Muleskinner

Issue date: 2/5/09 Section: Voices

Commentary: Lora Powell.

Just two short weeks ago, UCM's Board of Governors approved a final draft of the Master Plan for improvements to our campus. Just as the campus community began to breathe a collective sigh of relief, Gov. Jay Nixon, playing the part of the bully on the playground, brought the hammer down on funding for campus building projects.

Although a few months have passed since the election, I have tried, somewhat successfully, to put all the annoying campaign advertisements out of my head. However, I was unable to shake the feeling that Nixon continually preached the benefits of and the need to support higher education in Missouri.

Luckily for me, Nixon is still holding on to his campaign Web site, so I decided to take a look to see exactly what his campaign platform was three months ago. This is what it had to say about higher education:

"Jay is a strong believer that a college education is critical to competing in a 21st century economy. But with tuition at our schools consistently rising, a college education is moving further out of reach for more Missourians each year."

Apparently, Nixon's taking the proverbial ax to higher education is OK if it means not funding any building projects.

Obviously, the source of some of my angst stems from the fact UCM students voted for a tuition increase to help pay for renovations to the Morrow-Garrison Gymnasium, as well as to fund the building of our new student recreation center.

I would assume the tuition increase will still be in effect, regardless of whether it takes two, or 22, years to regain funding for this project. Many students who voted on this increase will never even see the groundbreaking for this project, and it is their tuition dollars paying for a halted project.

On the other hand, I understand that the economy is in shambles and MOHELA did not make the money it thought it would to help fund these new projects. However, according to the Associated Press, four of the 18 construction projects in question have been "suspended indefinitely." In the research I have done, not one article or press release from the governor's office explains why these specific projects will never break ground.

What I do not understand is why Gov. Nixon, after campaigning on a very strong higher education platform, made this cut one of his first big power plays as governor.

I will admit, regrettably, I voted for Jay Nixon. After all the things that happened during Matt Blunt's term, I thought it was time for a Democrat to step up to the challenge of improving the state, mainly in the arena of higher education.

When Nixon released a statement Jan. 21 saying he will "protect Missouri students from tuition increases and ensure that the state's higher education institutions receive the stable funding they need," I couldn't help but wonder how he planned to keep universities from increasing tuition. Secondly, I wondered what he meant by "receiving the stable funding they need."

Apparently, the faculty, staff and students of this University who have been displaced due to the renovations to the Morrow-Garrison Gymnasium are not of vital concern to Gov. Nixon.

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