I came across an article from the Boston Globe’s website about the compounding debt that is being accumulated at various branches of the University of Massachusetts. The article mentioned the fact that much of this spending goes toward making upgrades that will improve the quality of the school. These improvements are supposed to be readily noticeable upon first impression because that is what will draw in prospective new students.

The article cites Kimberly Tuby, an analyst at Moody’s Investors Service who said, “The pace of debt increase has far surpassed the pace of asset growth.” I think that this is a very interesting issue that raises a lot of passionate opinions among UMass students of the past and present, and should be something to think about for those considering attending this school.

It seems a bit strange that UMass professes to care so much about image, reputation and presentation, yet can allow for such a potentially damaging situation to arise. There are many ongoing projects specific to this campus that are not strictly necessary for functionality, but can easily be traced back to how they will benefit the University financially. I just think that UMass should hold its own actions to the same scrutiny that it holds its students in regards to how it will affect the value of attending this school, because what it does to itself can be equally damaging.

Respectfully,

Haley Potter

Public health sciences major