Promises to be Kept

Actions speak louder than words.

This platitude applies to almost any situation in life, but especially those in which a commitment is made. Why? Because believing a promise based on words alone usually ends up in a “too good to be true” situation being just that.

Our administration proved this point recently in their debacle with the faculty over a promise made in times past. More background can be found on the front page.

You’ve might have wondered why some of your professors were wearing maroon-colored pins. You might have thought they were supporting a decorative fad. However, your professors are actually calling for more discussion about their salaries and budgets.

The University, in previous years, had an attractive salary package. People wanted to teach here because they thought they’d be taken care of.

Now, however, with recent changes in the budget and that $6.1 million deficit that’s been a shadow on the University’s light, some faculty members are looking into other places for employment. They are so dissatisfied with the administration’s handling of their compensation that they’re willing to leave Fairfield.

We appreciate how faculty wants to also defend the students from the change in budget. Yes, faculty members worry about their benefits and how their life will be affected by changes in their salaries. But some, like Dr. Jocelyn Boryczka, want to “protect the quality education that Fairfield students receive and to recruit and retain the faculty who provide it.” If the best of the professors don’t want to come to the University because of the budget, then the school will be losing bright professors who could have changed students’ lives.

The administration better hold on tight and change what they can to mollify the faculty’s worries or else the foundation of the school –  the academics – will fall through.

And for us students? We live amidst a sea of promises that the University is committed to keeping the Fairfield experience as cheap as possible, despite steady tuition increases. Are we to trust your promises, both in this light and every other facet concerning our hard-earned tuition money?

Your actions speak louder than your words. If you can’t keep a promise to your faculty, how can you expect us to believe you will honor anything else you have said?