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© 1998 The Auburn Plainsman |
Fob throws stones inside his glass house
It happened again this morning. As I sat down to my morning tradition of coffee and Fruit Loops, he appeared on my TV screen. His face was red and chubby, that deer-caught-in-the headlights look permanently embedded in his eyes. It was Gov. Fob James' face superimposed over a shot of Samford Hall. James was cheerfully sharing the oh so wonderful news that he is going to change the face of higher education. As I resisted the impulse to hurl my cereal bowl at his head, I thought he already has changed things - for the worse. When Fob James became governor, Alabama's higher education system was its strong point. Auburn had the reputation of being a well-regarded school that attracted many out-of-state students. However, one of the first things James did as governor was to massively cut higher ed. In doing this, James drastically reduced the quality of our state's education system. The 7.5 percent cut in overall funding handicapped the University he graduated from. His "beloved" University now has to struggle just to make ends meet. Because of James we are having to cut and combine quality programs. As a result, our university will never recover and will never be the same again. How dare James plaster his face in front of Samford Hall like he's Auburn's best friend. Instead, he looks a lot more like Auburn's No. 1 enemy. Recently, I have also seen James ads that attack Don Siegelman, saying his nose is growing because he has lied to Alabamians about the lottery. He even had a guy dressed as "Pinnochio" at one of his last press conferences. Well, Fob, have you checked your nose lately? It is outrageous that James dare to attack someone else's moral character after the things he has done to Auburn. Besides, I think we've all seen James resort to these childish tactics before when he's gotten behind in a race. During the primary he attacked Wynton Blount, saying he was fat. Now he's after Siegelman for lying. Can't James stand on his own two feet and talk about real issues (like higher ed maybe) instead of stooping to this all-time low? Don't get me wrong, I'm not just faulting James. Unfortunately, a small number of candidates have discussed funding for higher ed. And Siegelman and James address it only in terms of scholarship money. They all seem to miss one pivotal question though. Who's going to want a scholarship to a school that's coming apart at the seems. All candidates must address the issue of providing money for structure and organizational improvements. Scholarships are great too, but without enough money to fund the universities, their effectiveness is belittled. James says he wants to talk about higher ed, but that's the problem, it's just talk. Those in the higher echelon of Alabama's government must take action to help Auburn. Unfortunately, I can't believe James will. He calls Siegelman Pinnochio, while he continues to serve as the stereotypical bad guy. We should all be afraid for our university and and even more afraid of "our" bad guy. |
