Ayers - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: Oct 25, 2005

Ayers

Date: Oct 25, 2005

I think that the pie needs to sliced so that funding is based on enrollment. Fund all of the state schools with X dollars per studnet and you won't have to worry about it.

Date: Oct 25, 2005

Overdue wrote:

I think the Ayers money recently awarded to Alcorn State is a needed boost. It's about time that black schools got their just due. You need to cut that educational pie and give the Braves a bigger piece.For too many years the big three have been getting fat with those big slices.

Overdue, check your facts before you wax your jaws. For at least two decades the three major universities (MS State, Ole, Miss, USM) have received far less per capita funding than the other five schools within the system. If all of the eight schools received the same amount of money per student, the historically black schools would receive far less funding they they currently receive. Your politics are not supported by the facts.

Date: Oct 25, 2005

Yet another fact is that Southern Miss educates more black students than does Alcorn. If Overdue really wants to maximize the educational benefits to blacks he would vigorously support more funding for Southern Miss.

Date: Oct 25, 2005

I agree with "TheMan" as far as E&G budget goes. Why all institutions don't receive the same per capita slice of that portion of the state pie is beyond me.

OTOH, some expenses, particularly those associated with capital projects or institutional/instructional support, aren't headcount driven. A library requires certain books whether there are 4,000 students or 14,000 students. And the books cost no less for the place with 4,000 than for the place with 14,000. If an institution is going to teach freshman chemistry, it is going to need lab space. Sure, a university the size of USM is going to need more chem labs than one the size of Alcorn. But whether a given lab is used for 5 or 6 lab sections or 2 or 3, it costs the same to outfit & maintain.

It makes more sense to revisit the question, "Why does Mississippi have eight universities instead of three or four universities & four or five state colleges?" The programmatic differences between universities & state colleges dictate different sorts of libraries & other facilities.

Date: Oct 25, 2005

Black schools need and deserve more. This is the same principle as affirmative action.We've a legacy of slavery to contend with and we need a helping hand.

Date: Oct 26, 2005

Striving wrote:

Black schools need and deserve more. This is the same principle as affirmative action.We've a legacy of slavery to contend with and we need a helping hand.

Oh, pleeeeeeeeeze. The slavery card has worn a little thin. It's no more relevant to the issue of underfunding of Mississippi universities than is the fact that the Romans enslaved Spartacus. What is relevant is that the maintenance of eight inferior universities weakens educational opportunities for all Mississipians whether they are black, brown, asian or white. Someone on this board mentioned awhile back that the state needs a flagship university. I'd be in favor of that, even if it meant less funding for Shelby U.

Date: Oct 26, 2005

row_faster_ben_hur wrote:

Striving wrote:
Black schools need and deserve more. This is the same principle as affirmative action.We've a legacy of slavery to contend with and we need a helping hand.

Oh, pleeeeeeeeeze. The slavery card has worn a little thin. It's no more relevant to the issue of underfunding of Mississippi universities than is the fact that the Romans enslaved Spartacus. What is relevant is that the maintenance of eight inferior universities weakens educational opportunities for all Mississipians whether they are black, brown, asian or white. Someone on this board mentioned awhile back that the state needs a flagship university. I'd be in favor of that, even if it meant less funding for Shelby U.

Hold on,you can't do that! If you remove being a victim from the equation,the whole rational for affirmative action,diversity ,etc. disappears.

Date: Oct 26, 2005

I strongly suggest that this stop now. Striving's post was meant to be inflammatory and it succeeded. This is just like the evolution v.s ID thread. It could go until doomsday and will not be resolved.

Date: Oct 26, 2005

row_faster_ben_hur wrote:

What is relevant is that the maintenance of eight inferior universities weakens educational opportunities for all Mississipians whether they are black, brown, asian or white. Someone on this board mentioned awhile back that the state needs a flagship university. I'd be in favor of that, even if it meant less funding for Shelby U.

Perhaps I have read this board for too long but I am tired of these comments--there have been many, this is the most recent. There are wonderful professors at USM who are fantastic educators. There skills are not diminished because they live in Mississippi and work at a Mississippi university or have to put up with people like Shelby Thames, etc. There are certainly problems but the education students receive, if they apply themselves, is not inferior to other universities. I know I certainly learned a great deal more about academic freedom and the true nature of a university community by attending USM during the Glamser-Stringer hearing and all of Dr. Thames' other controversies than I would had I attended another university. This is a bit off-thread but I think it's something that needs repeating from time to time.

Date: Oct 26, 2005

Scattergunning...

row_faster_ben_hur wrote:
Someone on this board mentioned awhile back that the state needs a flagship university. I'd be in favor of that, even if it meant less funding for Shelby U.

Mississippi has a de facto "flagship university." It's located in Oxford, Mississippi. It was founded in 1848. And it has enjoyed preferential treatment & funding from the state since the IHL Board was founded. Why, it even had its own designated "La Boave" trustee on the IHL board. Moreover, the following quote (emphasis added) may be found on the University of Mississippi website:

"The story began in 1848 when The University of Mississippi – the flagship university of the state – opened its doors to its first 80 students."

And trust me, over the years that "flagship university" status has meant less funding for the University of Southern Mississippi.

Andy wrote:
I know I certainly learned a great deal more about academic freedom and the true nature of a university community by attending USM during the Glamser-Stringer hearing and all of Dr. Thames' other controversies than I would had I attended another university.

Y'know, I'm surprised the lately departed & greatly lamented Lisa Mader didn't float that in defense of Dr. Thames' shenaningans: He was only trying to create a complex campus-wide experiment so students could obtain a deeper appreciation for academic freedom!