WHETHER you're a fraternity brother, a sorority sister, an avid attendee of Greek functions, a person who despises the Greek system or a Mennonite who doesn't wear zippers, you should take a serious look at the University's decision to help fund high speed Internet connections in fraternity and sorority houses.
The issue here is not whether you agree with the Greek system, or whether the Greeks should have high speed Internet, or what they will use the Internet for. The issue is the manner in which the Internet in Greek houses is being funded: The University decided to subsidize two-thirds of the cost. Having these connections in the houses is a beneficial feature, but it could be provided in better ways.
We cannot look past the hypocrisy: the Greeks getting funding from the University of which they are supposedly independent. The Greeks are proud that they are not University funded. They pay for, among other things, their own rent, insurance and utilities. Yet, in the case of Internet connections, the University is diverting funds to help provide this service.
The funding for the Ethernet connections comes through donations made to the University. This means that University funds aren't directly being funneled into providing these connections. But it still raises many questions. To maintain the financial independence of fraternities from the administration, these donors should give their money directly to the Greeks, rather than using the University as an intermediary for these funds.
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This support also ignores the large group of students who choose to live in non-Greek off-Grounds housing. However, this indifference isn't the point of this column. The issue is the continuation of funding the Greeks.
Gov. James S. Gilmore III has been having trouble with the state legislature over the budget - specifically, the car tax. As a result of the problems, the proposed 2001 budget did not pass the General Assembly. Gilmore then implemented a spending freeze that affected several of the University's projects, including the proposed studio art building.
In the midst of this budget crisis, the University continues acting on its earlier decision to subsidize the cost of installing Ethernet connections in Greek houses. Some are under the thinking the University has the ability to do what it will with its funds, especially after University President John Casteen's successful $1.43 billion Capital Campaign. But even for those who agreed with the Ethernet decision at the time, a new look at the funding is in order.
The budget freeze alone would warrant reexamination of the funding, but at this time there are even more financial woes. A few weeks after the freeze, a University Budget Office representative proposed an out-of-state tuition increase. A few weeks ago, the Board of Visitors passed a resolution in which they requested a tuition increase of 4.9 percent for out-of-state undergraduate and graduate students, 1.8 percent for in-state undergraduates and 3.1 percent for in-state graduate students. They also raised housing and dining costs. Part of the tuition increase might help fund University projects which are losing money because of the freeze and the subsidies.
The problem is not that Greeks shouldn't have Ethernet, even Ethernet provided by the school, but, again, the continuation of the plan. After the budget freeze and a tuition increase, the University should not be divesting its precious funds to help the Greeks. If the Greeks want Ethernet connections now, there are better methods for them to use to get it.
The University should stop funding Ethernet installation now and let fraternities and sororities go to a bank and withdraw a loan to cover the difference. The Greek organizations would then need to worry about interest payments on their loans. To cover this, they could increase their dues. Thus, only the Greek members directly affected by the Ethernet would have to foot the bill, not all University students, especially out-of-staters. This method also would help keep intact the Greek's cherished independence from the University.In this increasingly technological world, it is important for everyone to have equal access to high-tech equipment, such as high speed Internet.
Whatever the motives for subsidizing installation, the University should have stopped funding after the recent financial developments. In the face of a spending freeze and an increase in tuition, the University's financial support should not be continued. There are other ways for the Greeks to finance this endeavor, such as taking out a loan from a bank. This further preferential treatment of the Greek system is an embarrassment to both Greeks and non-Greeks. There is still time for the University to revise their decision and save face in the eyes of everyone.
(Scott Killian is a Cavalier Daily viewpoint writer.)
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