President Geoffroy presented his plan for dealing with the $24.5 million cut in state funding at yesterday’s Board of Regents meeting. It held a little pain for everyone.

Faculty will swallow a 2-percent cut in retirement account contributions and furloughs that range from four to eight days. Colleges and administrative departments will have to finagle an extra $12.5 million out of their budgets. And students face a $100 surcharge on next semester’s tuition.

We’ll give you a second to clean up if you just spit out your morning coffee in involuntary protest of that last point.

Then we’ll help you through the seven stages of grief, from denial to acceptance.

The surcharge narrowly passed the first round of voting Thursday, with regents split 5-4 to consider the measure when they make final decisions in December.

While nobody’s happy about the prospect of a thinner wallet, it’s irresponsible to argue that students shouldn’t have a share in shouldering the state budget cuts.

It’s not that the editorial board doesn’t know the value of a buck. We’re fully aware that $100 is a lot of money – equivalent to about 20 “five dollar footlongs,” 100 Bud Light draws or 500 packs of Ramen Noodles, depending on how you choose to play it.

But there comes a point when opposing tuition hikes and surcharges means advocating for the degradation of our education. We might be at that point.

There just isn’t much fat left to cut. One example: The English department doesn’t even have phones anymore. Professors communicate solely via e-mail or are forced to mix business with pleasure by giving their home or cell numbers to students.

At that point, how much more can a department bear?

Think about a few of the alternatives to a tuition surcharge. Iowa State could let go of faculty members. It could further decrease salaries and benefits, possibly to a point where Iowa State becomes noncompetitive and faculty leave of their own free will. Or it could pass an additional $2.4 million budget cut – the amount that will be raised by the surcharge – on to academic departments that are already stretched thin.

Any of these options would result in a decrease of the quality of an ISU education.

It’s simple economics. When an organization can’t hit its numbers, it must either raise its prices or degrade its product.

Remember when many food manufacturers went through a period of product shrinkage last year? Cereal suddenly went from 19-ounce boxes to 18-ounce boxes, and a 12-ounce bag of chips became a 10-ounce bag. It’s the same concept here. Except that the consequences of a shrunken education are vastly bigger than one less bowl of Wheaties.

Sure, some downsizing will probably happen regardless.

As the budget cuts trickle down through departments and academic units, keep an eye on how you will be affected and advocate for responsible stewardship of your money.

But for the most part, our education will remain untouched and our institution will retain the faculty that have given it a sterling reputation.

While you have a right to be frustrated with the ever-increasing tuition and fees, your frustration shouldn’t lie with administrators or regents, but with the state government – for which, it seems, education has ceased to be a priority.