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whitereflectionLearned something new today. Seems that University of Nebraska at Lincoln developed a new major not long ago.
Golf course management.
Yes, you heard me right. Not only are they *keeping* this new major, despite all the budget cutting, but they are getting to build a Brand New Expensive Golf Course.
RRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh. X#
We get our classes slashed, get positions slashed, lose whole departments. They...yes, they are suffering cuts, but they keep their damned *golf course maintenance* major and get to build a golf course. ARGH. This is *so* wrong. I know that all along, that Lincoln has been favored, and that UNO and UNK (in Kearney) have been treated like the unwanted children. What's the phrase I've heard used, something about red-headed stepchildren? Something like that. That's often how the other Universities in this state are treated--Lincoln is God, all worship UNL. Maybe that'll change now that the Huskers suck. Or maybe it won't change since football still seems to bring in money anyway. :p
Sounds like the cut to Japanese is being fought some, and that they might be able to keep doing first year Japanese. At least that's something, but it's still not near enough, especially since those who are taking it for a foreign language requirement need a minimum of 16 hours, and one year of a language at this school is only 8 hours. Not many people are going to choose to have to take one year each of two languages--they're going to want to know one language just that bit much better that you get from two years. Meh. Those that are in Japanese right now are buying up the second year textbooks before they disappear for good--there's rumor someone might try to petition to start up an independent study class for those beyond first year. But that probably won't happen, so people want to at least start study groups--maybe they can create the Japanese Language club or something.
Gah. This place drives me nuts. The budget cuts have been done so insanely--with more an eye of cutting those that don't have much power, or cutting those that will get political notice and protest--that everything just seems so out of balance. Anj talked to a guy in her Japanese class that is a triple major--International Studies, Philosophy, and Religion--and all three of those departments have been so cut he's going to have to transfer to get the classes he needs. At the least, I wish they could have done the cuts in a thoughtful, reasonable way--with an eye for how things will be affected a year, five years, ten years from now. The consequences are going to ripple out for who knows how long, leaving things out of balance for quite some time. It just gets so depressing, makes a person wonder why anyone bothers to put work into a place like this--was any of the effort to build this school for the hundred years it's been here of any meaning and lasting impact? And why do we keep saying we're here for the students when we're taking away what the students need to learn and get their degrees?
Gotta vote today (coincidentally some of the University Regents are up for election), and keep trying to convince myself it's actually worth it, that it actually makes a difference. Because I am more and more of the opinion that we're just fooling ourselves to make us feel useful and important to believe such. The candidates that are presented are choices between lessers of two evils, with no way to vote 'none of the above'...votes are ignored or altered (do I even need to say 2000?)...those that mean well and do somehow win elections are so often rendered useless, their voices unheard amidst the furor of partisan politics...and things never really change.
Okay, time to get off that tangent. It's just making me feel it's all just futile and pointless. Hard to imagine I was feeling kinda cheerful this morning. Bleh.
Golf course management.
Yes, you heard me right. Not only are they *keeping* this new major, despite all the budget cutting, but they are getting to build a Brand New Expensive Golf Course.
RRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh. X#
We get our classes slashed, get positions slashed, lose whole departments. They...yes, they are suffering cuts, but they keep their damned *golf course maintenance* major and get to build a golf course. ARGH. This is *so* wrong. I know that all along, that Lincoln has been favored, and that UNO and UNK (in Kearney) have been treated like the unwanted children. What's the phrase I've heard used, something about red-headed stepchildren? Something like that. That's often how the other Universities in this state are treated--Lincoln is God, all worship UNL. Maybe that'll change now that the Huskers suck. Or maybe it won't change since football still seems to bring in money anyway. :p
Sounds like the cut to Japanese is being fought some, and that they might be able to keep doing first year Japanese. At least that's something, but it's still not near enough, especially since those who are taking it for a foreign language requirement need a minimum of 16 hours, and one year of a language at this school is only 8 hours. Not many people are going to choose to have to take one year each of two languages--they're going to want to know one language just that bit much better that you get from two years. Meh. Those that are in Japanese right now are buying up the second year textbooks before they disappear for good--there's rumor someone might try to petition to start up an independent study class for those beyond first year. But that probably won't happen, so people want to at least start study groups--maybe they can create the Japanese Language club or something.
Gah. This place drives me nuts. The budget cuts have been done so insanely--with more an eye of cutting those that don't have much power, or cutting those that will get political notice and protest--that everything just seems so out of balance. Anj talked to a guy in her Japanese class that is a triple major--International Studies, Philosophy, and Religion--and all three of those departments have been so cut he's going to have to transfer to get the classes he needs. At the least, I wish they could have done the cuts in a thoughtful, reasonable way--with an eye for how things will be affected a year, five years, ten years from now. The consequences are going to ripple out for who knows how long, leaving things out of balance for quite some time. It just gets so depressing, makes a person wonder why anyone bothers to put work into a place like this--was any of the effort to build this school for the hundred years it's been here of any meaning and lasting impact? And why do we keep saying we're here for the students when we're taking away what the students need to learn and get their degrees?
Gotta vote today (coincidentally some of the University Regents are up for election), and keep trying to convince myself it's actually worth it, that it actually makes a difference. Because I am more and more of the opinion that we're just fooling ourselves to make us feel useful and important to believe such. The candidates that are presented are choices between lessers of two evils, with no way to vote 'none of the above'...votes are ignored or altered (do I even need to say 2000?)...those that mean well and do somehow win elections are so often rendered useless, their voices unheard amidst the furor of partisan politics...and things never really change.
Okay, time to get off that tangent. It's just making me feel it's all just futile and pointless. Hard to imagine I was feeling kinda cheerful this morning. Bleh.
