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Editorial

Legislature gets ‘F’ in state funding for higher education

The $45 million shortfall West Virginia University faces is still some of the biggest news around town. In the past week, we’ve discussed the issue in terms of what the university could have done and should do (or not do) in the future. But there are multiple factors at play, which is why, today, we’re looking at how the West Virginia Legislature contributed to the crisis. According to the think tank West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, “if West Virginia lawmakers had simply kept higher education funding at the same levels as a decade ago, West Virginia University would ...

Can WVU avoid the austerity spiral?

As West Virginia University faces a $45 million shortfall — and a potential $75 million deficit over the next several years — its top leadership has approved a “reduction in force” and has already started combining programs and colleges to cut costs.  We understand the need for some belt-tightening, but the university’s proposed actions seem to be trimming from the wrong areas. We’re afraid that WVU will be starting a higher-education version of an “austerity spiral”: cost-cutting measures meant to reduce deficit but that ultimately hinder growth and make the ...

The factor WVU should’ve foreseen

The situation at West Virginia University is a complicated one, with a confluence of complex factors culminating in a jaw-dropping budget deficit and plans to cut back staff, faculty and programs. This will be the first of a series of editorials about WVU’s budget shortfall and the university’s proposed responses.  In announcing its budget shortfall of $45 million, WVU cited decreased student enrollment as a significant contributing factor. However, that’s one of the few factors the university should have been able to see coming.  When E. Gordon Gee took the reins as ...

Editorial encore: Juneteenth: A different kind of Independence Day

EDITOR'S NOTE: This editorial has been adapted from one that was originally published June 19, 2022. Juneteenth commemorates the day Gen. Gordan Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, technically freeing the last of the slaves. The Emancipation Proclamation had been signed two years before, but the lack of Union soldiers’ presence had made Texas a safe haven for slaveholders.  However, on June 19, 1865, about two months after Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, Granger read aloud General Order No. 3 in the town square, declaring: “The people of Texas are informed that ...

Insidious nature of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric

As Ash Orr mentions in their guest essay, hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced across the nation — most of which target transgender people. We’ve noticed, however, the anti-trans rhetoric is the tip of the spear — the foot in the door, so to speak.  Polling data between 2019 and 2022 shows the highest rate of acceptance for same-sex relationships and marriages and gay/lesbian employment rights Gallup has ever recorded.   But the acceptance for gay and lesbian people hasn’t quite extended to transgender individuals. And it’s the lack of ...

Celebrate W.Va.’s birthday with music, food and fun downtown

It’s not a birthday without a party.  And since West Virginia’s 160th birthday falls on a Tuesday this year, Morgantown is celebrating a little early with a big party downtown, and everyone is invited.  From a press release about the event, which runs from noon to 5 p.m. today:   “Enjoy local and regional bands like PopShop, Megan Jeans and the Cooley Gang with your family for free. Browse beer, wine and food vendors stationed on High Street.  Attendees can commemorate the experience by purchasing beer in a special edition commemorative cup, with ...