Rutgers' Recession Stimulus Plan
Letter
Josh Ontell
Issue date: 2/6/08 Section: Opinions
On Jan. 30, the University Board of Governors approved a $102 million stadium expansion. It was a disastrous moment. The proposed expansion reeks of hypocrisy, violates every known principle of financial responsibility, and shows a complete and utter disregard for dialogue and discussion within the University community.
Consider the hypocrisy. The administration continues to make self-serving pronouncements about the importance of transparency and open discussion. But behind everyone's back, it spent $5 million on stadium expansion plans. Three million dollars was spent without even bothering to get board approval. After this huge outlay, the University had completed only 50 percent of the design plans, meaning that 5 percent of the total construction budget was spent before blueprints had even been finished.
With the $5 million already spent, the administration held one open forum less than a week before the BOG was scheduled to vote. (By way of comparison, the University of Michigan deliberated for over four years before deciding to expand its football stadium.) Among Rutgers students and alumni, the same question keeps coming up. How can Rutgers purport to be an institution devoted to rational deliberation and open debate when its administration consistently chooses to make major decisions in secret?
Let's talk about finance. The board has been pushed into reckless behavior by the demands of the Department of Athletics. Now, they admit that they mean to start construction while the project is still $30 million short of financing. George Zoffinger, the only member of the board with real estate experience and the only one courageous enough to vote against the expansion, has said that the stadium project as it now exists puts Rutgers "on the road to ruin."
The board says it's going to raise the missing $30 million from private sources. This is a case, once again, where George Zoffinger's voice ought to be heeded. Last year, Zoffinger put in a good deal of time trying to scare up private donations for the football coach's $1 million raise. He couldn't do it. That experience no doubt has something to do with his opposition to the stadium expansion.
Consider the hypocrisy. The administration continues to make self-serving pronouncements about the importance of transparency and open discussion. But behind everyone's back, it spent $5 million on stadium expansion plans. Three million dollars was spent without even bothering to get board approval. After this huge outlay, the University had completed only 50 percent of the design plans, meaning that 5 percent of the total construction budget was spent before blueprints had even been finished.
With the $5 million already spent, the administration held one open forum less than a week before the BOG was scheduled to vote. (By way of comparison, the University of Michigan deliberated for over four years before deciding to expand its football stadium.) Among Rutgers students and alumni, the same question keeps coming up. How can Rutgers purport to be an institution devoted to rational deliberation and open debate when its administration consistently chooses to make major decisions in secret?
Let's talk about finance. The board has been pushed into reckless behavior by the demands of the Department of Athletics. Now, they admit that they mean to start construction while the project is still $30 million short of financing. George Zoffinger, the only member of the board with real estate experience and the only one courageous enough to vote against the expansion, has said that the stadium project as it now exists puts Rutgers "on the road to ruin."
The board says it's going to raise the missing $30 million from private sources. This is a case, once again, where George Zoffinger's voice ought to be heeded. Last year, Zoffinger put in a good deal of time trying to scare up private donations for the football coach's $1 million raise. He couldn't do it. That experience no doubt has something to do with his opposition to the stadium expansion.