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Show Opinion SOUTHERN UTAH STATE COLLEGE, CEDAR CITY THE THUNDERBIRD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1990 PAGE 4 INCREASED PAY FOR FACULTY NECESSARY While the work of teachers should ideally provide exceptional opportunities for personal fulfillment, these professionals increasingly face diminishing income, negative public opinion, and a workload that oftentimes taxes the imagination. Utahs instructors of higher education have generally fared better than their national counterparts when it comes to community support for their endeavors. Nevertheless, much can be said supporting a pay increase to bring Utah educators up to national parity and easing the workload of our professors. The seriousness of this problem is never so evident as it is at SUSC. No doubt, many instructors can relate more than one horror story when it comes to teaching twice their workload during any given quarter, and granted, some of these problems within can be directly traced to unexpected departments. But one factor that cannot be denied is the surge enrollment SUSC has experienced lately. in Director of Admissions and Records D. Mark Barton points out that SUSCs enrollment increase has been the highest in the no doubt due to our schools excellent state percentage-wise- ; reputation and the fine complement of instructors we possess. Yet, if state officials fail to heed the warning signs, we may predictably see a reduction in the number of capable and competent instructors opting to teach out of state for higher salaries and reduced stress levels. The problem lies in the fact that the current funding requests cover students already added to the system. Projections anticipate that an additional 1,000 students will enroll enrollment request. Simply put, unless above the additional allocations are made to meet this need, the quality of education may diminish as professors are stretched to the breaking point. Aware of this urgency, SUSC President Gerald R. Sherratt appealed to the Higher Education Appropriation Committee Jan. 22, pointing out that our institution has experienced both program cutbacks and inci eased student enrollment and that the problem has become more acute with time; the disparity between funding and enrollment figures has not been afforded correction. It can be truthfully said that state expenditures for higher education were markedly affected by the lack of economic vitality Utah experienced through the recessive decade of the 80s. Nevertheless, we are, for the most part, out of the economic red as we move stealthily into the 90s and the argument that funding is unavailable is uathout merit. With this in mind, lawmakers should recognize that its easier to correct a problem before it becomes acute and we urge them to make an investment with the greatest return for our states future in Utahs instructors of higher education. leaves-of-absenc- full-tim- e e '&L The Thunderbird VOLUME 84, NUMBER Editor Rachel Talbot Associate Editor Kathleen Midgley Opinion Director James Spainhower Photo Editor Jeff Dower Arts &. Leisure Editor Jason North 31 Sports and Outdoors Editor Brent Richey Senior Staff Wnter Natalie Coombs Production Manager Lynn Dennert Ad Manager Todd Pendleton Faculty Adviser Larry Baker The Thunderbird is published each Monday and Thursday of the academic year by and foi the student body of Southern Utah State College and is not affiliated in any way with tht College's department of communication. The views and opinions expressed m The Thunderbird are the opinions of the publication s individual wnters and do not necessarily reflect the view of the institution, faculty, staff or student body in general. The unsigned editorial directly above is the opinion of The Thunderbird as a single entity. Letters to the editor must be typed and include the name and phone number. Only the name will be printed. Names will not be withheld under any circumstances and the editor reserves editing privileges. Letters must be submitted by noon Fridays for Monday editions; 5 p.m. Tuesdays for Thursday editions. The Thunderbird: editorial offices in SUSC Library 103; advertising in Library 102. Mail at SUSC Box 9384, Cedar City, UT 84720. Phone (801) or Access Human gaffes muddle homeless issue Access is a recurring column through which members of the campus community may address themselves to topics of concern andor interest. Today's column is by Richard H. Ropers, an assistant professor of sociology and author of The Invisible Homeless. I dont think anyone, whether liberal or conservative, would disagree that one valid way to define what America is would be to say that America is her people. If you live and care about America, if you would like to see our nation strong and healthy, then you must be concerned about our citizens; all of our citizens; rich and poor, white and young and old. America is our community and all Americans are, in a sense, our family. When there is trouble in our community, and when family members suffer, we are all affected. non-whit- e, Whether there really are only 600,000, one million, three million homeless Americans isnt really the major issue. Homelessness is just the tip of the iceberg: Homeless Americans represent the most conspicuous part of a much greater threat to the honor of our nation. According to every United States Census Bureau report on the topic, there are currently at least 32 million Americans living below the official Federal government poverty line, and another 25 million Americans are hovering just above it. The facts are that 81 percent of the poor consist of: children (40 percent), women (30 percent), and the elderly (11 percent). In Utah alone, there are 80,000 children living in poverty. In 1990 one out of every five American children lives in poverty. If current trends continue, it L predicted that by the year 2000, one out of every three children in our nation will live in poverty. The multitude of research studies, including my ovn, demonstrate that close to 50 percent of Americas homeless are families with children, and d of the homeless men are U.S. military veterans, including many Vietnam War vets. One-fift- h of the homeless are the working poor, who are e or part-tim- e working at jobs, yet they cannot earn enough money to provide adequate shelter for themselves. one-thir- full-tim- President Bush, in his inaugural address, advocated we follow his leadership in promoting a kinder and gentler America. As the President put it, America is never wholly herself unless she is engaged in high moral principle. We as a people have such a purpose today. It is to make kinder the face of the nation and gentler the face of the world. My friends, we have work to do. There are the homeless, lost and roaming.... Even Jack Kemp, who is now the head of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), has distanced himself from Reagans much criticized statement that homeless people are homeless by choice. Kemp believes, ...nobody would be on the streets if there were alternatives for their needs. When he was sworn in as the head of HUD, Kemp stated, Mr. Lincoln said America cannot exist half slave, half free in the 19th century. ..Today, the next century, r we cant have this country half or prosperous and some folks left behind. I dont believe in the perpetuity of poverty so Im thrilled and honored to have the opportunity to help implement George Bushs agenda for the 90s here at HUD, an agenda of compassion and opportunity, of hope and the promise of a better and brighter future for America. that three-quarte- Let those who think they occupy the high moral ground recognize and act on the moral imperatives which homelessness and poverty demand. Provisions must be made for American children, women, and the elderly, before we raise salaries for congress and government bureaucrats, before we spend nine billion dollars to bail out bankrupt savings and loans, and before one more dollar in foreign aid is sent to corrupt and undemocratize governments. It is time for conservatives to remember these words: "For 1 was hungered, and ye gave me meat ; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; 1 was a stranger, and ye took me in; Naked and ye clothed me; I was sick and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me... Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Matt. 26:3540 |