[box type=”info”]What follows are a selection of some of the more thoughtful or thought-provoking comments we received in response to our financial survey. We will add more excerpts to this list over the next few days.[/box]

“Is part of the financial problem at the university due to government cutbacks? I’m from northern Saskatchewan where many of our municipal governments are expressing concern at the level of government cutbacks resulting in discontinued programs in health, housing, education, etc., but then the nuclear industry steps in and says they’ll match any fundraising done dollar for dollar.

It’s like the government creates the financial vacuum of dependency for industry to fill.

I’m concerned about the increasing corporatization of our university and I’d like to know if the same pattern is happening here, because if so, it’s no longer a centre of free thinking and higher learning. I got my two degrees from the University of Saskatchewan, not the University of Cameco.”

-Alumnus[hr]

“We are a university. The only way the U of S will continue to survive is if we can draw students in the future with programs and services that appeal to them. For that exact reason, students need to be front and centre in the decision making process of TransformUS.”

-1st year graduate student, Arts and Science[hr]

“Although those in charge have begun to communicate more about the roots of this shortfall, the terms need to be more clear and transparent. The cuts to government funding play a role, to be sure, but when I look at the expansion of administrative activity (while academics are being called upon to justify their existence), I think more needs to be done to diagnose and explicitly identify the causes of the current situation.”

-Faculty member[hr]

“I think there has to be a much larger degree of accountability and transparency throughout this process. The university has yet to show its students and employees that it is willing to do what is necessary to make this a fair process.”

-5th year undergraduate student, Political Science[hr]

“With the amount of cuts that have already happened to my program and that might happen in the future, I have already started considering my options for finishing my degree elsewhere.”

-5th year undergraduate student, Studio Art[hr]

“Stop building new and expensive buildings if you have no money to do so. Seems simple to me. This has become a sad institution.”

-4th year undergraduate student, Agriculture[hr]

“Don’t spend money on a new Aboriginal Students’ Centre, we have one in place. If we really needed that space why not put it in the new Place Riel and not continue with societal dualism?”

-5th year undergraduate student, Biology[hr]

“The president of the university sent out an email the other day in which she stated, “my purpose here is to clarify what seems to be both misinformation and a lack of understanding of some of our initiatives as we work toward a position of long-term financial sustainability.” And then she did absolutely nothing in the remainder of the email to actually clarify anything.

I am both a grad student and a sessional instructor at the university, and if the president turned in that email as an essay, she would get pretty horrible marks from me for not actually arguing her thesis statement. It’s insulting to receive an email like that, because it serves to amplify the disconnect between the president and her cadre, and the rest of the university community.”

-5th year graduate student & staff, History[hr]

“I understand that the university needs to make cuts. At the end of the day it is a business. But as a business, the clients needs should be prioritized, and yet there is very little acknowledgement of the university’s clients: the students. If there is going to be a positive outcome from this process, the administration needs to be much more willing to actually hear what the students are saying. Or else there may not be any “clients” left…”

-4th year undergraduate student, Religion and Culture[hr]

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Photo: Raisa Pezderic/The Sheaf