Unfair protection for University of Miami in budget

As a result of the decline in Florida's economy, a special session of the Legislature this fall will consider an expected 4 percent to 10 percent reduction in the statewide budget. This would result in the State University System losing between ,100 million and ,232 million.

At the same time, the University of Miami's projected ,80 million in state funding is protected from the cuts. Although the University of Miami is a very good private university, Gov. Charlie Crist and the Florida Legislature should be primarily concerned with the funding of our public universities rather than giving preferential treatment to a private institution.