Oh Georgia Tech

One topic I would like to bring up about Georgia itself is the 8% budget cuts, up from the previously settled 6%. I hate how this has affected me personally. I was promised a 75% track scholarship up until I came here last March for my official visit when I was told about the tragic budget cuts. Now, the only privileges I receive as an athlete are the athletic gear, the AA dining hall, and priority registration. That sounds good to the average student, but compared to the one on one tutoring, group tutoring, and free school (out of state tuition) is a big hole in what I was counting on getting.

On a bigger scale, this budget cut has caused the reduction of Tech's workforce. In the Technique, they cut many jobs in the administration and financial department using the process of seniority to make the cuts. Even though they try not to lay off the students on work-study, try is all that they can do. Layoffs even occurred in the presidential and provost departments. When it comes to budget cuts, I always wonder what their priorities come down to when they decide to cut in the appropriate sections. I know in athletics they keep the money in the most popular and predominately money making sports; football and basketball. Yet they have so many home events while as track, where they are cutting the most, have two home meets out of our indoor and outdoor meets spanning more than 6 months. I wonder what they decide to do when cutting budgets on campus. They seemed to have prioritized the new addition to the student center that taylor was blogging about, but I think they must have made some decisions on the fly about that. As taylor was saying, they had the fence blocking off all of the green space, making me think that they were going to take maximize their building space, then they uncover it and its just grass with two benches, yet still blocked. Are they thinking about using it or are they making extra green space or are they still splitting the fence? What have they decided to not build or to tear down with the implementation of this new building? All questions that are beyond my knowledge.

On an even larger scale, when budget cuts happen its partially because of the unemployment in the state. The unemployed can't contribute to the state's budget and when it comes to the area around Georgia Tech, like downtown, Little Five, and the Underground, its unsafe because of the drug dealers, thefts, and beggars who make up our unemployed body. With Atlanta as sprawled out as it is, the people making money are paying for their area on the outskirts of the city while the inner city rots.


The recession we're, steadily heading towards a deep depression, takes me back to our novel Suburban Nation. Maybe they would appreciate my statement when I say that the addictive sprawling situation, causing the deterioration of the inner city, the sub-prime loans so that anyone can "afford" to live in the suburbs, causing the national housing failure, leading to the recession with multiple budget cuts sprinkling down even to a nominal being like me, is unsustainable for humans.

And if you think that it doesn't affect you, think twice.


Jasmine Kent