In Response to “Bill could force Poly Corp. to release records”:
Let’s face it. Bonnie Murphy does not care about me. She does not care about you. She also does not care about the thousands of students on this campus, their financial need, or their academic requirements. Bonnie Murphy, executive director of the Cal Poly Corporation, cares about her paycheck.
As a student here for a long time, I have developed a certain taste and an “understanding,” if you will, for the entities that run Cal Poly. Don’t get me wrong, I love this school and I think it is probably one of the better managed public schools anywhere, but I am constantly shocked by the little “corporations” and “foundations” that seem to sneak into the beautiful concept of affordable public education. These actually not-so-little auxiliary organizations at Cal Poly have always made me wonder a little bit about what kind of place I go to school and what is really going on behind (besides incorrect balance sheets) the tinted doors of Starr Lee, Cal Poly Corporation’s legal counsel’s, office building. These people and these organizations find it very easy to prey off the flow of student money in education. What really gets to me is that this all happens in broad daylight with a smile, a pat on the back, and assurances that this is an investment in your future and that you can make that money back later.
Let’s take Campus Dining as an example. I don’t think anybody is under the impression that the food is good. And yet, impossibly, the Corporation entices new students here by publishing statements about their food like “gourmet” and “affordable,” all while claiming that forcing freshmen students to buy exorbitantly priced meal plans somehow “allows more time to focus on studying, exploring personal interests, and engaging in community activities (Campus Dining Web site).” They don’t mention anything in there about exploring explosive diarrhea and I’m pretty sure I could eat a steak every night off campus for those ridiculous plan prices. (The real winner is that you’re not even done being ripped off yet, they then proceed to charge two of the Plus Dollars they forced you to buy for a yogurt, which is greater than 200 percent of the retail price.)
And they do all this without paying taxes. Unbelievable.
A second example is the house of theft on the hill. I’m talking about Sage Restaurant. Has anyone else noticed that they’ve repainted that place three times? Is it because Bonnie Murphy didn’t like the color? Has anyone noticed that the menu prices there are preposterously high for serving sizes so miniscule that students simply cannot afford to eat there? ($12 for two tacos a la carte.)
How do we know that these changes weren’t in fact exacted at eliminating clientele, because the place is subsidized by taxpayer dollars and Tom Welton, director of Campus Dining, would rather work less hours?
If Bonnie Murphy is so interested in helping students and proving that she’s out here for something other than her own needs, then why in world does she need to hide the Cal Poly Corporation’s balance sheet? She didn’t make a single argument during her interview in the article “Bill could force Poly Corp. to release records” that made sense.
“We’re just concerned about people dissecting what we’re doing.” Did she really say that? I’ll bet you’re concerned, Bonnie.
And Starr Lee’s comment that he doesn’t want to spend the “time and effort” to “(deal) with people who don’t understand the complexities of business” is absurd and laughable — we have a College of Business here!
Institutions sheltered from taxes should be transparent. Period. Let’s all work together to get rid of obscure auxiliary organizations and make this a better, more affordable and more transparent place to go to school. I want an education, not financial rape. Let’s get rid of these scams that sit in broad daylight and let’s encourage our Senators to sign Senate Bill 218. It’s time for a little more honesty around here.
Darin Grandfield is a materials engineering graduate student and a Mustang Daily guest columnist.