It is completely irresponsible for the UF Board of Trustees to approve nearly ,300,000 in performance bonuses for President Bernie Machen while the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences remains in crippling debt.
Faculty should not accept deteriorating research and operational budgets while Machen's personal finances continue to increase.
This recognition leads to the question: What is to be done?
Faculty, who are the means of production at the university, must unionize to oppose these continued abuses.
It is not only in their interests, but in the interests of their students and the university at large, that they band together to collectively oppose these egregious fiscal policies. Why should students fail to receive necessary course materials, such as syllabi, for the sake of a president's salary?
The university faculty must follow UF trustee Al Warrington's example and actively resist and oppose these measures for their own sake as well as that of their students.
Students need to actively encourage their instructors to unionize to fight against this continued abuse. The primary objective of the university's spending should be to maximize the quality of our education, not the president's salary.
