I feel like I'm watching a horror film in which my best friendis being fitted for the guillotine, with Gov. Bredesen and ShirleyRaines holding the ropes. I want to declare a Japanese minor, but Ifear the program won't survive the next round of budget cuts.
The Chinese program cut jarred my educational existence at TheUniversity of Memphis. Not because I was enrolled in the program,but because those involved argued that my foreign language shouldhave been cut instead. In the event you see a U of M student orfaculty member sporting duct tape in the appropriate area, it meansI finally found those critics.
However, the real monster in this nightmare is not thedebt-wielding officials or the bitter, ousted students. It is theindifference of those students who believe they remain unaffectedby these cuts.
As the old saying goes, a closed mouth gathers no foot. In fact,a closed mouth gathers nothing at all, especially at The U of M.Those who have spoken up have been drowned out by the eerie,prevailing silence of those who simply do not give a damn.
From someone who watches warily as the knife falls closer andcloser to my own skin, I'm wondering how many more programs willvisit the chopping block until the majority says enough isenough.
Don't be fooled. Least enrollment does not equal least impact inthe game of program cutting. Most of the students enrolled in Asianlanguages are foreign business majors -- those students who mighthave a prayer at drawing some major money into this shrivelingstate economy. More state money might mean lower sales taxes,education benefits for children and a debt-free economy -- issuesthat affect everyone.
Even if all the big degree holders left the state for morelucrative prospects, just the sheer clout The U of M could buildthough its foreign language program could draw a significantlyhigher number of out-of-state students. Maybe then The U of M couldstart appealing to students who want to attend for educationalreasons rather than Tiger basketball seasons. Hey, just anidea.
And although rumors and legislation proposals have circulatedfor years about establishing English as a global language, thatdoesn't mean language barriers in the workplace are soon todisappear. I apologize to those students who seek every availableshortcut to avoid the foreign language requirement for thisearth-shattering revelation.
But since it seems foreign languages will continually fallvictim to the budget crisis, I suppose we could find a nice placeto hang that Tiger High sign while we're busy doing nothing aboutit.
