This week, about 30 faculty and librarians signed a reso- the ‘higher’ and the ‘public’ be- governor’s plan, developed by graduation date, employment lution against the war. Story, page 3. ing removed from public higher consultants Romney’s former history and related activities education. And I see education firm, Bain and Co., was square in and interests; three personal being defined as nothing more Bulger’s sights at the hearing. references; and a statement “Some argue that the admini- of purpose summarizing in- stration’s proposal serves a good terest in the post and demon- Romney favors pension system changes purpose by generating a debate strating understanding of the Daniel J. Fitzgibbons be submitted later this spring, ac- year. about public higher education,” role. CHRONICLE STAFF cording to Romney administration Under the Romney plan, the Bulger told lawmakers. “This pro- Application materials Among the myriad proposals officials. There are currently more existing system would be re- posal was drafted by Bain and should be submitted by April for revamping state government than 166,000 state employees and placed by a plan through which Company. There seems to have 11 to Clantha Carrigan floated in recent weeks by Gov. teachers enrolled in the retirement public employees would be re- been no consultation, no in-depth McCurdy, Associate Vice Mitt Romney is a bid to overhaul system, which bases pensions on quired to contribute to a pension study, no thought given to the Chancellor, Massachusetts the Massachusetts pension sys- years of service and earnings. plan that would be invested in proposal. It is simply an attack on Board of Higher Education, tem and replace it with a 401(k)- The main thrust of the pro- stocks and bonds. Such plans are public higher education.” Office of Student Financial style plan. posed reform is to reduce the subject to market fluctuations, SEE HEARING, PAGE 3 Assistance, 454 Broadway, Aimed at reducing future state state’s unfunded pension liability, but are essentially self-funded by Suite 200, Revere MA spending, the proposed phaseout which has grown from $4.8 billion individual employees. 02151. of the state retirement system will to an estimated $12.5 billion this SEE PENSION, PAGE 3 Student fees No Chronicle during spring break week hiked 20+% Due to spring break, The Black Bears tamed, Minutemen to face UNH Voting 21-1 Wednesday, the Campus Chronicle will not be Board of Trustees approved a published next week. Weekly mandatory fee hike for fiscal year publication will resume with 2003-2004 for students through- the March 28 issue. out the University system. The deadline to submit On the Amherst campus, the material for the next issue is fee increase for in-state under- Friday, March 21. graduates is $1,000, raising the rate to $5,768 for next year, a Delegation from nearly 21 percent increase. A $2,000 hike for out-of-state Hokkaido to visit undergraduates will raise their Four officials from the fees 37 percent to $7,398. Hokkaido Prefecture gover- Amherst graduate student fees nor’s office in Japan will visit also were raised. Residents will see campus March 26 for meet- a 24.3 percent increase from $4,113 ings with faculty, Interna- to $5,113, and out-of-staters a tional Programs staff and nearly 40 percent hike to $7,018. Chancellor John V. Lombardi. The board did not raise tuition, During their visit, the which goes to the state’s general Hokkaido officials also will fund. Fees are retained on the tour the Conte Polymer Re- campuses. search Center and the Bas- The dissenting vote was cast ketball Hall of Fame. In addi- Thom Kendall photo by William Powers, the student tion, the group will pay a call The UMass offense proved too much for the Maine Black Bears in the opening round of trustee from the Amherst campus. the Hockey East playoffs as the Minutemen swept the two-game series at Orono last at Springfield’s Baystate The fee hikes throughout the week and reached the conference semi-finals for the first time. Coach Don Cahoon’s team Medical Center for a briefing system will raise an estimated $40 on the Life Sciences Bio- will face the third-ranked University of New Hampshire on Friday at 5 p.m. at the FleetCen- ter in Boston. million, according to the Presi- medical Research Initiative. dent’s Office. 2 March 14, 2003 The Campus Chronicle Letters Reorganize states, not higher education While reading Gov. Romney’s proposals and New Hampshire; 49,000 square for reorganizing higher education in Mas- miles) and South New England (11 mil- sachusetts, I realized that the lion in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New England states (total and Connecticut; 14,000 square population about 15 million; miles). land area 63,000 square miles) Of course, seats (and clout) might save considerably would be lost in the U.S. Senate by having one governor and other disadvantages are and legislature likely. But if tax cuts and budget instead of six. reductions are the highest prior- After all, other ity, then merging small states seems a states, such as possible solution for savings rather Texas (population than cutting essential services in edu- 21 million; land area cation, health care, human services, in- 262,000 square miles) frastructure, and other areas. My pref- and California erence is to pay my share of taxes for (population 35 mil- these services. lion; land area 156,000 square miles), are much larger and IRENE STARR have only one governor. Amherst Another possibility is to duplicate the Dakotas and Carolinas with North New En- Irene Starr is the retired director of the gland (3.3 million people in Maine, Vermont, Foreign Language Resource Center. Equinox to be marked at sunwheel The vernal equinox will be marked at the set observations. Young will discuss the campus’ sunwheel March 20-21 with sun- cause of the seasons, the sun’s path in the Stan Sherer photo rise and sunset presentations by As- sky, the phases of the moon and the story Getting in shape tronomy professor Judith Young. The pub- of the sunwheel. lic is invited to visit the site and observe Participants are advised to wear warm Sophomore Sara Labb (front), junior Kelly Grasso, sophomore Rachna the sun rise and set over the standing clothing suitable for standing on frozen or Rao, senior Kelly Weeks, instructor George Sotiropoulos and junior Andy stones of the sunwheel. soggy ground. In the event of rain, the pro- Sucharewicz perform floor exercises during a “Jogging and Conditioning” class in the Cage. The exact instant of the equinox is 8 p.m. grams will be canceled. on March 20. On that day any observer on A $3 donation is requested. Sunwheel the equator will see the sun pass directly T-shirts and sweatshirts will be on sale overhead at noon. At that moment, the ob- with proceeds going toward the future in- OIT offers thesis formatting workshop server will not cast a shadow. For observ- stallation of stone paths at the site.