I have been at NIU for almost five years and have grown to love the NIU campus, students/staff and its community. I have always tried to do my best in my classes and treat others with the respect we all deserve. There are times when I can cheat, take advantage of others and abuse my power; however, I don’t because it is not the right thing to do and I refuse to hurt people I love.

As you may or may not know, there was an article posted in the Northern Star on March 30 titled “Walters paid $460K in 18 months.” This article states Ron Walters was paid $460,000 in 18 months for consulting Baker on his Master Plan Thesis. It states Walters was paid for his services even though he was not scheduled to work at times. Also, he was reimbursed $32,000 for travel expenses against state regulations.

I do not hold Walters accountable for these actions; he performed his job and was highly compensated for it. But, I do hold the president and his staff accountable for their lack of judgment. All the students/staff have heard the last few years about how enrollment has fallen, there has been budget cuts and there will be even more cuts to come. I understand when there is a reduction in income and a rising cost in goods/services there has to be adjustments, but to pay one individual roughly half a million dollars for consulting is outrageous.

There are NIU employees who work every day to help shape the careers of the student population who don’t make this type of money and will never make it. There are employees and students who travel hours to work at NIU and it would laughable for them to ask their superiors to be compensated for travel expenses. Also, employees have inquired about a pay increase and were told no due to falling enrollment and income. Yet, NIU has the income to pay a consultant $460,000. Also, NIU hired CIO Brett Coryell for about $290,000 per year when the CIO of U of I make less than $211,000 per year. How is it possible for NIU to afford these expenses when people constantly remind us of the reduction in revenue?

NIU has given roughly $1.2 million to three employees: $460,000 to Walters, $290,000 to Coryell and $450,000 to Baker. I am pretty sure they all are fairly compensated for their duties, but don’t try to convince the public revenue is low when there is plenty of it when it comes to Walters’, Coryell’s and Bakers’ salary.

Now Athletics states it needs new turf for the football stadium even though turf last about eight years and we only had it for six years.

I have enjoyed my years at NIU, but I am glad I will be an alumnus after this semester. Students and faculty are held accountable when they make the wrong decisions, so the leaders of the school have to be as well when they make poor decisions.

To fix enrollment, pour money into the students, campus recruiters and the campus itself. Don’t just give resources to individuals who may or may not know how to fix the problems. Furthermore, I do believe the administration is making some key changes to the campus and its policies that will greatly benefit the students, faculty and community. It’s hard to follow when you have questions about the leaders.