Student fees: Sophomoric behavior
University of Massachusetts students did their reputation no favors at last week’s Board of Trustees meeting. As the trustees debated a $1,500 fee hike to offset a projected $100 million shortfall in the university’s budget, a group of 150 or so repeatedly interrupted with protest chants, alienating even their allies. When the students applauded trustee Jennifer Braceras’s announcement that she would vote against the increase, Braceras rejected the accolades. “Hold your clapping, because frankly your behavior disgusts me,” she said. If students hadn’t been allowed to air their concerns, protests might have been justified. But given that the board heard from several student speakers, this was boorishness, plain and simple. (Boston Globe, 3/5/09)
[Agreed.]
2 years ago • Notes