I was interested to read the article “Budget meeting raises more questions than answers,” by John Fahnenstiel in the Feb. 25 edition of the Statesman. I was particularly interested in seeing the numbers suggesting that UMD is being shortchanged by a bit more than $40 million per year in the funding that it gets from the U. It seems to me that the budget deficit of $6 million per year that we are trying to deal with is dwarfed by the amount we are being shortchanged. If these numbers are right, UMD is being treated shamelessly. Of course the U, or the Regents, have the power to treat UMD as badly as they wish, but it seems to me that they should be a little embarrassed by such blatant unfairness. It may be that the chancellor was hired with the understanding that he would not complain about the way that UMD is treated by the U, but someone who cares about UMD should complain.
When colleges and departments are asked to make cuts to make up a $6 million deficit, they should ask our administrators what they have done to get some of the $40 million back. Local legislators, who have always been generous in their support of the U, should ask why the U thinks that it can shortchange UMD.
BY RICHARD GREEN
Statesman Correspondent