Letter to the Editor: MSU should treat Northern more fairly

Editor:

In Montana, all universities are equal, but some universities are more equal than other universities.

Waded Cruzado is fond of saying that Montana State University is one university. Of course, nobody is fooled. We know Bozeman comes first and gets the lion’s share of students and resources.

Over the last 10 years, Bozeman’s enrollment has increased 21 percent while Northern’s enrollment has decreased 19 percent.

Bozeman is allowed by the regents to add programs, while at the same time, they are vetoing Northern’s efforts to add programs.

Bozeman builds new dorms and classrooms despite the fact that Northern had extra space. Bozeman refuses to cap its enrollment, and she goes after every student.

Nearly 1,000 students from the counties surrounding Havre attend Bozeman. Northern has one of the highest percentage of American Indian students — 14 percent — anywhere in the country, yet Bozeman is allowed to prevent Northern from starting a Native American studies program. It is one thing to talk about diversity but another thing to actually support diversity.

This year, Waded Cruzado will be attending the I Love Northern Ball. If she is serious about supporting our “One University” here in Havre, she will join in supporting the following measures:

1. Cap enrollment at Bozeman where there is overcrowding and encourage students to attend Northern.

2. Allow Northern to start new programs.

3. Cancel Northern’s $1 million debt.

4. Take responsibility for the disastrous administrations she supported for the last several years at Northern that has gutted the university and harmed the lives of many loyal workers at Northern.

5. Work with the Bozeman Foundation and the regents to come up with an equitable distribution of donations and gifts so that the entire “One University” benefits.

6. The time has come for educational leadership that benefits all the universities in our state.

Carol Ortman

Havre