There is very little I enjoy more than being able to say “I told you so.” But, once the dust has settled, no amount of words claiming the contrary can make up for what has happened.

The current situation with the Department of Residence firing a number of students is just such an event. I’m not happy that any students were fired, but it shouldn’t be too big of a shock.

The rumors were wild early last week as students started getting notice of their last two weeks of work. At first it appeared to only be a small portion of students working for the Department of Residence and then, the part-time janitorial staff got the word too.

All this shouldn’t come as too much of a shock. The shady numbers fed out to us by the Department of Residence should be just as suspect as any other questionable funding that we hear about on campus.

The sinkhole responsible for the loss of funds, leading to the firing of students is none other than the Master Plan. In an attempt to hold as many students hostage on campus for as long as possible. The way in which it was decided was an odd combination indeed. It was found that residence housing didn’t contribute to the recruitment of students on campus.

So, in response, the Department of Residence decides it is in fact a good idea to give more options to the students. I’m all for more options, but it seems that there is little point to what the Master Plan is trying to accomplish and what it is costing us in the process.

So, we ask, what went wrong? It seems a simple equation really. Money in from students living on campus, eating dining service and spending money in C-Stores, minus money to pay for employees, and then we have money to be used for renovation, demolition and the creation of dormitories.

It seems as though the puppet-master, Randy Alexander, skipped over figuring out that students like to be paid too. I’m sure, though, that all of the assistants and other such useless positions in the department, are all nice and safe. So students can be rest assured that all of the red tape will still be in place for some time to come.

It took a few days, but eventually the Department of Residence came to realize that firing all of the students isn’t the best situation. Doubling the workload of the full-time employees in maintenance and janitorial, as any student living in a residence hall can attest, would not be the brightest of moves. So, after being told they were fired, some students have been told they were rehired.

This still doesn’t begin to solve the problems. Many of the students are still left without jobs that they depend on to support themselves while in school. Being on campus and having a schedule that works around you, is vital to some.

Now when something breaks in the late evening, residents better hope they can do without it, because the likelihood of it getting fixed in a timely manner now is a joke. The best part is still to come. As if the increase in tuition and parking fees wasn’t enough, but housing all across campus is going up in most areas by nearly 10 percent.

Chances are this extra money goes to fund the useless things, like paying for each little thing mentioning “Hawthorn” Court, hiring a few more assistants at the Department of Residence, and maybe even a nice little pay raise and a pat on the back for a job well done for the Department. After all, they accomplished sticking it to students twice, where the regents only did it once.

The Department of Residence rushed to judgment without thinking about who they were affecting, not that this is new. They could have looked into other areas they could have cut back before going straight to the students, but why look for a rational solution when there is the easy one?

The kind, gentler, caring Department of Residence is a myth. The attempt to provide the housing that students want has been little more than having four walls surround a bed, or two, so that they can claim there are more beds present on campus then ever before. If the construction of Hawthorn Court is any indication, the new buildings in UDA should be saving us a fortune with their shoddy construction.

If Randy Alexander, and the Department of Residence really want what is best for the students, they should hire back all of the students and find another way to cut costs. For an organization that is trying to keep students on campus they sure are doing a good job of trying to push them away.

Blaine Moyle is a senior in English and secondary education from Des Moines.

There is very little I enjoy more than being able to say “I told you so.” But, once the dust has settled, no amount of words claiming the contrary can make up for what has happened.

The current situation with the Department of Residence firing a number of students is just such an event. I’m not happy that any students were fired, but it shouldn’t be too big of a shock.

The rumors were wild early last week as students started getting notice of their last two weeks of work. At first it appeared to only be a small portion of students working for the Department of Residence and then, the part-time janitorial staff got the word too.

All this shouldn’t come as too much of a shock. The shady numbers fed out to us by the Department of Residence should be just as suspect as any other questionable funding that we hear about on campus.

The sinkhole responsible for the loss of funds, leading to the firing of students is none other than the Master Plan. In an attempt to hold as many students hostage on campus for as long as possible. The way in which it was decided was an odd combination indeed. It was found that residence housing didn’t contribute to the recruitment of students on campus.

So, in response, the Department of Residence decides it is in fact a good idea to give more options to the students. I’m all for more options, but it seems that there is little point to what the Master Plan is trying to accomplish and what it is costing us in the process.

So, we ask, what went wrong? It seems a simple equation really. Money in from students living on campus, eating dining service and spending money in C-Stores, minus money to pay for employees, and then we have money to be used for renovation, demolition and the creation of dormitories.

It seems as though the puppet-master, Randy Alexander, skipped over figuring out that students like to be paid too. I’m sure, though, that all of the assistants and other such useless positions in the department, are all nice and safe. So students can be rest assured that all of the red tape will still be in place for some time to come.

It took a few days, but eventually the Department of Residence came to realize that firing all of the students isn’t the best situation. Doubling the workload of the full-time employees in maintenance and janitorial, as any student living in a residence hall can attest, would not be the brightest of moves. So, after being told they were fired, some students have been told they were rehired.

This still doesn’t begin to solve the problems. Many of the students are still left without jobs that they depend on to support themselves while in school. Being on campus and having a schedule that works around you, is vital to some.

Now when something breaks in the late evening, residents better hope they can do without it, because the likelihood of it getting fixed in a timely manner now is a joke. The best part is still to come. As if the increase in tuition and parking fees wasn’t enough, but housing all across campus is going up in most areas by nearly 10 percent.

Chances are this extra money goes to fund the useless things, like paying for each little thing mentioning “Hawthorn” Court, hiring a few more assistants at the Department of Residence, and maybe even a nice little pay raise and a pat on the back for a job well done for the Department. After all, they accomplished sticking it to students twice, where the regents only did it once.

The Department of Residence rushed to judgment without thinking about who they were affecting, not that this is new. They could have looked into other areas they could have cut back before going straight to the students, but why look for a rational solution when there is the easy one?

The kind, gentler, caring Department of Residence is a myth. The attempt to provide the housing that students want has been little more than having four walls surround a bed, or two, so that they can claim there are more beds present on campus then ever before. If the construction of Hawthorn Court is any indication, the new buildings in UDA should be saving us a fortune with their shoddy construction.

If Randy Alexander, and the Department of Residence really want what is best for the students, they should hire back all of the students and find another way to cut costs. For an organization that is trying to keep students on campus they sure are doing a good job of trying to push them away.

Blaine Moyle is a senior in English and secondary education from Des Moines.