A Letter Regarding Budget Cuts at the University of Nebraska Kearney

A shameful time at the University

To: The University of Nebraska and the community

My name is Pablo Morales. I am writing my concerns regarding the immense budget cuts happening across the University of Nebraska system and specifically at my alma mater, the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

I ask Julie Shaffer-Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (shafferj@unk.edu) and Jon Watts-Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance (wattsjc@unk.edu), and Chancellor Douglas Kristenen (kristensend@unk.edu) to please help us find a solution to stop this massive budget cut. So many people's livelihoods are at stake which involve people's education, teaching positions, academic services, etc.

My Letter to UNK and NU System

This week I found out that the university "needs" to perform a $3 million budget cut at the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK). This is angering and saddening. This creates a huge hole on the UNK campus. I graduated from the university in 2019. I graduated with a B.A. in Modern Languages. This hurts to hear that many programs such as the French program are being cut. The Modern Language Department was my home during my time at the University. It pushed me out of my comfort zone that led me to even great worldview experiences such as study abroad. The French program in Modern Languages helped prepare me to become a teacher and helped to interact with people of all backgrounds and cultures.

UNK needs to have a complete modern language department to prepare students in this globalized world. Learning a language isn't about learning simply a language. Languages expand a person's worldview. You learn culture, you learn experiences, you learn how different societies work. We can't have young people's viewpoints and perspectives stuck glued to the environment they are in. They need to branch out. Going to college is a place where people learn to build deeper connections with others. This includes people they interact with daily and people who are different from them culturally. The modern languages department is such a vital program.

What hurts more is the attack on the arts and humanities. The arts and humanities are important for a well rounded education. We need students to explore subjects outside of their majors. I learned a lot from the humanities and the arts.

I ask the University of Nebraska not to eliminate these programs. If the entire university system wants to retain more people in Nebraska, before entering, during college, and post college, we must allow these opportunities.

UNK is the only proper public university in Nebraska that geographically serves so many students in the western half of the state. UNK offers so many programs closer to home that many in years past had to attend schools further away from home to enter the programs needed.

I am proud to be a graduate of the University of Nebraska at Kearney. This saddens me to see UNK and the entire university system go through this dark time. Please reconsider all the damage that is to come. Every single higher position university administrator and faculty must fight for the interest of students - current and present.

Representatives of the Nebraska University system need to find and pressure funding from the state. The state has done so much damage from cutting budgets year after year. We must fight those who are against public education and higher education who put us in a chokehold.

We are currently facing so many attacks on public education and higher education from various places. The University of Nebraska system is no exception.

Pablo Morales

University of Nebraska at Kearney Graduate 2019