Meeting clarifies budget situation

Author: Mario Ariza

With the aim of increased on-campus transparency, the College's top administrators showcased to the student body an abridged version of the in-depth presentation on the College's financial position Nov. 11 in the Grille. President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz and Chief Financial Officer Patrick Norton ran through much of the same information already presented to the College's trustees, faculty, staff, and Student Government Association (SGA) in similar meetings with those groups. Calling it a student "rally", the administrators presented to a packed house, outlining in the same terms they have been using for the past three weeks the challenges the College faces in the coming months.

Though perhaps not as in depth as the version of the presentations given to the SGA, the rally's question-and-answer session was marked by the candor with which Liebowitz and Norton responded. Addressing student's concerns about the services delivered on the campus, they informed them of possible reductions in the hours of the Grille. Responding to questions concerning possible athletics cuts, they highlighted the rate at which the Athletics budget had ballooned in recent years and cited the College's increasingly constricting financial position as reason to consider cost cuts in non-academic areas.

Throughout the presentation, the administrators drove home the same key points that they've been reiterating for the past three weeks. They highlighted the College's relatively stable financial position, the pressing need for budget cuts because of recent downturns in the market, and the desire to run as small of a deficit as possible in the next four years. The message coming from the administration has been clear and consistent, and on Tuesday night at the Grille, it showed. The questions students presented to administrators were much like the ones they had already fielded from the SGA, the Faculty, and Staff.