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In his annual State of the University Address last Wednesday, President Casteen placed blame for the current fiscal crisis squarely on the shoulders of the State and Federal government. Since the University has been severely affected by large budget cuts and endowment shortfalls, it has been forced to adapt some of its current practices to the new economic situation.

In his speech, Casteen alleged that the government hid an "undisclosed recession," and that bad communication from the federal government resulted in the loss of $1.2 billion from the University’s endowment — about twenty-five percent of its value. Accordingly, the University will be cutting its operating budget by $90 million out of a total of $2.15 billion. It remains unclear as to the effects this will have on the University as a whole and its programs in particular. Casteen later reiterated his point relating to those responsible: "We trusted the federal numbers and believed during those four quarters of recession that we were being told the truth. When it turned out that we were not, the basic assumptions of the model crashed."

President Casteen later announced that the University would put into effect a hiatus in hiring new personnel with the exception of in an emergency, citing lack of funds as the main reason. However, he reassured those who were in attendance with a bit of good news: the University would not fire any of the faculty or staff and, there would be no pay cuts. Casteen reasoned, "Laying off personnel in universities is a false economy. Places that have done it have inevitably hurt their programs. It’s simply not a strategy that makes sense for a university that intends to be the very best of its kind." Doubtless this is good news for professors and staff, but, like the economy, the University’s growth has halted.

He has credited those who manage the University’s finances with averting even larger budget cuts. Apparently, these financial wizards began cautious budget cuts as early as a year ago. Student Council is one of the organizations that has been affected, as have all CIOs that rely on StudCo for funding. Because no one knows just how long the recession will last, it could be that these budget cuts become permanent. President Casteen has certainly been avoiding speculation as to when these austerity measures will end.

In his speech, it seemed as if students were the last of the President’s concerns. While focusing on expanding the University’s brand overseas, he failed to fully explain how this new situation would affect U.Va.’s students. Although maybe he doesn’t need to, as the number of applications to the University goes up every year. However, it seems as if it would be prudent to involve students in budget decisions. When the University spends thousands of dollars on unnecessary television screens and an actual-time stock market banner for the School of Commerce and then cuts the StudCo budget by 60%, it is obvious that students take a back seat to empty prestige. And while U.Va. is more financially secure than many other universities, misplacement of resources and playing favorites among academic disciplines should have no place here, even during prosperous times. However, until students learn to care about the way the University is run, we must simply accept the situation as it is.