EDITORIAL: "No Time Like The Present"

When even PresidentWhen even PresidentHackney seems upset,When even PresidentHackney seems upset,you know something'sWhen even PresidentHackney seems upset,you know something'swrong. But maybeWhen even PresidentHackney seems upset,you know something'swrong. But maybethere are some thingsWhen even PresidentHackney seems upset,you know something'swrong. But maybethere are some thingswe can do about it.When even PresidentHackney seems upset,you know something'swrong. But maybethere are some thingswe can do about it.______________________ One sure-fire tipoff is when President Sheldon Hackney seems even the slightest bit depressed, as he did at undergraduate and graduate convocation ceremonies this week. "It seems America has lost its way," Hackney said in one speech. It's true. With no plans in existence to balance the budget anytime soon, deficits continue to grow. An ever-increasing percentage of Americans have no job to speak of, and the country is in the midst of a recession which shows no signs of abating. In the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, many residents of Florida and Louisiana have no place to live. Many other areas of the world have strayed from the road to brighter futures. The fragments of the former Soviet Union have no semblance of newfound organization. No one knows what to expect from Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. In Bosnia-Herzgovina, there is no safe place to walk, and in Somalia, there is almost no food to eat. The University's concerns seem tame by comparison -- but they are still pressing. Escort, for example, has no van service from Superblock to nearby off-campus housing. Soon, there may be no bikes on Locust Walk. More importantly, the University has no state money for the coming year, thanks to budget turmoil in Harrisburg. This particularly affects the Veterinary School, which now has almost no sense of security. It also hinders other schools, which have no abilty to recruit faculty under the current hiring freeze. This, for example, means the Latino Studies minor offers nowhere near the promise it had when it started last year. Following a recent resignation, the University has no "executive vice president" to oversee its finances and coordinate campus projects. And the student disciplinary system has no "judicial inquiry officer" to lead it, after the search for a new one was scrapped. Welcome back, students! Greetings, freshmen! Congratulations, seniors! Just look what you have inherited . . . particularly the seniors, finally in a position to be the student leaders on campus. Those students and other campus leaders hopefully spent their summers making big plans for the year ahead -- to push for new courses, to lobby for better facilities. But these ideas may be easier said than implemented. Student leaders interested in, say, improving the curriculum, could be rebuffed by financial restrictions and an administrators handling an already-tough juggling act. Therefore, student leaders should set their priorities and push hard for items at the top of their wish lists. Organizations should recognize similarities in other groups' agendas and pool their resources. Just maybe, there's no where to go but up. Pick your fights well, and there will be as many victors as spoils. And whenever you graduate, you will be prepared to solve bigger problems -- and make the world a better place.

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