Bad Decisions Hurt Ewu Letter Of The Week: From June 14

As an alumni of Eastern Washington University, it’s obvious to me that the school is headed for economic trouble. When a home town school tries to become something it isn’t, both its programs and students suffer.

Eastern is approximately a 75 percent commuter-based university. One that can’t continue to fund every politically correct culture class. They can’t continue to pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into athletic programs that are going nowhere to produce not one cent of profit.

Athletics do have a place in our educational way of life, but these programs must be contained inside a realistic spectrum. This spectrum has become much too broad. Small universities nationwide have realized this and trimmed these budgets, not expanded them as Eastern has done.

I have two daughters who have graduated from Eastern, both with bachelor of science degrees - one in nursing and one in dietetics. My daughter who graduated in dietetics has watched her program be discontinued. Yet the same year, the athletic budget was increased. Is this the direction Eastern should be going?

A race to keep up with larger universities’ concrete skyline is another area that should be scrutinized before staff and programs are trimmed. Eastern’s student base is the surrounding area. Recruitment outside this area is a waste of time and money. James A. Nelson Spokane

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