Wanna know one very basic way in which UD decides whether a news article about universities will appear on University Diaries?
Okay, I’ll tell you.
If, while reading an article, UD laughs out loud, chances are she’ll run it. This isn’t always true, but it’s often the case.
Frinstance, here’s a story about the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee basketball team, plus some faithful retainers, going on a trip to Italy. Athletics has an eight million dollar deficit; students pay higher and higher athletics fees. But somehow the program has $160,000 to send the guys to Italy over the summer. The Student Association is pissed.
“The fact that the UWM Athletics Department continues to spend outside of its means is troubling. The department simply cannot afford to go on such an extravagant trip regardless of where the money is from.”
Yeah see the money for the trip is private, explains the university spokesman. So it’s okay! None of your beeswax! Shut up about it!
…. Uh, but if you have the capacity to raise that kind of money privately… and uh if you’re raising money not to pay down your debt but to take the boys to Rome… uh…
And here’s where UD started to laugh. She put the laugh line in her title. It’s from the same spokesman. We need this outing for cohesiveness, life experience, and personal growth!
Every effing cliché in the book! If that guy doesn’t win Administrator of the Year, something’s very wrong at the University of Wisconsin.
July 28th, 2010 at 6:34AM
Maybe the $$ being spent directly for the trip is private (was an independent audit offered on that?) but I bet the time spent planning the trip, scrounging contributions for it, and defending it after the story broke…were all paid for as part of normal university-funded administrative salaries.
July 28th, 2010 at 8:01AM
We have sent our soccer team, the Castaways, to several European venues over the last few years. The idea is “to build international visibility” for a team that struggles to get 500-700 fans per game. Envious Tierfour State University, which may get 100 fans per game, then scheduled its own $150K junket.
July 28th, 2010 at 8:05AM
Just did a quick check of the roster. BY FAR the most popular major on the team is “nothing” and its related field of “undecided,” which suggests the trip will be an important and valuable step towards helping the players decide on their intellectual passion.
July 28th, 2010 at 8:19AM
I’m stoked for our team’s trip to Italy,
Though our paisanos responded quite shittily.
They want that lira for school,
But coach flipped the fangul
Which I felt responded quite wittily.