Michael Huston columnist

This should sound familiar. Students sitting on the floor or in the aisles in a class they need to graduate, 34 chairs squeezed into a room that the fire code says can only fit 25 people, other students pleading with professors to sign a drop/add form so they can get into a class that they actually care about.

In every department from optical sciences to political science, students understand that there never seem to be enough seats to go around, and if they can get into the classes they need they'll be one of a lucky few crammed into a classroom never designed to hold that many people.

When was the last time that you heard someone say, "I'm really happy with my schedule this semester. I had no trouble getting the classes that I had wanted"? Most would dismiss this situation as some sort of fairy tale and accept a schedule that is either mostly blank or full of classes that have seemingly no relevance to that person's field of study.

As paying students, we should expect better.

Professor Steve Brown of the department of chemistry reports that although students are generally able to get into the chemistry classes they need, he wonders if the department "has enough (faculty) to teach the way we should be teaching" and that the department is considering ways "to raise pressure on the university administration to consider whether or not more than just showing up for class is required to do a good job of teaching."

The same complaints - not enough teachers, not enough space, not enough money - continuously come from students and teachers alike in the psychology, communication and business departments, among others.

Professor William Dixon, head of the department of political science, also echoes students' frustrations by saying that within his department, 50 of 66 class sections this semester are at or above their maximum capacities.

Although political science is the second most populated major on campus, Dixon says that it is "one of the smallest political science departments anywhere" and that in the last 10 years the number of faculty in the department has shrunk from 30 members to 20.

Dixon also expresses being limited in terms of what can be done, saying he cannot hire new professors or even replace departing ones without authorization from the provost, and that for reasons unknown to him the current Provost, George H. Davis, "has decided that there are other priorities" for any available funds.

The sad fact of the matter is that no one is being held responsible for the situation. Many students are so desperate to get into classes they need that they'd be willing to sit on the floor for the entire semester, and the professors sympathize with the students, which is why some are willing to break their own rules about class size to let in as many students as possible.

All of this means that in the short term, students can expect more trouble getting into needed classes and larger class sizes if they do get in.

Considering the current state of affairs it is frightening to hear Dixon say that to his knowledge "no department at the university is properly funded," and that the severe financial cuts that his and other colleges have taken "will get substantially worse" over the next two years.

At this point, instead of accepting the claim that the Legislature is not providing sufficient funds, both the students and teachers should ask what the administration is doing to lobby the Legislature more aggressively and why replacing departed faculty in an already understaffed department is apparently not a high priority.

Students have accepted the tuition increases that came as a result of the Legislature's belief that students should invest more in their own education; now it's time to insist that the Legislature do its part, as well as to publicly hold accountable those legislators who continually cut funding to higher education in this state.

Students, when all is said and done, are consumers. We are here paying for an education, and as consumers, we should not be satisfied with a mediocre product. It's never easy to effect change, but maybe it's time that we as students raised our expectations beyond what we are currently experiencing. After all, it's our money.

Michael Huston is a political science sophomore who thinks we can do better. He can be reached at letters@email.arizona.edu