The Student Government Association gathered Tuesday to hear ETSU President Dr. Paul Stanton speak, passed Legislation SSR-102-10, and discussed which members of the SGA would be involved in the Safety Committee, as well as the Student Publications Committee. Stanton informed SGA on how the university was handling issues such as tuition, parking, expansions and others.

Stanton began by talking about how much the university had grown from the time it opened almost a 100 years ago.

“We started out with 29 students in 1911 and now we are up to 15,234 students,” Stanton said. “Growth is generally positive, but it brings its problems.”

Stanton explained how it is difficult for places like the CPA and the cafeteria when you have that many students on campus.

Following these statements, he opened the floor up to questions which led to various topics ranging from financial issues to parking spots.

A question that was raised almost immediately concerned stimulus money and the plan for when that money is gone.

Stanton answered by saying that there is no reason for alarm about the situation.

Shortly following, he began to discuss the Tennessee Board of Regents meeting and the possibility of budget cuts between $600,000 and $1.8 million.

“If this does happen, we will have to look at different possibilities for that money,” Stanton said.

Another question arose concerning the lack of importance that is shown to post-secondary education in the state of Tennessee.

He responded by saying that economically, the university was where it needed to be.

This topic continued with how this could be a negative position that the university was put in.

This is based off the fact that if the university can manage on the budget they are given, there is no reason for them to be given more money than they were in the prior year.

The issues then shifted to who would be laid off, should faculty have to be trimmed for financial reasons.

In prior meetings, it had been discussed that the employees at the higher end would be laid off, as to keep as many faculty members as possible.

“First of all, we haven’t given a pink slip to anybody,” Stanton said. “We have recently had one high-end employee retire and we are freezing those positions.

“We are looking to see what we will do to important positions and how to fill them if someone retires, gets sick or dies.”

One of the big issues he discussed was in regard to tuition and how it is still increasing.

“It looks like it will be raised about 6 percent next year,” Stanton said.

He also discussed how Southern Regional Education Board began to collect data five years ago in Southern states and where Tennessee stood from a tuition standpoint.

“We were 16 out of 16 and now we are fourth,” Stanton said. “It just shows how Tennessee is putting tuition on your backs and it’s for real.”

The next issue concerns parking, as the student population has continued to grow.

“We are one of the fastest growing schools in Tennessee,” Stanton said. “We grew about 5 percent this year.

“They all drive cars.”

Stanton said the only choice left was to build up.

“We have got to go vertical,” Stanton said. “There is no other way around it.”

Some of Stanton’s final remarks regarded Eastman Chemical Company and their gift of 70,000 square feet on Valleybrook Farms to the university.

In his final thoughts, he responded to a statement about the possibility of lengthening the hours of certain facilities.

“Your biological clock’s run differently than mine and I am pretty much in the bed at 10 [p.m.] and up at 4 [a.m.],” Stanton said. “But, I will not be exercising at 4, like most of you all will.

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