Benjamin A. Ladner, former president of American University is still being grilled about his spending. The Washington Post had an article today with some of the details from the investigation. There were stats about how he spent almost $23,000 on a 1st class plane ticket to Nigeria and how that costs almost the same as one student's tuition. First of all, I think it is ironic that he would spend all that money to fly first class to a third-world nation, but what do I know. I've never been to Nigeria. I have gotten an email from the former prime minister of Nigeria's son asking for my help and my bank account's routing numbers. But that's a different rant.
Anyway, the article said he was giving his personal chef a yearly raise while the University's staff went without. As an American University graduate, I can tell you that it shows that the staff is a bunch of underpaid pen-pushers. You get what you pay for when it comes to administrators. And all the asshole administrators couldn't give a shit about me, or my education or anything really. I guess I should have gone to the President's Chef when I needed some advising. He was probably the only person on campus who was happy with his job.
What pisses me off is that the article said "more than 90 percent of operating revenue comes from students." Is that why the University made up some bullshit excuse why I could not graduate on time and then charged me an extra credit hour? Was Lander’s wife throwing a tea party and they needed me to pay for it? The University only gave me a bill, they never gave me a reason why I had to pay.
I anticipate Lander will found guilty of abuse and/or embezzlement. I hope he has to pay the University back and serve a few years in jail. I have 15 years of student loan payments, so give Lander 15 years in jail to pay back the University. That sounds about fair. I can only hope that the jury is made up of poor American University students who also have tens of thousands of dollars in student loan payments.
Then I hope the University passes the savings along to me and gives me my tuition back. But I doubt they will. They will probably blow their pay back money on fixing up Bender Arena for their shitty basketball program. Or maybe they can finish cleaning up the WWI chemical weapon dump under my old classroom building. They should have been paying to get the school modernized, and not blowing all their money on waterfalls for the President’s mansion. In case you didn’t know, you still can’t register for your classes on-line at American. I was registering on-line at Maryland back in 1992.
If someone out there starts a class action suit against American University, count me in. Those bastards owe me. I spent too much money at that school to be this dumb. Someone is guilty of fraud over there and I want blood.
Del-v
American University Graduate
Class of 2005
Thursday, September 22, 2005
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2 comments:
so I did a search and came across your blog... interesting stuff... as an AU transfer (OUT not in) I feel some of your pain as far as loans and dismal facilities. BUT the one things I did like and appreciate was AU had it's IT together. YES you can register on-line, infact you can do just about everything on-line and then you don't have to deal with the misguided and unhelpful administration on many matters. I'm pre-law not computer science, in fact I stuggle with it and that is the ONE thing I miss about that school as it was light years ahead of most in our country.
Well, I was not able to register on line. I had to meet with my advisor, get her crappy two cents and then take a carbon copy with a stamp on it to the registar's office to get my classes. And then I went to the Busar's office to get my bill, and then take all of that back to my department and give it to my department head. I did this a few times. Each time there was a new and exciting twist to my registration.
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