Although there might be a need for university-provided transportation for some NIU employees, ignorance about NIU’s policies is no excuse for not following regulations.

A state audit revealed that five of the six university-supplied vehicles for members of the administration were against the Board of Regents’ regulations. The regulations state that only a university president can receive a university vehicle.

Beside NIU President John LaTourette; one dean, one vice president and two football coaches were supplied with vehicles. In fact, some of them had the use of an NIU vehicle included in their contracts with the university. These five people, however, had to return their vehicles last week.

Those who received the vehicles claim they were unaware of the Regents’ regulations about university vehicles, so where should the finger be pointed?

The finger should be pointed at those university employees who received the vehicles and their superiors. It is the responsibility of every person employed by NIU or any other establishment to know the rules and abide by them, regardless of how they feel about them.

William Young, NIU dean of continuing education, was right in saying that people who are hired for positions that require a lot of traveling should receive some means of transportation or compensation for their expenses.

However, during this time of strict cutbacks, maybe we should follow the regulations and provide compensation instead of supplying unapproved NIU vehicles.