Bah

Humbug! I just found out that the state and the (allegedly anti-waste) governor have signed off on the remodel. Granted, I'm grumpy that I'll have to clean out my office and move into some godforsaken basement halfway across campus from the mail room, but the thing that really gets me is that we can get 23 MILLION DOLLARS to spruce up the building at the same time that we are firing opting not to renew the contracts of certain talented and experienced instructors, cutting the number of classes offered in our department, toying with the idea of increasing class sizes (the current limit is 25, which is already too big for a 50 minute language class), and reducing available summer grants and research budgets for grad students, all because we don't have enough money. 23 million for a bathroom on every floor and fancy white boards in every classroom, and I'll bet you my left arm that this money would have done a whole lot more good in the world if, I don't know, it had been given to one of the state-run public health or elementary education programs that were cut recently. 23 million for central air conditioning, and the cost of a single ride bus ticket is up to $3 during rush hour. Also irritating is the cheery tone in the email announcing the good news:

This is the culmination of more than a decade of effort by
faculty, staff, and students in collaboration with the college to bring
the importance of language and culture and the needs of the building to the
attention of the University and the state government.

Right. They're definitely renovating our building because now they recognize the importance of language and culture. Yep, that's it. /end rant

In other, less terrible news: the bathroom project is nearing completion. Pictures coming soon. Also, the sun is out, the windows are open, and those sirens up at the school were just a training exercise.