When I read the title of Wednesday's opinion piece "Putting its best foot forward: Family Weekend showed that the University is committed to academic excellence," I thought it was sarcastic. The Viewpoint writer characterizes President John T. Casteen, III's speech last weekend as a call to students to step up to the plate, because "the tradition of intellectual exploration rests squarely on our shoulders." Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Given the state budget cuts and other financial challenges facing the University during these difficult economic times, it is unavoidable that certain programs would see cutbacks. What has been completely avoidable, however, is the irrationality with which the University has made those cutbacks. The programs that were already underfunded in proportion to their popularity have faced additional cuts. After meeting with a professor in the Spanish department regarding how it was nearly impossible to get into the classes I needed to finish the minor, all he could offer me in response was that he wholeheartedly agreed. He expressed how frustrating it was that the Spanish, Italian and Portuguese department received equal treatment in funding to languages such as German. While there are plenty of reasons to study the German language, I don't think any student or faculty member in his right mind would argue that this language, spoken in one European country, should be treated equally to Spanish when Hispanics accounted for half of the United States' population growth between 2000 and 2006. Because of the Spanish Department's strained budget, they cannot afford to bring on new faculty to meet the high demand for the most useful foreign language a North American can study. Meanwhile, my advisor complained, some members of the faculty continue to take unnecessary sabbaticals and those remaining in Charlottesville are forced to turn down unending waitlists of majors, minors, and students looking to improve their language skills. Does this sound like a commitment to academic excellence to you?
The Spanish Department's solution to this problem is pretty shocking: the Spanish minor no longer exists. Great. So now if you want to study the native language of 15 percent of our country's population, you can spend 20+ hours in history and literature class that have minimal effect on your grasp of the language, or you can forget it. What kind of academic prioritization is that?
I fully understand the realities that departments face during these budget cuts. What concerns me is the lethargy that many faculty members demonstrate towards ensuring that students get what they paid for. I don't have a problem with the Philosophy department, whose course offerings have been noticeably limited in the past few semesters due to lack of funds for visiting professors. The professors who are there are dedicated to engaging their students in challenging courses that change to stay on the cutting edge, such as the increased emphasis on Bioethics. I do have a problem, however, with the tenured position of one Latin American International Relations professor who has not changed his syllabus since the 1980s and barely reads his students final 20-25 page papers. While his position is preserved, the Politics Department cannot afford to bring in new regional scholars who actually care about what their students get out of lecture.
What the University needs right now is a reevaluation of our priorities to ensure that we get as much as possible out of our limited budget. The last thing we need is a lofty confirmation of our commitment to "academic excellence."
Kim Ayers\nCLAS IV
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