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Opinion
 

Staff Editorial

                Chris Elliott                        Zach Lee                  Christian Palmer
                Geronimo Rodriguez       Blake Whitaker       Kristen Young

UH gets mixed marks this week in report card

Lower tuition for summer school: A

Granted, the proposal introduced by Provost Donald Foss to reduce tuition rates for summer school is still just that -- a proposal, but it is a great one. With students standing to benefit with less strain on their pocketbooks and the University set to benefit with more state appropriations, it's a win-win situation.

It's about time UH reclaimed all its students appropriated by Houston Community College every summer, and this is exactly the way to do it. UH President Jay Gogue said the move could even improve retention rates and help students to graduate on time. When the regents vote on the proposal Feb. 16, there doesn't seem to be much to hold them back.

UH plan concerning Kenneth Lay chairs: INC

It would be premature to condemn the University for keeping the two chairs ex-Enron CEO Kenneth Lay endowed to UH, but it is worth watching. Lay has not yet been convicted of any wrongdoing in the fall of Enron, and the two chairs have been helpful to the University. That said, UH is struggling to be seen as an institution on the same level as the University of Texas and Texas A&M. 

If convicted however, Lay will be exactly what UH needs to get away from, and it would be in the best interests of the University to find funding for the chairs elsewhere. In competing with the state's top universities, image is everything, and Lay, if convicted, would be an indelible spot on UH's image.

Lay's name is enough of a dark stain on UH as it is; what happened to Enron employees will not soon be forgotten in this city, and regardless of the legal proceedings, Lay has been found guilty in the public eye. A legal conviction should be the final straw, and UH should already be looking for other wealthy alumni -- there are plenty.

If the administration is relying on Lay's chairs without at least considering doing away with them, it does not fully realize the implications of the situation. It is unimportant that the money that originally paid for the chairs was clean -- and if Lay is found guilty, that will be difficult to prove -- what matters is the integrity of the man who donated it to the University.