Scare tactics

In a March 24th Telegram article by Ashley Fitzpatrick titled “MUN’S money crunch” Memorial University president Gary Kachanoski stated that “Our infrastructure is at that stage in many places where tunnels are at the point of collapsing and you have safety issues.”

This is just scare tactics. Kachanoski has been president of MUN for eight years. He has had plenty of time to look after infrastructure. However, he has instead focused on internationalization.

I suspect he was mandated to do this by the Williams government. This would bring new workers and consumers to N.L., which is what the merchants of N.L. want.

It is costing many millions of dollars. I suspect the administration will unload budget cuts onto students. It seems stakeholders have told it that the citizens of N.L. can afford it!

K-12 is basically tuition free. For top students from N.L., MUN should also be tuition free. It would ensure that MUN is not just a place for the rich. It would allow the best of N.L. to shine. Free tuition would be a good investment in the future of N.L. But the merchants of N.L. will not allow that.

They would much rather load students down with debt.

Cutting back on useless research is not an option. It is central to Internationalization. It has turned MUN into an immigration clearinghouse.

Mike Hinchey St. John’s