NASA - LCROSS

Budgets in the CSU system

Another day of college has come to a close and I find my brain full of new information. It shouldn’t need to be said but this is to be expected as college is supposed to fill you valuable and useful information. However, the information acquired over the last couple of meetings isn’t what most would expect. I have yet to learn anything new about my subject of choice but rather I have learned a great deal regarding the current CSU budget cuts. My professors have found it valuable to to spend class time discussing the major cuts and means of disputing such cuts. From these discussions this is what I have gathered.

1. The CSU has increased the school fees (for students) by 32%

2. The professors are obligated to take a 9% cut in pay (this has been done through mandatory days off without pay).

3. The higher positions of the CSU administration recently got a 36% salary increase

4. The president of CSULA rakes in roughly $450,00 a year

5. This same president has a $66,000 house allowance  and a 1,000 car allowance

Obviously this seems outrageous and biased to those in power but my initial thought is… Isn’t this to be expected? I mean isn’t the american way? And I guess another great question whether or not they deserve additional amenities for the ranking they have earned, or arguably earned. Now please don’t mistake this for sarcasm or an argument on behalf those whom are killing the educational system. In fact I agree with those who are protesting the new cuts. But I think it’s wise to remember that those aren’t the only problems in the CSU system. I’m SURE there is money being wasted elsewhere which is being overlooked by the passing of blame. So let’s look at the overall picture and wrap the wastefulness in with the overpaid Administration. More importantly, please take in account that I just forked over 32% more of my money to learn not sit in a chair and listen to the protest. Mention it, provide places more for information, and move on please. Thanks.

~Jon

Time to move forward

So I started my first day of a new journey of acquiring my masters degree yesterday and I was, to say the least, excited beyond control. That is until I found that the class evolves around one little computer application. In most cases I would give kudos to the universities for moving into the digital age however universities, or rather professors, MUST realize that we are no longer in the “Microsoft age.” Apple, amongst many other Linux distros, have made geat strides in the field so much so that I believe it is time to standardize them. Don’t build your class around 1 OS platform. If it’s not universal I think it’s time to scrap and start over. Right? Or are you trying to penalize those who are moving forward? And don’t get me started on the ability to use web apps. But I’ll get into that a little later though. Anyhow, just a quick rant for my first blog post on tumblr.

~Jon