The decision to transfer the cost of phone service from a central
billing to Departments continues the transition away from any form of
institutional community.  George Ross's memo made it clear that a) the plan
is for the Department's to pay a fee previously included in the University
budget, and b) someone else will keep the money that had been used to do
this.  If you haven't seen the memo, departments would have to pay $25 per
line per month.  In our Department that would mean $475 per month; our
telecommunications budget is $2400.  We would be required to take about
$4000 from our supplies to make the cost.  Or return to the old days with a
very few phones in the office and no way for students to reach us.   Ross
points out that the cost is less than Bell South.  That would be an
excellent arguement if we were in the process of negotiating a contract.
We are not.  He is trying to convince us that the pain we are feeling from
the elephant falling on us is less than if he dropped a house.  SO?
        Phone service on campus has always been a monopoly of the Business
side of the house.  They control the cost with no opportunity for
Department's to determine "true costs" versus "billed costs".  Over a year
ago, I complained about the continuing high costs of long distance.  As a
Department we we are paying 25 cents per minute.  The response was a call
from Richard Brown offering to lower our costs to 20 cents per minute.  I
know what that means.  The cost we pay bears no relationship to the actual
cost, but is a way for the Business folks to keep money in their cofers.
He did indeed lower our price.  I have no idea what others pay or what our
real costs would be.  I still think we could do better.  It also pointed
out that the Business group is not working to lower my costs but are
maximizing their cash.
        Wait a second, I thought we were all wortking together.  That is
not true.  Everything we do is billed to Departments as if we were free to
raise our own money, but we are not.  Indeed, departments are the only ones
with no mechanisim to transfer costs to others.   Further, we don't have
our money to spend.  If the plan is to continue to transfer the costs, then
give us revenue budgets and bill us for everything.  I think  we could
manage better than now.
        Any sense of us working together is eroded when their is no attempt
to maximize the money available for the classroom.  Our students are our
life.  Making sure there are new trucks in the motor pool or new paint on
administrative offices walls while the academic department watch the walls
decay belies the lack of a sense of common purpose.
        More important, however, is the continuing indication that we have
become a set of independent businesses, with academic departments relying
on a paternalistic administrative decision process to give us money.
"Daddy can I have some money for a computer?"  It isn't like we don't raise
the money, who teaches all those credit hours.  Psychology students pay
roughly $80,000 per year in technology fees,as best I can figure since this
number is not given to us.  Departments have no idea what they raise, only
what they have been allocated by the administration.  We get costs with no
choice.  Open the bidding, let us pick the service we want.  Either stop
the monopoly or at least let us search for a better deal.
        This is merely the lastest in what has become an increasingly
adversarial environment.  As we work hard to reduce the town-gown split be
increasing our commitment to the community, we find ourselves with a rising
tide of us-them with ourselves.  This form of disease is the worst - you
finally destroy your self.
        We do have a choice.  We can become a community of people commited
to the same purpose.  I'm sure that each of the individuals involved feels
they are doing the best for the university from their point of view.  Since
we have no common view, no discussion of a common view, and no
encouragement to develop a vision, it is impeerative that those of us
communitted to the core mission, education, move ourselves in that
direction.  Bond together and oppose imperious cost transfers!  Students
first.

Rich Metzger
Professor of Psychology and
Head of the Department
423-755-4262