Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is having budget issues like virtually every other university in America. Cal Poly has responded to our economic situation by dramatically reducing faculty, class offerings and increasing class size thereby creating huge waiting lists. Many students wonder if they will get into the classes they need to graduate in a reasonable length of time. So when it gets rough, administrators hire a communications person… someone who if you read the description carefully — I believe — has the job of crushing internal dissension on campus. They don’t have enough money to give the English department a copier, but they have enough to spend $ 120,000 on a new administrator.
The new Cal Poly, as opposed to the one of legend in documentaries like “Indoctrinate U”, promises to be ‘transparent’ and accessible. We’ll see. Part of being ‘transparent’ is admitting when you have done wrong. I won’t hold my breath on this one. If you don’t know, Cal Poly has lost a lot in court and in the court of public opinion over the years, but don’t expect them to apologize. To this casual observer, I would say they need to first face up to their short comings before going any further.
So, although the new Cal Poly talks about ‘transparency’, it still has the same feel.
Roger Freberg
PS. “Indoctrinate U.” will appear on the Documentary Channel in March… again by popular demand!