The words used to describe both institution’s situation and student experiences are entertaining and – you get it free one time here – a part of why enrollment is declining.
Those who speak for UM are often UM’s biggest problem and UM can’t shut them up
. You don’t know who you are, because people like that don’t have self-assessment capabilities. Prospective parents and students come to this website, read this drivel and posts like it, and make their decision. Like Sean Hannity for conservative causes: he thinks he’s the wise spokesperson and does more harm than good. Not surprising that news of continued enrollment decline turns into squeaking about BOR and MSU on this forum.
A less liberal BOR, coming our way soon, won’t keep patting UM leadership on the head with “good try little buddy, keep rolling out the stupid press releases, you’ll buy yourself time, bro. BTW, recruitment and visiting student experience is still bad. It’s common knowledge, killing the institution. Think you could maybe, potentially, perhaps, try to fix that? Go Griz!!”
My 2 cents: Montana’s taxpayers and UM leadership are held hostage by tenured faculty and the union, Bodnar has the hardest job in the state, and hopefully things turn around for all concerned.
MSU alum/fans, myself included, ought to shut our collective cake holes about UM’s recent and hopefully temporary problems. Could happen to us any day for any number of reasons. A VP at MSU several years ago (and more recently) made this clear in a leadership meeting – said UM having enrollment problems is bad for MSU, and not just because BOR’s liberal biases. It’s bad for many reasons, but mainly because it’s bad for our State’s students. It's also doesn’t reflect on UM’s strong history and sets a precedent for comparison between the two institutions that’s of no value and isn’t sustainable.
