I read a couple of articles last semester that listed Penn State as one on the most financially stable educational institutions in the nation, and that State College would suffer far less than many other places. Then I saw this today:
I suppose this is definite proof that we are indeed in a recession. And although I'm not a huge fan of everything Dr. Spanier does, I'm glad to hear him explaining PSU's upcoming financial situation, and especially the reasons behind it, and how he's continuing to help out students and employees. And I like his idea of freezing everything for a year instead of chopping out an entire section of the curriculum. (Or, at least, I hope they aren't. I'd really like to know if they are.)
And he does make a good point: PSU really has had pretty stable pay raises for its employees (from what I've heard from my father and professors); although not always phenomenally high, they are making efforts to support their employees and students.
I guess it's just proof that none of us, even students, are immune to the downward economic spiral. And to think, when I foretold this to my parents two years ago, they laughed at me.
Hopefully we won't end up like Igor Panarin's prediction. We've pulled through once before, perhaps even two or three times. There's a reason America is the 'center of the world,' and I'm sure it's more than economic and militant.
Although I'm not a big football fan, I'd be interested to see how this year's income from football games and memorabilia compares with past years. I'm also interested to see how things will change when Obama takes presidency.
(By the way, I heard on NBC yesterday that President Bush set aside an enormous expanse of ocean as a federal wildlife sanctuary as an attempt to be remembered as the 'environmentally conscious' president. Isn't this the same guy who tried to convince us to drill in Alaska? Don't get me wrong, it's an excellent gesture and a great way to end his campaign, but history books had better not use it to erase the past eight years).
I suppose this is definite proof that we are indeed in a recession. And although I'm not a huge fan of everything Dr. Spanier does, I'm glad to hear him explaining PSU's upcoming financial situation, and especially the reasons behind it, and how he's continuing to help out students and employees. And I like his idea of freezing everything for a year instead of chopping out an entire section of the curriculum. (Or, at least, I hope they aren't. I'd really like to know if they are.)
And he does make a good point: PSU really has had pretty stable pay raises for its employees (from what I've heard from my father and professors); although not always phenomenally high, they are making efforts to support their employees and students.
I guess it's just proof that none of us, even students, are immune to the downward economic spiral. And to think, when I foretold this to my parents two years ago, they laughed at me.
Hopefully we won't end up like Igor Panarin's prediction. We've pulled through once before, perhaps even two or three times. There's a reason America is the 'center of the world,' and I'm sure it's more than economic and militant.
Although I'm not a big football fan, I'd be interested to see how this year's income from football games and memorabilia compares with past years. I'm also interested to see how things will change when Obama takes presidency.
(By the way, I heard on NBC yesterday that President Bush set aside an enormous expanse of ocean as a federal wildlife sanctuary as an attempt to be remembered as the 'environmentally conscious' president. Isn't this the same guy who tried to convince us to drill in Alaska? Don't get me wrong, it's an excellent gesture and a great way to end his campaign, but history books had better not use it to erase the past eight years).
In retrospect, Panarin's prediction is a little over the top. But the gist is there.