While lenders revel in UConn’s fiscal responsibility, low-income students, students requiring better-resourced mental healthcare services and cultural centers, university employees deserving living wages and benefits and community members outside the illustrious athletics department have yet to see the benefits. Austerity is not something to celebrate, especially when a balanced budget is not utilized equitably. UConn must put students and university employees first by prioritizing affordability and fair compensation over ambitious vanity projects in long-term planning.
