It might have been naïve to expect a pat on
the back from assistant vice chancellor for Enrollment Services
Joseph Marshall for the work Save UMass has done to advocate on
behalf of the University, but a guy can dream. In explaining why
UMass' admissions enrollment rate has dropped, Mr. Marshall chooses
to blame the efforts of Save UMass this past spring which were
designed to remind the Legislature of the excellence of this University
and the threats to it by massive budget cuts. If students did
not apply it was because of their legitimate fears about what
the cuts would mean, not our advocacy on behalf of the University.
The publicity we generated - which included sending
10,000 letters from students to legislators and the Board of Trustees,
and holding a 2,500-person rally on the State House steps, not
to mention spending countless hours of educating citizens across
the state about the effects of budget cuts - has yielded some
pretty good results in very bad budgetary times. The Senate has
just recommended level funding for the University - a far cry
from the 10 percent additional cut the House originally proposed.
We still hope to see more funds returned to the library, a greater
number of faculty positions allotted to replace early retirees,
and lower tuition and fee hikes.
The fight to preserve the quality of this University
continues. If we succeed, then Mr. Marshall won't have to worry
about his enrollment percentages.
MAX PAGE
assistant professor,
Department of Art
Max Page is a member of the Save UMass coalition.
